Author: Jhanna Virabian

U.S. House Demands Azerbaijani War Crimes Investigation; Azerbaijan’s Release of Armenian POWs

Jhanna Virabian
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The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed five ANCA-backed amendments

Congressional, Community and Coalition Advocacy Drive Passage of Five ANCA-Backed Amendments to National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House staked out a powerful stand today against Azerbaijan and Turkey’s 2020 attack on Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia, overwhelmingly passing five Armenian National Committee of America-backed amendments demanding Baku’s release of Armenian prisoners of war, calling for investigations into Azerbaijani war crimes, supporting U.S. aid to Artsakh, and urging Turkey’s Grey Wolves be designated a foreign terrorist organization.  

The measures were adopted by voice vote on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, as part of larger groupings, or blocs, of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA – H.R.4350).  The U.S. House is expected to pass the underlying NDAA measure later tonight on a largely party-line vote.

“The U.S. House of Representatives – over intense Turkish and Azerbaijani lobbying, but without any vocal legislative opposition – voted overwhelmingly today to hold Ankara and Baku accountable for their attacks on Artsakh last fall and ongoing aggression against Armenia,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We join with our coalition partners and countless community activists to thank the authors of these ANCA-backed amendments – and all those who supported their passage –  and are already at work ensuring that these principled and powerful stands are enacted into U.S. law and translated into American policy.”

The first amendment, led by Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA), states it is the sense of Congress that “Azerbaijan must immediately and unconditionally return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians.”  It goes on to demand a report from the Secretary of Defense on the use of U.S. technology in Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan to attack Armenia and Artsakh during the 2020 war.  The report would also detail the use of illegal munitions and chemical weapons, including white phosphorus, against Armenian civilians.  The bi-partisan amendment was also cosponsored by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Andy Levin (D-MI), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Katie Porter (D-CA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and David Valadao (R-CA).

“It is critical that we get a full accounting of the facts as we look to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its actions in Nagorno Karabakh last year,” said Rep. Cardenas.  “I am glad to have worked closely with Reps. Schiff and Sherman to produce an amendment that does exactly that. This report is critical to getting a clear picture of the extent of Azerbaijan’s actions and any potential violations of international law. Additionally, it will make clear that the United States Congress expects Azerbaijan to honor its obligation to carry out the unconditional return of any remaining Armenian prisoners of war safely to Armenia. I am thankful for the bipartisan group of cosponsors that has joined us in this effort, and will work hard to see that the report gets done.”

Rep. Schiff concurred, adding, “It is unconscionable that as we approach the one-year anniversary of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan continues to illegally detain Armenian service members and captured civilians – a reality made even more horrific by ongoing reports that these prisoners of war are subject to torture in violation of international human rights conventions.”  Rep. Schiff went on to note, “With this amendment, we are making it absolutely clear to the Aliyev regime that they have the obligation to release these prisoners immediately and unconditionally, and that the Biden administration should take every possible diplomatic action, including through the OSCE Minsk Group, to hold them to account.”

Rep. Sherman explained, “This amendment is critical in our efforts to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its heinous acts of aggression last year against the people of Armenia and Artsakh. I was pleased to work with Congressmen Cardenas and Schiff and many others on this amendment that aims to uncover the full extent of Azerbaijan’s actions, and sends a strong message calling on Azerbaijan to honor its obligation for the unconditional and safe return to Armenia of any remaining Armenian prisoners of war.”

The second amendment, led by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), requires a report from the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, addressing allegations that some units of foreign countries that have participated in security cooperation programs under section 333 of title 10, U.S.C. may have also committed gross violations of internationally recognized human rights before or while receiving U.S. security assistance. Since 2016, Azerbaijan has received over $120 million in U.S. military assistance under section 333 funding, and would be in the list of countries scrutinized for committing human rights violations during and after the 2020 Artsakh War.  

Speaking on the House floor, Rep. Pallone explained, “Azerbaijan was still receiving equipment and training from the US military that began a deadly attack against Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) on September 27 that led to the death of thousands and the displacement of so many more.”  He went on to explain, “passage of this amendment sends a clear signal that the US takes seriously its democratic norms and commitment to peace by ensuring oversight of our security assistance and I hope at least in future restraint from aiding and tolerating similar regimes in the future, especially when their actions are aimed at destabilizing a fellow democracy.”

Rep. Pallone’s bi-partisan amendment was cosponsored by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA).

The third amendment, led by Representatives David Valadao (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), requires the Secretary of State to submit a report to the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees of all US humanitarian and developmental assistance programs in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), including an analysis of the effectiveness of such programs and any plans for future assistance.  Rep. Sherman is considered the father of U.S. aid programs to Artsakh, leading legislative effort as early as 1997.  Rep. Valadao traveled to Artsakh in 2017 and reviewed U.S. aid programs there, including U.S. funded demining efforts by The HALO Trust.  The Valadao-Sherman amendment was cosponsored by Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Andy Levin (D-MI), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Katie Porter (D-CA), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), David Trone (D-MD), and Susan Wild (D-PA). 

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) led a fourth amendment requiring a report by the Secretary of State on the activities Turkey’s Grey Wolves organization has undertaken against U.S. interests, allies, and international partners, including a review of the criteria met for designation as a foreign terrorist organization.  The amendment had the support of a coalition of organizations including the Hellenic American Leadership Council, In Defense of Christians, American Friends of Kurdistan, Middle East Forum, as well as the ANCA, which circulated a detailed legislative brief to Congress in the days leading up to the vote.

The Titus amendment was cosponsored by Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). 

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) led the fifth amendment supported by the ANCA, modifying the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to authorize sanctions for serious human rights abuse, any violation of internationally recognized human rights, or corruption.  The amendment was cosponsored by Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Dina Titus (D-NV), Norma Torres (D-CA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

The Senate is set to consider its version of the National Defense Authorization Act over the next month.  The ANCA is working closely with Senate Armed Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee members to explore amendment opportunities similar to those adopted by the U.S. House and to zero-out U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.

NA Speaker discussed the situation on Goris-Kapan road with Iranian Ambassador

Jhanna Virabian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 16 2021

The Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan met on Thursday with Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri, the press service at the parliament reported. 

Welcoming the guest, Speaker Simonyan has underlined that the relations with Iran are of strategic importance for Armenia. He has noted that the centuries-old friendship and the two peoples’ peace loving attitude serve as a unique bridge between Armenia and Iran. The active political dialogue formed as a result of Armenia-Iran collaboration is considered to be as a firm basis and guarantee in all spheres for continuous development and strengthening of the inter-state cooperation. 

Alen Simonyan has underscored that our country seeks to maintain and to further strengthen the continuous growth for the dialogue of the political and economic fields and the trade cooperation. In this aspect, the Head of Parliament drew attention especially to the fact that during 2020, despite the spread of COVID-19 and its negative consequences, the Armenian-Iranian trade turnover had not undergone the most serious changes, and the export even had grown to some extent. 

According to the source, Simonyan highlighted the Armenian-Iranian interaction in the development of the regional strategic infrastructures, as well as in the regional military-political security issues. The works for the solution of the situation in the vicinity of Vorotan settlement of Goris-Kapan inter-state road were touched upon.

The sides also referred to the role of the inter-parliamentary cooperation in strengthening of bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation bases. In this context the activity of the parliamentary friendship groups was emphasized.

Armenia’s Pashinyan: Armenian villages of Syunik Province haven’t been and won’t be encircled, even though there is risk

Jhanna Virabian
News.am, Armenia
Sept 16 2021
Armenia's Pashinyan: Armenian villages of Syunik Province haven't been and won't be encircled, even though there is risk
00:13, 16.09.2021
R

Armenian villages of Syunik Province haven’t been and won’t be encircled, even though there are such risks. This is what Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during a question-and-answer session with government officials in parliament.

“Yes, there are risks, and the Government of Armenia is taking all necessary measures to manage those risks,” he added.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 14-09-21

Jhanna Virabian

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 17:25, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, 14 SEPTEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 14 September, USD exchange rate down by 1.69 drams to 490.19 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.82 drams to 579.16 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 6.72 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.38 drams to 679.55 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 108.54 drams to 28271.82 drams. Silver price down by 8.32 drams to 371.62 drams. Platinum price down by 352.53 drams to 15098.05 drams.

Relatives of dead soldiers urge to cancel celebrations on occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day

Jhanna Virabian
Caucasian Knot, EU
Sept 15 2021

In their appeal to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, about 350 parents and relatives of soldiers who were killed in the 2020 autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh, called on to cancel the celebrations timed to the Independence Day of Armenia.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the Armenian authorities decided to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the country’s independence on a large scale, but the public criticized those plans. Armenian human rights defenders note it is inappropriate to hold the lavish celebrations prior to the first anniversary of the 2020 autumn war.

The parents of the soldiers killed in the 2020 autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh appealed to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with a demand to abandon the large-scale celebration on Republic Square on September 21.

“We consider a colourful concert on the occasion of Independence Day six days before the anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh as a sacrilege and a heinous act,” emphasizes the declaration signed by about 350 parents and relatives of the killed soldiers.

“Not a year has passed since our soldiers had been killed. Hundreds of parents and wives are looking for their [missing] sons and husbands. There are prisoners of war who are being humiliated and tortured every day. In such conditions, to hold a colourful concert and declare that the celebrations are dedicated to the dead soldiers are an insult to us and the memory of our soldiers,” the opponents of the celebration wrote in their declaration as translated from the Armenian language by the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on at 11:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Armenian citizens condemn authorities' plans for Independence Day, Pashinyan updates death toll in Karabakh War, Investigating Committee of Armenia reports number of soldiers missing in Karabakh.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan; Source: CK correspondent

Source: 
© Caucasian Knot

Azerbaijan demands from Russia to restrict car traffic in Nagorno-Karabakh

Jhanna Virabian
Caucasian Knot, EU
Sept 13 2021

The passage of other countries' cars across the territory controlled by Russian peacemakers contradicts the agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated demanding to stop such traffic.

The Azerbaijani MoD has sent letters to the Russian MoD and the command of the peacemaking contingent in connection with "the illegal drive of other countries' vehicles across the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacemakers have been temporarily deployed," the MoD's press service has reported today.

The letters emphasize that such cases contradict the trilateral agreement signed on November 10, 2020, and contain a request to stop "such phenomena", according to the post place on the Russian-language version of the Azerbaijani MoD's website.

"Legal entities and individuals of other countries and their vehicles cannot enter the territory of Azerbaijan without the permit of the Republic of Azerbaijan, such cases are a violation of the legislation of our country," the post states.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on at 04:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Turkish-Azerbaijani exercises are over in Karabakh, Commander of Russian peacemakers assess his work in Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkish-Azerbaijani exercises show vulnerability of Lachin Corridor to Armenia.

Author: The Caucasian Knot;

Source: 
© Caucasian Knot

Heatwave, drought and war leave Nagorno-Karabakh short of water

Jhanna Virabian
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 8 2021
Gevorg Mnatsakanyan Sep 9, 2021
Children in Stepanakert fetch water from a tank provided by the Red Cross. (David Ghahramanyan)

Forty percent of Stepanakert has been without running water for the past month. It is a new burden for a city that has struggled to revive normalcy since the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan last autumn.

Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto capital are condemned to thirst by a confluence of factors: Internally displaced people have packed into the city, increasing the population by some 30 percent; access to most of the region’s water supply was lost in the fighting; and it has been a hot, dry summer.

“We haven’t seen rain in over 50 days and temperatures have peaked at a steady 30 degrees Celsius. Add to that the 70 to 80 thousand cubic meters more consumed monthly by the 15,000 new residents of the capital fleeing war and you get what we’re seeing,” Gagik Poghosyan, who heads Jrmugh-Koyughi, the public company responsible for local water distribution, told Eurasianet.

During the 44-day war with Azerbaijan, Armenian forces lost control of most of the lands they had held since the early 1990s, including reservoirs and canals that are now on the other side of the front line. In a June report, the International Crisis Group described several villages without water, “not only because pipes were destroyed, but because in order to fix them plumbers would have to enter an area controlled by Azerbaijani soldiers.”

At an emergency meeting on August 16, de facto president Arayik Harutyunyan unveiled plans to connect the capital’s water supply network to the nearby Patara River (Badara in Azerbaijani) through a new pipeline that will end the shortages “within one year.”

Harutyunyan also promised to build a new dam on the Patara to create a reservoir that will provide Stepanakert and 12 surrounding villages with drinking water and irrigate over 2,500 hectares. Estimated at 15 billion Armenian drams (over $30 million), the project is the most ambitious of its kind to date, Harutyunyan said.

A new government water committee is etching out plans to drill over 40 artesian wells to provide round-the-clock service to communities across the region. Georgi Hayriyan, who was appointed by the president in July to lead the committee, estimates water losses at “over 80 percent.”

“What makes this so painful is that the resources still available to Artsakh aren’t going to be enough to irrigate whatever agricultural land is left,” Hayriyan told Eurasianet, using the Armenian name for the region.

The government is counting on the state budget and help from outside organizations like the diaspora-backed Hayastan All Armenian Fund to make the three projects happen. Another diaspora group in Washington is lobbying Congress for $25 million in assistance related to water and sanitation.

Russian peacekeepers – who have patrolled Nagorno-Karabakh since the Moscow-brokered ceasefire in November 2020 – are providing water and security while Armenians repair infrastructure near the front lines. In the three weeks to September 3, the Russian contingent dispensed over 200 tons of drinking water to 1,500 Stepanakert residents, promising to continue to “provide local residents with water every day” until a new pipeline can be laid.

British charity HALO Trust and the International Committee of the Red Cross have also extended help. “The current water scarcity only added to the practical difficulties faced by the population following the autumn 2020 escalation,” Bertrand Lamon, head of the ICRC Mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, told Eurasianet.

Twenty-five large water tanks donated by the Red Cross have been installed in neighborhoods hit hardest by the shortage and are being filled daily by trucks from the city’s water company.

With this aid, and efforts by local authorities to conserve water, the situation in Stepanakert has slowly improved over the past two weeks. But Poghosyan of the public water distributor remains wary. “If this weather persists, things could get dire,” he said.

For all their inconvenience, “there’s still a silver lining to these shortages,” said Nune Martirosyan, 47, an economics teacher in Stepanakert, whose own apartment has been without water for a month. “They’ve fostered a greater sense of community among residents as they scramble to help each other pull through.”

 

Gevorg Mnatsakanyan is a journalist based in Yerevan. 

Yerevan slams Baku for disrupting efforts for peace amid Turkish-Azeri drills near Lachin corridor

Jhanna Virabian

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 17:14, 7 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenia assesses the ongoing Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises at it’s and Artsakh’s borders and near the Lachin corridor as “an action harming the steps aimed at de-escalation”.

“This action doesn’t correspond to the spirit of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement and is disrupting the efforts for establishing lasting peace, security and stability in the region,”Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Sputnik Armenia when asked to comment on the Turkish-Azeri drills.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

​Senator Menendez meets Armenian community leaders in Cyprus

Jhanna Virabian
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 31 2021

Senator Menendez meets Armenian community leaders in Cyprus

 

At the invitation of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Vartkes Mahdessian, Representative of the Armenian community in the Cyprus House of Representatives, attended an award ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Senate H.E. Robert Menendez was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III.

Senator Menendez accompanied by Vartkes Mahdessian, met with leading members of the Armenian community of Cyprus, where the Representative of the Armenian community presented him a plaque as a token of appreciation, for his leading role in the very important and historic decision of the US to recognize the Armenian Genocide and his ongoing active support to the Armenian nation.