Author: Jirair Kafian

“After failing to resolve the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict by force in early April, Azerbaijan, through fraud and manipulation tries to portray itself as a victim and to avoid responsibility for unleashing the military aggression and the numerous war crimes accompanying it,” Spokesperson for the NKR Foreign Ministry Ani Sargsyan said in comments to News.am.

The comments come after the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan organized a visit of representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan to the Line of Contact between the armed forces of the NKR and Azerbaijan.

“By participating in the badly staged actions of the Azerbaijani side, representatives of the international community automatically allow themselves to be drawn into the propaganda campaign of official Baku aimed at the justification of the criminal actions of the Azerbaijani authorities,” she added.

“We are convinced that in order to form a truly unbiased idea of the existing situation and get comprehensive information on the reasons and consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression, the diplomats and representatives of international organizations should, first of all, visit the NKR,” the Spokesperson added.

“The NKR authorities are ready to provide all-sided assistance in the organization of such a visit,” she concluded.

 

 

 

“Recognition of Artsakh depends on the results of negotiations, with consideration of future developments including the external factors,” Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters as he commented on the approval of the government opinion on the draft law on Recognition of Artsakh.

“Our position is clear: should Azerbaijan try to avoid respecting the ceasefire regime and unleash new aggression, the issue of recognition will be brought to agenda.,” the Deputy FM said.

Asked whether recognition of NKR would not mean end to the Minsk process, Shavarsh Kocharyan said: “It’s Azeri aggression that will put an end to the Minsk process.”

The Azerbaijani side continues the intensive shelling all along the frontline and in the direction of populated areas, using mortars of different caliber, 85, 100, 122 and 152 mm cannons, MM-21 Grad multiple rocket launches and 9M33 M3 missile complex, the NKR Ministry of Defense reported.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army take retaliatory measures to pressure the amativeness of the rival, inflicting losses in human force and equipment.

The situation remains tense, the Ministry said.

 

Armenia did  not apply to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help during the escalation of the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha told reporters today, RIA Novosti reports.

Bordyuzha added that he understood from contacts with the Armenian leadership that “Armenia had not used its potential to the full,” therefore, no requests followed.

Asked whether the CSTO would come to help only in case of assault against the internationally recognized borders of Armenia, the CSTO Secretary General gave a positive answer.

At the same time he noted that the situation in Nagorno Karabakh is of great importance for ensuring security in the area of CSTO responsibility.

“In case of recurrence of hostilities, we’ll witness an active and direct armed confrontation that will “explode” the whole Caucasus. Many countries will get involved in the conflict, and it will affect many peoples in the Caucasus. It’s very serious and ensuring peace in Karabakh is a must today, otherwise a very large-scale war will burst in the Caucasus. I’d not like to see that,” Boryuzha declared.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today survivors of genocides and crimes against humanity from Cambodia, Rwanda and Iraq, who have arrived in Armenia to participate in the Second Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide.

Minister Nalbandian emphasized the participation of outstanding scholars, political and public figures, artists and especially survivors in the global forum.

Minister Nalbandian attached importance to the joint efforts of the international community targeted at the prevention of genocides and elimination of their consequences. He noted that the Global Forum held in Armenia for the second year in a row has become an important platform for struggle against genocides and crimes against humanity.

Nadia Murad of Iraq presented the violence against Yazidis and the story of the barbaric killing of her family. She asked for Armenia’s support in raising awareness about the issue.

Minister Nalbandian assured of Armenia’s committment to maintain efforts towards raising the issue of the genocide of Yazidis on different international platforms.

The participants of the meeting hailed Armenia’s role in preventing genocides. Edward Nalbandian briefed the guests on Armenia’s initiatives and efforts in that direction.

“Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale military aggression against the people of Nagorno Karabakh, violating the international humanitarian law and committing war crimes,” member of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Samvel Farmanyan said at PACE plenary session in Strasbourg. The full speech is provided below:

“Almost two months have passed since the last part-session of the Assembly. And we discuss here what has been done in this period of time. Evidently our values have been brutally and cynically attacked, first in the very heart of Europe – bloody terror attacks in Brussels, and then on the southeastern shore of our continent – in Nagorno-Karabakh where Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale military aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh violating international humanitarian law and committing war crimes. Let me join the words of sympathy addressed to the families of all victims. I also join the voices of those hundreds of thousands of people who marched yesterday in Brussels and in different capitals of Europe and the globe since the bloody escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh calling for peace.

The progress report refers to one of the notorious discussions we had here in January. Let me recall, Chairman, that the voices against the controversial reports by Robert Walter and Milica Markovic in this very hemi-cycle were based on the tangible assumption that any attempt to approve groundless and one-sided resolutions or any selective application to the principles of international law will only damage the peace process and serve as smokescreen for the Azerbaijani autocratic leadership to resume large scale military actions undermining the peace process and threatening fragile stability in the entire region of South Caucasus. While raising concerns we had in mind such development of the events that happened afterwards and unfortunately, our concerns became to be a kind of bad prediction that cost hundreds of innocent lives from all sides of the conflict.

While considering this progress report, colleagues, we can’t jump over the efforts the permanent bodies of the Assembly have taken or rather mistaken regarding this tragedy. A repeatedly clear message was delivered to Azerbaijani leadership since the very birth of escalation that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict and that war is not an option. Presidents of France, United States, Russia, heads of dozens of other countries and hundreds of foreign ministries, Secretary Generals of the UN, OSCE, CoE, high-level officials of EU, dozens of other international organizations joint their voice and reputation to deliver that unequivocal and uncompromising message to President Aliev to stop military aggression.

While increasingly strong and univocal message of the international community to Aliev was a window of hope for peace to avoid further escalation of the situation, irresponsible rhetoric of Mr. Agramunt, came to contradict our Assembly to the international community this time not by ignorance of excessive human rights violations in Azerbaijan but by his exceptionally dangerous wording clearly siding himself with Azerbaijan in that particularly fragile situation. Unfortunately, Mr. Agramunt’s statement came to once again confirm his impartiality as President of the Assembly and empowers media reports about his alleged engagement in Azerbaijani lobbying structures seriously damaging Assembly’s image in the eyes of millions of Europeans and all members of our House of Democracy.

The Basque Parliament has adopted a statement, condemning the recent Azerbaijani attempts to solve the Karabakh conflict in a military way.

The statement was adopted unilaterally by all political forces represented in the Parliament.

The statement notes that on 2 April 2016, Azerbaijan unilaterally launched an unprecedented attack along the entire line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh. This attack has caused dozens of deaths, including four civilians, one of them a child.

The Basque Parliament shows its deep concern at the breakdown of the ceasefire in force since 1994 in Nagorno-Karabakh and expresses sorrow for the victims that the attack has caused.

The Parliament welcomes the resumption of truce the two sides announced on April 5 and hopes it will be respected.

The lawmakers demand to implement an international mechanism for investigation of border incidents proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

They reject the use of force to resolve the conflict and call on the parties to take practical steps to immediately cease military actions and withdraw the troops to the positions held prior to April 1, 2016.

The Basque Parliament also supports the need to return to the negotiation process mediated by the Minsk Group of the OSCE where Nagorno Karabakh must have a place, as already agreed this Parliament.

 

 

 

“The world should listen to what concessions Artskah is ready to make,” Vice-Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov told reporters today. He added, however, that a number of principles need to be clarified before that.

“There can be no mutual concessions without the decision of the people and authorities of Artsakh.  Speaking about concessions today is useless, as I haven’t heard anything from the Azerbaijani side,” Sharmazanov said.

The Vice-Speaker ruled out any unilateral concessions. “It is impossible after 25-30 years of struggle. We’ll fight till the end,” he said.

Sharmazanov has just returned from Artsakh. He visited Nagorno Karabakh accompanied by lawmakers from the Czech Republic, Latvia and Greece, who have already been blacklisted by Azerbaijan. The European MPs had arrived to see the consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression on the ground.

Sharmazanov quoted the European lawmakers as saying that “the people of Artsakh are not alone in their struggle, and it’s up to Artsakh to determine its future.”

Spekaing about Turkey’s reaction to the recent escalation, he noted that “attempts to ascribe a religious coloring to the Karabakh conflict” could mark the start of a catastrophe. He urged the international community to be cautious and pressure those attempting to incite escalation.

On 8 April Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan met with Defense Minister of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan.

Issues related to the wide-scale combat operations launched by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic were discussed during the meeting.

The intelocutors noted the significance of further widening and deepening of  close cooperation as a pivotal factor of securing defense capacity of Armenia and Artsakh as well as maintaining stability in the region.

NKR Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan partook in the meeting.

Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today. The Foreign Minister laid a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims and paid tribute to their memory with a minute of silence.

Deputy Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute Suren Manukyan briefed Minister Janelidze on the tragic episodes of the Armenian Genocide, the history of construction and the architecture of the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial.

Suren Manukyan accompanied the Georgian Foreign Minister to the Memory Wall to introduce him to the humanitarian pages of the Armenian Genocide history.

Jars with soil taken from the graves of public and political figures, witnesses of the Armenian Genocide and friends of the Armenian people, are buried behind the Memory Wall.

The AGMI Deputy Director gifted some English and French publications to Mikheil Janelidze.