Author: John Hovhannisian

Turkish press: US troops get away with killing 7 Afghan children, 3 civilians

John Hovhannisian
 WASHINGTON DEC 13, 2021 – 11:39 PM GMT+3

U.S. soldiers, with a Chinook helicopter in the background, return to their base after attending a local tribal council in Zabul province, south of Afghanistan June 30, 2005. (Reuters File Photo)

No United States military personnel will be held accountable for the August drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, according to a statement released by Pentagon on Monday.

An earlier investigation by the Air Force inspector general said the Aug. 29 strike was caused by execution errors, interpreting information that supported certain viewpoints, and communication breakdowns. The military previously called the strike a "tragic mistake."

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that senior commanders had made a number of recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the incident, none of which included any accountability measures for specific personnel.

Austin accepted the recommendations, Kirby said.

"I do not anticipate there being issues of personal accountability to be had," he added.

Kirby noted the high level of the threat facing U.S. forces following a deadly bombing outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 troops, context that he said was important.

"In this case, in the context of this particular strike … there was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability."

While the Pentagon has said it is working to offer condolence payments and relocation to the family of Afghans killed in the strike, it is still in talks with an aid organization that employed one of the victims.

Wife of president of Armenia visits National Museum of Qatar

John Hovhannisian
Dec 8 2021
Published: 08 Dec 2021 – 06:49 | Last Updated: 08 Dec 2021 – 06:54

Doha:  Nouneh Sarkissian, wife of HE the President of the Republic of Armenia, visited today the National Museum of Qatar.

Her Excellency toured the museum's halls and reviewed the various galleries that include the beginnings of the geological development of Qatar Peninsula, its natural environments, monuments and rock inscriptions in archaeological sites, the life of the people of Qatar on land and coasts, and the digital exhibition.

Her Excellency was also briefed on the most important pieces and collectibles related to pearls and jewelry design, in addition to the galleries of modern Qatari history since the discovery of oil and gas.

CEO of the National Museum of Qatar Ahmad Musa Al Namla welcomed HE the wife of the Armenian President and briefed Her Excellency on the museum's galleries and collections.

UN’s top court tells Armenia and Azerbaijan to cool feud

John Hovhannisian
South China Morning Post, Singapore
Dec 7 2021
Agence France-Presse

Published: 12:44am, 8 Dec, 2021

The UN’s top court ordered rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday to prevent racial hatred and avoid aggravating their feud following last year’s war between the Caucasus arch-foes.

Azerbaijan was also told to protect Armenian prisoners from the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and to stop the desecration of Armenian cultural heritage, including churches.

The former Soviet republics had both made tit-for-tat requests asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to take emergency measures against alleged breaches of a treaty banning racial discrimination.

“Both parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve,” ICJ chief judge Joan Donoghue said.

The court’s orders – which are binding even though the ICJ has no real means of enforcing them – are pending a full case on the row that could take years to resolve.

The ICJ was set up after World War II to resolve disputes between United Nations member states.

Tensions have simmered for years over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan that broke away from Baku’s control in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Conflict erupted in autumn last year, claiming more than 6,500 lives. It ended in November with a Russian-brokered ceasefire under which Armenia ceded territories it had controlled for decades to Turkish-backed Azerbaijan.

Judges on Tuesday ordered Azerbaijan to “protect from violence and bodily harm” all Armenian prisoners from the conflict and ensure they are treated lawfully, following allegations of mistreatment.

Azerbaijan must further prevent the “vandalism and desecration” of Armenian cultural heritage including churches, it said.

Baku had already ordered the removal of wax mannequins of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s so-called Military Trophies Park, which Armenia had requested due to their “Armenophobic features”, the court said.

The ICJ further ordered both Azerbaijan and Armenia to “take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination” against the other.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visits Yerablur military cemetery in November to pay his respect at the graves of the fallen soldiers during the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Photo: PAN Photo via AP

In Azerbaijan’s case the order involved “officials and institutions”, whereas for Armenia the court mentioned “organisations and private persons”.

The ICJ however threw out a bid by Azerbaijan to make Armenia stop laying landmines and to hand over maps of mines, saying that it was not covered by the anti-discrimination treaty.

During hearings in October Armenia and Azerbaijan both accused the other of breaching a UN treaty at the centre of several ICJ cases, the International Convention on All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Armenia accused Azerbaijan during those hearings of fuelling a “cycle of hate” while Azerbaijan meanwhile accused Armenia of “ethnic cleansing”.

Azerbaijan said on Saturday it had freed 10 Armenian soldiers captured last month during fresh fighting, following Russian-mediated talks.

Armenia in exchange passed on maps of mine fields.

The swap came after Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian agreed to ease tensions last week at a rare meeting in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Turkish press: ‘Turkey, UAE have potential in defense industry cooperation’

John Hovhannisian
 ANTALYA DEC 05, 2021 – 10:31 AM GMT+3

Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Chairperson Ismail Demir speaks to journalists in Antalya province, Turkey, Dec. 4, 2021. (Courtesy of the SSB)

Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have the potential to work together in the defense sector, Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Chairperson Ismail Demir said, indicating that Abu Dhabi has shown interest in the Turkish sector.

“When we look at our defense industry figures, we see that our defense industry relations continued even during times of crises. There was contact even when relations were not at their highest,” he said on the sidelines of the Global Strategies in Defense and Aerospace Industry Conference held in Turkey's Antalya province.

“I would like to point out that these contacts will be better when relations improve,” Demir said, stressing that it is still early to make concrete predictions.

Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince visited Ankara in November, making his first official trip to Turkey since 2012 and the highest-level visit by an Emirati official since relations between the two countries hit a low point.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), who’s seen as the de facto leader and the force behind the UAE’s foreign policy posture, oversaw the signing of nearly a dozen cooperation deals during the visit while a top Emirati official said the UAE has earmarked $10 billion (TL 137 billion) for investment in Turkey.

Bloomberg on Friday reported that Turkey has sold more armed drones to Ukraine amid Kyiv-Moscow tensions.

Demir clarified that Turkey has sold one batch of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to the country and that the current process is nothing new but a continuation of the initial agreement. “It has no connection to the latest developments.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Erdoğan Friday that Ukrainian forces are carrying out "provocative activity" using Turkish-made Bayraktar drones in the conflict zone in the Donbass region, sticking to "destructive" behavior.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine are in the spotlight as Kyiv says Moscow has amassed thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border and may be gearing up for a military offensive. Moscow denies plans for an offensive operation.

Ukraine has bought and deployed Turkish drones in the war against Russian-backed forces in its eastern Donbass region, angering Russia.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said Turkey could not be blamed for Ukraine's deployment of Turkish-made drones.

In October, Russia accused Ukraine of destabilizing the situation after government forces used a Bayraktar TB2 drone to strike a position controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

On the other side, Demir highlighted that Turkey and Russia have a wide range of areas where they can cooperate, including the National Combat Aircraft (MMU). He stated that cooperation with Russia is possible in the progressive phases of the MMU.

“With time, there will be a gradual process of developing and changing specific systems by renewing and localizing them.”

The Turkish defense industry has exported 228 products to 170 countries in the last 10 years, Demir underlined, pointing to the progress in the sector.

“When we look at the point where our defense industry has reached in the last 20 years, as Turkey has made progress in every field, the numbers show this fact much better,” Demir said at the conference earlier.

“While only 62 defense projects were carried out nearly 20 years ago, today this number has exceeded 750. About half of these projects have been launched in the last five years.”

“While defense projects with a budget of $5.5 billion were carried out, the project volume of approximately $60 billion has been reached with an increase of approximately 11 times at the point we have reached,” he added.

Saying that the defense and aerospace exports increased by 40% in the first 11 months of this year compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching $2.79 billion,” Demir said: “We expect to complete 2021 with exports of over $3 billion.”

Turkey’s defense industry has been developing in leaps and bounds in recent years with local production, while the companies eye opportunities to expand their revenues with new export deals. Demir himself has recently played up the great potential of Turkey's defense industry.

The country is in the process of rolling out new defense industry products and upgrading existing ones with new sophisticated systems as the number of countries interested is gaining pace.

According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), defense and aerospace industry exports have already exceeded the overall sales seen in 2019, which also marked an all-time high.

At Erdoğan’s request, Putin presents the results of a trilateral meeting in Sochi

John Hovhannisian

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 21:24, 3 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. On the initiative of theTurkish sideRussian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a telephone conversation, during which, among other issues, they discussed issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Kremlin.

It is noted that at the request of the Turkish President, Vladimir Putin informed about the main results of the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Sochi on November 26, dedicated to the anniversary of the signing of the November 9, 2020 declaration on Nagorno Karabakh.

“It is important that Baku and Yerevan confirmed readiness to cooperate in the context of ensuring stability in the region, as well as the establishment of demarcation and delimitation mechanisms between the two countries was confirmed during the talks. In addition, the parties are committed to resolving practical issues for restoring trade, economic and transport links.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed the importance of the Russian Federation's mediation role and called for further coordination of efforts, including using the opportunities of the Russian-Turkish Center for Ceasefire Control”, reads the statement.

Artsakh reports 54 daily COVID-19 cases – 12/04/2021

John Hovhannisian

Artsakh reports 54 daily COVID-19 cases

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 11:56, 4 December, 2021

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. 54 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Republic of Artsakh in the past one day, the ministry of health said.

399 COVID-19 tests were conducted on December 3.

Currently, 102 infected patients receive treatment in hospitals. 18 are in critical condition, 48 in serious condition. The other cases receive treatment at home.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Amid Tensions With Turkey, China Is Putting the Kurdish Issue in Play

John Hovhannisian 
The Diplomat


By Nurettin Akcay


[Responding to Turkey’s stepped up rhetoric on Uyghurs, Beijing is
taking aim at an ethnic issue sensitive to Ankara.]

China-Turkey relations have been full of ups and downs since 1971. In
addition to some structural problems related to trade, the Uyghur
issue seems to be the most insurmountable issue driving a wedge
between China and Turkey.

The Uyghur issue has triggered political tensions between the two
countries many times. There is a large Uyghur diaspora population
residing in Turkey, and Turkic nationalist sentiments extend to the
Uyghur ethnic group. China, meanwhile, is extremely sensitive to any
hint of separatist sentiment stemming from the Uyghurs, including
appeals to transnational ethnic identity.

China-Turkey relations came to a halt between 1990 and 2000 following
the anti-Chinese activities of the Uyghurs in the 1980s. Bilateral
relations gained momentum when the AK Party came to power, but ties
were seriously weakened again with the Urumqi riots that broke out in
2009. Turkey reacted very harshly to the ensuing crackdown, with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing the events as genocide. As
Chinese authorities were displeased with Erdogan’s rhetoric, they cut
off relations with Turkey.

However, China-Turkey relations began to blossom again soon after
that. Despite some setbacks, the years 2010-2018 can be called the
golden years of the relationship. The 2016 coup attempt and U.S.
support of Kurdish militias in Syria, the YPG, pushed Turkey into
Russia and China’s orbit. While Turkey drew closer to the China-Russia
front during this period, Ankara’s relations with China saw perhaps
the best period in history. The countries exchanged high-level
diplomatic visits and signed economic, cultural, and educational
agreements. By 2018, the number of Chinese companies operating in
Turkey exceeded 1,000.

Furthermore, Turkey is a strategic partner of China in the
implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Ankara has
expressed its support for the project on every platform. In May 2017,
President Erdogan attended the Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing
with senior government officials. The president assured China that
Turkey was ready to lend all kinds of support to the BRI.

However, the camaraderie between the two nations did not last. The
relations between China and Turkey became tense again in 2019. Reports
emerged that a famous Uyghur poet, Abdurrehim Heyit, had died in a
Chinese detention camp on February 9, 2019. The Turkish Foreign
Ministry condemned China by making a harsh statement, assuaging the
anger of the Turkish public. But the Turkish Foreign Ministry found
itself in a difficult situation when China released a video that
showed that the Muslim poet was still alive the next day.

Like previous issues, this incident was forgotten, and relations
between the two countries quickly recovered. Despite all these
disagreements between the two countries, the Chinese authorities
refrained from making caustic statements and tried not to meddle in
Turkey’s sensitive issues. However, what happened in the last months
of 2021 caused China to take a different attitude. For first time,
China is now touching on issues that Turkey might be uncomfortable
with – particularly the Kurd issue.

Beijing’s new approach comes as Turkey has been taking steps to
criticize China lately. On October 22, 43 countries, including Turkey,
urged China to “ensure full respect for the rule of law” concerning
the Muslim Uyghur community in Xinjiang. It was the first time Turkey
had supported such a call. This move provoked China.

Then, on November 12, the Turkic Council convened in Istanbul and
changed its name to the Organization of Turkic States. This convention
stirred political tensions in China, where approximately 10 million
Uyghurs live. The date of the establishment of the Organization of
Turkish States was critical – perhaps this was the main issue that
bothered China. The first East Turkistan Republic, including part of
today’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, was established on November
12, 1933; the second was created on November 12, 1944. As a result,
the announcement of the Organization of Turkic States on the same date
drew many questions about the motives of the Turkish authorities. Was
it a coincidence, or was this date intentionally chosen?

Later actions of senior politicians in Ankara suggested that the date
was, in fact, politically motivated. Erdogan and Nationalist Movement
Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahceli posed for the cameras with a “Map
of the Turkish World” during their meeting on November 17. The map
included the Xinjiang region, homeland of the Uyghurs.

These incidents forced China to move against Turkey. China’s Deputy
Permanent Representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang accused
Turkey of violating human rights in Syria. Geng described Turkey’s
actions in northeast Syria as illegal. “Since Turkey illegally invaded
north-eastern Syria, it has regularly cut off the water supply service
from the Alouk Water Station,” he said. A fierce argument ensued
between Geng and Turkey’s representative, Feridun Sinirlioglu.

Responding to the allegations, Sinirlioglu said Turkey would not learn
from those who violate international human rights law and humanitarian
law. “Both the PKK/YPG and the Syrian regime abuse this Alouk Water
Station issue repeatedly for their ill-minded agendas,” he added.

The tit-for-tat continued. On November 24, Turkey’s Erdogan made a
bold statement in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He said:
“We keep track of the situation of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities
in China with great sensitivity. Our expectation is that the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation will show sensitivity to Uyghurs
in line with its founding purposes.”

Authorities in Beijing fought back. A day later, Geng Shuang
criticized Turkey’s air operations in Iraq at the United Nations and
claimed that civilians were killed due to the airstrikes. Geng also
called for respect for Iraq’s sovereignty.

After Turkey’s remarks on the Uyghur situation, China retaliated by
focusing on the regions where Kurds live and accusing Turkey of human
rights abuses in these regions. The Chinese actions sent a clear
message to Turkey that China will retaliate if Ankara continues to
meddle in the Uyghur issue. China’s playbook is simple: If Ankara
continues to criticize China over the Uyghur issue, then Beijing will
bring Turkey’s actions in Iraq and Syria to the international agenda.

These ongoing political events show that China-Turkey relations will
likely enter a troubled period in the future. Most likely, with the
increasing presence of China in the Middle East, Beijing may become an
important player in the Kurdish issue.

**
Dr. Nurettin Akcay obtained his Ph.D. in Global Studies from Shanghai
University. In addition to his academic career, he writes columns for
the media outlet Independent Turkish
[https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.indyturk.com/tags/nurettin-ak**Aay__;w6c!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!7EBvPd3dNzCY9QnZKV6YnY5mnaVW-9IqWFvTVev4MFkxMuwlsOxQPkrdpnkVLQ$
 ].

Can there ever be peace in the Middle East, Eurasia? – opinion

John Hovhannisian

Dec 1 2021


By JACOB KAMARAS

 

Published: DECEMBER 1, 2021 21:14


When South African immigrant Eli Kay was killed in a recent Hamas terrorist attack, the Israeli people were once again painfully reminded of the seemingly perpetual nature of their conflict with the Palestinians.
More than 1,300 miles away from Jerusalem, in the South Caucasus, Armenia and Azerbaijan in mid-November engaged in their deadliest clashes since the end of their six-week 2020 war. While last year’s war resulted in Armenia’s surrender and subsequent withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, the internationally recognized Azerbaijani territory that was under Armenian occupation for three decades, the countries’ recent border flare-up exhibits how an enduring peace in the region remains elusive.
At the same time, although these conflicts feel intractable, key signs of progress are emerging in both the Middle East and Eurasia.
While the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is stalled, Israel’s normalization deals with four Arab states – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco – continue to bear fruit a year after their signing. Most recently, Israel and Morocco reached a new defense agreement. There are even indications that Israel-Turkey tensions are thawing, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling his Israeli counterpart President Isaac Herzog that “disagreements could be reduced to a minimum if both sides acted in mutual understanding in terms of bilateral and regional issues.”
Meanwhile, European Council President Charles Michel revealed that following his phone calls with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, a meeting between those leaders will take place on the sidelines of the December 15 Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels. Additionally, “a direct line has been established between defense ministers of both countries,” Michel tweeted.

An Azeri soldier and police officer talk as they stand guard at the Kalbajar district, Azerbaijan, December 21, 2020 (credit: AZIZ KARIMOV/REUTERS)

The prospects for peace in these regions are also more interconnected than what meets the eye. Azerbaijan is a rare example of a country which has strong relations with both Turkey and Israel. In fact, Baku earlier this year expressed willingness to host a trilateral summit with Ankara and Jerusalem. Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said: “Turkey is a sister country of Azerbaijan and Israel is our strategic partner. We want our friends to be friends with each other. If the sides agree to such an initiative, then Azerbaijan will always welcome them.”
Additionally, the UAE’s de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, visited Turkey last week for his first in-person meeting with Erdogan in nearly a decade.
Simultaneously, it is crucial for the diasporas of parties to these conflicts to avoid actions that undermine prospects for peace. For instance, Alex Galitsky, communications director for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) lobby, tweeted on November 20 that “Armenians don’t want peace, we want liberation.” The ANCA has also routinely rejected the OSCE Minsk Group’s Madrid Principles for resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, mirroring the pattern of Palestinian intransigence in the conflict with Israel.

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the respective diasporas have also transformed into a prominent battleground. This past May’s Israel-Hamas war triggered a surge of antisemitic attacks in the US and worldwide, as well as countless salvos on social media. Corporate actors such as Ben & Jerry’s, with its boycott of Israeli settlements, are also inflaming the conflict under the guise of social responsibility.
If positive momentum in the diplomatic arena continues in both the Middle East and Eurasia, 2022 could be a banner year for peace in conflict zones where peace previously seemed unattainable. Yet hopes for substantive progress will hinge on not only the countries embroiled in the conflicts, but their advocates around the world.
The writer is managing editor of the San Diego Jewish World, the former editor in chief of the Jewish News Syndicate, and the founder of Stellar Jay Communications, a PR firm representing Azerbaijan.

Violations of fundamental rights of Armenians by Azerbaijan are systematic – Artsakh’s Ombudsman

John Hovhannisian

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 18:00,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s policy of persecution acquires an extreme degree of brutality, ARMENPRESS reports Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan wrote on his Facebook page.

“On November 26, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, within the framework of a trilateral meeting with Prime-Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Russia Vladimir Putin, assessed as "sporadic incidents" the continuing since the Trilateral Statement on ceasefire of November 9, 2020, targeted killings by the Azerbaijani armed forces of civilians and military personnel of the Republic of Artsakh. This statement by the President of Azerbaijan is nothing more than an attempt to disguise as random incidents the ongoing manifestations of the policy of widespread and systematic violations of the fundamental rights of Armenians carried out by Azerbaijan over the past decades.

Attacks on Armenians committed by Azerbaijani servicemen after the signing of the Trilateral Statement, including the murder on October 9, 2021, of a tractor driver while performing agricultural work near the town of Martakert, the execution on November 8, 2021, of civilians carrying out repair work near the town of Shushi, and numerous cases of shelling of the servicemen of the Republic of Artsakh were deliberate in nature and were carried out in furtherance of Azerbaijan’s state policy of persecution of Armenians.

Azerbaijan’s policy of persecution acquires an extreme degree of brutality, especially when the citizens of Artsakh or Armenia find themselves in the hands of the Azerbaijani armed forces. All civilians who remained in the territories of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan during its aggression in September-November 2020 were brutally killed by members of the armed forces of Azerbaijan. In those cases where it was possible to conduct a forensic medical examination of the victims, it was revealed that these people were tortured before death. In some cases, the killings of civilians were filmed and disseminated on Azerbaijani social networks to inflict maximum psychological suffering on the relatives of those killed and to intimidate the population of Artsakh and Armenians in general. Armenian soldiers who came under the control of Azerbaijan were also subjected to severe torture, many of them were killed. Those few who survived were illegally convicted in Azerbaijan and continue to be held by the authorities of this country as hostages.

Armenians living in Azerbaijan during the Soviet period became the first victims of such a criminal policy. The deportations of Armenians from Azerbaijan organized by the local authorities in 1988-1990, and accompanied by mass killings, torture and pogroms, laid the foundation for Azerbaijan's policy of persecuting Armenians, which continues to this day. In 1991, the Azerbaijani authorities started deporting Armenians from Artsakh as part of a large-scale military-police operation "Ring", which became a prelude to the subsequent full-scale aggression of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh. The aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, which lasted several years until 1994, was an attempt by Azerbaijan to finally and completely expel the Armenians from their lands.

During the war of the 1990s, Azerbaijani soldiers tortured and killed those who fell into their hands in the same way as during the aggression in 2020. The massacre in the Armenian village of Maragha in Artsakh’s Martakert region in 1992 became one of the most tragic episodes of this policy. Fifty residents of the village were brutally killed, another 50 were taken hostage, including women and children. The fate of many of them is still unknown.

Azerbaijani soldiers distinguished themselves with particular cruelty also during the aggression against Artsakh in April 2016. Both civilians and military personnel who fell into the hands of Azerbaijani soldiers were tortured and executed, as was the case with an elderly couple in the village of Talish of Martakert region of Artsakh.

The statement of the President of Azerbaijan on the sporadic nature of the incidents in Artsakh aims to cover up their own policy of persecuting Armenians. It was the authorities of Azerbaijan, including the president of this country, who openly and deliberately encouraged any criminal acts directed against Armenians, including killings. One of the vivid examples is the elevation of Ramil Safarov, who killed a sleeping Armenian to the unofficial rank of the national hero of Azerbaijan, as well as the awarding, personally by the President of Azerbaijan, of an Azerbaijani serviceman who cut off the head of an Armenian soldier and was walking with it through the villages of Azerbaijan during the aggression in 2016. The impunity in Azerbaijan, including for the premeditated killings of Armenians, as well as rewarding of such criminals, are the most obvious evidence of the anti-Armenian hatred policy pursued by Azerbaijan at the state level.

The persecution of Armenians in the form of massacres, deportations, torture and other inhuman acts has a widespread and systematic character and is carried out by members of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and other agents of this country deliberately, pursuant to or in furtherance of the existing policy of Azerbaijan”, reads the statement of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh.