Author: Kajoyan Gevork

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) today announced its endorsement of Senator Anthony Portantino for the 30th Congressional District of California.

California’s 30th Congressional District is home to the largest concentration of Armenian-American constituents anywhere in the United State. The district includes part of Pasadena and the communities of Glendale, Burbank, the Foothills, and Little Armenia.

“Senator Portantino’s commitment to the Armenian-American Community is manifest in his unrelenting advocacy for Armenian issues,” said ANCA-WR Board Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

“Senator Portantino has worked closely with the ANCA-WR for many years both as a State Assemblymember and then as State Senator, and we look forward to continuing our close partnership with him in Congress. We are confident that he will be the leading voice for Armenian-Americans in the United States Congress as he follows in the footsteps and example set by Congressman Adam Schiff. While we typically do not issue endorsements this early in a campaign, we make exceptions for candidates who have proven themselves to be champions of our Cause and leaders on our issues, as Senator Portantino most certainly has over a period of many years. We are therefore proud to stand with him from this early stage of the campaign.”

The ANCA – Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues.

In 2018, Portantino and other state and local leaders visited Armenia as part of an ANCA-WR-led delegation focused on deepening economic ties between California and Armenia.

As the chair of the senate appropriations committee, Portantino has supported various Armenian-American institutions like the Armenian Relief Society and the Armenian-American Museum, which was allocated $10 million in Governor Newsom’s budget.

During his time as chair of the senate budget subcommittee on Education from 2018-2019, Senator Portantino successfully allocated $500,000 to California’s state budget to fund curricula on the Armenian Genocide.

In 2021, the Senator introduced legislation ensuring that California taxpayers no longer fund the Turkish Government and its continued denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Senate Bill 457, introduced by Senators Anthony Portantino and Scott Wilk, allowed local agencies to divest from Turkey. The bill passed in the California Senate with overwhelming support.

More recently, Portantino and 21 other legislators from California’s Senate and Assembly authored a letter to President Biden regarding Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of Artsakh. The letter calls upon the Biden Administration:
• To condemn and call for the unconditional lifting of the blockade by Azerbaijan;
• To allocate humanitarian assistance to Artsakh;
• To halt all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act;
• To sanction the Aliyev regime under the Global Magnitsky Act for violating International Humanitarian Law; and
• To introduce a resolution in the United Nations to establish a mission in Artsakh to ensure regional peace and security.

“I am extremely honored to receive the endorsement of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region. I have many long-standing friendships with ANCA members and grassroots activists, and I have been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my friends for human rights, Genocide recognition, condemning the violent Azeri attacks on Arstakh and supporting increased trade and cooperation between California and Armenia. I can think of no better way to begin my campaign to succeed Adam Schiff than with the support of the ANCA.

From my youth, I remember my mother speaking about Armenian orphans in the wake of the Genocide, and I was pleased to have developed friendships in California where I can utilize my mother’s lessons to make a positive difference for a vibrant community. I have been to Armenia and Artsakh four times, and I look forward to my continued support of Armenian American causes and greater community in Congress,” said Portantino.

By some accounts it was a historic occasion. On 18 February, during the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, the Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian leaders shared the same stage for the first time since the former Soviet Union collapsed. The panel, “Moving Mountains: How to ensure security in the South Caucasus,” also included OSCE Secretary General Helga Scmid.

On the eve of the discussion, however, the name of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was noticeably absent. While some tweeted their abhorrence at this omission, others instead sighed in relief given that the last time he shared a stage with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the same event in 2020, the discussion quickly descended into bickering and mutual accusation.

“Never do this again,” tweeted  International Crisis Group (ICG) Senior Analyst Olesya Vartanyan at the time.

But do it again they did, albeit in an extended format and even if Pashinyan’s presence came as a last minute surprise to everyone.

“His name was not mentioned in the initial proposal given to me,” Aliyev told reporters. "He probably decided to attend last night. I think this is a good development because, finally, some cooperation among the three South Caucasus countries can be started.”

The Azerbaijani President also told media that the idea of establishing a regional format in Tbilisi could be discussed, echoing similar comments from EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, 10 days earlier.

“It is very important that the three countries of the South Caucasus work together and contribute to peace,” Klaar said in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster. “And here the role of Georgia as a bridge between Armenia and Azerbaijan is very important.”

Despite trepidation at how the panel would turn out, there were also even more positive signs.

Just hours before the panel discussion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had facilitated a trilateral meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on the sidelines of the conference. Accompanying them were Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, his counterpart Jeyhun Baramov, and Azerbaijani Presidential Advisor Hikmet Hajiyev.

In essence, the three main officials involved in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiation processes were present in one room. Accompanying the U.S. Secretary of State were also Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried and the newly appointed Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, Louis L. Bono.

“We believe that Armenia and Azerbaijan have a genuinely historic opportunity to secure enduring peace after more than 30 years of conflict,” Blinken told media in an address before the meeting continued behind closed doors.

This too was arguably a historic occasion. It was the first time that the Biden Administration had managed to gather the Armenian and Azerbaijan leaders together. Last year, Blinken had only convened a meeting of the two foreign ministers while U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had brought together Armen Grigoryan and Hikmet Hajiyev in Washington D.C..

Aliyev described the talks as constructive and also confirmed that Baku had received Yerevan’s latest comments and suggestions on the text of a possible bilateral peace treaty, but it was clear that differences remain.

“At first glance, there is progress in Armenia’s position, but it is not sufficient,” Aliyev said. He also announced that during the meeting he had proposed Yerevan set up border checks on a still yet-to-be-opened route connecting Azerbaijan via Armenia to its exclave of Nakhichevan. In turn, Baku would introduce its own checkpoints on the Lachin Corridor connecting Armenia to Karabakh through Azerbaijan.

Referred to in Azerbaijani circles as the “Zangezur Corridor,” disagreement over how the Nakhichevan route would operate has been a major sticking point in the negotiation process for at least a year. It is also one of the possible reasons for the current impasse on the Lachin Corridor where self-proclaimed Azerbaijani ‘eco-activists’ have restricted traffic in what can be considered a partial blockade.

For over two months, vehicles from the Russian peacekeeping forces and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) can travel on the Lachin Corridor or transport humanitarian assistance to the ethnic Armenian population of Karabakh. This was naturally brought up in the meeting with Blinken.

“Nikol Pashinyan stressed the fact of the illegal blockade of Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan and the resulting humanitarian, environmental and energy crisis in Nagorno Karabakh,” an official Armenian statement read, though also ending on a positive note. “The continuity of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan was highlighted.”

But despite what appeared to be further commitment to that process, the mood deteriorated in the panel discussion that followed soon after even if opening remarks from Aliyev were encouraging.

“We had our own war two years ago, which lasted 44 days,” he stated. “We know what tragedy war brings to people. Azerbaijan and Armenia must demonstrate how important peace is. We are currently working on a peace agreement. And this can be a good example of how making peace can end the grief and tragedies of conflicts.”

But rather than build on that to explore the possibilities of regional peace, stability, and security, questions from the moderator, Munich Security Conference chair Christoph Heusgen, saw the mood between Aliyev and Pashinyan quickly deteriorate, leaving the Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, uncomfortably sandwiched in-between. Lachin, of course, was the issue.

“The continuation of the crisis may cause irreversible humanitarian consequences for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinyan charged, referring to the long-running standoff. In response, Aliyev demanded that the term “Nagorno Karabakh” no longer be used in international circles.

Pashinyan countered that the term was in the November 2020 ceasefire statement and also that the Lachin Corridor was had not been put under Azerbaijan’s control.

But in a bewildering turn, Pashinyan then referred to Baku’s claims that dozens of mosques had been destroyed by Armenian forces during the nearly three decades it effectively controlled seven adjacent regions to the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO). Those territories were returned to Baku after the 2020 war, but Aliyev had not raised the issue of mosques during the panel.

“It seems that Azerbaijan is trying to give this whole situation a religious context. But there is no religious context to this conflict. There is a Muslim minority in Armenia, and we have a functioning mosque,” claimed Pashinyan, presumably referring to the tiny remnants of what remains of Armenia’s Muslim Kurdish community and the Blue Mosque in central Yerevan.

Nonetheless, Pashinyan attempted to end on a more constructive note.

“We have a very complicated history,” he said. “And this is also a historical meeting, but for what purpose do we want to use it? To stir up intolerance, hatred, aggressive rhetoric? Or, on the contrary, use this platform to improve the situation?”

Aliyev too, in a response to a question from the audience, also reiterated Baku’s commitment to the Brussel Process of peace talks with Yerevan as facilitated by European Council President Charles Michel. However, he nonetheless had also earlier justified the devastating 2020 war that saw over 6,000 people killed.

“Peace negotiations sometimes take too long. Ours lasted 28 years. This suited Armenia and its supporters, who wanted to continue the occupation of our lands,” he said, also referring to the November 2020 ceasefire statement that ended the war the same year as ‘an act of capitulation,’ angering Armenians watching.

Despite technical problems with the livestream, what could have proven a constructive and historic opportunity for the three leaders in the South Caucasus to discuss regional cooperation and security, the panel instead laid bear the divisions and disparate positions that have afflicted the region for over thirty years.

Nonetheless, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken remained positive about his own meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. “Pleased to hear that the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process is on track and negotiations between the two sides are continuing,” he tweeted  the next day, almost as if the more contentious panel discussion had never taken place.

In a press briefing on 22 February, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price also sounded upbeat and told reporters that the Armenian and Azerbaijani “parties come together in Brussels in the coming days in the talks hosted by President Michel of the EU. […] there has been significant progress that we’ve taken note of. We are going to do everything we can to see that progress continue”.

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Armenia/Armenia-Azerbaijan-a-difficult-dialogue-223622

The recent escalation caught many by surprise, emboldening voices among the political opposition. 

Ahmad Mammadli had been a vocal critic of Azerbaijan’s authorities since his student years. It was a call for peace with neighbouring Armenia and condemnation of President lham Aliyev, however, which  put the 21-year-old chair of the pro-democracy group Democracy-1918 (D18) on the police’s radar.

“Ilham Aliyev will definitely answer before the international courts one day for the crimes he committed not only against the Azerbaijani people, but also against the Armenian people,” Mammadil wrote on September 15, adding “The first task of democratic Azerbaijan will be to punish those who make nations hostile to each other.”

Five days later, on September 20, he was taken into custody on charges of resisting police. 

While still rare, Mammadli’s outspoken stance is in line with an increasing number of public figures questioning Aliyev’s recent military decisions.

On September 12 fighting re-erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan, claiming the lives of more than 200 servicemen over two days. It was the deadliest outbreak of violence since the 2020 six-week war the two countries fought over Nagorny Karabakh, the region internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians since the mid-1990s. Back then, Azerbaijani society and nearly all political opposition supported the government’s decision to go to war to regain the control of the de facto statelet. 

Fears of new fighting are gaining traction on social media as the Russia-brokered ceasefire is holding by a fine thread. For decades, Russia has been the security guarantor in the region but its role has faded as its fortunes reverse in Ukraine. This time Azerbaijani forces shelled inside Armenia, with troops remaining inside its sovereign territory, including on heights around the resort town of Jermuk.

Following the most recent spike in violence, Mammadli tweeted, “Those who have seen the horrors of war and lost their loved ones are against the current military conflicts, while the bloodthirsty ones behind the keyboard push people to their deaths. Understanding this seems to have become quite a difficult task for those in euphoria.”

Plain clothes police officers subsequently abducted the activist, who was sentenced to 30 days in jail on charges commonly used in Azerbaijan to silence critics. Speaking from a police van in a video filmed by a fellow D18 member, Mammadli said he was arrested because of his pro-peace posts. 

“If I’m a criminal for speaking out about peace, I’m proud of it,” he said. He has since gone on hunger strike.

CALLS FOR PEACE

Support for the war against Armenia over Karabakh is strong and the loss of the region is an open wound in society, not least for about 869,000 Azerbaijani who were displaced as a result of the conflict. 

Voices calling for peace are few and far between, and Mammadli’s arrest was cheered on social media. 

“We are the only political organisation coming out and calling for peace. We knew these [reactions] would happen,” Afiaddin Mammadov, a board member of D18, told IWPR.  “We are trying to shape a new society and making efforts for peacebuilding…The other people’s lack of support for us doesn't concern us. We will stand for our position, keep talking about peace…Our goal is to play a main role in building peace between the two nations in a democratic environment.” 

The most recent escalation caught many by surprise, emboldening more voices among the political opposition. 

Political youth organisation NIDA Citizen Movement stated that “ending the ethnic conflict that has been going on for more than 30 years and establishing lasting peace between peoples cannot be ensured through war and force. War serves no other purpose than to intensify mutual aggression, hatred and suffering, and to fuel enmity between nations”. 

As casualties increased – Azerbaijan lost 80 servicemen over two days, with 281 injured – critical voices spoke out, questioning the government's legal and moral grounds for the fighting. Among them were the two main opposition parties, who supported Aliyev in the 2020 war.

“Now every Azerbaijani is thinking about this question, why did we lose so many?” Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party, wrote on Facebook. “Fifty people in just a few hours of battle with the ‘starving’ enemy? So many losses were made without gaining anything.”

Arif Hajili, chairman of the Musavat Party, posted, “What was the purpose of this? What is the result?”

Azerbaijanis living in exile added their voices to the criticism.

“Azerbaijan is stepping over Armenia’s internationally recognized border and is stepping into a new war,” said Tural Sadigli, the editor-in-chief of social media-based news outlet Azad Soz (Free Speech), who lives in Germany.

 In a Youtube discussion with other anti-war activists, US-based journalist Sevinj Osmangizi asked,”

“Why do we have to fight on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border while there are separatists [in Nagorno-Karabakh], and move forward on to Armenia’s territory? What does it accomplish? What kind of logic is it?”

The increasing war fatigue was not directed to Karabakh however, which largely remains under Armenian control with 2,000 Russian peacekeepers deployed as part of the November 2020 ceasefire agreement.

Writer Samad Shikhi pointed out that “the incident is happening in the territory of Armenia, not ours? The world will call us invaders”. He maintained that opposition figures began to criticise the entry of the Azerbaijani army into the territory of Armenia “out of necessity”.

“Taking into account the international pressures, they considered it right to oppose it,” he told IWPR, referring to wide condemnation of Azerbaijan’s incursion inside Armenian territory. In a bold diplomatic sign, US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Armenia on September 17, becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit the South Caucasus nation since it gained independence 30 years ago.

On the same day, Gənclər Birliyi, the youth wing of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) posted a video of anti-war figures on Facebook, with the hashtag “#xainləritanı” - “know the traitors”.

“A part of the population believes in the state narrative of ‘we are in our own land, we have not crossed into the territory of Armenia,’” Shikhi explained. “Some know about the occupation, and a part of them are against it, and others support it. The latter are usually government officials and nationalists.

“But to answer which is the majority, I would say that the majority is in favour of capturing more land from Armenia,” he continued. “Aliyev also gains the upper hand from this and is able to shape public opinion.”