Author: Karapet Navasardian

Teenager takes own life in Armenia after being outed online

Karapet Navasardian
Nov 17 2023
 

ByArshaluys Barseghyan
A tribute to the victim left at the site of his death.

A 17-year-old boy has taken his own life in Armenia, reportedly after being outed by a popular local Telegram channel and kicked out of his home by his family.

Reports of the boy’s death emerged on Wedensday. ‘The last time I saw him was four days ago in our office. He knocked on my office door and said, I want to thank you for doing so much for our community,’ wrote Lilit Martirosyan, the founder of Right Side, an Armenian group defending the rights of trans people and sex workers.

Andranik Shirinyan, the Armenia country representative at Freedom House, wrote on Wednesday that the boy had been evicted by his family after they discovered he was queer.

Pink Armenia, a local queer rights group, corroborated this the following day, stating that the boy had taken his life after being bullied because of his sexual orientation. They added that the teenager’s pictures had appeared on a Telegram channel ‘that continues to spread hate and calls for violence against various individuals’. 

The group told OC Media that photos of the teenager were published around a month ago on xᴀʏᴛᴀʀᴀᴋ 18+ (‘disgraceful’), a private Telegram channel. 

The channel’s Russian description says its aim is to ‘preserve Armenian traditions and values’. Despite recently being blocked by Telegram, a new channel with the same name has appeared. According to TGStat, before the block, the channel had 43,000 subscribers making it one of the top 10 channels in Armenia. 

A spokesperson for the Armenian Investigative Committee, Gor Abrahamyan, told OC Media that a criminal investigation had been launched for incitement to suicide, which in the case of a minor, carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Abrahamyan added that the victim was an ethnic Armenian but not a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.

Mamikon Hovsepyan, communications manager of Pink Armenia, told OC Media that the authorities had not made any information available and that what they knew so far had come from the victim’s friends.

‘His acquaintances said that after that publication [on Telegram], he was kicked out of the house’, Hovsepyan said, adding that he had also lost his job as a result of the post. ‘He was in a tough and depressed state’, he added.

Pink Armenia verified that photos of the boy taken in the street were published on the channel, stating that the post received numerous hateful comments in response. 

Hovsepyan said he believed the police were attempting to hide the incident, ‘probably at the request of their parents’. 

He added that it was common for Armenian police to support abusers more than the victims. ‘In these cases, the families usually get along easily with the police’, he said.

Incidents of bullying and violence against queer people are frequently reported in Armenia. Last year, a young queer couple took their own life after reportedly receiving abuse from the mother of one of the couple. Earlier this year, a transgender woman was brutally murdered in her flat in the centre of Yerevan.

[Read on OC Media: ‘You learn to hide your identity’: being queer in the Armenian army]

Andranik Shirinyan from Freedom House criticised the government’s record on protecting queer rights, stating that the Armenian government ‘bears the responsibility to safeguard the rights of LGBT people’, adding that ‘national human rights institutions are completely ineffective’. 

‘Armenia has yet to adopt an anti-discrimination law or initiate reforms to eliminate impunity and educate society. Law enforcement lacks both the sensitivity and willingness to help the victims’, he said.

‘What kind of democracy is it when the most vulnerable in our society are left unprotected by the state and abandoned by their families and community?’


https://oc-media.org/17-year-old-takes-own-life-in-armenia-after-being-outed-online/

Government concerned about alleged arson targeting synagogue in Yerevan

Karapet Navasardian

 14:41,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s advisor and Chairman of the Council on National Minority Affairs Artashes Tumanyan has expressed concern over the November 15 alleged attempted arson targeting a synagogue in Yerevan.

Law enforcement agencies are now investigating the incident.

Tumanyan told Armenpress that the attempted arson is concerning especially as it wasn’t the first such incident.

Tumanyan said that law enforcement agencies are investigating, and if the investigation reveals that the incident was indeed arson, then the Armenian authorities will unequivocally condemn it.  “I am sure that the Armenian society’s attitude will be such as well. There are no manifestations of religious, ethnic or other kinds of xenophobia in our country. There is prevailing atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect for national minorities in our society. Moreover, representatives of national minorities are involved in all sectors of public life,” Tumanyan said.

The official expressed hope that law enforcement agencies will reveal circumstances of the incident.

Armenpress: Yerevan Municipality initiates development of new master plan

Karapet Navasardian

 21:31,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan Municipality has initiated the development of a new master plan. With the support of partner structures, all necessary data in the city will be collected and compiled, which will become the basis for implementing the project, the Municipality said.

''The master plan serves as the cornerstone for the strategic development of the city. Following today's discussion, we will promptly consolidate all our efforts to realize the envisioned development of Yerevan," said Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan.

ANCA Eastern Region presents fourth annual Christmas auction November 23 to December 11

Karapet Navasardian
November 9, 2023 ANCA-Eastern Region ANCA News 0

WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region is pleased to announce its 4th annual online Christmas auction that will go live on November 23 and be available for Christmas shoppers until December 11. Supporters of the ANCA Eastern Region will be able to shop a curated selection of gifts in support of Hai Tahd this holiday season. All proceeds will benefit the advocacy work of the ANCA Eastern Region, including its youth advocacy and empowerment efforts.

“We’re really thrilled by the interest our community has had for our online auction for the last three years and are looking forward to engaging with our community once again this year to help us raise the critical funds needed to continue to advance our advocacy work. On the heels of our annual awards program, we’re asking the community to come together to support the region once again as we close out 2023,” said Steve Mesrobian, ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund Treasurer.

Through the dedication and contributions of Hai Tahd supporters, the ANCA Eastern Region has continued its work across 31 states – advancing the Armenian Cause on the local, state and federal levels with 34 local ANCs over the course of the last year.

Today, the need for grassroots advocacy throughout the eastern region is more vital than ever before. With the community’s help, the Christmas auction will help the region maintain the impactful work of activists across the region.

For more information about this year’s Christmas auction, visit www.givergy.us/ancaer.

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The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots organization, the ANCA. Working in coordination with the ANCA in Washington, DC, and a network of chapters and supporters throughout the Eastern United States, the ANCA-ER actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


Central Bank Governor emphasizes the importance of integrating displaced persons from Karabakh into the Labor Market

Karapet Navasardian

 18:35,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, ARMENPRESS. The financial support provided to the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh by the Government of the Republic of Armenia will contribute to an increase of the domestic demand in the short term.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia Martin Galstyan stated this during a press conference Tuesday.

Along with the increase of the domestic demand, Galstyan underscored the importance of the creation of conditions for the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh to integrate them into the labor market of Armenia and in everyday life,  since the opposite may lead to certain inflationary phenomena.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia finds two directions for solving the problem: to ensure the employment of internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh in such a way that they are included in productive sectors, and before that, in the short term, try to ease their burden.

Armenian Apostolic Church representatives meet with OSCE Secretary General

Karapet Navasardian

 17:50,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Patriarchal delegates and leaders of the dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church in European countries, Archbishop Khazhak Parsamyan, Bishop Tatev Hakobyan, Bishop Serovbe Isakhanyan and Bishop Tiran Petrosyan held a meeting with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid  on October 25 in Vienna, the press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin informed.

During the meeting, representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church conveyed to Ms. Schmid the blessings and best wishes of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, as well as presented the works carried out by the Armenian Church aimed at establishing  regional peace, taking care of the needs and protection of the rights of forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the preservation of historical, cultural and religious heritage.

 The Holy Fathers emphasized that although the European Parliament has condemned the terrible crimes committed by the Azerbaijani authorities against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and a number of countries have adopted resolutions condemning the genocidal actions of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan still ignores the calls and decisions of the international community.

They called upon international sanctions against Azerbaijan for the genocidal policy adopted by the Baku authorities and the ethnic cleansing carried out against the Artsakh Armenians.

Such an attitude of Azerbaijan should be a reason for the European Union to re-evaluate its relations towards the latter. It should undertake a thorough investigation of war crimes, as well as to create international guarantees to ensure the return of displaced Artsakh Armenians to their historical homeland.

Ms. Schmid assured that the OSCE and she personally will do everything possible to contribute to the establishment of lasting peace in the region. She emphasized that the right of return for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their safe life in their homeland should be taken into account.

The Secretary-General also pledged that the OSCE will continue to support the humanitarian and psychological needs of the displaced persons.

At the end of the meeting, the Holy Fathers, on behalf of all the leaders of the Armenian Church in Europe, handed a letter to Mrs. Schmid in which the main points of their discussion were summarized.




‘We are broken’: Armenia looks to technology to rebuild

Karapet Navasardian
The Independent, UK
Oct 20 2023
Anthony Cuthbertson

in Yerevan

Just two weeks after fleeing his home with barely more than the clothes on his back and the phone in his pocket, 23-year-old Ashot Gabriel is at a tech conference promoting one of the last things he has left: his startup.

He is one of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees who were forced out of Nagorno-Karabakh in late September when Azerbaijani forces retook control of the breakaway enclave. Alongside his two brothers – who evacuated in a single car with their parents and a grandparent on 28 September – Gabriel is now attempting to start a new life from temporary accommodation in Armenia’s capital of Yerevan. “We lost our property, but we also lost ourselves,” he says. “We have lost our previous lives. We are starting everything from scratch.”

His online marketing startup, Brothers in Business (BIB), was offered a last-minute stand at the DigiTech Expo, with organisers hoping that technology will help offer a solution for the country. As a landlocked nation lacking the natural resources of its historically hostile neighbours, Armenia’s nascent tech industry is seen as a way to achieve sovereignty and future stability in the long term, while also assisting with the humanitarian crisis in the short term.

The country was once a tech hub in the region – one of the world’s first computers was built in Armenia – but much of Armenia’s talent left following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. A new scene emerged when émigrés returned to the country after finding success in Silicon Valley, establishing the country’s internet network and providing a foundation for startups to emerge.

There are now an estimated 300 pre-seed-stage startups in Armenia, and around 100 seed-stage startups, in fields ranging from quantum computing to electric bikes. “We have this vision: Tech is the ultimate direction that will help Armenia to succeed,” says Narek Vardanyan, CEO of Prelaunch.com, whose company acts as a platform to help local startups establish themselves on the market.

“We are landlocked, we have no natural resources. All we have is talent. And our only way we can develop is technology,” he says. “We don’t have a backup plan. There is no Plan B. We are betting everything on technology.”

Armenia’s most successful startup so far is Picsart, an online photo editor that has grown to become the country’s only unicorn – a company with a valuation north of $1 billion. Picsart is among those offering their resources to help refugees, fast-tracking the launch of an educational program that will be offered for free to refugees and war veterans, training and reskilling them in everything from machine learning to graphic design. Hayk Sahakyan, a creative director at Picsart, says there has been a “huge number” of people interested so far, including children.

This idea of building up Armenia’s tech industry through education can be found through two privately funded initiatives that are providing free courses in STEM subjects to tens of thousands of young people throughout the country. The first is TUMO, which provides free supplemental education to 12-18 year olds in creative technologies, ranging from game development to music.

Since the first TUMO centre opened in Yerevan in 2011, dozens of centres have sprung up throughout Armenia and the rest of the world, including hubs in Berlin, Paris and Los Angeles. One of its six core centres and three smaller “Box” centres had to be abandoned during the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.

“External circumstances can literally kill us. But whenever anyone asks me whether Armenia has a future, it’s here,” says Zara Budaghyan, head of communications at TUMO. “Technology has the potential to provide a more stable economy, but also better lives. International support has been lacking. We need to rebuild by ourselves. We are broken. But this gives us something to believe in.”

The second educational initiative is a network of technology, science and engineering laboratories set up in rural communities, offering children from 10-18 free after school classes. Established by UATE – a business association that also runs the DigiTech Expo – several of the labs in Nagorno-Karabakh also had to be shut down in September.

UATE chief executive Sargis Karapetyan, who grew up in the region, says around 200 of his relatives were among the refugees. Karapetyan considered cancelling the DigiTech conference, saying there is still a deep distrust of Azerbaijan. There are fears that the annex was only part one. The next stage, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes could happen “within weeks”, could be an invasion to establish a land corridor between the two parts of Azerbaijan.

When asked what prompted the decision to persevere with the tech conference despite personal tragedy and the threat of further chaos, Karapetyan replies: "Technology will save the world.”

EU could review Azerbaijan ties if NK crisis worsens – Reuters

Karapet Navasardian

 12:43, 4 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. The European Union could review ties, including financial aid, with Azerbaijan and sanction individuals if the situation worsens following Baku's military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh, Reuters reported citing an EU diplomatic service paper.

According to Reuters, the paper said the EU could reconsider political engagement, financial assistance and sectoral cooperation, without being more specific. It does not mention Azerbaijan's energy sector.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and many leaders of the 27-nation bloc condemned the operation. But diplomats say there are disagreements among EU countries over whether to take firmer diplomatic or political action. The EU's search for a response is complicated by its moves to rely more on Azerbaijani oil and gas as it has moved away from Russian energy due to Moscow's war in Ukraine.

The paper, prepared by the European External Action Service and seen by Reuters, outlines further possible reaction but is cautious in tone.

It says that if the situation deteriorates, the EU could consider a review of its relations with Azerbaijan "on the basis of a gradual approach".

"In case serious human rights violations are committed, restrictive measures against individuals responsible for such violations could be envisaged," the paper said.

A diplomat from a country favouring a tougher stance toward Azerbaijan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the document "reflects a balance of different positions of member states: We want more, but others do not want anything at all."

Diplomats say France, Germany and the Netherlands are among those pushing for strong signals of disapproval toward Baku while others such as Austria and Hungary are at the opposite end of the spectrum.

A second diplomat said the EU may not end up doing much more than condemning Azerbaijan's action and instead focus on supporting Armenia, economically and possibly with military aid.

The paper suggested the EU consider "political and economic actions to further support the democratically elected authorities of Armenia, including in the area of security and resilience, and the continuation of the democratic reforms".

Armenia asks World Court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw troops from Nagorno-Karabakh

Karapet Navasardian
Reuters
Sept 30 2023
Reuters

9:11 PM GMT+3Updated a day ago

AMSTERDAM, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Armenia has asked the World Court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw all its troops from civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh and provide the United Nations access, the court said on Friday.

The World Court, formally known as the International Court of Justice, in February ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement through the Lachin corridor to and from the disputed region, in what then was an intermediate step in legal disputes with neighbouring Armenia.

More than three quarters of the 120,000-strong population of the ethnic Armenian breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh had fled by Friday afternoon after defeat by Azerbaijan last week.

In a request for provisional measures submitted on Thursday, Armenia asked the court to reaffirm the orders it gave Azerbaijan in February and to order it to refrain from all actions directly or indirectly aimed at displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians from the region.

Some international experts have said the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh meets the conditions for the war crime of "deportation or forcible transfer", or even a crime against humanity.

The United States and others have called on Baku to allow international monitors into Karabakh, amid concerns about possible human rights abuses. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, something Baku strongly denies.

Azerbaijan has invited a United Nations mission to visit Nagorno-Karabakh "in the coming days", the foreign ministry said on Friday.

The World Court in The Hague is the UN court for resolving disputes between countries. Its rulings are binding, but it has no direct means of enforcing them.

Reporting by Bart Meijer Editing by Grant McCool

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/armenia-asks-world-court-order-azerbaijan-withdraw-troops-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-29/