Newspaper: How did ex-President Kocharyan manage to leave Armenia?

News.am, Armenia
Dec 18 2020
09:25, 18.12.2020


YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: It became known yesterday that RA second President Robert Kocharyan is leaving for Moscow on a three-day visit, but no details about the meetings were provided.

Here it is noteworthy the fact that Robert Kocharyan, being in the status of a defendant in court, has obstacles to leaving the country. He was allowed to leave the country until November 7 by a special decision.

Zhoghovurd daily had written back in its November 3 issue that Kocharyan was supposed to leave for Moscow with RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, but he had taken a coronavirus test, which was positive, and until the 14 days set had passed so that it would be possible [for him] to go to Moscow, the allowable period of his departure from the RA had already expired.

And now how did Robert Kocharyan manage to leave the country? In response to this question of Zhoghovurd daily, the head of the office of RA second President Robert Kocharyan, Viktor Soghomonyan, noted: "The court has allowed [it]." Soghomonyan, however, did not specify what meetings the second president will have in Moscow, whether he will meet with RF [Russian Federation] President Vladimir Putin, and what the main agenda of the meetings is.


Shushi Was Full of Life and Love. But Now…

December 16,  2020



The iconic Zontikner (umbrellas) in Shushi

BY ANI KHACHATOURIAN

My heart skips a beat every time I think about how so many Armenians won’t be able to experience the terrifying feeling of walking across the Zontikner bridge or feel the pride of reaching the other side. The bridge, if you can call it one, represents so much of what Shushi is and was, including our struggles and victories. It’s the same bridge where my friends re-assured my safety with every hesitant step I took, the same friends who fought for our freedom up until November 9 when our world stopped spinning, when we learned that Shushi had slipped from our hands.

After the war ended, Prime Minister Pashinyan dared to voice his opinions on Shushi. “They say ‘Shushi was sold’… who sold Shushi? If Shushi was sold, then it happened over the past 30 years because Shushi was a gloomy, dreary dull city. Did we need Shushi? And if yes, then why was the city in such condition?”

Decontextualized or not, what was said should not sit well with any Armenian. It should spark questions and concern. It should trigger anger and fear…as should the past tense of this article.

In fact, let me tell you exactly why Shushi was far from unhappy. Let me explain to you the colors of this city…the life that it had before it was given away.

The author, Ani Khachatourian, with her friends at Jdrdouz

Let me tell you about Saro’s house and the late-night singing that echoed deep into our mountainous land. Or his Museum of Geology, which holds an impressive collection of artifacts that speak volumes to our overwhelmingly unique history. We had the most beautiful view from Jdrduz, where our freedom-fighters climbed up the cliff rocks and liberated the stronghold in 1992….where we felt so much pride and found countless bullets, each of them a symbol of our victory and the sacrifice it took to get there. The waterfall at Zontikner was like a scene out of a movie, a picture you see in a photoshopped postcard. But it was real. It was ours. The sounds of heavy rain, the trek to get there, the river’s clear water…not lifeless, not to us anyway.

The Ghazanchetsots (Holy Savior) Cathedral in Shushi, attacked by Azeri forces on Oct. 8, stand tall

Let me tell you about Ghazanchetsots, where we prayed for everything except this.

Let me attempt to describe the glowing sunsets and overwhelmingly green grass and the foliage beside the waterfall. No one can look into the rich fibers of an authentic Karabakh carpet made in Shushi and see unhappiness. Just as no one can hear the music from Shushi’s Music Academy, which stimulated a cultural reawakening of our ancient, fortress city… and think of it as flat.

Carpet being woven in Shushi

Shushi was full of life and love. It was home to determined, caring and proud people who would give you everything they had and assure you that Shushi is your home as much as it is theirs. They embodied victory. But now…now they’re homeless, robbed of our beautiful, rightful land.

What does this make us? Blindly enamored of a so-called unhappy and dull city?

So what if we are… the issue is clear.

Shushi was surrendered.
Shushi was sold.

Shushi was not taken.
Shushi was not defeated.

We always needed Shushi.
Shushi always needed us.

Shushi will always live on in color in our hearts. It is my hope that we will bring her home one day.

Author’s Note: I dedicate this to my great-grandmother Arousyak Ghahramanian-Khachatourian—a daughter of Shushi (1904-1991).

In Azerbaijan, Turkish leader has eyes on Iran

Eurasianet



[Turkey’s president appears to be positioning himself as a protector
of all Turks, including Azerbaijani Turks in Iran.]

By Eldar Mamedov
Dec 14, 2020

As Azerbaijan celebrates victory over Armenia, its sponsor in the
recent war has hinted he is seeking a broader regional shake-up.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a military parade in
Baku on December 10, recited a poem that Iran heard as a claim on its
territory.

The poem, by the 20th century Soviet-Azerbaijani poet Bakhtiyar
Vahabzadeh, references the Aras River that marks the border between
the modern Republic of Azerbaijan and ethnic-Azerbaijani provinces of
northwest Iran. The passage Erdogan recited suggests the border is
artificial and that Azerbaijani Turks will one day be united: “They
separated the Aras River and filled it with rocks and rods. I will not
be separated from you. They have separated us forcibly.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to Twitter to scold the
Turkish leader, calling modern Azerbaijan a territory “forcibly
separated from the Iranian motherland” and accusing Erdogan of
undermining Azerbaijan’s sovereignty. “No one can talk about our
beloved Azerbaijan,” Zarif added. Iran’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile,
summoned the Turkish ambassador over Erdogan’s “interventionist and
unacceptable” remarks. Iran’s parliament on December 13 adopted a
motion condemning the Turkish president. Residents of Tabriz, the
biggest of Iran’s Azerbaijani-speaking cities, reportedly demonstrated
against him.

Erdogan has united Iranians of all ideological stripes.

The dispute dates back to two wars that Qajar Iran fought against the
Russian empire in the early 19th century and which forced Iran to cede
all its Caucasus territories.

A prevailing view in Baku is that the two empires conspired to divide
their nation. This revisionism was first propagated by Soviet
historiographers serving Moscow’s aim to “liberate” foreign lands.
This is how the historically baseless concept of “South Azerbaijan”
was born; there was no political entity known as “Azerbaijan” in the
19th century. Joseph Stalin even used the idea to occupy parts of
northern Iran following the second world war.

After the Soviet collapse, independent Azerbaijan adopted the Soviet
interpretation as a pillar of its national identity. President Abulfaz
Elcibey in the early 1990s famously promised to march on Tabriz. While
the Aliyev dynasty that assumed power in 1993 toned down the rhetoric,
the notions of “South Azerbaijan” and a divided “Great Azerbaijan” are
firmly entrenched in the nation’s political culture and psyche.

It is in this context that Erdogan’s remarks, delivered at a highly
symbolic occasion, sparked outrage in Iran. Tehran was already
uncomfortable with Turkey’s military and diplomatic support for
Azerbaijan during the 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh. It feared
Turkish involvement would encourage ethnic separatism in the
Azerbaijani-majority regions in Iran. Even if Erdogan is simply
ignorant of Iranian sensitivities, his speech heightened Iranian fears
of a pan-Turkic threat.

Official websites in Baku neither reproduced the poem nor commented,
opting to stay out of the spat. While President Ilham Aliyev is
indebted to Erdogan for his military aid, he also carefully managed
relations with Tehran during the war. Others have not been so
reserved. Ilgar Mammadov, a former political prisoner who has avidly
supported the war, tweeted that Erdogan’s speech “hints that a
comprehensive solution to the regional security equation here may be
found soon by dismembering Iran.” Though not voiced by the government,
such views – a direct result of the foundational myth of “South
Azerbaijan” – are not uncommon.

Baku finds its shared heritage with Iran difficult to manage. The
government has proffered the notion in recent years that the Turkic
origin of several Iranian dynasties, like the Safavids and Qajars,
makes a large part of Iran historically “Azerbaijani.” Since Soviet
times, Baku has claimed the 12th century poet Nizami Ganjavi as
exclusively Azerbaijani. Though Nizami lived on the territory of
modern-day Azerbaijan, he wrote in Persian.

Tehran generally ignores these irritants, concentrating its energies
on challenges in the Middle East and Persian Gulf.

Erdogan’s provocative speech and growing power inside Azerbaijan may,
however, be a step too far for Iran. He appears to be positioning
himself as a protector of all Turks, including Azerbaijani Turks on
both sides of the border. This fits into his expansionist foreign
policy, which in recent years has provoked problems with most of
Turkey’s neighbors.

Hubris is no substitute for sound statecraft, however.

Among the many historical references Erdogan made in his speech was,
ironically, one dedicated to Enver Pasha, a late Ottoman adventurer,
and his “Army of Islam” that briefly invaded Baku in 1918. Erdogan did
not mention Enver Pasha’s inglorious end, however: on a military
campaign in Central Asia in pursuit of quixotic pan-Turkish dreams.

*

Eldar Mamedov is a political adviser to the Progressive Alliance of
Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament. This article
reflects his personal views and not necessarily the opinions of the
S&D Group and the European Parliament.



 

Armenia claims Azerbaijan continues provocations in Nagorno-Karabakh

TASS, Russia
Dec 13 2020
According to the statement, Azerbaijan staged provocation during the visit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group to the region and this posed a challenge to its efforts on peaceful settlement

YEREVAN, December 13. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s forces continued their provocation in the settlements of Metz-Shen and Hin-Shen in Nagorno-Karabakh’s Hadrut Province, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

"We strongly condemn this gross violation of commitments undertaken by Azerbaijan’s supreme military and political leadership in a trilateral statement on ending combat actions and deploying Russian peacekeepers. We stress that these steps are directed at playing down Russian peacekeepers’ presence in the conflict zone," the document said.

According to the statement, Azerbaijan staged provocation during the visit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group to the region and this posed a challenge to its efforts on peaceful settlement. This is also part and parcel of unacceptable statements made by the Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders. Yerevan notes that this once again points to the Turkish-Azerbaijani expansionism policy.

"The official Baku’s steps highlight the need for deoccupying the territory of Artsakh (the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic) and returning Armenians of Artsakh to their places of residence. Given the impunity of Azerbaijan, which violates its international commitments, we are calling on co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to unambiguously and clearly respond to the Azerbaijani side’s steps, which are aimed at violating the ceasefire, ethnic cleansing and occupying Armenian settlements," the statement said.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. Under the agreement, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides maintained the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the region. In addition, Azerbaijan regained control over the Agdamsky, Kelbadzharsky and Lachinsky districts.

CivilNet: In renewed fighting, Azerbaijan grabs more territory in Karabakh’s south

CIVILNET.AM

00:25

On Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed that Azerbaijani forces managed to take control of the last two Armenian-held villages in Karabakh's southern Hadrut district.

Azerbaijan says four of its soldiers have died in the fighting, while the Armenian side reports six injured.

Saturday's fighting is the most serious ceasefire violation reported in the area since the signing of the November 9 "end of war" agreement.

At an emergency Security Council meeting chaired by the prime minister Sunday, Pashinyan said that the Russian peacekeepers had not yet arrived to the area when the attack occurred but that Armenian and Artsakh military units fought and resisted.

"Some time after the start of hostilities yesterday, a small Russian peacekeeping unit approached the combat zone, as a result of which the fighting stopped. Russian peacekeepers have entered the area with greater force since this morning," reports the prime minister.

Per the trilateral agreement, each side would hold on to whatever positions they had at the time of the signing of the agreement. On November 9, the Khtsaberd-Hin Tagher areas were under Armenian control. The area is inside the borders of the USSR Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

12-month inflation in Armenia’s consumer market comprises 1.6%

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 09:52, 7 December, 2020

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The 12-month inflation in Armenia’s consumer market comprised 1.6% (November 2020 against November 2019), whereas the one-month inflation – 1.3% (November 2020 against October 2020, the Statistical Committee reports.

The yearly inflation in food products and non-alcoholic drinks comprised 0.8%, the monthly inflation -2.8%, that of alcoholic drinks and tobacco – 10.2% and 0.4%.

Consumer prices of clothing and shoes declined 1.6% in November 2020 against November 2019, and by 1.9% against October 2020.

The 12-month inflation in housings services, water supply, electricity, gas and other types of fuel comprised 0.4%, the one-month inflation – 0.3%.

The prices in the healthcare sector rose by 2.8% within a year, whereas within a month it increased by 0.5%. The figures in the transportation field comprised 2.0% and 0.6%.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Edmon Marukyan is the candidate for PM of ‘’Bright Armenia’’ Party

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 18:04, 3 December, 2020

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENRESS. Head of ‘’Bright Armenia’’ Party Edmon Marukyan will be nominated a candidate for the post of the Prime Minister in case if the post remains vacant, ARMENPRESS reports secretary of the parliamentary faction of the party Gevorg Gorgisyan wrote on his Facebook page.

The 17 political parties who are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have unanimously named Vazgen Manukyan as their candidate to lead the country.

“The 17 political parties, whose ranks expanded further today by forming the Homeland Salvation Council, decided to nominate Vazgen Manukyan’s candidacy,” Homeland Party leader Artur Vanetsyan told reporters.

Vazgen Manukyan served as the first Prime Minister of Armenia from 1990 to 1991 under President Levon-Ter Petrosyan. He then served briefly as Defense Minister.

He was the President of the Public Council from 2009 to 2019.




The Nagorno-Karabakh Knot – Episode 5: Between war and peace

Radio Canada International
Nov 30 2020

The crushing defeat suffered by the Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh at
the hands of the Azerbaijani military backed by Turkey and an assortment of
Syrian and Libyan mercenaries has caused a cascade of political, diplomatic,
security and humanitarian crises in Armenia and in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Literally overnight, tables were turned and Armenians, who had emerged
victorious in the 1990s, during the First Karabakh War, had to accept a
humiliating ceasefire to cut their losses.

(Canadian-Armenian
journalist Raffi Elliott is pictured in this photo taken on Nov. 2 in the
Armenian village of David Bek, which had been repeatedly shelled by the
Azerbaijani military during the latest war. Photo courtesy of Raffi
Elliott)

Radio Canada International spoke about the challenges facing Armenia and what
remains of the Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, now
protected by about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers, with Raffi Elliott. He is a
Canadian-Armenian journalist and entrepreneur based in Yerevan, Armenia. We also
spoke about the prospects of peace between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

Duration: 34 minutes 8 seconds

https://www.rcinet.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/11/NK_PODCAST_EP5_ED1_9648728_2020-11-27T16-41-25.081.mp3

Speaker of Parliament offers condolences over death of Rita Sargsyan

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 15:53,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan has sent a letter of condolences over the death of Rita Sargsyan, the spouse of the Third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, the Parliament told Armenpress.

“Mr. Sargsyan,

I learnt with pain about the untimely death of your spouse. Mrs. Rita Sargsyan has had a great investment in saving lives of many Armenian children, recovering the health condition of military disabled, as well as implemented important social programs. I extend my condolences to you, your family members and relatives”, reads the Speaker’s condolence letter.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

The battle can be lost, but it is inadmissible to lose as a nation – President Sarkissian addresses

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 23:20,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian addressed the nation, noting that only through unity we will be able to straighten our backs that have bent under the burden of defeat. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office, the address runs as follows,

‘’Dear compatriots in Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora,

The world-spread Armenian nation is now living one of the most decisive periods of our millennia-old history.

The goals we were striving for all together after the long-awaited independence of the motherland have been shaken.

We lost the war that was imposed on us, both on the battlefield and in the diplomatic and international arenas.

I once again extend my condolences to the families and relatives of the victims and wish the injured a speedy recovery.

We are the offspring of the people who survived the Genocide and overcame it.

The battle can be lost, but it is inadmissible to lose as a nation.

The house burned down with one's own hands, the lost homeland can be restored in only one way, rediscovering our victory, building a state of which we will all be truly proud.

And we can definitely do it, soberly assessing the situation, learning from the mistakes made, and being consolidated for a national revival.

No matter how different our assessments can be for the past, the fact is that we are all facing unprecedented problems.

Artsakh is seriously injured.

We have a turbulent society.

The vulnerable economy is overwhelmed by huge social problems.

There is a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the large flow of people from Artsakh to Armenia.

The situation is extremely complicated also considering the pandemic.

Finally, the Armenian spirit is pierced in any corner of the world.

Our country today is no longer the country we had on September 26, it is not even what we had on November 8.

We cannot ignore this reality and continue living our normal lives.

During the last few days, in line with the imperative of the moment, I held dozens of political consultations, meetings with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary forces, various non-governmental organizations and individuals. I have had telephone conversations with our compatriots from different structures of the Diaspora.

The absolute majority of the participants of the meetings share the same opinion – the resignation or termination of powers of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Constitution – early parliamentary elections.

It is obvious that despite the cessation of the war, the Republic of Artsakh, the Republic of Armenia and the entire Armenian people are entering a period of new challenges where every mistake can have catastrophic consequences.

In this situation, there is no alternative for the Armenian people than to be united.

These days, each of us, especially politicians, government officials, must demonstrate high sense of responsibility and restraint, focusing our efforts exclusively on finding ways to overcome the crisis.

In this situation, I want to address the law enforcement bodies.

You have a great responsibility today, first of all to ensure discipline in our country, to be strong, determined, but at the same time, every time, on every occasion, remembering that in front of you is your sister or brother.

Any deviation, any violation of the law, is unacceptable and unforgivable. I call on you to uphold and protect the law and legality.

My observations based on meetings and consultations are as follows:

Given the current situation and the imperative to overcome it with dignity, listening to the public demand, it is obvious that in order to keep the country from shaking, early elections to the National Assembly will be inevitable.

In this context, in my opinion, the only responsible approach may be the objective assessment of the potential of the government and the ruling political force, to present a roadmap in a short period of time, which will provide deadlines for initiating relevant constitutional processes, as a result of which it will be possible to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections, and the state administration will be handed over to a highly qualified National Accord government during that period.

My above-mentioned observations aimed at overcoming the crisis for the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Artsakh and the whole Armenian people living in different countries of the world in these difficult days are based exclusively on national interests.

I hope that all the political forces will realize the responsibility of the moment, will fulfill their part of the historical mission with dignity.

I would like to remind you that today everyone is carefully watching Armenia, both our friends and our enemies.

We have no other duty but to strengthen our country.

We have no choice but to unite the people, ignoring any step or speech that threatens to divide the society.

Only through unity we will be able to straighten our backs that have bent under the burden of defeat, to present ourselves and future generations and the world community as the children of a nation that is impossible to defeat.

I am confident that the Armenian people will overcome the difficult situation with honor and victory.

God bless us all’’.