Author: Lena Karagyozian

Turkish press: Twin earthquakes damage Virgin Mary Church in Hatay, Türkiye

Lena Karagyozian
Aykut Karadag and Beyza Binnur Donmez   |17.02.2023


HATAY, Türkiye

The Church of Virgin Mary, located in a village in southern Türkiye inhabited by Armenian-origin Turkish citizens, has been partially damaged in the back-to-back earthquakes that shook southern Türkiye last week.

With a drone, Anadolu took photographs of the village, Vakifli, where the Armenian Catholic church is located, in the province of Hatay.

While none of its 130 residents lost their lives during the earthquakes, the outer walls of the church, which is one of the symbols of the village, were partially damaged, as were the village school and some of its houses.

The Moses Tree, registered as a monumental tree in 1981 and believed to have been planted by the Prophet Moses and grown with the "water of immortality," did not suffer damage in the quakes.

'We are grateful for our situation'

Berc Kartun, the administrative head of Vakifli, told Anadolu that they were caught asleep during the earthquake and awoke with a strong jolt.

Vakifli is one of the rare places where nobody died due to the tremors, Kartun said. "I'm extending my condolences to all of Türkiye, and hope for a speedy recovery."

"Damage occurred inside and outside of the historical church in our village. When we saw the scenes in Hatay, we were grateful for our own situation," he said. "We feel heartbroken when we see the destroyed buildings and the people who were pulled out of the rubble."

Noting that six people from the Armenian community lost their lives in the city center of Hatay, Kartun said the state met all their needs by sending blankets and provisions since the first day of the disaster.

He also conveyed his gratitude for all the aid that has been sent and already arrived in the area from all around Türkiye.

Artsakh commemorates Sumgait pogrom victims

Lena Karagyozian

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. On February 28, on the occasion of the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Massacres organized by Azerbaijan and the Day of Protection of the Rights of Armenian Refugees, President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan, accompanied by Chairman of the National Assembly Artur Tovmasyan, Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, representatives of the legislative and executive bodies, members of the Security Council attended the Stepanakert Memorial Complex, paid tribute and laid a wreath at the memorial stone perpetuating the memory of the Armenians who fell victims to the massacres organized by the Azerbaijani authorities, the Artsakh Presidential Office said in a press release.

Thereafter, a requiem ceremony was performed by Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan dedicated to the memory of the victims of the massacres.

Karabakh movement: "From the desire for freedom to its loss"

Lena Karagyozian
Feb 20 2023

  • Armine Martirosyan
  • Yerevan

35th anniversary of the Karabakh movement

Participants in the beginnings of the “Karabakh movement”, which began 35 years ago, are discussing what they saw and how it started. On February 12, 1988, the first rally was held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. On February 20 an extraordinary session of the Council of People’s Deputies of the NKAR decided to petition the Supreme Soviets of Armenia and Azerbaijan for the transfer of the NKAR to Armenia.

Baku’s response was harsh. On June 13, 1988, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR categorically refused to “satisfy the request of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.” And the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR, two days after that, gave “consent to the accession of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region into the Armenian SSR.” In July 1988 the Council of People’s Deputies of the NKAO announced the “withdrawal of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region from the Azerbaijan SSR.”

Ethnic riots broke out in Azerbaijan. A pogrom of Armenians in Sumgayit on February 27-29, 1988, was called by British expert Thomas de Waal “the first outbreak of mass violence in modern Soviet history.” From January 13 to January 20, 1990, pogroms were repeated in Baku. In 1992 the Karabakh war began, the active phase of which lasted two years.

“I started a diary on the second day of the movement – by the day, by the hour. For about a month I wrote down everything that happened. It described all the events: round-the-clock rallies, speeches by the leaders – Artur Mkrtchyan, Emil Abrahamyan. They explained to the audience the essence of the decision of the Caucasian Bureau of the early 20th century, why they decided to leave Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, despite the uprising of Armenians living there. It talked about a clause in the USSR constitution, according to which the NKAR can secede from Azerbaijan and independently decide its future fate.

In my diar, I also described how on the first night of the rally Armen Isagulov, head of the regional police department, came to Hadrut demanding it end. He warned the protesters that if they did not immediately disperse, “Bird cherry” – tear gas used to disperse demonstrations – would be used against them at 4 am. They wanted to disperse everyone in order to arrest the leaders and decapitate the movement. The women marched in the front row, the leaders were surrounded on all sides so that the police could not get close to them.

And after the pogroms of Armenians in Sumgayit, there was somehow no time for a diary. When Arthur Mkrtchyan became the leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, he asked for the diary so he could write a book. He died, and the diary was lost.

Then, under the Soviet system, all participants in the rally and especially the organizers could expect severe punishment. I remember once, after a rally, Artur Mkrtchyan told me: “Get out of here, you have a small child, because sunny Magadan is waiting for us.”

Our romantic feelings – freedom, pride, dignity – were mixed with a sense of fear for our parents. And they were worried about us, because they remembered the Stalinist repressions well.

There were also many women at the rallies. Everyone dreamed of living among their own people, traveling freely to Yerevan, not being afraid that Azerbaijanis would oppress them on trains. They wanted to speak their native language, listen to their folk music.

But people realized that no one would give freedom easily. And we went through the blockade, deprivation, hunger, cold, lack of medicines. Only this did not frighten people who had never lived in particularly comfortable conditions. The struggle for freedom, this euphoria has gripped everyone.”

“I was 29 when the movement started. I lived in Meghri. I am a journalist, we received word that there were rallies in Yerevan. And we, three friends, decided to go to Yerevan to find out what was really going on and to inform our readers. And when we returned to Meghri, rallies began there too. Gradually the movement covered all regions of Armenia, and strikes began.

The State Security Committee closely monitored who was doing what, meeting with whom, everything was under control. And people from the Central Committee came to pacify the people – the situation was explosive, since Azerbaijanis also lived in our area. The authorities feared that there would be no clashes. The Communist Party sent its people to the region, who urged not to hold rallies.

Various groups were formed: some sent their forces, as they said then, to the “civilized struggle”, others guarded strategic heights on the border, tension reigned in the air.

I worked in the Meghri regional newspaper, there was a certain freedom, people brought their articles each with their own views. Convinced communists wrote that the rallies should be stopped, “the party will deal with” this issue.

“The Karabakh movement began in the Soviet period and, in essence, concerned the territorial reorganization of the Soviet republics in the Transcaucasus. The political tasks of the movement did not include the separation of Armenia from the USSR. But as global political changes took place in the Soviet Union, the situation began to develop differently.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was the only territory of the USSR where the activities of the Communist Party were cancelled. This is an unprecedented case when the political and civil rights of the population were completely banned. This decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU was made in connection with the state of emergency introduced in 1989 by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which has not been canceled.

Since 1989, the fundamental principle of the declaration of human rights to the international order in Nagorno-Karabakh has been violated, and is violated to this day – first by the Soviet Union, then by Azerbaijan.

In essence, there was a change of states. With regard to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh the legal regime was changing. The Soviet Union specified the rights of autonomies and recognized autonomies’ right to self-determination. In the event of a union republic secession from the USSR, autonomous regions and republics had the right to independently determine the issue of their status in accordance with the legislation of the USSR. But the new state formed on the territory of the former Azerbaijan SSR – the Republic of Azerbaijan – does not recognize any rights for Nagorno-Karabakh at all.”

“The Karabakh movement has achieved its goal, which was expressed in the proclamation of the NKR. But after the defeat in the 2020 war, one can say that a new, most difficult phase has begun for the people of Artsakh – the loss of freedom.

Artsakh today is essentially interned and occupied. Part of the territory of the NKR is occupied by Azerbaijani troops, the other part is under the intervention of Russian troops.

Artsakh lost its freedom, it was taken away by force, and Armenia failed to protect it from this aggression. Now society is held hostage, and the blockade itself, which Azerbaijan began on December 12 last year, is a manifestation of lack of freedom. This is one of the most difficult stages in the political fate of Artsakh. But this is not the end, as people are not determined to give up the fight for their rights.”

“The active stage of the Karabakh movement began in 1988, but the process itself started in the 1920s. Back then it was suppressed by the Soviet authorities. The Karabakh conflict developed under the conditions of a totalitarian Soviet state, where the _expression_ of an opinion, some position, and even more so national liberation, was perceived as a crime and severely punished.

But in 1987, with perestroika and glasnost announced by Gorbachev, all latent questions began to gradually rise to the surface. And the first, most striking, was the Karabakh movement. Not because of any special organization, but because of the undeniable factual and legal grounds for this movement.

In 1988, legal grounds began to be spoken about more openly. People began to think more freely. There was no reason not to correct the mistake made in 1923 by the Bolsheviks in conjunction with the Turkish government.

The absence of any argument against the movement was proved by Azerbaijan, which could not oppose anything other than the Sumgayit pogroms and military force.”

“The Karabakh movement has been changing the paradigm for 35 years. In 1994, when Armenia won the war started by Azerbaijan, actual territorial reunification took place. Prior to this, there was no connection between Armenia and Artsakh, which was very problematic since without a geographical connection, political connection becomes more difficult.

Armenia has somewhat calmed down: the goal has been achieved, physical reunification has taken place.

They tried to legalize this de facto reunion at the international level as well. The process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group was moving towards this. The meaning of the Minsk processes was to recognize Artsakh’s right to self-determination and ensure physical ties with Armenia.

The Karabakh conflict has always been different from the Georgian and Moldovan crises, where the world community demanded the restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia and Moldova, and afterward Crimea.

In the case of Nagorno-Karabakh there was no such unequivocal demand. Along with territorial integrity, among the fundamental principles of the conflict settlement was the right to self-determination and the physical connection of NK with Armenia. This has not been disputed by anyone and still is not disputed, including in the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, which includes the concept of the Lachin corridor.”

“The Russian authorities have been saying for a very long time that the Karabakh problem can be solved by returning Armenia and Azerbaijan to the Soviet Union, where instead of interstate borders there will be administrative borders.

Russia’s ambitions peaked with unrest in Belarus and the 2020 Karabakh war. It is no coincidence that it ended with Russian troops in Artsakh, a tripartite statement blocking the intervention of the world community into the Karabakh problem. Until now not a single international organization has been able to enter Karabakh and observe the situation on the ground.”

“With the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, the external situation has changed and it can be said that the paradigm of the Karabakh movement will change again. It will change after determining the legal grounds for resolving the Ukrainian crisis. This scheme will be traced and transferred to other post-Soviet crises. To what extent these principles will be reflected in the Karabakh issue depends on Armenia, whose authorities are currently pursuing an insufficiently thought-out policy.

This haste, the desire to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan before a global scheme for resolving post-Soviet conflicts is worked out, may lead to the fact that the Karabakh problem will remain and be resolved in a Russian-Turkish cabal. As it has been so far.”

35th anniversary of the Karabakh movement

https://jam-news.net/35th-anniversary-of-the-karabakh-movement/







UN expert group on mercenaries to visit Armenia [EN/HY]

Lena Karagyozian
Feb 20 2023
Format
 News and Press Release 

 

Source
  • UN HRC

 

 

Posted
20 Feb 2023 

 

Originally published
20 Feb 2023

GENEVA (20 February 2023) – The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries will conduct its first visit to Armenia from 20 to 27 February 2023.

The Working Group will visit the capital, Yerevan, and Syunik province. The experts will meet Government officials, members of civil society and non-governmental organisations, victims and their representatives.

They will share preliminary observations at a news conference on Monday 27 February at 15:00 local time at the Congress Hotel Yerevan, Picasso conference hall. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Working Group will present its findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.

ENDS

The Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the rights of peoples to self-determination was established in July 2005 by the then Commission on Human Rights. Its mandate was further extended by the Human Rights Council in 2022. The Group is comprised of five independent expert members from various regions of the world. The Chairperson-Rapporteur is Mr. Ravindran Daniel (India). Other members are Ms. Jelena Aparac (Croatia), Mr. Carlos Salazar Couto (Peru), Mr. Chris Kwaja (Nigeria), and Ms. Sorcha MacLeod (United Kingdom).

The Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For additional information and media requests, please contact: [email protected] or Alia El Khatib ([email protected]) and/or Laura Ramirez ([email protected]).

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz ([email protected]) or Dharisha Indraguptha ([email protected])

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts.

You can download the report at the link below

Artsakh Calls for International Acknowledgement of its Independence

Lena Karagyozian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, News, Top Stories

Scenes from a protest organized by thousands of Artsakh residents demanding an end to the Lachin Corridor blockade


In welcoming this week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice, which compelled Azerbaijan to take immediate steps to ensure the opening of the Lachin Corridor, the Artsakh foreign ministry also called on the international community to acknowledge Artsakh’s independence.

“We are convinced that in their approaches to resolving the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, the international community, as an effective remedy, should acknowledge the legitimacy of the Artsakh people’s choice for independence. Any discussion of the possibility of recognizing Azerbaijani jurisdiction and control over Artsakh and its people is tantamount to encouraging Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing,” the Artsakh foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

“We welcome the order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dated 22 February on the indication of a provisional measure to Azerbaijan, obliging the latter to ‘take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.’ This court order is a logical continuation of previous provisional measures indicated by the ICJ on 7 December 2021, and obliging Azerbaijan to “prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, including by its officials and public institutions, targeted at persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin,” the Artsakh foreign ministry said.
“We deem it important that when considering the case, the ICJ noted that the blockade may constitute a violation by Azerbaijan of the rights of the people of Artsakh protected under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The ICJ order allows to define the ongoing blockade of Artsakh as a manifestation of discriminatory actions deliberately carried out by the Azerbaijani authorities,” explained the foreign ministry.

“Of particular importance is also the Court’s conclusion that the ongoing blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan entails a real and imminent risk that irreparable harm will be caused to the rights of the people of Artsakh. Thus, while indicating a provisional measure to Azerbaijan, the International Court of Justice used the tools available within their competence to protect the people of Artsakh from racial discrimination by Azerbaijan,” emphasized the statement.

“The Court’s decision is an objective confirmation of the repeatedly voiced position of Artsakh that the blockade is just another episode of Azerbaijan’s decades-long discriminatory policies aimed at expelling the people of Artsakh from their historical homeland,” the statement added.

“Azerbaijan’s criminal policy, carried out against the people of Artsakh and bearing a large-scale and systematic character, is defined by international law as a crime against humanity. The international community in general and the UN member states in particular have legal and political obligations to take effective steps to prevent such massive human rights violations, as well as restore the violated rights,” said the Artsakh foreign ministry.

“In this context, we call on the international community to take effective measures to ensure the immediate and unconditional implementation by Azerbaijan of the order of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. At the same time, we deem it necessary to systematically and thoroughly consider at the international level the issue of the legal protection of the people of Artsakh from the Azerbaijani policy of massive violations of their rights,” added the statement.

Artsakh’s Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan echoed the announcement when speaking at a seminar on Friday.

He said the legal, political and historical grounds for an international recognition are more than sufficient.

“Artsakh’s path of self-determination and independence is fully in line with international law and the legal norms of the USSR. 32 years ago, declaring independence was the only way to ensure the existence of the people of Artsakh. And on December 10, in 1991, the people of Artsakh exercised their right to self-determination. Afterwards, Azerbaijan resorted to attempting to solve the conflict by force for three times, trying to forcefully suppress the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh, in violation of requirements of international law and the UN charter,” Ghazaryan said.

“Even in times of relative peace Azerbaijan consistently engaged in a policy of aggravating ethnic hatred and discrimination,” he added.
“At the same time, for 30 years Baku continuously sabotaged all attempts by international mediators aimed at settling the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict based on international norms, namely of the OSCE Minks Group Co-chairing countries, every time abandoning in the last moment the agreements on compromise solution which were achieved earlier,” Ghazaryan said.

The current blockade of the Lachin corridor, which began over 70 days ago, is another example of Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing, he added.

Commenting on the ICJ order, Ghazaryan said the ruling also confirms that Azerbaijan is engaged in discriminatory policy and recorded that it is inciting racial hate against Armenians.

“The court’s conclusions allow to describe Azerbaijan’s policy, including the blockade of Artsakh, as a manifestation of deliberate discriminatory actions by the Azerbaijani authorities. The recognition of the independence of Artsakh by the international community is a means to stop the mass and regular violations of the rights of the people of Artsakh,” the Artsakh foreign minister said.

Ruben Vardanyan sacked as state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh

Lena Karagyozian
Feb 23 2023
 

ByAni Avetisyan
Ruben Vardanyan. Image via Aurora Prize.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan has dismissed Russian–Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan as state minister.

Announcing the decision during a televised cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Harutyunyan said that he and Vardanyan had ‘strategic’ differences in their approaches to internal and external issues.

‘I am grateful to Mr Vardanyan for the fact that he always tried to share responsibilities with me to the maximum extent in both a friendly and professional way’, Harutyunan said, adding that Vardanyan did not ‘try to put [responsibility] on me by referring to the constitutional norms’.

‘But on the other hand, he was aware and understanding of the scope and extent of my personal responsibility for the situation created in Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] and all future problems’.

‘No one hurts more than I do because of this decision’, Harutyunyan said.

The move comes as Nagorno-Karabakh grapples with food and energy shortages caused by the blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Earlier on Thursday, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to reopen the road, the only route connecting the region with Armenia.

[Read more on OC Media: ICJ orders Azerbaijan to unblock Lachin Corridor]

Vardanyan’s appointment in November 2022 was met with controversy from the outset, with questions arising over his links to Russia and the Russian Government.

His short-lived stint as state minister also saw the powers of his office expand significantly.

Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly railed against his appointment, claiming he was working directly for Russia.

During a panel at the Munich Security Conference last week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev vowed that Azerbaijan would start direct dialogue with the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, but would not talk with Ruben Vardanyan, who he said had been ‘exported’ from Russia. 

Vardanyan was appointed two months after he renounced his Russian citizenship and moved to Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Shortly after his appointment, a group of Azerbaijanis claiming to be eco-activists blocked the Lachin Corridor purportedly to protest mining in the region.

Vardanyan, whose estate is estimated to be worth around $1 billion, is a popular figure in Armenia. As an inventor and philanthropist, he co-founded the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, an award given to those ‘helping the most destitute’ on behalf of survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

The current General Prosecutor of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gurgen Nersisyan, has been offered the role of state minister in Vardanyan’s place. 

For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.


Opinion on Armenian-Turkish relations

Lena Karagyozian
Feb 24 2023
  • Armine Martirosyan
  • Yerevan

Armenian-Turkish relations

The devastating earthquake in Turkey has brought about a renaissance of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. For the first time in 30 years, the Turkish border was opened to allow Armenian humanitarian convoys to enter the country. It has been closed by Turkey since 1993 unilaterally.

A delegation led by the Armenian foreign minister went to Ankara to “demonstrate support for Turkey.” The Armenian Foreign Ministry announced its readiness to “improve bilateral cooperation, fully regulate relations with Turkey, establish diplomatic relations and fully open the borders between the countries.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was more cautious, saying there was an agreement to “accelerate measures to normalize relations.”

There is no particular optimism in the expert community of Armenia, and they do not expect full and speedy normalization of relations. Some believe that “the difficult situation after the natural disaster will for some time pacify Turkey’s political ambitions and suspend the impulses of dominance in the region.” Others are sure that “no matter what situation Turkey finds itself in, it will not give up its expansionist appetites.”

  • Armenian assistance to Turkey
  • Armenia, Turkey appoint envoys to normalize relations – what are the prospects for reconciliation?
  • Yerevan-Istanbul: “Transport and economic ties are being established”
  • What is the right strategy for Armenia, stuck between the foreign policy ambitions of Russia and Turkey?

“After the earthquake we are working with Turkey, which in the coming months will need serious support from the leading countries of the world, primarily the United States and the European Union. Turkey will try to fulfill what the US and the European Union expect from it, including relations with its neighbors, as far as it is consistent with its strategy. It is in this context that Ankara’s warming towards Armenia should be considered.

In 1991 after the collapse of the USSR Turkey recognized Armenia, but still refuses to establish diplomatic relations. Since 1993, Turkey has unilaterally closed its air and land borders with Armenia. Through the efforts of the world community, the air border was opened in 1995 but the land border is still closed.

But Armenia is also interested in this process, since Turkey is in any case a very important player in the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, as well as in the security of Armenia and the entire region as a whole. In addition, Armenia wants to show that it is a civilized country that follows the humanitarian principles accepted in the civilized world.

But this warming is still temporary, and Turkey will by no means revise its strategic ideas about relations with Azerbaijan, Armenia and its role in the region as a whole.

How much this rather superficial process of warming will deepen today can be judged by what developments will be, what will be the results and how much public opinion will change in both countries.

At the moment, any serious expectations are misplaced. But it is needed that both parties to participate in this process with hope for a better future.”

The first round of Armenian-Turkish negotiations has taken place in Moscow today. Here is what we know so far and how experts assess the first meeting of special representatives

Armenian-Turkish relations

“At this stage, what is still realistic is what is called “normalization of relations” in the form of an open border operating in a certain agreed regime, as well as diplomatic relations that exist between neighboring countries, regardless of how much their strategic and geopolitical interests coincide.

The most relevant example is the interaction between the USSR and Japan, between which there were normal relations. There was a functioning border, diplomatic relations, mutual trade, mutual economic projects. But this does not mean that relations between the Soviet Union, and later Russia and Japan, have been resolved. Territorial disputes between them, for example, remained unresolved.

I see the maximum task at this stage in achieving precisely such relations that were between the USSR and Japan.

The fourth meeting of Armenian -Turkish special representatives has shed some light on the ongoing process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations – so what to expect next?

Armenian-Turkish relations

“Normalization of relations does not imply resolution of all contradictions and agreement on all issues. At a minimum, the topic of genocide will remain relevant, even if for some period, due to some subjective ideas and decisions of the authorities of this period, it is not on the surface. This issue cannot be forgotten, and reasonable people in Turkey are well aware of this. The maximum that they can expect from Armenia is more or less passive behavior of the Armenian authorities.

The Armenian Genocide occurred in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 in which over one million Armenians were killed. Armenia and several Western countries and organizations officially recognize those events as genocide. Turkey categorically refuses.

Over the past 30 years, we have had periods when the Armenian authorities did not directly participate in the process of international recognition of the genocide. And, conversely, there were periods when they were the instigators of this process.

Changes of mood will take place for a long time, but it is pointless to expect a final solution to the problem in Turkey’s conception, so that Armenia consigns the genocide to oblivion.”

Taboos surrounding the genocide began to change in 1965

Armenian-Turkish relations

“Before the earthquake in Turkey, Azerbaijan played a decisive role in the Armenian-Turkish relations. Turkey would not take any step without the consent of Baku. That is why the bilateral talks between the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey gave modest results.

After the Karabakh war in the early 1990s, Turkey put forward a number of preconditions for opening the land border and establishing diplomatic relations. One of them was the return to Azerbaijan of the areas under the control of the unrecognized NKR. This condition is no longer valid, since these territories are already under the control of Azerbaijan after the second Karabakh war in 2020.

Talk about the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations intensified after the war. In December 2021, Yerevan and Ankara announced their readiness to take steps to resolve them. Countries have appointed special representatives for this process. They met four times, and there has been no significant progress on the results of the talks yet. Although they are held in a bilateral format, the Turkish side emphasizes that they are coordinating their agenda with Baku.

After the earthquake, despite the fact that the Azerbaijani factor continues to be quite strong, Turkey will have to take into account other factors too. Turkey’s relations with the West will play an important role.“

Armenian media are discussing information that by the end of this year direct air cargo transport between Turkey and Armenia may begin

Armenian-Turkish relations

“The intention of Armenia and Turkey to open the land border today concerns only citizens of third countries. But it should be noted that this is an important stage towards the full opening of the border. Today, of course, this is a kind of symbolic decision, but tomorrow perhaps it will be otherwise.

In July last year, the special representatives for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey reached an agreement

  • “to ensure the possibility of crossing the Armenian-Turkish land border for citizens of third countries,
  • start direct air transportation of goods between Armenia and Turkey”.

On January 6, 2023, Turkey informed Armenia about the lifting of the ban on direct air transportation of goods. The first point is still not implemented.

Now there are tens of thousands of Russian citizens in Armenia, among whom there will be many who want to travel by car to Turkey.

A significant part of the expats are wealthy people who can rent a car and go to Turkey.

The coincidence of a number of such factors will contribute to the fact that the decision on the possibility of third-country nationals to travel from Armenia to Turkey along the land border will cease to be symbolic and will have practical significance. And depending on the development of events, the issue of providing an opportunity for the citizens of Armenia and Turkey to cross the border in one direction or another will become more and more relevant.”

The official statement at the end of the talks says that negotiators discussed not only steps to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey, but also regional processes

Armenian-Turkish relations

“Since reconstruction work on a huge scale is coming and will continue in Turkey after the elections, Erdogan will urgently need the support of the West. So elections cannot become a turning point, and regardless of whether Erdogan remains or power passes to the opposition, the Western factor will continue to play a serious role.

General elections (parliamentary and presidential) in Turkey are scheduled for May 14. After the earthquake Erdogan was asked to postpone them, but the date was not changed. If Erdogan wins, he will be in his fourth term.

He is a rather flexible politician, as we have repeatedly seen this over the past quarter of a century. And Erdogan will follow a course that will be in line with Turkey’s national interests. But if relations with the West that the country had before 2010 are restored, then it will be possible to count on some warming of relations with Armenia as well.”

Turkologist Suren Manukyan discusses the possibility and the conditions necessary for normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations

“Regional cooperation depends on what happens after dealing with the earthquake.

This will depend on how much the foreign policy and geopolitical orientations of Turkey and Armenia will coincide by that time.

Cooperation at the regional level between Armenia and Turkey will acquire new prospects. And if Turkey’s policy is the same as it was before and after the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, if it does not change its perception of its role in the South Caucasus, then we will become witnesses of serious contradictions.

And in such conditions it will be impossible to talk about any promising prospects. Today some opportunities are opening up, but again, but it is almost impossible to predict how these opportunities can be realized.”

Armenian-Turkish relations

https://jam-news.net/armenian-turkish-relations-849/


Blinken reports progress on peace treaty between Baku, Yerevan – State Department

Lena Karagyozian
 TASS 
Russia – feb 19 2023
The US Secretary of State pointed out the need for free movement along the Lachin corridor

WASHINGTON, February 19. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday at talks in Munich with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted progress toward a peace agreement between the two countries and also pointed to the need for free movement through the Lachin corridor, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a written statement following the meeting.

"He (Blinken – TASS) took note of the significant progress the two sides have made over the last several months towards a peace agreement and the offer of EU President Charles Michel to host the parties in Brussels. During their discussion, the Secretary underscored the need for free and open commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor. He also called on the parties to open other transportation routes," the statement said.

Aliyev, Blinken and Pashinyan discussed the draft peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, according to the press service of the Armenian Cabinet of Ministers. The press service pointed out that Pashinyan reiterated the determination of the Armenian side to achieve an agreement that would guarantee long-term peace and stability in the region. For his part, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan proposed to establish checkpoints on the border with Armenia. He added that Baku was studying Yerevan's response proposals on the peace treaty. Aliyev also stressed that Azerbaijan was in favor of delimitation of borders with Armenia based on historical maps.

On December 12, 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis who posed as environmentalists blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, where a Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed. Baku stated that the goal of the protest was not to block any road and that civilian vehicles could move freely in both directions.

Yerevan construed this step as a provocation by Baku, which was aimed at creating a humanitarian disaster in the unrecognized republic. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting that the blockade caused food shortages in Nagorno-Karabakh. On December 14, 2022, Armenia appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to oblige Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin corridor.

FM Mirzoyan, U.S. Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Louis Bono discuss Armenia- Azerbaijan developments

Lena Karagyozian

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with the United States Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, the United States Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Louis Bono within the framework of the Munich Security Conference.

FM Mirzoyan congratulated Louis Bono on assuming office and wished him success in his important mission, the foreign ministry said in a read-out.

Mirzoyan and Bono discussed the latest developments in the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process. FM Mirzoyan briefed the United States Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations on Armenia’s latest proposals regarding normalization of relations with Azerbaijan.

Speaker Pelosi Remarks at Address on U.S. Commitment to Armenia’s Security and Democracy

Lena Karagyozian
US Embassy of Armenia
Sept 23 2022

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 PRESS RELEASE

 Yerevan, Armenia – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered an address at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts to reaffirm America’s strong support for the people of Armena and for their security and democracy.  Below are the Speaker’s remarks:

Speaker Pelosi.  Thank you very much, Madam Ambassador.  Thank you for your kind introduction.  More importantly, thank you for your outstanding leadership representing the American people and our American values here in Armenia.  We wish you the very best in your next post.  But thank you for your ongoing service, a lifetime of commitment to democracy and American values.

Thank you to the journalists, activists, civil society and political leaders who are here with taking – you all are taking Armenia to a peaceful, prosperous, democratic future.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Our colleagues, Mr. Chairman, Frank Pallone, Congresswoman Madam Chair Anna Eshoo and Congresswoman Madam Chair Jackie Speier and I came here to listen and to learn.  To hear from you at every level of government and community involvement.

It’s a great honor as Speaker of the House, the highest-ranking American official to visit Armenia, to be standing here before you between the flags of our two countries.  With great pride in front of our American flag and its great partnership with the Armenian flag.  It is interesting, also, to be standing in front of this great presentation.  I told Vahagn when we were coming in that I believe it is appropriate we are here at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, we had this discussion – because as my colleagues will tell you, I always say: ‘The arts will bring us together.’  A time where we forget our differences, we share the glory of – history of our countries, if its within a country, the art, the artists and others, maybe even journalists at that time in that final painting there.  Here, winning the war against the Persians for the democratic and Christian country that Armenia has been.  And then going way back in history, I should have started over here to the start of the alphabet.

Again, a work of art, a facilitator of writing and the arts.  But when we enjoy the arts, as we have coming in here – not completely because we haven’t seen the whole museum, but it inspires you.  It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and you forget your differences around the arts.  Thank you, Vahagn, for your hospitality here today.

It is a particular joy to be here as we are on the verge of Armenia Independence Day, September 21st.  You know that date better than any of us.  And on behalf of the United States Congress, I want you to accept our congratulations on this special day.  We say that with great pride because for us, it’s almost like a family visit.  So blessed are all of us in our districts by so many Armenian Americans.  They, with great pride, are patriotic Americans.  Very, very proud of their Armenian heritage.  And they make that very clear to us.

And we follow Armenian challenges through their eyes, and we are very proud to finally be able to pass the resolution observing the Armenian Genocide because we, at last, have a President who would sign it.  Joe Biden has been a friend of Armenia.  We are proud that he has signed it and was an inspiration for its passage, but also that he invited the Prime Minister of Armenia to the Democracy Summit, which was a very coveted invitation.  I want you to know that.

And so we’re here, committed, just to say America is committed to Armenia’s security, democracy and we stand with Armenia in a difficult time.  It is a difficult time in the world.  We are amidst a battle between democracy and autocracy.  Armenia is a place where we can see those contrasts come into play.  Again, we come at a time – we didn’t plan trip around what happened last week, the trip was planned before that.  But it so happens that we come in time, in person — strongly condemn Azerbaijan’s recent attacks on Armenia.  Make no mistake: this assault is unacceptable and threatening prospects for the much needed peace agreement – peace process to succeed.

America is an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair and friend of Armenia.  The United States is committed to supporting a negotiated, comprehensive and sustainable settlement, including especially those hostilities directed towards civilians.  As the U.S. government has long made clear there can be no military solution to the conflict.  A sustained renewal of hostilities would be disastrous with more loss of life, more destruction, more refugees and with enormous cost.  The United States continues to watch the situation closely.  This is a priority for President Biden and for the Congress, who have long been committed to stability, security and peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Let me just say, in that regard, that Armenia’s at the center of this debate between democracy and autocracy with its proximity to Russia, but it’s also a part of our global discussion or contrast between the two.  So we find this to be a perfect time to be here as to what is going on in Ukraine, their fight for freedom, as we advocate a peaceful resolution of what is happening here.

As our delegation comes to Armenia to discuss matters of security, democracy and the economy, well-served by the presence, again, of three leaders in the Congress who have fought for issues relating to Armenia for their lifetimes in Congress and even before that.  For Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier, it’s been since birth because they are Armenian Americans.  It’s in their DNA, but it’s also in their priorities in service to our country in the Congress.  And they have been an enormous intellectual resource to our colleagues on the subject, not only the genocide resolution but other issues that relate to Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflicts here.  And of course, they’re all members of the Armenian Caucus.  Jackie and the Chairman Frank Pallone are Co-Chairs of the Caucus, and Frank has been blessed with a large Armenian population which has informed him from the start because I don’t remember a time – how long have you been in Congress?

Chairman Pallone.  34 years.

Speaker Pelosi.  34.  So I’ve been there 35, so I’ve observed every year of his involvement.

[Laughter]

Thank you, Frank Pallone.

Okay, and then we go on to actually what we saw today.  It was very emotional.  Especially – we came holding our heads up high, because we could come at a time when we had passed – and the President signed – the genocide – the Armenian Genocide resolution.  For a long time, we’ve been talking about it, advocating for it in our communities, in the Congress.  But now, it was done.

And to stand there before the flame, thinking a million and a half people and their families, some of them, the ancestors of so many Armenian Americans, too, that we keep hearing the story of that painful time.  We saw the memorial — it was very moving, what we saw at the museum was beautiful.  It was beautiful.

Well, we laid the wreath.  That was a cheerful occasion for all of us.  But then in the museum, we saw the names of communities that had been under assault.  We walked – we learned the horrific truth at the museum institute.  And then as we left, we walked, as we had done coming in, along the trees.  It was a source of honor to us, pride to us, that the first tree was an American tree.  I think it was the first.  The first American tree was planted by Senator Bob Dole.  We’re very proud of him, and of that, but many other trees by delegations since then.  And Frank has been – and Anna and Jackie – Congresspeople who have been here before have seen these trees grow quite rapidly.  That’s what they do.

Let me quote the words of John Paul II, who prayed before the memorial twenty years ago.  Shortly before he died.  He said, ‘Listen, oh Lord, look up the people of this land, wipe away every tear from their eyes and grant them that their agony in the 21st century will yield a harvest of life that endures forever.  We implore the healing of still open wounds.’  We implore the healing of still open wounds.  How beautiful.

To heal those still open wounds, the world must acknowledge the crime for which it was: genocide.  According to [the] 1948 UN Genocide Convention, genocide means ‘acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial [or] religious group.’  We must work to ensure that the truth of the genocide is never covered up.  And we must work to ensure that such atrocities do not happen again.  We must not – never forget.

That is why in 2019 House Resolution 296 — authored by the Chair of our Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff and co-sponsored by all of this – Congress committed not only to commemorating the Armenian genocide through official recognition and remembrance, but also fighting efforts to erase the history, as we reject efforts to enlist, engage and otherwise associate the United States with the denial of the Armenian Genocide, or any other genocide.  That we encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian genocide, including the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern day crimes against humanity.  With this resolution and the U.S. government’s formal recognition of the genocide, we commit to affirming Armenia’s history, denouncing violence and bigotry and showing that such an atrocity, again, can never happen again.

Right now, we feel the urgency of our own moral obligation to never forget, as we witness horrors being perpetrated around the globe, including hate crimes against [the] Armenian community, even in America, genocide committed against Uyghurs and all the Russians’ barbarity against the brave people of Ukraine, and Azerbaijan’s use of force in Armenia, killing over 100 Armenians and displacing thousands.  Not to mention what they are doing in Nagorna-Karabakh to people and holy sites.

During this difficult time, my message is: we must have hope.  And we can find hope in the story of Armenia, which is one of resilience and strength.  And we find hope in the arts.  Here in this room, we gather before the history of Armenia mural – history of Armenia mural, which tells the story we see, the brave warriors, again, defended a free, Christian nation and won.  The poets, painters – painters and priests, who forge an independent alphabet language and deeply cultural identity.  Okay, that’s it here.

Then, on this side, mother Armenia with her child, showing how Armenia had risen from the pain of the 20th Century into a future of hope.  The alphabet, the arts.  Freedom, future.

Let me close by quoting another poet, a poem was his prayer, a poet with his poem, the poet, Paruyr Sevak.  Am I saying it right?  Sevak?  Or is it Sevak?

Audience.  Sevak.

Speaker Pelosi.  Sevak.  Okay.  One of the greatest Armenian poets, whose likeness is depicted in this mural.  You got him?  Is he the one with the veil?

Man.  Right behind the priest in the white.

Speaker Pelosi.  Oh, behind the priest.  Oh, I see, I see.  Okay.  Keep your eyes on him right there.  This is what he said:

‘To my people,’ he wrote:

‘How did you manage that you, like a bee, extract nectar out of poison,

And out of bitterness, honey you even squeeze?

How did you manage to rise, after falling a thousand times?

And how did you manage to survive, after dying a thousand times?

What miracle made you not be extinguished as others before had done,

The flame never went off, but through long centuries kept on burning.’

Kept on burning.  Thank you, for this great honor of visiting your beautiful country and seeing how hopeful the flame of Armenia burns so brightly.  Let us take heed, come what His Holiness said, and what the great poet Sevak, portrayed here in this painting, has told us in poetry.  And as I said, sometimes the arts just have a way of reaching our hearts, as he did with this beautiful poem.  God bless them all, Armenia, God bless America, God bless all of you.

And now, I believe that we’re going to have some discussion among us so that I can learn from you.  I always learn more when I’m listening.  Thank you so much.

[Applause]