Author: Manouk Vasilian

Azerbaijan’s agenda of minefield maps is fake – MFA Armenia

Manouk Vasilian

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 19:19, 6 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, ARMENPRESS. Press Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan answered to the question of journalists about the Azerbaijani accusations of the Armenian side of not providing maps of minefields of the territories fallen under the Azerbaijani control, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia.

Question: The Azerbaijani authorities in their recent statements accused the Armenian side of not providing maps of minefields of the territories fallen under the Azerbaijani control. How would you comment on those statements?

Answer: As you know, the Azerbaijani authorities are blatantly violating the international humanitarian law and their commitments under the provisions of the November 9 statement to repatriate Armenian prisoners of war and civilians who are still being held in captivity. In fact, in response to the pressure of the international community on this issue, the Azerbaijani side is trying to create grounds for justifying its non-compliance by putting forward a fake agenda of minefield maps. The fact that the Azerbaijani officials are raising this issue exclusively in the public field is a case in point.

Throughout the conflict, the Azerbaijani side didn’t make any proposal to cooperate on demining issues; moreover, it made every effort to disrupt the implementation of demining programs in Armenia and Artsakh. It is enough to recall that Azerbaijan in 2016 blocked the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan under the pretext of the latter’s support to demining programmes, which led to the closing of the OSCE field mission in Armenia.

We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from attempts to mislead the international community and to undertake tangible steps to fulfill its commitments undertaken by the November 9 trilateral statement and under the international humanitarian law, which entails the immediate, unconditional release of all prisoners of war, captured civilians and their repatriation.

Soviet-Era Maps Being Used to Mark Armenia-Azerbaijan Border

Manouk Vasilian

March 29, 2021



The Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan borders

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Armenia and Azerbaijan are not engaged in the formal delimitation of their borders, while border guards are being temporarily deployed according to 1975-1976 military maps, Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Friday, Avinyan said that a process of border delimitation and demarcation would require at least the establishment of bilateral relations between the two neighboring nations that waged a war over Nagorno-Karabakh last fall.

“These are legal processes. As such we do not have legally fixed borders with Azerbaijan. For such processes, I think, we first need to have bilateral relations, because these processes presuppose the establishment of at least bilateral relations,” he said, adding that border delimitation and demarcation are a long process requiring much effort.

The need for specifying borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan arose after the two countries signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement last November putting an end to a six-week war in which more than 6,000 people were killed.

Under the terms of the document called a trilateral statement, a chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces.

The agreement also led to the deployment of around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers along frontline areas and a land corridor connecting the disputed territory with Armenia.

As Armenians withdrew from several districts it created an additional border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The matter, in particular, concerns Armenia’s southern Syunik province and eastern Gegharkunik province.

In the interview Avinyan again insisted that Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed no other document besides the November 9 ceasefire agreement and the trilateral statement signed in Moscow on January 11 this year.

“In any case, I am not aware of any such document. As for the agreements on the Goris-Davit Bek section [of the road in Syunik], these agreements are with the Russian side, and Russian border guards are stationed there on the basis of these agreements,” the deputy prime minister explained.

Addressing the issue of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, the official expressed confidence that Armenia will achieve results in getting them released by Baku.

“The Russian Federation unequivocally shares our approach that all prisoners of war and detained persons must be returned… And I am definitely convinced that we will achieve results. I also want to emphasize that international pressure on Azerbaijan in this regard is growing and will continue to grow,” Avinyan said.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/31/2021

Manouk Vasilian 
                                        Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Pashinian Installs New Senior Security Official
March 31, 2021
        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia -- The main entrance to the National Security Service headquarters in 
Yerevan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has installed a 31-year-old judge as a deputy 
director of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS).
President Armen Sarkissian formalized Andranik Simonian’s appointment with a 
decree signed on Wednesday.

Simonian has been a judge of the court of first instance of the country’s 
northern Lori province since June 2020. He previously worked as a prosecutor in 
Yerevan.

Some Armenian media outlets said the presidential decree initiated by Pashinian 
is a prelude to Simonian’s appointment as director of the NSS. The prime 
minister’s office did not comment on the media speculation.

Pashinian has replaced five heads of Armenia’s most powerful security service 
since coming to power less than three years ago. Two of them, Argishti Kyaramian 
and Mikael Hambardzumian, were fired during last fall’s war with Azerbaijan.

Kyaramian, 29, was sacked after four months in office, while Hambardzumian 
served as acting head of the NSS for only one month. The latter was replaced by 
the current NSS director, Armen Abazian, in November.

Hambardzumian and another former NSS director, Artur Vanetsian, are now 
outspoken critics of Pashinian. Vanetsian also leads a political party which is 
affiliated with an opposition alliance trying to oust Pashinian over his 
handling of the six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Areg Kochinian, a political analyst, said the frequent changes of the NSS chiefs 
as well as their deputies reflect Pashinian’s “spontaneous and emotional” 
leadership style and “the current authorities’ terrible staffing policy.” He 
said they have a negative impact on the NSS’s activities.

“That reflects [negatively] on the predictability of this agency for both its 
personnel and our partner countries,” Kochinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. 
“It also definitely affects the effectiveness of the NSS.”



Ruling Team Names Election Campaign Managers
March 31, 2021
        • Artak Khulian

Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his political allies hold a rally 
in Yerevan, March 1, 2021.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his political team have named four senior 
government officials to run their parliamentary election campaign.
Deputy parliament speaker Alen Simonian, another leading Pashinian ally, said on 
Wednesday that Minister for Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Suren 
Papikian will be the ruling team’s chief campaign manager.

Papikian oversees Armenia’s provincial governors and elected heads of local 
communities.

Simonian said that Environment Minister Romanos Petrosian, the chief of 
Pashinian’s staff, Arsen Torosian, and a senior aide to the prime minister, 
Arayik Harutiunian, will also play a major role in the campaign for snap 
elections expected in June.

All four officials are senior members of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, the 
dominant component of the ruling My Step bloc that won 70 percent of the vote in 
the last general elections held in December 2018.


Armenia -- Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren 
Papikian speaks at a news conference in Yerevan, February 26, 2020.
Simonian told reporters that Pashinian and his party have not yet decided 
whether to preserve My Step, form a new electoral alliance or participate in the 
elections on their own.

Asked whether new figures could join the ruling team ahead of the polls, he 
said: “I cannot name any names. But nor can I exclude that there will be new 
people on our list.”

Pashinian announced on March 18 plans to dissolve the current Armenian 
parliament and hold the elections on June 20 amid continuing opposition protests 
against his rule. He has since toured two Armenian provinces to hold rallies in 
about a dozen local villages.

Opposition leaders say Pashinian has effectively launched his election campaign 
in breach of Armenian law and is abusing his government levers in a bid to hold 
on to power.

“It is clear that Pashinian has used and will use all [government] resources at 
his disposal to do well in the race,” said Gevorg Gorgisian of the opposition 
Bright Armenia Party.

Simonian dismissed the opposition allegations of foul play. He insisted that 
Pashinian’s rallies in Armavir and Aragatsotn provinces did not amount to 
illegal campaigning.

“The Armenian authorities are now in the most disadvantaged position because 
they have not only moral but also legal obligations,” he claimed. “They don’t 
have the kind of financial resources that the opposition has now. The Armenian 
opposition is now much wealthier and more competitive in terms of resources than 
the current authorities.”



World Bank Expects Slow Economic Recovery In Armenia
March 31, 2021

Armenia -- Workers rebuild a road in Gegharkunik province, Juy 4, 2020.

Armenia’s economy will return to growth this year after contracting by 7.6 
percent in 2020 mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the 
World Bank.

“GDP growth is projected to recover partially in 2021 (to 3.4 percent) and more 
strongly in 2022 (4.3 percent). The recovery will be slow; the economy is 
unlikely to return to pre-COVID output levels until 2023,” the bank said in its 
latest Economic Update for Europe and Central Asia released late on Tuesday.

“Private consumption and the services sector are expected to recover gradually. 
Private investment will likely remain subdued, reflecting weak investor 
confidence,” added the report.

The Armenian government has forecast a similar growth rate for 2021. However, 
the country’s Central Bank said on March 17 that the domestic economy will 
likely expand by only 1.4 percent.

Data from the government’s Statistical Committee shows that GDP continued to 
shrink in January and February 2021.

The World Bank cautioned that its growth projections are a “baseline scenario” 
which assumes that Armenia will avoid coronavirus-related lockdowns and further 
political upheavals.

“The risks to the outlook are weighted heavily to the downside,” it said, adding 
that they include a “slow pace of immunization” of the population and “elevated 
political uncertainty.”

“Although the pace of vaccinations will gradually ramp up, the authorities do 
not expect to vaccinate a significant share of the population until 2022,” read 
the report.

The bank also noted the pandemic’s “severe” impact on low-income Armenians, 
saying that poverty in the country increased considerably in 2020. “The 
unemployment rate rose by 1 percentage point year on year, reaching 18.1 percent 
at end-September 2020,” it said.



Armenian Minister Resigns After Assault
March 31, 2021
        • Narine Ghalechian

Armenia -- Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakian speaks at a press 
conference in Yerevan, December 18, 2019.

Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakian announced his 
resignation on Wednesday almost two weeks after assaulting a journalist at a 
restaurant in Yerevan.

“As a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, I find it unacceptable for an official 
to use violence against any citizen,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Arshakian referred to a violent incident at the restaurant where he dined with 
his wife on March 18. Footage from a security camera publicized afterwards 
showed him hitting Paylak Fahradian, the editor of the Irakanum.am news website, 
in the face and damaging his laptop computer.

The assault reportedly occurred moments after Fahradian approached Arshakian and 
asked him to explain why he is not at work.

The video sparked an uproar from Armenian journalists and media associations. 
Some of them demanded the minister’s resignation.

Law-enforcement authorities pledged to investigate the assault. The Special 
Investigative Service told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday it has yet to 
decide whether to prosecute Arshakian.

In his first reaction to the incident, Arshakian implicitly accused Fahradian of 
violating his privacy but said he is ready to bear responsibility for his 
actions. He later apologized to the journalist.

Rumors about Arshakian’s resignation began circulating on Wednesday morning. A 
spokeswoman for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pointedly declined to refute them.

Arshakian confirmed his resignation in the afternoon. “I am thereby expressing 
my intolerance towards both physical and psychological violence,” he said. “I 
hope that the incident will serve as a lesson for our society and that we will 
love each other and respect everyone’s right to privacy a bit more.”

Arshakian is a senior member of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party. He has held 
the ministerial post since October 2018.

The 35-year-old also found himself in hot water earlier this year after it 
emerged that his ministry, which oversees the domestic defense industry, failed 
to properly organize Armenia’s participation in an international arms exhibition 
held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Armenian government had allocated 23 
million drams ($44,000) for that purpose.

Armenian defense firms displayed no items at the Abu Dhabi exhibition for at 
least three days. Arshakian blamed that on “logistical problems.”

The Ministry of High-Tech Industry said on Tuesday that three of its officials 
have been formally reprimanded as a result of an internal inquiry conducted 
after the scandal.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Russia’s financial support to Nagorno Karabakh victims comprises $15,000,000 so far

Manouk Vasilian

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 14:25, 2 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. Russia has provided around 15,000,000 dollars in financial assistance to the victims in Nagorno Karabakh after the 2020 war, Russia’s deputy FM Andrey Rudenko told the Novoye Vremya newspaper.

“The Russian Federation’s direct financial assistance to the victims in Nagorno Karabakh comprises nearly 15,000,000 US dollars as of today,” he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian opposition MP says changes to electoral system put legitimacy of snap elections at risk

Manouk Vasilian
Panorama, Armenia
April 1 2021

Head of the opposition Bright Armenia faction in the Armenian parliament on Thursday deplored changes to the country’s electoral system ahead of the snap parliamentary elections slated for June 20.

The Armenian National Assembly passed in the first reading on Thursday a bill calling for amendments to the Electoral Code of the country. The measure was adopted by 81 votes in favor and no against votes. 23 opposition lawmakers abstained from the vote.

The legislative changes propose switching to the proportional system, removing the current mixed system that allows MPs to be elected via a combination between the proportional and the so-called rating-based system.

MP Edmon Marukyan stated the adoption of proposed changes to the electoral laws without the participation of opposition forces put the legitimacy of the early elections at risk.

He noted that citizens are deprived of the right to elect separate MPs. He mentioned that the problem is not the electoral system, but the practice that existed before.

"There is no consensus on the part of any of the Armenian opposition forces, while a different draft law has been sent to the Venice Commission. I officially announce that the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections is being put at risk,” Marukyan said.

”But you will dig your own political grave with the Electoral Code you have adopted, this will be the end of you, because the political force which has adopted a constitution or electoral legislation for itself, has beheaded itself. So, go ahead with it, but we shall return the right to elect a president, a mayor and an MP to the people,” he added. 

Determining Borders by Soviet-Era Maps ‘Impermissible,’ Says Tatoyan

Manouk Vasilian



The Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan borders

An announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan border positions are temporarily being determined using Soviet-era military maps has raised red flags with Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan, who said Tuesday that such methods cannot be permitted.

Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Friday that until comprehensive discussions reach fruition, Soviet-era military maps from 1975 and 1976 are being used for border demarcation purposes, a practice, which thus far has cause heightened tensions in Armenia’s border regions impacted by this approach.

As a consequence of the November 9 agreement, more than 190 settlements in Artsakh and adjacent seven regions came under the control of Azerbaijan. As a result, the borders of the Syunik Province in the south of Armenia (including Kapan, its administrative center) appeared to be in close proximity to the new borders of Azerbaijan, drawn up during the Soviet times.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Tatoyan illustrated through a series of arguments why the determination of state borders using Soviet-era maps or GPS data is impermissible, warning that this practice will undermine the rights and interests of the population in border regions.

Below are the six points presented by Tatotoyan on this critically important matter.

1. Justifying Azerbaijani deployments in the vicinity of Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces and on the Syunik roads by relianceon Soviet Armenia or Azerbaijan borders of the 1970s, 1980s, 1940s (for example, 1975-1976, 1985, 1942), or other maps and GPS data is impermissible. As sovereign states, there has never been a demarcation or delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and furthermore no international document on this matters has been signed.

2. What happened in the Soviet Union was not determination of state borders between two sovereign states—Armenia and Azerbaijan—but rather administrative division of borders between two subjects within one sovereign state, the USSR. Soviet maps are just that. Case in point is why the 1920s maps are not referenced in connection with the border process these days.

3. The process of determining the state borders of the Republic of Armenia cannot be cross-referenced with the administrative-territorial division. These are phenomena which are completely different from one another;

4. The borders and maps of the First Republic of Armenia cannot be ignored in the process of determining state borders of the Republic of Armenia today. This requires the imperative of a real guarantee of the rights of citizens, population of the Republic of Armenia;

5. Today’s deployments by Azerbaijan have been carried out in gross and massive violations of international, including human rights standards, under the real threat of war and use of force and in the context of Azerbaijani open genocidal policy;

6. The process of determining state borders may not undermine normal life of border population or cause rights and legitimate interests of the citizen of the state, including the right to life and physical safety, the safe living of children, the cultivation of one’s own land, and the full enjoyment of water resources, pastures and grasslands; These points are among the key factors guaranteeing rights and normal life of Armenian citizens and its border population.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijani MFA rejects Human Rights Watch’s claims regarding Armenian POWs

Manouk Vasilian
POLITICS23 March 2021 14:10 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar.23

Trend:

Azerbaijan is committed to upholding international norms including international humanitarian and human rights law, Trend reports citing the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is stated in the commentary of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan regarding the statements in the report of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization about cases of mistreatment of prisoners of war.

“As such, we reject the claims from Human Rights Watch that POWs were not treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions,” the MFA statement reads.

“We regret that the recent report by HRW on alleged cases of mistreatment of Armenian POWs is one-sided, and falls short of providing an objective situation. The systematic nature of such reports based on unsubstantiated arguments and unchecked facts casts doubt on their validity,” the ministry said.

“Armenian POWs and civilians detained in Azerbaijan were treated in accordance with the requirements of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, they were not subjected to torture, humiliation and inhuman treatment, and they were provided with the necessary medical care. Each of them underwent a medical examination during their detention. The examination did not reveal any traces of injuries (except for injuries received in combat operations),” the statement noted.

“Contrary to claims that POWs remain in custody, Azerbaijan has returned all Armenian prisoners of war to Armenia. This was agreed under the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020,” said the MFA.

“While detained, beginning from October 2020, Armenian POWs and civilians were provided with regular visits by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and telephone and video calls with family members were facilitated,” the ministry added.

“In addition, representatives of the Ombudsman's Office of Azerbaijan regularly reviewed the conditions of POWs by visiting their places of detention,” the statement noted.

“Azerbaijan has opened criminal investigations against those allegedly linked to cases of abuse. Despite repeated requests and numerous allegations Armenia has not launched any investigations into the cases of degrading treatment of Azerbaijani prisoners of war and detained civilians,” the Azerbaijani MFA said.

“The Government of Armenia has attempted to confuse the context in which arrests have been made. Following the end of the conflict, marked by the signing of the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020, anyone detained in Azerbaijan cannot be considered POWs,” the statement added.

“Those sent by Armenia to the territory of Azerbaijan with the aim of engaging in sabotage and terrorist activities in the period after the signing of the mentioned trilateral statement, are not and cannot be considered as POWs in accordance with international humanitarian law and are liable under the criminal law of Azerbaijan. Detainees are being treated in accordance with international human rights law, and Azerbaijani law upholding their rights,” the MFA said.

To reiterate, Azerbaijan has returned all detainees classified as POWs.

The Government of Azerbaijan calls on HRW to turn its attention to the testimonies of the ill-treatment of Azerbaijani prisoners of war and civilian detainees by Armenia, as well as thousands of missing Azerbaijanis.

As a result of the first Karabakh War, 3,890 Azerbaijanis went missing and their fate still remains unknown. These missing people were comprised of 3,171 militaries and 719 civilians (including 71 children, 267 women, 326 elderly). According to the witnesses of 1,480 former Azerbaijani POWs, in a grave violation of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Azerbaijani POWs were tortured, ill-treated and held in degrading conditions. Criminal investigations proved that 35 people were responsible for degrading treatment and torture against the Azerbaijani POWs and detainees. The names of those responsible were presented to Interpol.

There are also numerous evidences, including video materials showing the mistreatment of the Azerbaijani POWs by the Armenian Armed Forces during the latest military operations, which were widely disseminated in social media.

All POWs and civilians previously detained in Armenia and later returned to Azerbaijan underwent a forensic medical examination and were questioned about the conditions of their detention. Expert opinions, personal statements, and other materials confirmed that the vast majority of detainees were subjected to physical torture and inhumane treatment.

Unlike Azerbaijan, the Government of Armenia has refused to investigate these allegations.

“We call the relevant international institutions to refrain from such a one-sided stance and ensure complete impartiality in compiling reports with regard to the post-conflict situation in the region,” the ministry added.

Opening of regional communications beneficial for Armenia and Azerbaijan – Pashinyan

Manouk Vasilian

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 15:57,

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. During a meeting with the residents of Nerkin Bazmaberd community in the Aragatsotn province today Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan talked about the opening of regional communications and roads.

Pashinyan stated that the opening of communications is beneficial for Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“We need to move forward and the way of moving forward is what is under discussions today: the talk is about the opening of regional communications and roads. If someone says that the opening of the roads is beneficial to Azerbaijan only, don’t believe it. If someone says that the opening of communications is beneficial to Armenia only, again don’t believe it. The opening of communications, especially in this situation, is beneficial for both Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is beneficial for Azerbaijan as it should get a communication with Nakhijevan. It is beneficial for Armenia because we must get a reliable railway and land communication with the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This means that our country’s economy can change considerably”, Pashinyan said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan