Author: Manouk Vasilian

CivilNet: The Garrison State & Military Keynesianism: A tool of Security and Economic Development

Manouk Vasilian
CIVILNET.AM

9 February, 2021 15:01

And if we have ruled, only with our books

If we have prevailed, only with our talents

And if we have ever oppressed, it has only been with our wounds 

Paruyr Sevak. “We Are Few But We Are Called Armenians”

Enough of such sentiments. Next time we prevail, it will be using the deadliest weapons we manufactured used by the meanest and best trained men and women to have ever walked the earth. 

Armenia needs a new military.  The goal of our new national defense should be to rebuild a military that is capable of defending Armenia and the people of Artsakh against the most competently led and armed opponents. 

To achieve this goal, for the next 20 years we must become an army that has a country rather than a country that has an army.  Our national security should be the first, second and third priorities of the State.  All domestic policies from education, energy and food security should be seen through the prism of national security. 

There are two important corollaries to this approach, the first is that regardless of this change in priorities the military must always remain subservient to civilian and democratic governance. Just as importantly the re-orientation should not be a drain on our national economic resources but actually be the basis of a growing economy.  This will ensure that we bring back industry, science and research.

We must begin with a serious study of the failures of the Artsakh 2020 war. WE NEED A REFORM COMMISSION.  A look into our failures will provide critical recommendations to  reform and  modernize the Army. 

There are countless examples of such military reforms in our region that we can learn from.  The Russian military implemented a reform after its underperformance in the 2008 war with Georgia. The Israeli Winograd Commission studied the Israeli failures in the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

All roads in reforming the military will likely lead to the creation of a military industrial complex.  The focus will be on the weapons of tomorrow: communication, robotics, drone and anti-drone technologies. 

The key to establishing this industry is a multi-year commitment written into law.  This law should mandate a certain percentage of the procurement budget be spent on local products that are competitive to the quality of foreign-produced hardware. 

In order to speed up military reform, we need to begin outsourcing activities that do not involve soldiers carrying weapons. The outsourcing of food services to the private sector has been one of the most popular actions taken by the current government. There is no reason why we should not outsource to our efficient service and tech sectors.   The management of military hospitals, communications, logistics, electronic and signal intelligence will be better managed and more competent. This will allow our proficient people in the private sector to immediately upgrade our military. 

Ordinarily the State is the biggest buyer of services in every country in the world.  As our State begins to outsource, the economies of scale will propel our local services providers to compete for similar contracts internationally and expand their business further.  This is yet another positive impact of military modernization.

We need to create a synergic loop between economic growth and military modernization.  In which military reform and modernization expands the economy, while economic growth enables us to invest ever greater resources into our military modernization programs. 

Another element of reform we should consider is doing away with military conscription.  We should create a smaller Army of professional soldiers heavily focused on special forces with an emphasis on speed, mobility and air superiority.  The gravest fear of all parents in Armenia today is that their children will be forced to serve in an Army run by corrupt and incompetent commanders who know nothing about modern warfare.  Once the reform instills confidence only then can we reinstate conscription.

If we create a smaller Army of professional soldiers, it must be backed up by a much larger Army of volunteers and reservists.  The volunteers and reservists should be a part of a singular well-run reserve system which includes commitments to monthly training and mobilizations.  All local and political party militias must be disbanded to be reorganized as part of the new centrally run military reserve system. 

As we create the new weapons of tomorrow from our own locally manufactured drone and robotic industries, we must increase the role of women in our Armed Forces that can run these systems guarding our borders. They can then run the remote-controlled weapons and monitoring systems of tomorrow. 

One way to accomplish this is to move the most effective people from the useless state bureaucracy to the military ranks through compulsory competency exams and other such markers.

We must also consider the establishment of an Armenian Volunteer Legion. There are thousands of ethnic Armenians that have served in the Russian, Syrian, French and other western militaries. Their experience especially while serving in urban combat is invaluable in reforming and upgrading our Armed Forces. 

At the same time as we learn to tell our story, we can attract numbers of idealist who understand our struggle in universal terms. The truth is that our borders to the east and west are civilizational in nature and not simply state boundaries.  Across those borders Armenia and Artsakh are islands of democracy and civilization.  We are the modern moral equivalents of the first Spanish Republic which is in a face off against two regimes which are the modern reflections of fascist depravity. 

We need to look at establishing Armenian-owned or private military contact firms located in Armenia. The truth is that no one fights their own wars entirely using their own armed forces, neither should we.  This is true for the great powers like the United States and Russia and to the lesser regional regimes like Turkey and Azerbaijan who used international terrorists in their war of aggression against Artsakh. 

The story of the next 20 years will be driven by two factors.  The first is the effects of climate change, and the second is the start of the end of the carbon economy.  This will translate into mass immigration and state collapse in multiple countries stretching from Africa through the Middle East to the current and future failed states stretching between Armenia and China.  In such a world if you do not have seat on the table of the business of war, you are on the menu.  

We as a people have always rightly hated war and have not been interested in it, but war unfortunately has been very interested in us. We have paid the price for trying to be a cultural light to the world for millennia while always demanding moral and universal justice from a cruel world. The lesson of those 44 days last year was that kind of thinking needs to end.  

New rule: More weapons less Churches.

Armenian Soldiers Killed After Ceasefire Breach

Manouk Vasilian
Jan 12 2021

02/12/2021 Nagorno-Karabakh (International Christian Concern) – A recent report detailed the execution of 19-year-old Erik Gasparyan, an Armenian soldier who fought in the Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) war this past year. Gasparyan was one of the soldiers who was killed after Azerbaijan broke the ceasefire agreement on December 11 by attacking Hadrut.

The war ended on November 9 after a ceasefire agreement was reached trilaterally between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. The December 11 attack came one day after a joint Azerbaijan-Turkey military parade, though Turkey is supposedly jointly acting as a peacekeeper with Russia.

Gasparyan’s gruesome execution-style murder was filmed, and videos released from Azeri troops provide the timeline for his death. He was originally captured on December 13 as several videos show him being transported with other soldiers. Believed propaganda footage was released on December 27, attempting to justify the Hadrut attack and the later killing of Armenian soldiers. Footage of Gasparyan’s body being mutilated and degraded also surfaced.

Gasparyan is just one of the many Armenians who lost their lives in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, one that appears to continue taking lives even after a ceasefire was reached. ICC’s joint report on Turkey addresses Turkey’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh war saying, “Turkey has an obligation under national and international law to uphold Freedom of Religion or Belief… This obligation for religious freedom extends to those territories under Turkish military control.” However, Turkey continues to contributing to horrific war crimes such as these.


https://www.persecution.org/2021/02/12/armenian-soldiers-killed-ceasefire-breach/

Russian President personally involved in solving the problem of POWs – Russian Ambassador

Manouk Vasilian

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 19:39, 8 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Russia to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally involved in the issue of returning the Armenians taken hostage by Azerbaijan during Nagorno Karabakh war, ARMENPRESS reports Kopirkin told the reporters.

The Ambassador noted that the return of the Armenian POWs is among the priorities of the November 9 trilateral agreement. ''I do not exaggerate. This is the issue for the solution of which the President, Foreign and Defense Ministers of our country are making efforts. The solution of this issue may last longer than was initially expected, but be sure, everything possible is being done and I am confident it will be solved'', the Russian Ambassador said.

Fight against government will resume with new force, says Prosperous Armenia Party MP

Manouk Vasilian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 8 2021
17:51, 08.02.2021

I was one of the first among the politicians to announce that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was not going to resign, despite the fact that the government was trying to persuade both the public and the opposition to the contrary. Parliamentary opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Naira Zohrabyan stated this in a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am on Monday, commenting on Sunday’s meeting between the MPs of the ruling My Step bloc and Pashinyan.

Zohrabyan recalled that Pashinyan was trying to reach an agreement with the parliamentary opposition by proposing a joint memorandum considering his resignation, but only if the opposition did not nominate a candidate for PM. "As it is known, the leader of our party, Gagik Tsarukyan, categorically refused this proposal," the MP added.

She noted that the current government has tried to put forward an absurd notion that they can dissolve the parliament, but PM Pashinyan will remain in power and will continue to lead the country. "However, they realized that this is problematic, as the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and international organizations would oppose this initiative," the PAP lawmaker added.

According to Zohrabyan, the government has become convinced that it cannot achieve the desired support either in the provinces or in the capital Yerevan, and this was also the reason why it decided not to hold early parliamentary elections.

Naira Zohrabyan agreed that the activities of the opposition have slightly decreased after the New Year, but she assured that their fight against the current government will resume with new force.

Greek-Australian State MP successfully pushes motion for South Australia to recognise Artsakh

Manouk Vasilian
Greek City Times
Feb 4 2021


by PAUL ANTONOPOULOS


The Republic of Artsakh has been recognised by a second Australian state thanks to the efforts of Greek-Australian Tom Koutsantonis.

Koutsantonis, who represents West Torrens as a Member of the South Australian Parliament, called out the “policy of Pan-Turkish nationalism” endorsed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

Because of the motion pushed forward by Koutsantonis and his Labor Party colleague Jayne Stinson, South Australia became the second state in Australia to recognise the Republic of Artsakh.

The New South Wales Parliament’s Legislative Assembly recognised the Republic of Artsakh in October 2020.

In a powerful speech given to the South Australian Parliament, Koutsantonis said “Armenians, Mr. Speaker, deserve the right to self-determination. Sir, they have earned it.”

“They earned it through the blood and sacrifice of 1.5 million innocents, who were systematically murdered for one sole reason: they were Armenian,” he continued.

“Greece this year will celebrate its 200th year of independence. Independence from the same oppression, the same murderers, the same tyrants that occupied the lands of my mother and father – the Ottoman Empire,” the MP said.

Koutsantonis then made reference to the overall Turkish genocide against the Ottoman Empire’s Christian minority that led to the slaughter of 3 million people.

“Our two nations, along with the Assyrians, spilled blood because of our shared faith, our unique ethnicities, and because we stood in the face of tyranny, authoritarianism, expansionism and empire,” he said.

The MP revealed that he was given an Armenian flag before the parliamentary session.

South Australian MP Tom Koutsantonis with an Armenian flag.
“I will fly this in my office. I will fly it proudly, in support of a minority who want to live in peace, who want to live in the lands of their fathers and mothers, who want to live harmoniously with their neighbours, do not seek empire, do not seek to expand, aren’t seeking military war, who just want to live and express their ethnicity, their faith and their culture to pass to their children.”

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Artsakh in Australia, Kaylar Michaelian, said South Australia’s recognition has restored the Armenian people’s faith in humanity.

“On behalf of the indigenous Armenian people of the Republic of Artsakh, our office welcomes with deep gratitude the motion passed by the South Australian House of Assembly condemning the illegal and unprovoked military aggression by Azerbaijan, Turkey and their hired Jihadist mercenaries. We are encouraged by the support of the Parliament for the right to self-determination of our people in Artsakh,” Michaelian said.

“We continue to have our faith restored in humanity, when the good people of South Australia chose to stand for democratic values and human rights wherever in the world these may be under threat,” the representative continued.

“A clear signal has been sent from Adelaide to Baku and Ankara that, despite their best efforts at obfuscation and misinformation, righteous Australians will stand shoulder to shoulder with the peace-loving Armenians in Armenia and Artsakh,” he added.


The Motion in full reads as follows:

That this House:

(1) Notes the actions and belligerence of Azerbaijan towards the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh in commencing military action on 27 September 2020.

(2) Notes the serious concerns that have been raised from Armenian-Australians regarding the existential threat to the indigenous Armenian population of the Republic of Artsakh by this military action, and in any attempts by Azerbaijan to prevent the peaceful resettlement of the indigenous Armenian population following agreement to a provisional ceasefire on 9 November 2020.

(3) Notes the serious concerns raised by Armenian-Australians and independent international organisations regarding the risk of Azerbaijan destroying sites of global cultural and historical significance.

(4) Condemns the actions of President Erdogan of Turkey and President Aliyev of Azerbaijan in their pursuit of a policy of Pan-Turkish nationalism, which has previously led to genocide and which now threatens the Armenian population of Artsakh with ethnic cleansing.

(5) Calls on the Federal Government to condemn these attacks and advocate its support for the safety and security of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh.

(6) Recognise the right to self-determination of all peoples including those of the Republic of Artsakh and calls on the Federal Government to also recognise the Republic of Artsakh as the only permanent solution to the conflict to avoid further attempts of such military aggression.

The video of the motion being passed in the parliament of South Australia: 

https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/04/greek-australian-mp-artsakh/?fbclid=IwAR3yCETvGt0wN7xY3E0NGQj97VVIemtA1dGbNUlDncrjdN0DR438kBrLcHQ

Armenia’s psychologists scramble to heal post-war trauma

Manouk Vasilian
OC Media
Feb 2 2021
 2 February 2021

ByAni Avetisyan
Illustration: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

The second Nagorno-Karabakh war has left tens of thousands in need of psychological help. OC Media spoke with two Armenian psychologists about their work in trying to heal the psychological wounds left by the conflict.  

When the war over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out, 21-year-old Hermine Mkoyan, a senior student at the faculty of Psychology at Yerevan State University, was immediately mobilised to work with displaced children. 

‘The first thing I asked myself was if I was ready to hide my emotions and help. We were prepared for a long-lasting job’, Hermine told OC Media. ‘We couldn’t even imagine when and how it would end.’

Unlike Hermine, Davit Gevorgyan has worked in the field for a long, long time. He has been the Director of the Yerevan State University Center of Applied Psychology for over a decade, but even for someone with experience, the scale of this war has been something completely novel. 

‘There were not so many wounded service members during the [April 2016] Four-Day War, we knew almost everyone personally’, he told OC Media. 

This time, in coordination with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, roughly 200 other psychologists and psychotherapists were faced with the prospect of treating tens of thousands of refugees, soldiers, and children. 

They were recruited from the private and public sector, and students worked alongside experts that had decades of experience under their belt. They worked across the country — wherever the refugees had settled. 

The children Hermine works with have all been displaced and are now housed in hotels around Armenia. ‘I thought it was the worst time for getting work experience. But I promised myself to be as restrained as possible, to be ready for even more extreme situations and to consider that children could need assistance that we didn’t expect’. 

To ensure that she did not unintentionally increase the harm suffered by her young patients, Hermine did not ask them to speak of the war, though, she said, they almost inevitably bring it up themselves. 

‘They came to us to talk about the loss of relatives even before we were informed about it’, Hermine said

The children’s fear also stayed with them. Their sleep was wracked by nightmares, and any imagery of war, ever-present in Armenia today, would trigger a traumatic response. Children would wake up in the middle of the night, Hermine recalls, with the fear that their new home might be shelled. ‘They became more sensitive to those kinds of noises that can be associated with the sound of bombing.’

Hermine said that art-therapy was a technique that the children responded well to.  ‘We used to draw or write down their fears and burn them to see them come to an end.’

Another factor that had an adverse effect on displaced children was the sudden change in environment.  Being away from the familiar for an indeterminate amount of time would lead to a feeling of being trapped, and would only heighten the already acute levels of anxiety suffered by the children, she said. 

Despite being away from home, the children still lived ‘with a mental image of their homes, settlements, and schools’ — constantly fearing what would happen back home. ‘We needed to assure them that, at some point, they might be forced to change schools or towns, but they would never lose their right to education,’  Hermine said.

Older children, particularly teenagers, she said, had their own unique challenges. Some criticised themselves for not doing more to help others, and some just said they simply felt ‘useless’. 

Indeed, the older the patient, the worse their mental situation often was. 

Davit Gevorgyan explained that children are less likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and were more adaptive.

 ‘It’s not about particular cases when they lost close relatives, have seen the real face of war, and so on. But the more sensitive children are, the more flexible they are․’

The real difficulty was in working with adults, especially those who had seen active combat.

‘The shock was especially acute for those who fought in the first war and had something to compare with’, Davit said.  He observed that rather than veterans, it was the young soldiers doing their mandatory military service who were more prepared for the horrors of war than reservists or volunteers, both at a physical and mental level. 

‘They knew their duty better and, as strange as it may seem,  were more immune’, he said, adding the caveat that ‘more research’ was still necessary to better understand such dynamics.

According to Armenian sources, up to 10,000 soldiers were wounded during the war and a majority of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh were either temporarily or permanently displaced. Working with tens of thousands of patients was a colossal task, a task  Gevorgyan said was still far from complete. 

Because of the sheer number of patients, Davit and his colleagues had to resort to triage, focusing on preventative psychological treatments that could limit harm and be undertaken relatively quickly after a patient’s exposure to traumatic events.  ‘An unnatural reaction to an unnatural situation is normal’, he explained. ‘We needed to bring them back to reality in a few hours or days after the trauma.’

The process was made more difficult not only by the massive number of patients but also the fact that many were not initially willing to receive help. Davit recalled that, with some soldiers, when they presented themselves as medical professionals they were met not only with refusal but even rudeness. They had no choice but to take another, less direct approach. 

‘People like to talk about problems when you do not tell them those are symptoms they have’, Davit said, adding that they would speak with the soldiers informally as ‘friends’, and only after such discussions would the soldiers be willing to engage in a more clinical discussion.  

When the tripartite peace declaration was signed on 10 November, incredulity, grief, and rage swept through much of Armenian society. But Davit said his patients had a completely different response.

‘The good thing is that no one will die anymore’ — Davit recalled hearing this phrase over and over from most of his patients.

‘The feeling of emptiness and cognisance of what happened comes later’, he said. ‘Now soldiers are beginning to evaluate what is lost and what remains’. 

 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

Artsakh Foreign Ministry concerned with planned projects of Turkish ‘Gray Wolves’ ultranationalist group in Shushi

Manouk Vasilian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 1 2021

"The intentions of the ultra-right nationalist Turkish Nationalist Movement Party and its affiliated extremist neo-fascist organization ‘Gray Wolves’ to implement certain projects in the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh, in particular, in the town of Shushi, are of great concern, Artsakhj Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

It is noted that the presence of any kind of foreign forces in the occupied territories of Artsakh, promoting the ideology of pan-Turkism and neo-fascism and resorting to terror as the main means of achieving their goals, poses a great threat not only to the Republic of Artsakh, but also to regional and global security. "The fact that these forces are supported by the top leaderships of Turkey and Azerbaijan for the implementation of their projects in occupied Shushi testifies to the plans of Ankara and Baku to create hotbeds of tensions in the region and the neighboring countries, as well as to undermine the efforts of the international community for the peaceful, comprehensive, and just settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict," said the ministry. 

According to the source, the dispatch of ultra-right neo-fascist forces to the occupied territories of Artsakh, as well as the use of international terrorists during the period of armed aggression against Artsakh, are links in the same chain in Turkey's expansionist policy towards not only Artsakh and the South Caucasus, but also to the neighboring regions.

"This policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan deserves the most severe condemnation and requires the international community, interested organizations and structures to take appropriate immediate actions aimed at preventing and suppressing such destructive initiatives," the statement concluded. 

Chairs of two PACE groups raise the issue of Armenian POWs with CoE Secretary General – Marukyan

Manouk Vasilian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 25 2021  

 

Leader of two political groups at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have raised the issue of Armenian prisoners of war with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, member of the Armenian delegation to PACE Edmon Marukyan says.

“As a result of our work done during the discussions in the PACE political groups this morning and during the plenary session, the leaders of the two political groups Aleksander Pociej (European People’s Party) and Jacques Maire (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) raised the issue of releasing the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe,” Marukyan said in a Facebook post.

Earlier today the lawmaker staged a protest at PACE to call attention to call for international pressure on Azerbaijan.

Project Officer based in Armenia [Job]

Manouk Vasilian
Relief Web
Jan 26 2021
Organization
  • ASB
Posted
26 Jan 2021
Closing date
14 Feb 2021

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund country office in Georgia is seeking for qualified candidates for the position of project officer within the project “Stronger together – cooperative action to respond to cross-border emergencies” funded by Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

Vacancy start date: February 1, 2021

Duty station: Armenia, with frequent travel to Georgia

Contract duration: 24 months

Background information

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) is one of the biggest and oldest German aid and welfare organization with more than one million members. Since its foundation in 1888, ASB has acted as a politically and denominationally independent association. With its first international mission in 1921, the area of foreign aid became an integral part of the organization. Currently ASB has 11 foreign offices and implementing programs in more than 20 countries. ASB, through its officially registered country office in Georgia implemented several EU, German and US government funded projects related to: inclusive disaster risk reduction, provision of social services, improvement of economic and livelihood conditions, resocialization of persons in conflict with law, confidence building, as well as humanitarian assistance to IDPs, conflict affected population and other vulnerable groups, etc.

Starting from February 1, 2021 ASB is implementing the project “Stronger together – cooperative action to respond to cross-border emergencies” funded by Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). Overall objective of the action is to enhance disaster risk management system with special focus on health emergencies in Armenia and Georgia through capacity building and establishing cross border cooperation mechanisms. The duration of the project is 24 months (February 2021 – January 2023).

Duties and responsibilities

The Project Officer will be responsible for implementation of all project related activities planned in Armenia under the supervision and in close coordination with the project management staff. She/he will build, develop and maintain relationships with Armenian partners and stakeholders and contribute to the work of experts and contractors. S/he will liaise with and maintain constant contact and information exchange with local, national and international partners working in Armenia.

More concretely, the project officer is expected to undertake and/or support the following tasks and duties:**

· Set-up and maintain sound coordination, cooperation and collaboration systems and relationships with Armenian stakeholders of the project.

· Represent ASB and establish and maintain good working relationship with Government representatives as well as the project stakeholder local, national and international organizations operating in Armenia and ensure constant communication with them.

· Ensure proper implementation of project activities in Armenia by means of overall and detailed implementation plans to be reflected and reported regularly.

· Ensure that assigned project activities are implemented in accordance with administrative and financial procedures envisaged under the project documents.

· Support the coordination of the work of experts, consultants and contractors hired to implement the project related activities in Armenia.

· Provide input and support to implementation of the communication action plan of the project.

· Support with procurement and contract management of service providers and suppliers in Armenia.

· Provide all necessary data /information on the progress of activity implementation in Armenia.

· Collect ongoing project monitoring data, maintain filing and documentation system and contribute to effective and efficient implementation of project Monitoring and Evaluation plan.

· Contribute to the regular reports and other mandatory project information to the donors, Government representatives, project stakeholders and any other party requesting for such information.

· Other duties as required for smooth and effective implementation of the project related activities in Armenia.

Required skills and experience:

  • Education at the Masters level or equivalent in social sciences, humanitarian affairs, development or other related field.
  • At least 3 years’ experience in working in the development field, focusing on healthcare management and humanitarian assistance either at the national or international level (working with international donor organizations will be an asset). Practical experience in design, planning and implementation of development and humanitarian projects.
  • Experience in provision of administrative / logistical support to various events and capacity building initiatives.
  • Strong analytical skills, the ability to work independently as well as in teams.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Armenian languages. Knowledge of Russian language would be an asset.
  • Computer literacy with practical experience using basic Microsoft office programs, Internet and social media.
  • Willingness to travel in Georgia or other countries in Europe as required based on project activities.

Application Process

ASB seeks applications from individuals to take this position. Interested candidates should submit the following documents:

  • CV in English including detailed information regarding the candidate's experience and qualifications to fill this position.
  • Cover Letter which includes information how the applicant meets the vacancy requirements.
  • Names and contact details of 3 referees.

Only complete applications will be considered.

If you meet the requirements, please submit your application no later than February 14, 2021 to [email protected] Please ensure that you quote "Project Officer based in Armenia” in the e-mail subject line. Only electronic applications will be accepted and only short listed applicants will be contacted.

Country
  • Armenia
Organization
  • Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland e.V.
Type
  • Job
Career Category
  • Program/Project Management
Years of experience
  • 3-4 years
Themes
  • Disaster Management
https://reliefweb.int/job/3707460/project-officer-based-armenia

17th century Armenian church on preservation list demolished in western Turkey

Manouk Vasilian
Jan 30 2021
By SCF

An Armenian church dating to 1603 in the western province of Kütahya that was on the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s preservation list was demolished after it was acquired by a private party, the Turkish-Armenian bilingual Agos weekly reported.

The old church was an important heritage site for the Armenian community because famous Armenian priest and musicologist Gomidas Vartabed was baptized there. Garo Paylan, a deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party, a left-wing party with majority-Kurdish support, submitted a parliamentary question on how a heritage site registered for protection could be demolished.

The church was on private property and was previously used as a theatre and party venue. The Armenian community had called on the authorities to restore the church to its original purpose.

In his question Paylan said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had previously said his government would not interfere with “anyone’s belief, rituals or sacred artifacts.” He pointed out that Vice President Fuat Oktay had also said that churches were as important as mosques in Turkey.

Paylan asked whether the authorities would help rebuild the church in accordance with its original architecture. He requested to know if the officials who allowed the demolition were investigated and why the parliament was silent when Armenian heritage symbols were being eradicated.

Concerns about the preservation of Armenian cultural and religious sites have recently been growing. On January 17, Agos reported that a 19th century Armenian church was put up for sale on a Turkish real estate website. In the ad, the church, which is located in Bursa province, was described as “perfect for a touristic attraction because it is in a UNESCO protected area.”

The seller, whose name was not disclosed, also said the church was a good investment as it could be “used as a hotel, museum or art gallery.”

Paylan criticized the sale of the Armenian church on Twitter, asking how the authorities and the society could allow the sale of a house of worship.