Author: Nyrie Kalashian

EU shares Armenian concerns over preservation of Artsakh’s cultural heritage – Ambassador Wiktorin

Nyrie Kalashian

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 18:22,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia Vahram Dumanyan met on January 20 with the EU Delegation to Armenia, led by Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Ministry, greeting the Ambassador, Vahram Duamnyan highlighted the programs implemented in the spheres of education, science, culture and the youth with the assistance and partnership of the EU.

Referring to the last Artsakh war, the Minister emphasized that as a result of that a significant part of the cultural heritage of Artsakh which has remained out of the Armenian control is under direct threat.

‘’ At the moment, the preservation of these universal values is crucial, and we expect EU's support for preventing any threat to those values’’, the Minister said.

Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin noted that the EU shares the challenges facing Armenia. ‘’2020 was really a hard year. COVID taught all of us to further develop our digital capacities and infrastructures. For that goal the EU provided assistance to the Mistry of Education for organizing distance education. The EU also shares the concerns over the historical heritage of Artsakh, highly assessing the fact-finding activities of the UNESCO in that direction’’, the Ambassador said.

Orphanage where Hrant Dink grew up will be turned into Armenian Youth Center

Nyrie Kalashian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 19 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

The Armenian Orphanage in Tuzla where the slain journalist Hrant Dink grew up will be turned into Camp Armen Youth Center, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) President Ekrem Imamoglu said in a twitter post.

Mayor Imamoglu said that the plan studies have started after the Municipality voted unanimously in 2017 to rebuild the camp as youth center.

The orphanage was built in 1962 by the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church, as a former building on the site could not host the increasing number of Armenian students arriving from various parts of Anatolia.

Known as the orphanage where Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007, and his wife, Rakel Dink, studied, it was expropriated by the Turkish state in 1987 on the basis of a 1936 bill preventing minority foundations from acquiring property.

Although the Turkish government signed a historic decree in 2011 to return property taken away from minority foundations, the camp was omitted, alongside hundreds of other properties.

Fatih Ulusoy, the land owner, had initially tried to demolish Kamp Armen in May 2015, but the controversial plan was later shelved as Ulusoy said he would donate it to the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation.

Efforts to demolish the camp received widespread attention once the news broke on social media. The demolition was subsequently stopped when many people, including activists and leading figures from the Armenian community, rushed to the area to protest the demolition work.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s municipal council on May 12 unanimously accepted the construction plan regarding the orphanage, which will be rebuilt taking the original building into account. The Kamp Armen area was taken under “Social and Cultural Facility Area” category in line with the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation’s will. 

The prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist, was shot dead at the age of 52 in broad daylight by an ultranationalist outside his office in Istanbul’s Sisli district on Jan. 19, 2007.

Ogun Samast, then a 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout, confessed to the killing and was sentenced to almost 23 years in jail back in 2011.

The case grew into a wider scandal after it emerged that security forces had been aware of a plot to kill Dink but failed to act.

While crowds gather each year at the spot that Dink was killed to commemorate him, this year’s commemoration will be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Armenpress: Armenian, Russian FMs refer to regional security issues

Nyrie Kalashian

Armenian, Russian FMs refer to regional security issues

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 20:52,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazian had a phone conversation with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov on January 18.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, the FMs referred to issues of establishing stability and ensuring security in the region.

In the context of the implementation of the November 9 and January 11 statements, Minister Ayvazyan once again highlighted the full implementation of humanitarian issues, first of all the priority of returning POWs and other kept as hostages.

Minister Ayvazian drew the attention of his Russian counterpart to the importance of preserving the Armenian religious, cultural and historical heritage in the territories of Artsakh that have passed under the Azerbaijani control and the unobstructed involvement of international specialized institutions in those works.

The interlocutor also exchanged views on Armenian-Russian bilateral and multilateral agenda.

Working group to be set for implementing 9th point of November 9 declaration – Moscow statement

Nyrie Kalashian

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 20:05, 11 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. A joint statement has been adopted based on the meeting between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in Moscow.

ARMENPRESS reports the non-official translation of the text.

‘’The statement of the President of the Azerbaijani Republic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and President of the Russian Federation. January 11, 2021.

  1. We support the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on establishing a trilateral working group Co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of the Republic of Armenia, Russian Federation and Azerbaijani Republic aimed at the implementation of the 9th point of the November 9, 2020 declaration on unblocking all economic and transport communications of the region.
  2. The working group will hold the first meeting until January 30, 2021, based on the results of which a list of the main directions for the implementation of the 9th point of the declaration will be formed, giving priority to railway and road communications, as well as will define other directions agreed between the Azerbaijani Republic, Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation (Thereafter, the Sides).
  3. For the implementation of the main directions, the Co-chairs of the working group will confirm the composition of the specialized sub-groups in the relevant spheres, which will include the representatives of the relevent bodies of the Sides and officials of orgaizations. The specialized subgroups shall submit a list of programs within one month after the meeting of the working group, in which they shall present the necessary resources and measures for their implementation and for approval by the Sides at the highest level.
  4. The working group will submit for approval by the Sides at the highest level a list and timetable of measures for restoring and constructing new transport communications necessary for organizing international transportations and ensuring their safety through the territories of the Azerbaijani Republic and the Republic of Armenia, whic also refers to the transportations from the territories of the Azerbaiajni Republic and the Republic of Armenia, which need to cross the borders of the Azerbaijani Republic and the Republic of Armenia''.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan




Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 13-01-21

Nyrie Kalashian

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 17:27,

YEREVAN, 13 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 13 January, USD exchange rate up by 1.45 drams to 526.89 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 3.29 drams to 642.33 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.05 drams to 7.14 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 6.61 drams to 721.26 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 15.52 drams to 31190.6 drams. Silver price up by 9.72 drams to 432.39 drams. Platinum price up by 606.38 drams to 17769.96 drams.

More bodies of fallen troops found during search operations, says Artsakh

Nyrie Kalashian

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 11:12, 9 January, 2021

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. 3 more bodies of fallen servicemen have been found during the search operations in Jabrayil section, official of the State Emergency Service of Artsakh Hunan Tadevosyan told Armenpress.

“The bodies of troops were found in the military positions of Jabrayil. So far, a total of 1197 bodies of servicemen and civilians have been found as a result of the search operations in the battle zones. The search operations will continue on Monday”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

62 Armenian citizens in Azerbaijan: prisoners of war or saboteurs?

Nyrie Kalashian
JAM News
Jan 9 2021
JAMnews, Baku-Yerevan  
 
 
 
In Khojavend region, which came under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the second Karabakh war, 62 citizens of Armenia have been detained.
 
The Azerbaijani side considers the detainees to be saboteurs who must be held accountable before a court of law.
 
The Armenian side meanwhile says these prisoners of war should be returned to their homeland.
 
A letter from Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was circulated as a document of the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
 
The letter speaks of “Armenia’s activities aimed at undermining stability and contrary to international law and the trilateral statement of November 10,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.
 
Bayramov noted in his letter that “in the liberated territory of the Khojavend region of Azerbaijan, the Armenian armed forces carry out sabotage and provocations, as a result of the anti-terrorist operations carried out by the relevant structures of Azerbaijan, 62 members of the sabotage group, who are citizens of Armenia, were detained.”
 
It was brought to the attention of the UN Secretary General that “the implementation of such sabotage and provocation by the Armenian armed forces on the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan a month after the signing of the joint statement is evidence of a gross violation by Armenia of the principles of international law, as well as the obligations assumed according to the statement.”
 
 
Reaction from Armenia
 
The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the criminal prosecution against Armenian prisoners of war:
 
“These actions of the Azerbaijani authorities are a gross violation of international humanitarian law. […] The release and repatriation of the prisoners of war is clearly enshrined in the November 9 statement, and the prosecution of the prisoners of war after the adaptation of the trilateral statement constitutes its gross violation”.
 
The statement says that the Armenian soldiers were captured as a result of a violation of another provision of the trilateral statement: Azerbaijan launched military operations in the direction of the 2 villages Hadrut region [on the administrative division of the Armenian side] a month after the establishment of the ceasefire:
 
“Notably the Azerbaijani side announced the prosecution of POWs about a month after the capturing of Armenian servicemen, which demonstrates that Azerbaijan is using Armenian prisoners of war as hostages to advance its political agenda”.
 
All Armenian servicemen captured by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces must be released and returned to Armenia. The Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan wrote about this on his Facebook page:
 
“This should be done immediately and without any preconditions.“
 
The Ombudsman considers it unacceptable that the 8th paragraph of the trilateral armistice agreement of November 10, signed by the heads of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, does not indicate specific dates for the exchange or return of prisoners:
 
“But this does not mean at all that it is permissible for the Azerbaijani authorities to constantly violate international requirements for human rights and humanitarian agreements. The return of prisoners is artificially delayed, their true number is not reported, moreover, attempts are being made to underestimate these data. All this time they are subjected to torture and inhuman treatment, interference is created for the exchange of bodies of the dead. “
 
The statements of the Azerbaijani authorities that the captured Armenians are not prisoners of war, but saboteurs, according to Arman Tatoyan, grossly trample on the post-war humanitarian process and international requirements for the protection of human rights:
 
“These statements directly contradict the requirements of Clause 8 of the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020. They are prisoners by status, period. “
 
The Ombudsman of Armenia considers “completely unacceptable” the politicization of this essentially humanitarian issue and “obvious attempts of the Azerbaijani authorities to link it with any territorial issues.”
 
 
Comments from Baku
 
“The picture is interesting,” writes Ahmed Alili, director of the Caucasus Policy Analysis Center. “The trilateral statement says that ‘the troops must remain in the positions where they were at the moment of signing the document.’”
 
“The Armenian side deciphers it as follows: if Armenian servicemen are located on the ‘islands’ in the territories that were once part of the NKAO and are now controlled by Azerbaijan, they should remain there. At the moment, this circumstance is one of the topics for heated discussions between the parties.
 
But now it is becoming known to the public that the mentioned Armenian servicemen hid on the roofs and in the basements of the houses that survived and were not set on fire in Hadrut and nearby villages. In this context, the _expression_ “must remain in their positions” begins to acquire a new meaning,” Alili said.
 
Military observer Asaf Quliyev supports a different opinion. In his comment to JAMnews, he said:
 
“It is necessary to pay attention to two points. First, the citizenship of these 62 detainees. Unfortunately, I do not have such data.
 
If they are citizens of Armenia, it means that Armenia is not fulfilling its obligations emanating from the trilateral statement of November 10. But here it is also possible a version according to which Armenia can declare that the detainees do not obey the Armenian authorities. If so, these people are not prisoners of war, but members of a terrorist group that does not obey the laws of either their country or Azerbaijan. Based on this, they are criminals.
 
But if the detainees are residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, they can be classified as living on the territory of Azerbaijan, but not obeying the laws of this country. And in this case, they cannot be considered prisoners of war.
 
As for the terminology, saboteurs and terrorists are different concepts. Saboteurs are part of the armed forces of a country that performs the tasks assigned to it. Terrorists are outside the law, the Geneva Conventions on the Status of Prisoners of War are not applied to them. “
 
 
Information about Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan
 
The parties agreed on the exchange of prisoners on the principle of “all for all”. In total, after the end of the 44-day war, 54 prisoners returned to Armenia. But, according to the Armenian side, the number of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan is much higher.
 
Lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who represents the interests of Armenian prisoners at the European Court of Human Rights, claims that Armenia has irrefutable evidence that at least 120 Armenian prisoners were held in Azerbaijan.
 
However, the State Commission on the Affairs of Prisoners of Azerbaijan reports only about 5 Armenian prisoners: 2 military personnel and 3 civilians.
 
According to Sahakyan, speaking of only five prisoners, Azerbaijan “is abusing the helpless position of the Armenian authorities.”
 

Ombudsman: Security of Armenia’s state borders endangered

Nyrie Kalashian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 9 2021
Ombudsman: Security of Armenia's state borders endangered
 
 
Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan is in Syunik Province of Armenia with his staff on a three-day working visit. Visits to Goris, Shurnukh, Vorotan, Kapan, Meghri and other communities are planned.
 
In a statement on Facebook on Friday, the ombudsman said that yesterday's visits to Goris, Vorotan and Shurnukh confirm that the mechanical use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) or Google Maps poses a serious threat to the right to life and security of Armenia's border residents, their physical and mental integrity and other vital rights which are guaranteed internationally and by the Constitution of the country.
 
“The security of the state borders of Armenia is endangered,” he said. “In particular, the mechanical application of this principle brought under control of Azerbaijan, for example, various sections of the road connecting Goris, Vorotan, Shurnukh and other communities, which directly endangered the movement of civilians.”
 
The meetings of the ombudsman with the residents of the border communities, and the discussions and studies with the community confirm that the Azerbaijani military is carrying out missions of provocations. Armed men regularly appear on the roads in the immediate vicinity of peaceful neighborhoods and do so by displaying weapons to intimidate civilians, primarily women and children, Tatoyan noted.
 
“In addition, as a result of the mechanical use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) or Google maps, for example, in Vorotan and Shurnukh, people have simply been deprived of their own homes and the opportunity to make a living. Residents of those communities were deprived of the opportunity to use their privately owned and community-owned vital agricultural land (for example, as a garden, arable land or pasture).
 
Observations of the Human Rights Defender's Office confirm that due to this principle, houses and lands belonging to Armenian citizens have come under the control of Azerbaijan, for which certificates of state registration, including property rights, have been issued to either Soviet Armenia or independent Armenia by competent bodies of different periods of the republic (Cadastre Committee, etc.).
 
Consequently, as a result of all this, people's rights have been grossly violated, they have been deprived of their property and, an uncertain situation has arisen, which in turn has created an atmosphere of alarm and anxiety among civilians.
 
The life and health of the residents of the border areas of Armenia, their physical security and mental immunity are directly threatened because, for example, in the case of Shurnukh, the village was divided into "Azerbaijani" and "Armenian" parts and was used as a basis for division by that community, crossing the interstate road. To be clear, the point is that on one side of the road, in the "Armenian" part [including the places where children are used to playing], there are civilians, and directly on the other side, there are Azerbaijani armed forces.
 
Therefore, resolving the issue of Armenia's borders with the applications of a private organization, Google or GPS [Global Positioning System], which also endangers the inviolability of Armenia's state borders and the country's security, is absolutely unacceptable from the point of view of ensuring the rights of people living in our country.
 
Moreover, during the visit of the Human Rights Defender's Office, several versions of Google maps on the spot showed different results, including in some cases representing the village of Shurnukh as part of the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
 
During today's visit, important meetings were held with the mayor of Goris, the heads of Vorotan-Shurnukh rural settlements, other community bodies, the residents of the communities, as well as the staff of the Armenian National Security Service (NSS) frontier troops. At the same time, the personnel of the RA Armed Forces and the frontier troops of the National Security Service carry out selfless heroic service, although in addition to their duties, they often face an unfair, and a customarily unrelated additional workload.
 
In the coming days, visits to other settlements of Syunik Province are planned, during which the necessary professional studies and observations will be carried out,” the statement read.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Armenia: protests over alleged Pashinyan-Aliev meeting, rumored territory surrender

Nyrie Kalashian
JAM News
Jan 8 2021

    JAMnews, Yerevan
  

For several days now, Armenia has been caught up in persistent discussions of a proposed meeting of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev that is to take place in Moscow. 

Telegram channels have even announced the date of the meeting – January 11, all despite the fact both of the sides are yet to confirm their attendance.  

Armenian media is also covering the meeting extensively, reporting on how preparation for the PM’s visit to Moscow is in full motion and reporting on the specific documents that Pashinyan is to sign. 

According to various reports, the documents that have allegedly already been sent to the Armenian Ministry of Justice include the following clauses:

  • a corridor will be opened through Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan,
  • some territories of Armenia will be transferred to Azerbaijan,
  • Armenian troops will be withdrawn from Nagorno-Karabakh.

A picket near the Ministry of Justice demanding the authorities refute information ‘about the signing of another humiliating agreement with Azerbaijan’ was held earlier today.

Amidst the ongoing unrest, Nikol Pashinyan posted on his Facebook page about the priorities of Armenia and the order of implementation of the points of the trilateral agreement on the ceasefire in Karabakh signed with Azerbaijan on the night of November 10, 2020. His post was regarded by many as a response to the spreading rumours about the surrender of the territories and a corridor through Armenia to Nakhichevan.

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What the prime minister said

Nikol Pashinyan stated that the top priority for Yerevan is the full implementation of the 8th clause of the agreement – on the exchange of prisoners, hostages and detainees, as well as the bodies of the deceased. Only after that is fully set into motion would the Armenian authorities be ready to consider resuming the transport and economic communications in the region.

According to PM Pashinyan this would involve cargo transportation from Armenia to Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran via the territory of Azerbaijan, and transport communications from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan via the territory of Armenia.

“I, once again draw attention to the fact that the November 10 statement does not mention ‘corridor’, neither in relation to ‘Meghri’ nor to any other territory of Armenia.”

“The choice of communication routes from Armenia to Russia and from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan is a separate topic for negotiations, the effectiveness of which will depend heavily on the exchange of prisoners, hostages, other held persons, the bodies of the deceased, as well as the increasing of the scale and effectiveness of the search for those reported as missing”, wrote the Armenian PM. 

Unrest at the Ministry of Justice

Former Deputy Minister of Justice and the head of human rights organization, Legal Way, Ruben Melikyan made an urgent appeal to organise a picket outside of the Ministry of Justice building.

He commented on Nikol Pashinyan’s post, specifically on the part of it that mentions the trilateral agreement on Karabakh which does not contain words ‘Meghri’ or ‘corridor’ going through the territory of Armenia. According to Melikyan, the same document does not say anything about the Armenian village of Shurnukh, but “the enemy had reached it too.”

The human rights activist was referring to approximately 12 houses in Shurnukh village of the Syunik region of Armenia that were transferred to Azerbaijan on January 5 in the process of redrawing the borders between the countries.

Melikyan called on the authorities to officially refute the information that on January 11th “it is planned to sign another humiliating agreement with Azerbaijan.”

As a result, Minister of Justice, Rustam Badasyan came out to the protesters and assured them that there were no “secret agreements” made with Azerbaijan:

“I reaffirm that the Ministry of Justice holds no agreements with Azerbaijan, and any speculations about it are completely false.”

Badasyan urged the public not to trust the telegram channels, as in recent years, disinformation has often been spread to cause panic among the residents of the country.