Author: Rose Khoyetsian

Barracks fire case: Officer who poured gasoline into stove faces criminally negligent manslaughter indictment

Rose Khoyetsian

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 13:26, 1 February 2023

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The officer who is suspected in attempting to light the stove in a military barracks with gasoline – in violation of safety rules – and causing the January 19 deadly fire is facing criminally negligent manslaughter charges, prosecutors announced on February 1.

The general prosecution said that captain E.H. is charged under paragraph 4 of Article 532 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the violation of rules of using military equipment and hazardous substances which negligently caused multiple deaths.

Two other military officials are in the case.

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Human Rights Experts Come Together for ANCA-WR Grassroots Conference on Armenia and Artsakh

Rose Khoyetsian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Community, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

 

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The Armenian National Committee of America–Western Region will host a Grassroots Conference on Armenia and Artsakh on Saturday, September 24 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The ANCA-WR Grassroots Conference will feature Human Rights Activists and experts on the matters of preventing cultural genocide, international law and the need to prevent further war crimes from being committed against the sovereign Armenian Nation, its soldiers and civilians. Panelists will include Armenia’s Representative at the European Court of Human Rights and International Court of Justice, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia’s former Human Rights Defender, Arman Tatoyan and Artsakh Foreign Minister Davit Babayan.

The conference will provide a unique opportunity for community members and the press to hear, first-hand, from officials and international law experts, about the latest attack on Armenia’s sovereign territory, the need for international intervention and ways to move forward to protect Armenia’s sovereign borders and Artsakh’s right for self-determination.
 
At 12:05 a.m. on September 13, Azerbaijani armed forces launched a full-scale assault along the Republic of Armenia’s sovereign, internationally recognized border. The Azerbaijani military targeted the sovereign Republic of Armenia, attacking communities in Armenia’s Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik provinces with indiscriminate fire, using small arms, mortars, and drones. A ceasefire was declared on September 14, with Armenia reporting 207 servicemen dead and 204 residential structures damaged or destroyed. An estimated 7,600 civilians have been displaced by Azerbaijan’s aggression.

This latest assault builds upon the extensive and systematic attacks by Azerbaijan in these communities. Over the last year, the Azerbaijani military has consistently attacked civilians, seizing civilian properties to construct military outposts and blockading Armenian highways.
 
The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region welcomes members of the media and the Armenian American community at large to attend and participate in this Conference, as this unique gathering of human rights activists is an opportunity to learn about ways to make our voices heard in order to facilitate international intervention and the immediate end to U.S. funding to Azerbaijan which is crucial to guaranteeing Armenia’s security.

Register for the Conference.
 
The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

Urvakan arts and music festival postponed until 2023

Rose Khoyetsian
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 17 2022

Festival, an arts and music festival scheduled to be held in Dilijan, Armenia, on 23-25 September, has been postponed until 2023 in the wake of the latest Azerbaijani attack on Armenia, organizers said in a statement on Saturday. The full statement is provided below.

"With a heavy heart we’ve stopped all further works on the this year's edition and have postponed Urvakan to 2023. The escalation of conflict on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan came as a shock to us and despite the fact that the sides have come to a ceasefire agreement, it is very hard to predict how this will continue to develop in the next days.

This was a tough decision to make as this is not the first time we've been forced to postpone. In 2020 the COVID pandemic put a global halt on events, then the wars raging around us in Artsakh and Ukraine did not even let us think of a new edition for some time. This year we tried hard to relaunch Urvakan considering new realities that our region and the world are facing. While we were developing the festival some of its topics became even more real, and now we observe aggressive actions of authoritarian leaders yet again.

On the night from 13th to 14th of September armed forces of Azerbaijan shelled Goris, Sotk, Jermuk, and other settlemens on Armenian territory close to the border. By now there's already more than 100 victims among Armenia’s military as well as several civilians. Attacks close to the border of the two countries are a grim reality that have come as an aftermath of Azerbaijan's invasion of Artsakh in 2020. The settlements in Artsakh have been shelled every other month since, yet it's barely covered by International news. The difference now is that Azerbaijan attacked cities within the internationally recognized territories of Armenia.

Regardless of the current ceasefire agreement, the uncertainty of the situation is too strong, our first priority is safety of our guests and artists. We’re just one week away from the festival dates, so even if everything will remain calm, the moods in the country are currently far from the cultural agenda. Yesterday we had a meeting with Tavush municipality, where the festival site is located this year. Being close to the Azerbaijani border- they are concerned about the risks and they don’t recommend going ahead with planning the festival at this time.

It's not an easy decision for us, but we hope that our friends and audience will continue to support us. We stand with Armenia, and hope that time for Urvakan will finally come.

Please visit our bio to find some information about the history of this conflict, as well as a list of ways to help victims and thousands of refugees from the South-Eastern Armenian boarder.

To issue a refund on your ticket please contact your provider directly, otherwise you can also keep the ticket for the future festival, or donate it, we will share more information about these options and other ways to support soon.

We are looking forward to reuniting very soon under other circumstances."

Turkish press: Romania wants to buy 18 Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs for $300M

Rose Khoyetsian
 ISTANBUL SEP 01, 2022 – 3:38 PM GMT+3

A Bayraktar TB2 drone is seen in the undated file photo. (IHA Photo)

Romania wants to buy Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) from Türkiye after it gained popularity for causing loss to the Russian military gear in the war in Ukraine, following several examples elsewhere, the local media reported Thursday.

According to media reports, the country wants about 18 such UCAVs at an estimated price of $300 million.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense has sent a request to Parliament for such purpose, the reports said and if it receives legislative approval, it will be able to start negotiations with the Turkish company – Baykar.

Currently, Romania does not have state-of-the-art combat drones in its inventory.

The estimated amount for sale includes the purchase of the 18 drones and "the initial logistical support package and specific training and training equipment," according to the Ministry of Defense.

The price of Bayraktar TB2 drones varies depending on the equipment, starting from $1 million to $5 million, according to open sources specializing in defense products.

Baykar did not specify a price for this particular drone model but republished on its website news about crowdfunding campaigns launched across Europe to buy Bayraktar drones for Ukraine, with a goal of about $5 million-$5.5 million for a drone.

The Bayraktar TB2 has a reputation as being the best in its class in the world based on its technical features and the operations it has been used in, entering the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in 2014.

Export contracts were signed with 23 countries, including Ukraine, Qatar, Azerbaijan and Poland. Having exported $664 million in combat drone systems in 2021, Baykar became the leading exporter among companies in the field of defense and aerospace, according to the data by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).

Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs proved effective on the battlefield after they were used by the Turkish army in Syria against Russia-backed regime forces and by Azerbaijan in recapturing its territories from occupying Armenian forces in Karabakh.

They are currently actively used by the Ukrainian army for defense purposes in the ongoing war with Russia, playing an important role in destroying Russian military gear from howitzers and tanks to air defense systems and marine platforms.

Aid campaigns were organized by the public in Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Norway and Canada to buy Bayraktar TB2s and donate them to the Ukrainian army. Baykar did not accept the donations collected from the campaigns organized in Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland and instead used the funds to help the Ukrainian people meet their humanitarian needs, giving the drones to Ukraine free of charge.

Republican Party of Armenia: All worst predictions keep coming true

Rose Khoyetsian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
20:40, 01.09.2022

All the worst predictions keep coming true. Armen Ashotyan, vice chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, told NEWS.am.

He recalled that prior to yesterday's meeting in Brussels, Aliyev said he was expecting Brussels to establish a working group to prepare a peace treaty.

"After the meeting, the Armenian authorities circulated a press release about nothing, except that they tried to mislead us by allegedly talking about the Karabakh problem. In fact, Baku's demands are being met: the foreign ministers have been instructed to discuss the draft within a month, i.e. a working group.

Another traitorous step is also implemented: the so-called agenda of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations is separated from the Karabakh problem. Armenia's traitorous government continues to pursue a line according to which Artsakh must be completely washed of its hands.

If the peace agreement doesn't reflect the approaches and points related to Artsakh, it turns out that Armenia "reconciles" with Azerbaijan and leaves Artsakh at the mercy of Azerbaijan, or, at the best, leaves it to Russia, or at the discretion of fate," Ashotyan added.

This, in his assessment, will not be a reconciliation, and Armenia will only end up in a "sagging state." 

"Now Armenia is not only not a guarantor of Artsakh's security but it does not even raise Artsakh's voice in the international arena. If in the statement on the results of the previous meeting "Nagorno-Karabakh" became "Karabakh" (this is also an Azerbaijani demand), now it is not mentioned at all, which again completely reflects Baku's viewpoint," he stressed.

As for the prisoners and other issues, Armenia is not dealing with this issue, having all legal grounds.

"Yesterday the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination published a report on Azerbaijan, which says that Armenian prisoners are tortured, their humanitarian rights are violated, that Azerbaijan shows xenophobia against Armenians.

Normal authorities would have taken this report and other previously published documents and appealed to international instances, instead of forgiving Aliyev and washing the blood of Armenians off his hands.

We have 303 missing persons, over 100 unidentified bodies, over 100 prisoners. No one deals with the fate of our children. Before the change of power in 2018, during the incidents in the military, all the Soros media actively turned inside out. And now these people are gone.

These issues are not being addressed because Nichol is politically impotent. He is incapable of solving them and doesn't want to do so. How will he do it on the international stage if inside he and his team call these people deserters or non-existent people. These are the same heroes who should have waited 1-2 months during the election campaign. Pashinyan could at least ask Charles Michel at every meeting to mediate and return 5-10 of our guys," concluded the Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia.

IAEA hopes to set up permanent mission at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Rose Khoyetsian

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 11:13,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS. A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set off on Wednesday from the Ukrainian capital towards the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to inspect for damage after shelling nearby sparked fears of a radiation disaster, Reuters reports.

The mission is being led by the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and comes after extensive negotiations.

"We are now finally moving after six months of strenuous efforts," Grossi told reporters before the convoy set off, adding that the mission planned to spend "a few days" at the site.

"We have a very important task there to perform – to assess the real situations there, to help stabilise the situation as much as we can."

He said the IAEA hoped to set up a permanent mission at the plant, which is being run by Ukrainian technicians. Grossi said one of the priorities of the mission would be speaking to them.

"That’s one of the most important things I want to do and I will do it,” he said.

Iconic [Canadian-Armenian] Yousuf Karsh photo of Winston Churchill goes missing

Rose Khoyetsian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – Aug 24 2022
– 12:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - One of the most famous portraits of Winston Churchill is missing from the Château Laurier's Reading Lounge after apparently being replaced with a copy, but exactly how long ago it disappeared is a mystery, CBC reports.

A staff member at the storied downtown Ottawa hotel, just steps from Parliament Hill, discovered on August 26-27 that the portrait hanging on the wall was a replica, not the original that was installed in 1998.

Specifically, the employee noticed its frame wasn't hung quite right and didn't match those of the other five portraits in the lounge, which were also taken by Canadian-Armenian photographer Yousuf Karsh.

Karsh, one of the 20th century's most famous portrait photographers, took the photo in 1941 when the then-British prime minister was in Ottawa to address Parliament during the Second World War.

Jerry Fielder, who was hired by Karsh himself in 1979 and is now director of Karsh's estate, got a call from the Château Laurier's general manager on Saturday.

The work that was supposed to be hanging there was made from a negative and signed by Karsh, but when Fielder asked to be sent a copy of the signature, he knew instantly that it was a forgery.

"It wasn't his signature," Fielder said.

The hotel then contacted Ottawa police, who confirmed to CBC on Monday that they are investigating the potential theft.

"I couldn't believe that anyone would do this," Fielder told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Tuesday. "It had been there for so long and had been such a part of the hotel. It was shocking and very saddening."

What happened to the original iconic image is unclear. Fielder said that the last time he saw it hanging in the hotel was in July 2019, and that "it was the real thing."

Illegal street vendors face potential confiscation of products

Rose Khoyetsian

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 13:15,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet approved a bill on regulating street trade that will enable authorities to confiscate the products sold on the street by unlicensed vendors in addition to the presently used penalties.

The bill was mainly developed by Yerevan City Hall.

Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan said at the Cabinet meeting that during the past two years they’ve conducted studies and concluded that the existing levers are insufficient to tackle street trade and in most cases they are even unable to charge the penalties from fined vendors.

“In 90% of cases these vendors don’t have any property or assets registered by their name, and they end up getting bankrupt. As such, we see the solution of this problem through confiscating the products of illegal street vendors, and we believe that we will give a final solution to this problem. We regularly take action in Yerevan but just hours later everything is repeating, and we are sure that with the adoption of this law we will solve this problem,” the Mayor said.

The mayor said the street vendors are selling toys, food, even animals with unknown safety measures.

PM Pashinyan attached importance to the establishment of institutions and standards in the country.

“Let’s not go for compromise. I am not saying take the scythe and shut everything down, but safety regulations must be maintained. We must take the path of having clear standards in the country because compromise with low-quality reality will inevitably lead to disaster,” Pashinyan said.

He mentioned that looking back at the 2020 war a question arises as to why for so long they’d agreed to compromise. “Knowing that certain processes exist in our military, we said, well let’s not do anything in the military, it’s a matter of security, and then the compromise blew up on our heads. Every time our compromise blew up on our head,” the PM said.

Rescuer: Site is difficult, there are large structures, we try to cross sections piece by piece

Rose Khoyetsian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 17 2022
22:01, 17.08.2022

Hambardzum Vardumyan has worked for the Ministry of Emergency Situations for 27 years, the commander of the 16th detachment of the CFCSPRO told NEWS.am that the incident with the explosion in the Surmalu shopping center has its own peculiarities.

"We have participated in earthquake cases in Persia and Turkey, as well as in the bombing of the Mother and Child House in Jermuk, Armenia, but this bombing case is different because they were mainly the result of an earthquake, and the difficulty of it is that it was combined with a fire … that is, the foci were hot and it was difficult to work in hot spots," Hambardzum Vardumyan said.

As a result of the tragic explosion 16 citizens were killed, another citizen rescuers are looking for, Hambardzum Vardumyan says that the area where they are looking for him is quite difficult.

"There are big structures going on now, they are being removed, we are trying to go through the pieces and look at them all. So the work has gotten more complicated, but we'll be here until the work is done."

He notes that the entire building is dangerous. "We're conducting searches with the proper equipment, protecting each other and trying to keep the danger to a minimum."

The commander of the 16th CFCSPRO unit praises the work of the canine dogs. "The dogs always worked well because they quickly decide where to look for victims. The bodies were found in one area. The obstacle for the dogs was the smoke, high temperatures and fire."