Friday, June 3, 2022
Dozens Injured In Police Clashes With Protesters In Armenia
• Gayane Saribekian
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Riot police clash with opposition protesters in Yerevan, June 3, 2022.
Police fired stun grenades and made many arrests late on Friday in fresh clashes
with opposition supporters who continued to demonstrate in Yerevan to demand
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation.
The violence which opposition leaders blamed on security forces also left dozens
of people injured. At least 42 protesters and police officers received medical
aid in hospitals, according to the Armenian Ministry of Health.
The clashes broke out as thousands of protesters marched through the city center
after the country’s main opposition forces failed to push through the Armenian
parliament a resolution rejecting any peace accord that would restore
Azerbaijan’s control over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia - An opposition supporter is injured in clashes between protesters and
riot police, Yerevan, June 3, 2022.
The draft resolution also demanded that Pashinian’s government refrain from
making any territorial concessions to Azerbaijan as a result of a planned
demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It said the demarcation process
must also be linked to the release of all Armenian prisoners remaining in
Azerbaijan and the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenian border areas
occupied last year.
Lawmakers representing the ruling Civil Contract party boycotted an emergency
parliament session on the resolution and thus prevented the National Assembly
from making a quorum. They again accused the opposition of exploiting the
Karabakh conflict for political purposes.
Opposition leaders condemned the boycott, saying that it proves their claims
that Pashinian is intent on helping Azerbaijan regain full control over Karabakh.
Armenia - Riot police clash with opposition protesters in Yerevan, June 3, 2022.
“Therefore, if we don’t want Artsakh (Karabakh) to end up under Azerbaijani rule
we must oust these authorities,” one of them, Armen Rustamian, told reporters in
the parliament building guarded by an unusually large number of police and other
security personnel.
Shortly after the boycott, Rustamian and other opposition figures led a crowd of
supporters to the prime minister’s office in Yerevan. The protesters blocked all
entrances to the building for about two hours before marching towards
Pashinian’s official residence.
They were confronted by hundreds of riot police deployed at a street
intersection outside the residence. The violent clashes broke there out after
the opposition leaders and their supporters were not allowed to march to the
nearby parliament building.
Security forces used stun grenades as some angry protesters tried to break
through the police cordon. Scores of protesters were arrested as a result.
Armenia - Riot police arrest an opposition supporter in Yerevan, June 3, 2022.
The police did not immediately give the total of number of arrests. Opposition
lawmakers told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that one of their colleagues, Artur
Sargsian, was among the detainees.
Senior police officers at the scene defended the use of force. They said that
some protesters threw stones at policemen.
Ishkhan Saghatelian, the main speaker at the more than month-long opposition
rallies, blamed the security forces for the violence when he addressed later in
the evening supporters who gathered in the city’s France Square, the site of a
tent camp set up by the opposition on May 1. He urged the demonstrators to spend
the night in the square.
“Today Nikol once again declared war on his own people,” charged Saghatelian.
“We accept your challenge and we are ready to defend ourselves.”
Saghatelian also said that the daily anti-government protests will continue
unabated. “We will fight till the end,” he said.
Yerevan Wants Joint Peace Efforts By U.S., Russia, France
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian mees with EU envoy Toivo Klaar,
Yerevan, June 3, 2022.
Armenia’s leadership on Friday called for renewed joint activities of U.S.,
Russian and French mediators co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh.
The United States, Russia and France have for decades jointly tried to broker an
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord. According to Russian officials, Washington
and Paris stopped cooperating with Moscow in the Minsk Group format following
the Russian invasion of Ukraine. U.S. and French officials have not denied that.
In a phone call on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian reportedly
discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the possibility of kick-starting
the work of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Pashinian also raised the matter with Toivo Klaar, the European Union’s special
envoy for the South Caucasus, at a meeting held in Yerevan on Friday.
“In the context of regional peace and the peaceful resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Nikol Pashinian emphasized the importance of the
activities of the OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairmanship,” the Armenian government’s
press office said in a statement on the meeting.
At a separate meeting with Klaar, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan likewise
“reaffirmed the importance of restoring the work of the OSCE Minsk Group’s
co-chairmanship,” according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
An EU official told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service earlier in the day that the Minsk
Group is “not valid any longer.” The official also claimed that it is the EU,
rather than Russia, that now plays the central role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan
peace process.
The head of the EU’s top decision-making body, Charles Michel, has hosted three
face-to-face meetings between Pashinian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev
since December. Meeting with Klaar, Pashinian praised Michel’s “efforts aimed at
regional stability.”
Unlike Baku, successive Armenian governments have regarded the Minsk Group as
the principal international platform for a Karabakh settlement and praised the
work of its three co-chairs. Pashinian’s domestic political opponents now accuse
him of helping Baku kill that format by agreeing to the EU’s direct involvement
in the peace process.
EU Said To Seek Central Role In Karabakh Peace Efforts
• Heghine Buniatian
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel, Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev meet in Brussels, April
6, 2022.
The European Union has replaced Russia as the lead player in international
efforts to broker peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, an EU official claimed
on Friday.
The official, who did not want to be identified, also confirmed that the EU will
not work with Russia on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or sponsoring
confidence-building measures for that purpose.
“There is no movement between the EU and Russia on this and no intention to
engage with Russia on this,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“Russia might have stopped the [2020] war between the two parties, but it is
clear that the follow-up is taking place here in Brussels and not in Moscow. The
reason why they [the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan] came to Brussels so
quickly is a sign of this,” added the official.
The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, has hosted three trilateral
meetings with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev in the last five months.
After the most recent meeting held in Brussels on May 22, Michel said Pashinian
and Aliyev agreed to “advance discussions” on a peace treaty and press ahead
with the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and opening of transport
links between the two nations.
Russia has denounced the EU’s mediation efforts, saying that they are part of
the West’s attempts to hijack Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks and use the
Karabakh conflict in its standoff with Moscow over Ukraine.
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian make statements to the press after
talks in Sochi, November 26, 2021.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov charged in April that the West is now
ready to “sacrifice interests of the Armenian side” in the intensifying
geopolitical conflict. He said the United States and France stopped cooperating
with Russia within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, co-headed by the three
nations, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The EU official noted in this regard that the joint mediation format established
by Moscow, Paris and Washington nearly three decades ago is “not valid any
longer.”
The official said that both Yerevan and Baku are now “very scared of Moscow”
because of the war in Ukraine. “They are very aware that they can be next,” he
claimed.
Pashinian and Aliyev briefed Russian President Vladimir on the results of their
May 22 talks in separate phone calls earlier this week. The Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers assured Lavrov earlier that their governments
remain committed to Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements brokered by Putin during and
after the 2020 war in Karabakh.
The also agreements commit the two sides to demarcating their border and opening
it to commerce, travel and cargo shipments. They stipulate that Russian troops
will ensure the safety of a road and railway that should connect Azerbaijan with
its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s Syunik region.
The EU official revealed that the EU hopes to “gradually change this” in the
future. “But there is no doubt that this is a long shot,” cautioned the official.
Tajikistan - Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov meets his Armenian and
Azerbaijani counterparts in Dushanbe, May 12, 2022
A Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani commission dealing with practical modalities of
the planned transport links was due to meet in Moscow on Friday for the first
time in almost six months. Armenian and Azerbaijani officials are also expected
to travel to the Russian capital later this month for further talks on the
border demarcation.
Putin and Pashinian reaffirmed Russia’s key role in the Karabakh peace efforts
in a joint declaration issued after their talks held outside Moscow on April 19.
The EU official also said that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the security
of its population will be on the agenda of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations.
“It is inevitable that this will be on the table at some point but they are not
there yet,” explained the official. “This is a topic for the later stage as it
will be the most difficult issue. There is no point in frontloading this issue
right now.”
Reacting to Michel’s comments made after the May 22 summit, Karabakh’s ethnic
Armenian leaders accused the head of the EU’s main decision-making body of
signaling support for Azerbaijani control over the disputed territory. One of
them said on Tuesday that the EU is unfit to be the lead player in brokering a
peaceful settlement.
A spokesman for Michel said afterwards that his comments “should not be
interpreted as favoring a predetermined outcome of discussions” on Karabakh’s
future.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Samvel Nahapetian
Turkish press: ‘Turkiye doesn’t consider its fate separate from Azerbaijan’s’
Jeyhun Aliyev |28.05.2022
ANKARA
Turkiye will never consider its fate to be separate from that of its longtime ally Azerbaijan, the Turkish vice president said on Friday.
Speaking at an event in the Turkish capital Ankara marking the 104th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Republic Day (May 28) and June 26 Armed Forces Day, Fuat Oktay said that Turkiye and Azerbaijan are two "brotherly countries" that share a common history, culture, sorrow, and joys.
"May Allah always preserve our fellowship, unity, and solidarity," he said.
Stressing that Turkiye and Azerbaijan share the same spirit today as they did a century ago, Oktay dipped into history, saying: "The spirit we carry is the spirit of brotherhood of the Caucasus Islamic Army, which did not ignore the calls for independence of our Azerbaijani brothers even while the Ottoman Empire was fighting its own national struggle in various fronts of World War I."
On May 28, 1918, the Azerbaijani National Council declared the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic, at a meeting in neighboring Georgia.
Near the end of World War I, on Sept. 15, 1918, an elite Ottoman force led by Nuri Pasha (Killigil) called the Caucasus Islamic Army was sent to Azerbaijan in response to Azerbaijan's plea, along with the Azerbaijani National Army and volunteer forces, and liberated Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation, paying the price in the lives of 1,132 people.
Oktay said that with their sacrifices and courage, the "heroes" under the command of Nuri Pasha left a "glorious legacy" in Baku that will be proudly told to generations to come.
On the fall 2020 liberation of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region from Armenia's nearly 30 year-occupation, Oktay stressed that they see it as their primary duty to erase the scars of the occupation, eliminate poverty, and return everywhere the Azerbaijani flag flies to its glory years.
In 1991, the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
New clashes erupted in September 2020, and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
Also speaking at the event, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Turkiye Rashad Mammadov told the guests, bureaucrats, and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in the country about the history of Azerbaijan.
Mammadov underlined that after Azerbaijan regained its independence on Oct. 18, 1991, it faced deep political, social and economic problems and that Armenia occupied around 20% of the country's territory, adding that more than 1 million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes and were subjected to forced migration.
Noting that Turkiye and Azerbaijan support and make each other stronger, Mammadov said: "Turkiye played an exceptional role in the establishment of the current victorious Azerbaijan Army, and our heroic soldiers and officers received high-level education and training together with their Turkish brothers."
"Therefore, our victory in the 44-day (Karabakh) war can be considered a joint victory of Azerbaijan and Turkiye," he added.
Mammadov highlighted that Azerbaijan invested $19 billion in Turkiye, and Turkiye invested $13 billion in Azerbaijan, adding that these investments helped consolidate the independence of both countries and reduced foreign dependency.
The envoy also said 2022 also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan-Turkiye diplomatic relations.
"There is no precedent anywhere in the world for such interstate relations. As representatives of our state, we will make every effort to further consolidate these relations and to constantly raise them to a higher level," he said.
The event, which started with a moment of silence and the national anthems of both Turkiye and Azerbaijan, offered Azerbaijani cuisine to the guests accompanied by national folk music and traditional dances and performances.
Yerevan Tech Forum 2022 to gather around 1000 IT specialists, over 25 local and international speakers
16:01,
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan Tech Forum 2022-YTF will be held in the Gabriel Sundukyan National Academic Theater on May 21.
The Forum will be attended by around 1000 specialists and local and international speakers.
The event aims at gathering tech specialists and companies around one platform to jointly discuss the global threats, develop solutions for the problems.
The Forum will focus on the following topics – technologies in the changing world, corporate governance, transformation of business process in transitional period, marketing in global changes, digital transformation of supply chains and security.
Panel discussions will also be held.
The Armenian Ministry of High Technological Industry is the official partner of the Forum.
For more information, visit the of the Forum.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1083746.html?fbclid=IwAR2WBeHKAjj8MKS17IJrYF4npzqRpIM4nqLYjscxFzZgZiNUnqc1tBBmmD4
Armenian MP tells PACE to listen to what Karabakh kids have to say
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 17:11 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawmaker from Armenia bloc Armen Gevorgyan delivered a speech at a meeting of the PACE Subcommittee on Children on Wednesday, May 18 and urged his colleagues to think about ways to make the voices of Karabakh children audible and the ways to involve them in the pan-European processes aimed at defending their rights and freedoms.
"I would like to speak about the fact that there are places within the Council of Europe where children's rights, their problems and difficulties are out of our attention. These are unresolved conflicts," Gevorgyan said.
"During the last session of the Assembly, the Commissioner for Human Rights announced that she could not visit Nagorno-Karabakh to learn more about the situation on the ground. The Azerbaijani authorities oppose such a visit. You know why? Because she could see how the Azerbaijani authorities are creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty about the future, especially for the younger generation."
Gevorgyan noted that ordinary European children have been living in independent Karabakh for more than thirty years now, except they have a "more acute" sense of patriotism and justice.
"Unlike many of their European peers, they know what war and peace are, in the age of globalization they clearly understand what independence is, how it is achieved and maintained. They are a rare thing in modern Europe. they are the generation of independence," he added.
Turkish press: US top diplomat, Azeri leader discuss ‘positive momentum’ in south Caucasus
Michael Hernandez |11.05.2022
WASHINGTON
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev discussed on Wednesday advances toward peace in the south Caucasus.
The officials "discussed recent positive momentum and future concrete steps on the path to peace in the South Caucasus, including border delimitation and demarcation, opening transport and communication links, and the release of the remaining Armenian detainees," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
"Secretary Blinken reiterated the United States stands ready to help by engaging bilaterally and with like-minded partners, including through our role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, to help the countries find a long-term comprehensive peace," said Price.
"The Secretary also highlighted the importance of increased respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and recognized the important role Azerbaijan continues to play in European energy security," he added.
In January 2021, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It also included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.
iGorts: 300 Diaspora specialists apply for work in Armenia’s public sector
Public Radio of Armenia
Nearly 300 Diaspora Armenian professionals from 31 countries have applied for participation in the iGorts program, the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs reports.
Applications have been received from Russia, the United States, Lebanon, Ukraine, Belgium, Iran, Canada, France, Germany, Belarus, Argentina, Switzerland, Norway Italy and other countries. Professionals from the Netherlands, Jordan, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand have applied to the program for the first time.
The program provides an opportunity for specialists from the Diaspora to work in more than 25 departments in Armenia and Artsakh for a year, bringing their experience and knowledge, initiating new programs, and starting their careers in their Homeland.
All applicants have a bachelor’s degree with at least five years of professional experience or a master’s degree (or higher) with three years of professional experience. This year the applicants include graduates from Harvard, Bradford University, MSU, Columbia University, and UCLA.
This year the oldest applicant is 77 years old, and the average age of candidates for the program is 35 years.
After the final round, 50 specialists from the Diaspora will begin their career in Armenia in September 2022. The government of the Republic of Armenia will offer a round-trip air ticket, a monthly stipend of 336.000 AMD AMD to cover living expenses, emergency medical insurance, and a one-year residency status fee for the participants.
Over the past two years more than 100 specialists started their work in the public sector of Armenia and Artsakh, 70% of them decided to repatriate.
iGorts is the only state program in the history of Armenia that invites specialists from the Diaspora to help change Armenia’s administration system using their skills.
Armenia… Protesters Demand PM Resignation over Karabakh
May 3 2022
About 5,000 people demonstrated in the Armenian capital Yerevan to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, accused by the opposition of wanting to give away all of Karabakh to Azerbaijan after he told lawmakers last month that the “international community calls on Armenia to scale down demands on Karabakh”.
“We are launching a popular protest movement to force Pashinyan to resign,” Parliament Vice Speaker and opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan told AFP ahead of the rally.
He added, “He is a traitor, he lied to the people,” accusing Pashinyan of “wanting to give away Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan.”
He continued, “He does not have a popular mandate to do so.”
“The protests will not stop until Pashinyan resigns,” he warned.
Zero progress in Turkey-Armenia normalisation talks – columnist
May 6 2022
The third round of exploratory talks between Turkey and Armenia, aimed at normalising diplomatic relations, have produced zero progress, said columnist Amberin Zaman.
The talks that began early this year, have yet to yield any substantial results, Zaman said in Al-Monitor on Thursday.
“No progress had been made, but the meetings will continue,” Zaman said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources speaking to the news website.
Turkish and Armenian envoys have held three rounds of exploratory talks since January, as part of ongoing efforts to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries, frozen for almost three decades. Special representatives have agreed to proceed with the talks without preconditions, in the third round of the meetings held in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday. The talks, are the first serious initiative to mend relations since a 2009 peace accord that was never ratified by Turkish and Armenian Parliaments.
The third round of talks was held as thousands of Armenians protested against the effort and called for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, the columnist said.
In his address to the Armenian Parliament last month, Pashinyan said he was pressured by the international community, “suggesting that Armenia’s options were limited and no matter how bitter a pill, the country’s leaders needed to prioritise peace in the interest of its future generations,” Zaman said.
Pashinyan’s speech who hinted at flexibility over Nagorno-Karabakh, “triggered a maelstrom among his nationalist opponents, who accuse him of selling the country out,” she said.
Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, began a successful military offensive against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2020. The 44-day war ended in November with a Russia-brokered ceasefire. Azerbaijan regained control of much of the disputed territory controlled by ethnic Armenians since the 1990s.
“Turkey has long signalled that an Armenian withdrawal from the occupied territories would be enough for the two countries to normalise relations,” Zaman said. “Turkey is thought be holding back to allow Azerbaijan to press its advantage to extract further concessions from Armenia before signing a final peace treaty.”
They include getting Armenia to shelve all and any claims over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Zaman.
“The protest movement, which started in Armenia after Pashinyan’s April 13 speech, proves one thing,” the columnist cited Armenian commentator Benyamin Poghosyan as saying.
“The majority of the politically active part of the Armenian society does not and will not accept any solution that will make Nagorno-Karabakh part of Azerbaijan under any circumstances or guarantees. Any efforts by international actors, be it Russia, the EU, or the United States, to convince the Armenian government to agree to such a solution will inevitably trigger political destabilisation in Armenia,” Poghosyan said.
Protesters block Martuni-Gavar road in Armenia
Panorama
Armenia – May 5 2022
POLITICS 17:11 05/05/2022 ARMENIA
A group of protesters on Thursday blocked the Martuni-Gavar highway in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province, demanding that Nikol Pashinyan and his team step down.
The demonstrators chanted “Nikol the traitor!” and “Turk Nikol!”.
The Armenian opposition launched a large-scale civil disobedience campaign on May 2, warning the government against concessions to Azerbaijan over Artsakh. Protesters claim Armenia’s security is also threatened.
Armenian FM to meet with US Secretary of State in Washington D.C.
10:57, 2 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will depart for the United States on May 2-6 to take part in the session of Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue, the Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson said on social media.
“On May 2-6, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to the United States of America to participate in the session of Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue.
In Washington, Ararat Mirzoyan will also meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, USAID Director Samantha Power, US Special Assistant to the President Amanda Sloat and other colleagues.
Meetings with high-ranking representatives of the US Congress will take place.
Within the framework of the visit, the Foreign Minister of Armenia will deliver remarks at the Atlantic Council think tank”, the statement says.