Author: Shushan Frangulian

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Thursday


Shavarsh Kocharyan: aim of intermediaries at this stage is not to
allow repeat of military actions

Yerevan August 10

Naira Badalyan. OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs today are aimed not so much
at reaching an agreement on Karabakh settlement issue, as not to allow
the resumption of hostilities at the contact line. Armenian Deputy
Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan stated in an interview with
journalists after the Government meeting on August 10. According to
him, the intermediaries at this stage are very well aware that it is
impossible to talk about progress in the negotiation process until
Baku's policy regarding the resolution of the Karabakh conflict
changes. According to the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of
Armenia, Azerbaijan has never refused a military solution to the
conflict and a policy of blackmail. "Today's relative calm on the line
of contact does not mean that we should lose our vigilance because
Azerbaijan is not committed to a peaceful solution to the problem,"
Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan stated.

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Tuesday


Armenia's Suren Manukyan elected IAGS Board member



YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. During the 13th conference of the
International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) in the
University of Queensland in the Australian city of Brisbane the
elections of the IAGS leadership was held, the Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute told Armenpress.

Henry Theriault has been elected IAGS President.

Adam Muller and Melanie O’brien have been elected Vice-Presidents.

Hollie Brehm , Sara Brown, Hilary Earl, Christian Gudehus, Suren
Manukyan (Armenia, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute) and Andrew
Woolford have been elected members of the IAGS Board.

The IAGS was founded in 1994 and is the largest organization in the
world uniting genocide scholars.

 Congressional Documents and Publications



REJECT WEAPONS SALE TO TURKISH BODYGUARDS, TROTT and 35 MEMBERS URGE TILLERSON


Rep. Trott leads bipartisan letter to Administration urging rejection
of proposed weapons sale to Erdogan bodyguards who violently attacked
protesters in D.C.;
Rep. Dave Trott (R-MI) News Release

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DOCUMENTS


WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative Dave Trott (MI-11), Co-Chair
of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, issued the following statement
after leading a bipartisan letter of 36 Members of Congress, including
Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Intelligence Chairman Devin
Nunes, Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Eliot Engel, and Intelligence
Ranking Member Adam Schiff, to Secretary of State Tillerson urging him
to reject the proposed sale of semi-automatic handguns and ammunition
to the Turkish government:

"Right here, on U.S. soil, we witnessed President Erdogan's blatant
disregard for democracy as his henchmen waged a brutal attack on
peaceful protestors. As the very model of freedom and liberty around
the world, the United States cannot condone such an overt suppression
of democracy and this proposed arms deal would be nothing less than an
endorsement of Erdogan's henchmen's brutal attack. We need to call out
and hold accountable President Erdogan and his bodyguards for who they
really are - thugs."

On June 6, 2017, the House of Representatives unanimously passed
H.Res.354, condemning Turkish President Erdogan's bodyguards' attack
on peaceful protestors and demanding the perpetrators be held
accountable.

With over 17,000 Armenian-Americans in Michigan, Rep. Trott serves as
Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus. Rep. Trott's resolution to
recognize the Armenian Genocide (H.Res. 220) has garnered strong
bipartisan support with 45 co-sponsors, -including the Chairman and
Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Since coming to Congress, Rep. Trott has led the fight to recognize
the Armenian genocide joining a Congressional delegation to visit
Armenia for the 100th anniversary of the genocide and co-sponsoring a
resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the 114th Congress.
Historians believ-e as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks starting in 1915, yet international governments -
including the United States - have refused to label the killings as a
genocide.

A PDF of the signed letter is available here
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__trott.house.gov_sites_trott.house.gov_files_Proposed-2520Weapons-2520Deal.pdf&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=bQ7XED32rQhBhXMtPFt7rhvVsuJmhxru00VQihfdQRE&s=8HK9lfRKgNnDlJOj8pp4UgNONwhmjqwY0-9JVf8Fohw&e=
 .

Full text of the letter is as follows:

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We write today to urge you to reject the proposed sale of
semi-automatic handguns and ammunition to a Turkish government
controlled entity authorized to import firearms to the Department of
Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.

As you know, on May 16, members of President Erdogan's security detail
violently attacked peaceful protestors outside the residence of the
Turkish Ambassador in Washington, DC. With President Erdogan just feet
away, looking on, armed members of his security detail unleashed a
vicious attack, targeting non-violent protestors and American
Diplomatic Security Officers, resulting in severe neurological, oral,
and maxillofacial injuries. Unfortunately, this is only the latest in
a series of disturbing attacks by President Erdogan's security forces
in the United States, including a brawl at the United Nations, and a
series of physical fights in Washington, DC in May 2016. This same
security force now stands to be the beneficiary of a potential arms
deal.

On June 6, 2017, the House of Representatives spoke strongly and
swiftly, voting unanimously to pass House Resolution 354, condemning
the violence that took place outside the Ambassador's residence on May
16, and calling on the perpetrators to be brought to justice under
U.S. law. We can no longer enable Turkey to compromise our democratic
values, and this proposed arms sale is nothing short of an endorsement
of the actions of President Erdogan's security force. As such, we
strongly urge you to reject this proposed sale and any potential
weapons transfer to President Erdogan's security detail.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Read this original document at:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__trott.house.gov_media-2Dcenter_press-2Dreleases_reject-2Dweapons-2Dsale-2Dturkish-2Dbodyguards-2Dtrott-2D35-2Dmembers-2Durge-2Dtillerson&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=bQ7XED32rQhBhXMtPFt7rhvVsuJmhxru00VQihfdQRE&s=gJ1gg-QIaClSxMiOVVv2vbD5i5idbZZ1bjp-GJf-3Lk&e=
 

Aravot, Armenia



‘Co-chairs must consider steps to restrain Azerbaijan’, Narek Minasyan

“Azerbaijan’s adventurism can be described as an attempt to pressure
the Armenian side in the process of negotiations. It expresses
Azerbaijan’s recent impudent behavior. One reason is that the
international community has expressed a neutral attitude towards
Azerbaijan’s actions, which created a false perception of impunity in
Azerbaijan”, touching upon the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border provocations
by the enemy, said political analyst Narek Minasyan. Let us remind
that within 2 days Armenia suffered 4 losses.

Narek Minasyan reminded that on June 19 the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
are visiting Baku, “Of course, such an adventurism right before the
visit affects the co-chairs’ image. I believe that in the summarizing
statement on the visit to region Azerbaijan’s actions will be
considered, otherwise, the effectiveness of the Minsk Group operation
will be under doubt”. The expert noted that on the same day military
exercises are expected in Azerbaijan, through which the enemy will
again try to pressure the Armenian side.

According to Narek Minasyan, it is noteworthy that in a given
situation the actions of the Armenian side will be responded, “They
should be more than perceptible for the co-chairs”.

In response to the question whether the co-chairs will again make an
addressed statement in the result of the visit to Baku, Minasyan said,
“We should not be happy about addressed statements. These are
prerequisites for the effective functioning of the Minsk Group. In
order to achieve efficiency, the Minsk Group should have made the
addressed statements as his style a long while ago, but this rarely
happens. Even if they make an addressed statement this time as well,
experience has shown that it does not have enough potential to
restrain Baku. Here arises a problem of taking another step. I think
the co-chairs should consider steps to restrain Azerbaijan in their
internal discussions. Within the framework of their mandate, there are
possible measures to restrain Baku. Moreover, Russia, the USA, and
France in their bilateral relations with Azerbaijan can force the
latter to take a constructive position in the Artsakh conflict”.



Luiza SUKIASYAN