Author: Sonya Jalatian

“The power of One dram” to the Rehabilitation center of the homeland defender

Sonya Jalatian

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 17:53, 4 December, 2020

“The power of One dram” has summed up the next program: during 2 months IDBank and Idram have gathered AMD 3 603 291 by transferring 1 dram for each payment of their clients. The amount will be donated to the Insurance foundation for servicemen.

“At this stage, when the war is over and we have many victims and wounded soldiers, we believe that we have to repay to the homeland defenders and their families, and this time we will donate the amount of more than AMD 3.5 million to the Insurance foundation for servicemen”, mentioned the head of the marketing unit of Idram company.

As for the next stage of “The power of One dram”, which will launch on December 1, the head of Communications unit of IDBank, Tatevik Vardevanyan mentioned, it will also serve to the homeland defenders: during the period from December 1 to February 28, 2021,  the “one drams” gathered will be transferred to the Rehabilitation center of the homeland defender”,- said Tatevik Vardevanyan,.

Haykuhi Minasyan, the director of the Rehabilitation center of the homeland defender, has highlighted the importance of this kind of initiatives and mentioned that at this moment 200 soldiers are receiving treatment at the Soldier’s home. “Just as the military service is mandatory, the support after it must be mandatory as well, and this should be done both by the state, and the society”, told Haykuhi Minasyan.

The representatives of the companies have mentioned that only by making payments via Idram application, IDBanking.am online platform, Bank and Idram terminals, the clients become goodwill ambassadors not even paying a dram, as IDBank and Idram transfer 1 dram from their own means, this time to the Rehabilitation center of the homeland defender.

Armenian President Seeks Russia’s Putin’s Help In Freeing Captives Held In Azerbaijan

Sonya Jalatian
Republic World
Nov 30 2020
Written By

Aanchal Nigam

Armenian President Armen Sargsyan has sought Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s intervention in assisting the return of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan since the Nagorno-Karabakh region dispute escalated, said Sargsyan’s office on November 30. As per an ANI report citing Russian news agency Sputnik, the letter to Putin’s office by Armenian President said that Russia’s “mediation would largely contribute” to the solution of the “highly sensitive” issue concerning the return of the servicemen along with the bodies of those who were killed during the unrest.

"The letter sent to Putin says, in particular, that the Armenian society and expatriate community are deeply concerned over the situation around servicemen and civilians taken captive by Azerbaijan," Sargsyan's office said in a statement. It further added, "the Russian president's mediation would largely contribute to the solution of the highly sensitive problem of returning servicemen and civilians held by Azerbaijan, and the bodies of those killed." 

Read - France Is Committed To Protecting Religious Sites In Nagorno-Karabakh Region: Foreign Secy

Read - Armenian Parliament Votes Against Lifting Martial Law Imposed Over Hostilities In Karabakh

Meanwhile, on November 29, Armenian President said that the government should step down and new elections should be held within a year allowing an interim government of national accord to be formed, preferable a technocratic one. As per reports, he also criticised the entire government during his meeting with the representatives of the Armenian community in Russia. 

Amid the soaring tensions, Sargsyan denounced the signing of a peace deal with Azerbaijan by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for a ceasefire in the disputed mountainous region as “great tragedy”. According to Armenian President, the government that led the nation into such ‘tragedy’ “has to go”.

The leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a joint statement on a complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. As per the statement, Armenia and Azerbaijan stop at their occupied positions, a number of districts come under Baku’s control, the sides exchange prisoners, and Russian peacekeepers are deployed along the contact line and the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.

Armenia places preliminary order of COVID-19 vaccine for 300,000 people

Sonya Jalatian

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 12:19,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The healthcare system’s load regarding the coronavirus is “bearable”, the Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan said at the Cabinet meeting. He said that since yesterday there are no severely ill COVID-19 patients in the country whom they aren’t able to accommodate in hospitals.

Speaking about the acquisition of a COVID-19 vaccine, Torosyan said they have made a pre-payment for acquiring it. “We’ve preliminarily ordered according to the 10% of our population, with the calculation of 300,000 residents, the timeframe of supply stands somewhere mid-spring,” he said, without elaborating.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Putin: Russia expects international organizations to take part in Karabakh settlement

Sonya Jalatian
TASS, Russia
Nov 24 2020
The Russian peacekeeping contingent has been deployed to the region

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Russia expects international organizations to take part in the process of further settling the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

The situation in Karabakh "is generally stabilizing and the Russian humanitarian response center is beginning its work to deal with the issues of providing assistance to residents of affected districts, restoring the infrastructure and creating conditions for a normal and peaceful life," Putin said.

"We expect specialized international organizations to take a substantial part in these efforts. We believe that all this creates pre-requisites for the long-term and full-format settlement of the long-standing conflict on a fair basis in the interests of the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples," the Russian leader stressed.

Russia has taken active efforts to halt the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh that entailed the deaths of thousands of Azerbaijani and Armenian citizens, Putin noted.

In doing so, Moscow followed the key accords reached with the OSCE Minsk Group, including its co-chairs: Russia, the United States and France, the Russian president said.

"The main thing that has been achieved is that the bloodshed has been stopped and the truce has been sealed in the trilateral statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia," Putin stressed.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent has been deployed to the region. The peacekeepers are monitoring the ceasefire, providing security for civilians and escorting returning refugees and humanitarian cargoes, he said.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27 with intense battles in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region.


German lawmakers propose to impose arms embargo on Turkey

Sonya Jalatian

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 16:28,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The German Left Party and the Green Party have submitted a bill to the Bundestag, proposing to impose an arms embargo on Turkey for its militaristic policy and human rights violations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Nagorno Karabakh, Libya and Syria, Deutsche Welle reports.

The proposal has been sent to the Federal Council on November 20. It’s expected to enter into the agenda of the Council for discussion in coming weeks. The bill proposes to suspend the export of all types of military equipment, weapons to Turkey, as well as to cancel the previously adopted contracts on export.

The parties stated that Ankara seeks to have modern weapons systems, aims at building a big and independence military industry. They noted that Turkey should not be provided with such an opportunity because it can lead to further destabilization of the situation in the region and serious consequences for the European countries.

According to Deutsche Welle, in 2018-2019 33 exports of military equipment were carried out to Turkey. German companies have sold military equipment and materials to Turkey worth nearly 12 million 800 thousand Euros, as a result of which Ankara managed to create a large butch of UAVs.

The party also stated that Greece has already proposed the EU to impose an arms embargo on Turkey, but that proposal was vetoed by Hungary, Germany, Italy, Spain and Malta.

Reporting by Sedrak Sargsyan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Dutch coalition MPs call for EU weapons embargo against Turkey

Sonya Jalatian
Dutch News, The Netherlands
Nov 11 2020

MPs from three of the four coalition parties want foreign minister Stef Blok to put pressure on Europe to establish a weapons embargo against Nato coalition partner Turkey, broadcaster NOS said.
MPs say the embargo would be a punishment for Turkey’s involvement in the recent violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno Karabakh region. MPs are also concerned that Turkey could use European weapons in Libya and in eastern parts of the Mediterranean area, broadcaster NOS said.
D66, CDA and ChristenUnie MPs have submitted a motion calling for a weapons embargo, which will be discussed during Wednesday’s foreign affairs ministry budget debate.
‘If (Turkish president Recep Tayyip) Erdogan encourages military conflict rather than stability, we have to be clear: no more weapons should be sent to Turkey as long as this continues,’ D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma said.


Children of Armenia Fund continues to invest in nation’s future

Sonya Jalatian
Fox 11
Nov 17 2020
By Araksya Karapetyan

LOS ANGELES – As the number of displaced families from Artsakh increases dramatically, many programs and organizations are shifting their focus to help including the Children of Armenia Fund. 

Currently, people in Armenia are dealing with a global pandemic and the aftermath of war.

COAF is providing shelter and humanitarian assistance to the many families who have nowhere to go.

Children of Armenia Fund was founded in 2004 to provide children and their families in the rural communities of Armenia with opportunities to reach their full potential.

Haig Boyadjian is the Senior Director of Development and has been with COAF for eight years.

"What we do is very comprehensive and holistic. We do infrastructure improvements in about 64 villages throughout Armenia, in addition to that, we have programs in education, health care, social services and economic development,” said Boyadjian.

Boyadjian was born and raised in Los Angeles and spent half the year living in Armenia.

In fact, he was supposed to be in Armenia right now, but because of what has transpired since September 27, he is still in Southern California. "Because of Covid and the conflict, it is a complete disaster zone in Armenia right now," Boyadjian explained. 

Since 2018, COAF'S Smart Center in the Northern Armenia Lori Region has offered free programs and transportation for children in surrounding villages with cutting edge programs and afterschool programs. But everything, for the time being, has been shut down.

And now, because of the war and the aftermath, COAF has shifted to crisis mode.

"We have been settling these displaced people throughout our villages, providing host families and displaced people with humanitarian supplies and things like that just to get them acclimated," said Boyadjian.

RELATED: Click here for more coverage of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Meanwhile, he has been mourning the loss of COAF students.

"I have seen a lot of these children in our villages grow up. What’s heartbreaking for me is we've lost a total of nine kids from our villages who happen to be serving in the military when the attack started," he said. 

One young man he can't forget is 18-year-old Vahe Mkrtchyan from the small village of Lernagogh. He was described as someone full of promise. 

"Vahe was a shining example of our organization's mission to give these children opportunities to advance themselves and he would run with them. Whatever extracurricular club we would put in, he would enroll in each one and would excel, whether it was debate or English language– name it he did it," Boyadjian recalled.

Vahe has a disabled younger brother and Boyadjian remembered how close the two brothers were.

"Vahe was Emin’s rock — the compassion that you saw when he interacted with his younger brother was amazing,” said Boyadjian.

"Vahe was on the course of pursuing his dreams and I don't want to say it's in vain because he died protecting and serving his homeland, but to see an 18-year-old's life come to a stop like that is heartbreaking,” said Boyadjian. 

Right now COAF'S mission is to focus on helping those who need it the most and to continue to focus on the future.

"We need to still continue with these programs and not neglect these kids. They are part of the new generation of Armenia, part of the nation-building progress, we need to continue on,” said Boyadjian.

COAF’s Moving Mountains fundraiser will be held on December 5 and will be televised and virtual this year.

CivilNet: Day 1 of Peace, Nagorno Karabakh

Sonya Jalatian
CIVILNET.AM

06:09

By Lika Zakaryan (A refugee from Stepanakert, writing in Armenia.)

The war is officially over but it goes on for me. Decisions, points, maps — my mind cannot grasp all these. I don’t realize what is happening. I am in that phase… What do they call it? The phase of denial. I busy myself with some trivial work, do anything only to escape from thoughts. I could handle it until I saw the newly revised map of Artsakh. We lived 44 days in ignorance of who is where, who controls what.

But today we faced our reality.

Who am I? The citizen of which country? Where will I live? I no longer have the answers to these questions. I ponder that there is a corridor between Armenian and Artsakh with a view to Karvachar. Men in suits decided that they’ll give it away on November 15.

Meanwhile, the other road that stretches through Shushi is closed. We need to construct a new road that bypasses Shushi. But that’s not a five-days work. It means that on November 15 they will give away Karvachar. What’s our conclusion? From November 15, people in Artsakh will be in an enclave. If I understand it all correctly, that’s the real deal. But the thing is that I don’t want to live in an enclave of Azerbaijan.

Today, I have been feeling devastated from the thought that I do not seem to belong to anything… You can say that at least Stepanakert is ours. In fact, yes. But it’s all the same. I am as much of a homeless refugee as, say, children from Hadrut or Shushi. 

We've all lost our home and peace.

In my opinion, we cannot live peacefully in Stepanakert if Shushi belongs to them. And these are not some pretentious words, this is the reality. It would be possible to commit a genocide in Stepanakert in a single night, and the world will only release statements calling on both sides to find a common ground. In the meantime, one side will cease to exist.

Nothing has changed since yesterday. We are still homeless, invisible people. The only new thing is that after seeing the maps, my awareness of reality has been clarified. But this is not enough.

I was brought up by my grandmother. She was my mom, dad, grandmother, and friend. She was everything to me. When she died, I didn't shed a tear for three days. I couldn't accept it. But on the third day, when she was buried, when I saw the coffin, and her — my beloved — in it, I almost lost my mind… I feel the same way now.

When I go back, I will see everything with my own eyes, only then will I realize and believe…

Armenpress: Two Russian aircrafts delivering peacekeepers arrive in Yerevan, Armenia

Sonya Jalatian

Two Russian aircrafts delivering peacekeepers arrive in Yerevan, Armenia

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 09:34,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Two An-124 transport aircraft delivered about 30 peacekeepers and armored vehicles from Ulyanovsk to Yerevan, the Russian Defense Ministry said, reports TASS.

“Two An-124 Ruslan aircraft of the Russian military transport aviation brought armored vehicles and personnel of units of the 15th peacekeeping brigade to the Yerevan airport”, the ministry says.

An-124 aircraft repositioned about 30 servicemen, 10 BTR-82A armored personnel carriers and logistic means, the Ministry noted. “Following unloading, inspection and preparation of vehicles, arrived units of the 15th peacekeeping brigade will complete a 300-kilometer march in military columns to the staging area (Goris city)”, it added.

Russian peacekeepers are transferred to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone in accordance with agreements set forth on November 9 in the joint declaration of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on complete ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh.

Armenian-Canadians send more humanitarian aid for people of Artsakh

Sonya Jalatian

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 09:46,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian community of Canada is sending more humanitarian aid for the people of Artsakh.

United Armenian Council of Ontario member Edgar Manukyan told ARMENPRESS that the supplies will be sent to Armenia on November 21.

“We’ve sent many batches of humanitarian aid earlier too, 15 tons of aid was sent from Toronto alone,” he said. Most of the emergency relief supplies include medication, sleeping bags, clothing and other essential items.

“There is no despair, we continue our work,” Manukyan said.

Manukyan said they will send ambulances in the next few weeks.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan