Author: Suren Karakhanian

White House on the Armenian Genocide: We have to acknowledge history

Suren Karakhanian
eKathimerini, Greece
Katerina Sokou

20.03.2021 • 11:32

WASHINGTON, DC – Τhe US administration under President Joe Biden believes it is important to acknowledge history in respect to the issue of the Armenian Genocide, a White House spokesperson has told Kathimerini.

“As a presidential candidate, President Biden commemorated the 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children who lost their lives in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. He said then that we must never forget or remain silent about this horrific campaign,” the spokesperson said, replying to a request for reaction to a letter initiater by Senator Bob Menenez and co-signed by 36 other Senators of both parties. 

“And we will forever respect the perseverance of the Armenian people in the wake of such a great tragedy.  This administration is committed to promoting respect for human rights and ensuring such atrocities are not repeated. A critical part of that is acknowledging history.”

Menendez’s letter in full below, followed by the list of co-signee Senators:

Dear President Biden:

We write today to strongly urge you to officially recognize the truth of the Armenian Genocide. In the past you have recognized the Armenian Genocide as genocide, including in your Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day statement during the 2020 campaign. We call on you to do so again as President to make clear that the U.S. government recognizes this terrible truth.

From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire systematically sought to eliminate the Armenian population, killing 1.5 million Armenians and driving hundreds of thousands more from their homeland. We join the Armenian community in the United States and around the world in honoring the memory of these victims, and we stand firmly against attempts to pretend that this intentional, organized effort to destroy the Armenian people was anything other than a genocide. You have correctly stated that American diplomacy and foreign policy must be rooted in our values, including respect for universal rights. Those values require us to acknowledge the truth and do what we can to prevent future genocides and other crimes against humanity.

In December 2019, after decades of obstruction, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution introduced affirming the facts of the Armenian Genocide. The House also overwhelmingly passed its own resolution recognizing the facts of the Armenian Genocide in 2019. We appreciate that in your April 2020 Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day statement you pledged “to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide,” but Congress has already made its position clear. It is time for executive branch to do so as well.

As you said in your Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day statement last April, “It is particularly important to speak these words and commemorate this history at a moment when we are reminded daily of the power of truth, and of our shared responsibility to stand against hate — because silence is complicity.” Administrations of both parties have been silent on the truth of the Armenian Genocide.  We urge you to break this pattern of complicity by officially recognizing that the Armenian Genocide was a genocide.

Sincerely,

Joining Chairman Menendez in cosigning the letter to President Biden are: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

 

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) released the following statement concerning the letter:

“President Biden – by virtue of his own strong Senate record and the bipartisan House and Senate resolutions he backed as a candidate – is powerfully positioned to reject Turkey’s gag-rule, locking in permanent U.S. government-wide condemnation and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,” ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian said.

“Hellenic American Leadership Council Executive Director Endy Zemenides concurred. “The Biden Administration has fortunately started on the right foot and spoken to Turkey truthfully and bluntly.  Yet the White House still needs to be truthful when it comes to the Armenian Genocide.  President Biden’s record as a Senator and his statements as a candidate for the Presidency prove that he is aware of and committed to this truth.  Now that he is the boss, the end of Turkey’s gag rule should be a no-brainer,” stated Zemenides.

“Senator Menendez has led a decades long fight to ensure proper recognition of the Armenian Genocide as part of a U.S. foreign policy that reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. On December 12, 2019, the Senate unanimously passed a bi-partisan resolution (S.Res.150), led by Sen. Menendez and Sen. Cruz, affirming the historical facts of the Armenian Genocide, making clear that U.S. policy must reject efforts to deny the truth of this tragedy.  A similar resolution was adopted by the U.S. House (H.Res.296) on October 29, 2019, by a near-unanimous vote of 405-11.

“Over 50,000 participated in the ANCA’s national call-to-action — anca.org/Menendez — writing, calling, and tweeting their Senators to cosign the bipartisan letter led by Senator Menendez.

A lot of Armenian POWs still held captive in Azerbaijan – Luxembourg FM

Suren Karakhanian
Panorama, Armenia

Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn commented on the questions of the head of the Alternative Democratic Reforms (ADR) faction of the Parliament relating to the current uncertainty around the future of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) after the ceasefire. Armenpress reports. 

The questions and answers are provided below. 

Question: “What is the European Union’s approach to the legal status of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) from the perspective of international public law? The final recognition? What do you think?

Answer: EU hopes the sides will manage to find a lasting solution through negotiations which will define the legal status of Nagorno Karabakh with the consent of all parties. In this sense, EU supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and her Personal Representative.

Question: How does Luxembourg assess the approaches of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the requirements of N2357 resolution of the PACE adopted on January 25? Does the government think that the sides have implemented all the provisions of the resolution, if not, where does Luxembourg see difference in approaches in particular in the following formulations of the resolution: “to refuse from statements escalating the situation which can block the political dialogue, ensure the implementation of the humanitarian obligations assumed by the trilateral statement, such as the return of all prisoners of war and other detained persons, the bodies of the dead, the preservation of cultural heritage”?

Answer: The exchange of POWs is one of the points of the ceasefire statement which is the most problematic till now. Armenia has returned all detained persons, however, a lot of Armenian POWs are still held captive in Azerbaijan. The aggressive rhetoric between the two countries, which is especially being constantly inflamed by the Azerbaijani President, complicates the constructive cooperation. The preservation of cultural heritage of the region also remains one of the contentious issues for the sides.

Question: In the past Azerbaijan has criticized the EU and its member states for many times. On January 31 the foreign ministry of that country issued a statement, calling EU’s approaches as one-sided and based on double standards, which, it said, could damage the relations with Azerbaijan. Moreover, on December 24 Ilham Aliyev called French, Belgian and Dutch politicians as hypocrites, calling on them to open their eyes and look at the reality. What was the impact of these statements on the Luxembourg-Azerbaijan relations? Given these realities and the meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council on December 18 last year, to what extent is it appropriate to have such cooperation with Azerbaijan, also within the Eastern Partnership?

Answer: Azerbaijan is a participant of the EU’s Neighborhood Policy and Eastern Partnership, which allows the EU and its member states to engage not only in the constructive, but also criticizing dialogue with Azerbaijan. In this way EU can become an important role-player in the context of respecting the international law and human rights by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Question: On November 19, 2020, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy made a statement over the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. Since this statement did the Luxembourg government see concrete developments in the region in terms of EU’s calls. If not, what problems still exist and who is responsible for them?

Answer: The ceasefire regime is being observed up to now since the November 10 statement, with exceptions to some incidents, however, the aggressive rhetoric has not been eliminated, and the issue of the exchange of POWs is in the deadlock. There is also no investigation of the military crimes, the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh remains tense, the entry of international organizations to the region is blocked by Azerbaijan, there are still no signs for the lasting solution to the conflict.

Question: Is the EU going to provide assistance to the population of the region aimed at preventing the humanitarian disaster in Artsakh?

Answer: The EU has provided humanitarian support to the region since the crisis days which comprised 6.9 million Euros.

Question: Did the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and the aggressive rhetoric of the Azerbaijani authorities towards the EU have an impact on the European visa policy towards that country, especially for the Azerbaijani diplomatic passport holders?

Answer: The visa policy is regulated by the visa facilitation and readmission agreements signed with Azerbaijan in 2014, and nothing has changed in this respect.

Question: Does Luxembourg support the possibility of deploying observers by the OSCE in Nagorno Karabakh? Can the OSCE play a role in the process of investigating the military crimes in the region?

Answer: The deployment of OSCE observer mission is possible in case of receiving such a request with the consent of all sides. Luxembourg supports that proposal and the OSCE efforts. The OSCE’s function is to prevent and solve conflicts. It has no tool to deal with the investigation of military crimes.

French intellectuals call on their government to mediate in releasing Armenian POWs

Suren Karakhanian

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 17:19,

YEREVAN, MARCH 15, ARMENPRESS. 4 months after the statement on the ceasefire signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on 2020 November 9, official Baku is still refusing to implement one of the humanitarian points of the document, concerning the release of the Armenian prisoners of war, a group of French intellectuals said in a statement, Le Point reports.

The French intellectuals have noted that Azerbaijan in this way is grossly violating its commitments. “Such a disrespectful attitude towards the signed document shatters the Armenian people’s hope to return to normal life in the land of their ancestors 100 years after the 1915 Genocide”, they said, calling this as a clear manifestation of hatred.

They reminded that Azerbaijan, whose armed forces have committed military crimes against Armenians during the recent war by killing and torturing both the Armenian soldiers and civilians, has the worst indicators in democracy, human rights and freedoms in the world as confirmed by international human rights organizations such as Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders.

“The people, who have signed this call, ask Minsk Group Co-Chair France, which is engaged in the conflict’s peaceful settlement negotiations, to use its entire authority for the release of the Armenian POWs. If this group, which has a mandate by the OSCE, has not managed to prevent the war or protect the people who have been killed, at least it should ensure the observance of this humanitarian point of the ceasefire regime”, the statement, which has been signed by nearly 100 French intellectuals, said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian Opposition Blockades Parliament to Demand PM Quits

Suren Karakhanian
US News
March 9 2021
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content March 9, 2021, at 1:50 p.m.

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Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP) The Associated Press

By AVET DEMOURIAN, Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down.

Nikol Pashinyan has rejected the opposition’s pressure to resign over a November peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in which Azerbaijan routed the Armenian forces.

The political tensions escalated last month when the military’s General Staff demanded Pashinyan’s resignation, and he responded by firing the chief of the General Staff, Col. Gen. Onik Gasparyan.

On Tuesday, the opposition sought to build pressure on Pashinyan by urging its supporters to blockade the parliament. Thousands of opposition demonstrators surrounded the parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police.

Vazgen Manukyan, a veteran politician whom the opposition named as a prospective caretaker prime minister, predicted that the military won't accept Pashinyan's order to dismiss the General Staff chief.

“The army will not step back because it's not just one man's problem,” he said.

As part of maneuvering to defuse the political crisis, Pashinyan offered to hold an early parliamentary vote later this year, but rejected the opposition’s demand to step down before the vote.

Artur Vanetsyan, the former head of the National Security Service who leads the Homeland opposition party, emphasized that “we believe that that the elections mustn't be held under Nikol Pashinyan's rule.”

Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since Nov. 10 when a Russia-brokered peace deal ended 44 days of intense fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh that killed more than 6,000. The agreement saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that had been held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

Pashinyan, a 45-year-old former journalist who came to power after leading large street protests in 2018 that ousted his predecessor, has defended the peace deal as the only way to prevent the Azerbaijani army from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the peace deal.

____

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Armenian wrestlers win eight awards at international tournament

Suren Karakhanian
Panorama, Armenia
March 10 2021
Sport 20:16 10/03/2021Armenia

Armenia's youth freestyle wrestling team delivered a successful performance at an international tournament held in Lviv, Ukraine. As the National Olympic Committee reported, the Armenian team led by head coach Avetik Vardanyan won eight titles, taking three first-place, three third-place two second-place awards. 

The international competition featured some 160 wrestlers from Moldova, Slovakia, Lithuania and Ukraine, the source said. 

Putin holds separate phone calls with Pashinyan and Aliyev to discuss implementation of the Nagorno-Karabakh agreements

Suren Karakhanian
Panorama, Armenia

Russia's President Vladimir Putin had telephone conversations with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. During the calls the implementation of agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh  were discussed,  the Kremlin press service reported.

"It was noted with satisfaction that the ceasefire regime is strictly observed, and the situation in the region remains stable and calm in general. Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan praised the effective actions of the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed on the line of contact and along the Lachin corridor," the source said. 

According to the Kremlin release, the interlocutors also touched upon issues related to unblocking of economic and transport links in the region and in this regard highlighted the positive actibity of the working group co-chaird by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries. 

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 12-03-21

Suren Karakhanian

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 17:20,

YEREVAN, 12 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 12 March, USD exchange rate up by 0.50 drams to 526.88 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.99 drams to 627.67 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 7.15 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.14 drams to 733.00 drams.

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

Gold price up by 163.96 drams to 29208.08 drams. Silver price up by 10.66 drams to 444.66 drams. Platinum price up by 544.05 drams to 20463.02 drams.

Asbarez: Homeland Salvation Movement Clarifies Position on President’s Proposed Meeting

Suren Karakhanian



A scene from one of many Homeland Salvation Movement demonstrations

The opposition Homeland Salvation Movement said Thursday that it would participate in a proposed meeting by President Armen Sarkissian if it will discuss its proposed agenda.

In an announced issued by the movement’s leadership council, the group emphasized that “the country is on the verge of a national catastrophe, the security, political, socio-economic crises are deepening, and the reasons and those responsible for it are well known.”

“The Homeland Salvation Movement reaffirms its roadmap for overcoming the crisis: the resignation of the Prime Minister, the formation of an interim government, and early parliamentary elections,” the announcement said.

Expressing its willingness to take part in political consultations, the Homeland Salvation Movement said the meeting “must be held in Armenia’s National Assembly and broadcast live.”

The movement was in response to President Sarkissian invitation on Wednesday to bring together Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the leaders of all factions represented in parliament as well as representatives of the Homeland Salvation Movement.

Pashinyan’s My Step bloc and the opposition Bright Armenian party said their leaders would take part in the meeting. The other parliamentary opposition party, Prosperous Armenia Party, which is also part of the Homeland Salvation Movement has not publicized its position on the meeting. Pashinyan, too, has not signaled whether he would attend the meeting, scheduled to take place at noon local time on Saturday.

Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the coordinator of the Homeland Salvation Movement and the chairman of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia told reporters later on Thursday that he believes that the meeting should be accessible to the people.

He said if the meeting is designed to create photo opportunity where Pashinyan and the opposition are seen sitting around the same table, then “we will not give them the satisfaction.”

Later, in a tent on Baghramyan Avenue, Ishkhan Saghatelian, coordinator of the Homeland Salvation Movement and coordinator of the ARF Supreme Body of Armenia, gave a press conference, during which he published a statement from the Homeland Salvation Movement. He also answered journalists’ questions about the Movement’s positions and assessments.

“But if they really want to find a way out of the situation in the country, then we are ready for that meeting,” said Saghatelyan, adding that “we do not want to be part of a show.”
“It is not clear yet whether Nikol Pashinyan has accepted Armen Sarkissian’s invitation to the meeting. I don’t know whether they have an agreement or not, but we are not interested in that either,” Saghatelyan said, reaffirming that their struggle will continue.

“Nikol Pashinyan talks about the elections when the movement is gaining momentum. When the movement has less of a momentum, he says, well, there is no popular demand, there will be no election. He has often been able to influence the movement with these steps, this time he will not succeed,” explained Saghatelyan.

“The president should welcome our agenda,” said Saghatelyan. “But if Constitutional reforms, electoral laws are to be discussed at that table, then what should we say?”

The ARF leaders said that his party and the movement are interested in finding way out of the impasse, adding the country is increasingly exhausted.

He expressed doubts on whether the other parties invited to the meeting were sincere about finding solutions, or whether they were more interested in “choreographing the scene that suits them.”

Yerevan’s main artery, parliament building blocked by anti-Pashinyan protesters

Suren Karakhanian

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 10:50,

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. All entries to the parliament building and the Baghramyan Avenue and Demirchyan Street are blocked by the Homeland Salvation Movement’s demonstrators who are demanding the resignation of the Pashinyan Administration.  

The Homeland Salvation Movement said in a statement that they intend to continue their “domestic political struggle with new momentum”.

The movement’s supporters spent the night in tents outside the parliament building.

They said they are blocking all entrances to the parliament in order not to allow any lawmaker to enter the building because they “don’t have anything to do there”.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Scarred by war, Armenian veterans look warily to the future

Suren Karakhanian
Yahoo! News
March 7 2021
More than 300 veterans are undergoing treatment at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Homeland's Defenders in Yerevan

Mariam HARUTYUNYAN

Sun, March 7, 2021, 4:58 AM
AFP

Nver Gasparyan, who was injured during the fighting for control of the mountainous Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year, is haunted by memories of the war that ended in national humiliation for Armenia.

The 20-year-old was one of thousands of people wounded during six weeks of a brutal conflict that erupted in September and saw swarms of Azerbaijan's drones pummel the ageing Soviet-era hardware of Armenia's military.

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to remember," Gasparyan told AFP as he was undergoing physiotherapy to strengthen his injured legs.

"I want to forget everything as soon as possible, to erase the sounds and images of war from my memory."

At a hospital for veterans being treated for physical and psychological wounds in the capital Yerevan, Gasparyan said he avoids ruminating about the future.

"I don't think about tomorrow, whether or not I'm going to study. Right now I'm focused on getting better and restoring the mobility in my legs," he said.

– 'Not going to give up' –

The latest flare-up in fighting between the ex-Soviet rivals left more than 6,000 people dead on both sides and sparked a political crisis in Armenia, which has struggled to come to terms with the devastating loss.

Thousands returning from the front are now also processing the war and what comes next.

Military doctor Roman Oghanyan was wounded by shrapnel near the frontline when artillery hit his ambulance, killing his colleague.

He told AFP he lost consciousness and woke up later in a hospital.

"God saved me… from an imminent death, and I'm not going to give up," the 25-year-old said.

"I plan to go back and work in the ambulance service and continue helping people."

The health ministry in the tiny Caucasus nation has said that some 600 soldiers are disabled and around 150 require prosthetics.

More than 300 veterans are undergoing treatment at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Homeland's Defenders in Yerevan, one of several facilities designated for former soldiers.

"We are helping the wounded understand how their bodies have been affected … and are trying to motivate them to go on to live," the hospital's chief physician Lusine Poghosyan said.

"These guys not only have to learn how to live without an arm, a leg, or an eye, but also to heal their moral trauma," she told AFP.

"The 18-20-year-olds have seen horrible things. Many have persistent nightmares or suffer from insomnia."

– 'In a hurry to live' –

Thousands of people have been taking to the streets in Armenia near daily, calling for revenge and demanding the government's resignation, ever since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a ceasefire agreement that handed over significant territory to Azerbaijan.

But the embattled premier has said he had no choice but to agree to the humiliating ceasefire agreement, or see his country's forces suffer even bigger losses to a superior enemy.

Unlike protesters on the streets, Sarkis Harutyunyan, who lost both his legs in the fighting, is eager to move on.

The 20-year-old conscript was just a few months shy of fulfilling his contract when the war broke out and now says he can't wait to start learning to walk with his new prosthesis.

"I'm in a hurry to live. I have plans. My girlfriend is waiting for me and we plan to get engaged in two months," he said with a bashful smile.

The war in Karabakh ended in November with a Russian-brokered ceasefire that saw Yerevan cede swathes of territory, and a mass exodus of Armenians from what they say are ancestral lands.

But Harutyunyan's native Martakert district has remained under Armenian control and he says he hopes to return there one day with his family.

"There is no need to look back. The guys did not die in vain. Nothing was in vain."

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