Tiny ethnic Armenian enclave may spark a wider conflict

Herald Mail Media
Sept 30 2020

  • Sep 30, 2020
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It's an old conflict, with some dangerous new twists.

Fierce fighting has flared this week between Armenia and Azerbaijan, neighboring ex-Soviet republics in the southern Caucasus region, a key energy corridor that sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Russia and the Middle East.

The focus of the conflict is Nagorno-Karabakh, a tiny mountainous enclave that is recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan, but whose population of about 150,000 is majority ethnic Armenian.

If fighting that erupted Sunday escalates into all-out war, it could potentially drag in big regional powers — Turkey, a U.S. ally in the North Atlantic Treat Organization that has strong ethnic, cultural and linguistic ties to Azerbaijan; and Russia, which is friendly with both countries, but has a defense alliance with Armenia, as well as a military base there.

On Tuesday, Armenia and Azerbaijan traded angry accusations as well as intensifying artillery fire along their border. In what would mark a significant escalation, Armenia said one of its warplanes was shot down Tuesday by a Turkish F-16 that took off from Azerbaijani territory. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan issued heated denials of responsibility for any downed Armenian warplane.

The latest fighting, which has killed scores and wounded hundreds, has prompted outside calls for conciliation. But diplomatic efforts have so far been sluggish, which some analysts blame in part on preoccupation with the coronavirus crisis.

"Since the advent of COVID-19, there has been a lack of proactive international mediation," said Olesya Vartanyan, a senior South Caucasus analyst for the International Crisis Group. "No shuttle diplomacy, no calls to the leadership in Baku and Yerevan" — the respective capitals of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Here is a look at the roots of the long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and why it holds the potential to become a wider threat.

TURBULENT HISTORY

In the rugged pocket of territory — historically inhabited by both Christian Armenians and smaller numbers of Muslim Turks — resistance to Azerbaijani rule goes back decades.

In the Soviet era, Nagorno-Karabakh gained autonomous status, but its struggle to break away from Azerbaijan outright began even before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Fighting from 1988 onward killed about 30,000 people and displaced 1 million. That battle ended with a 1994 cease-fire and de facto self-rule.

But no country, not even Armenia, recognizes it as an independent republic, although Armenia and the Armenian diaspora provide it with financial support. Violent flare-ups have occurred periodically, including in 2016, when clashes left at least 200 people dead, and in July and August.

Not surprisingly, the two sides do not even agree on what to call the thickly forested 1,700-square-mile area, which is only about 1 1/2 times the size of Yosemite National Park. Ethnic Armenians use an ancient name for the region, Artsakh. The widely recognized name of Nagorno-Karabakh is a compound of the Russian word for "mountainous," and the Russianized version of an Azeri word meaning "black garden."

STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE

The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh is seen as a potentially destabilizing element in the strategic South Caucasus region, long a fault line between empires. Azerbaijan, via pipelines to Turkey, supplies about 5% of Europe's gas and oil, and any escalation in fighting could imperil that flow.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could also accentuate regional rivalry between Russia and Turkey, which have competed for influence in an array of volatile venues, including Syria and Libya.

TURKEY'S ROLE:

Turkey held large-scale military exercises with Azerbaijan in July and August, and has vocally taken its ally's side in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The two share a common enmity with Armenia, whose relations with Turkey are shadowed by the Ottoman Empire's mass killing of Armenians beginning in 1915.

Domestic political considerations also color Turkey's current stance. Long-ruling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has seen a significant erosion of popular support in advance of 2023 elections, and "whenever this has happened in the past, he uses foreign policy to mobilize his nationalist base," said Gonul Tol, director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program. "Now we're seeing that in Nagorno-Karabakh."

Turkey repeated Tuesday that it would stand with "brotherly" Azerbaijan, but has avoided saying whether it is providing drones, warplanes and military experts, as Armenia claims. Azerbaijan denies receiving such aid.

Armenia's change of leadership in its 2018 revolution raised hopes that tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh might ease, but those prospects have since dimmed. Even before this flare-up, Armenia's prime minister, Nikol Pashinian, has taken what Turkey views as an unyielding position on the enclave's future.

THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA

The worldwide Armenian diaspora is far larger numerically than Armenia's actual population of about 3 million. One of the world's largest concentrations is in Southern California, and the community has watched the latest escalation in and around the enclave with dismay and alarm.

On Tuesday, the Armenian National Committee of America's western region called in a statement for Azerbaijan to be held accountable for "egregious violations of fundamental human rights" and "perpetration of war crimes against civilian populations."

MEDIATION EFFORTS

Russia, France and the United States have worked in the past to calm outbreaks of trouble in Nagorno-Karabakh, but this time, no coordinated effort has so far emerged.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, uneasily eyeing a popular uprising in the former Soviet republic of Belarus and weathering international condemnation over the poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny, may be motivated to seek to play the role of statesman. He has repeatedly called for calm, most recently in a conversation Tuesday with Armenia's leader. But with his long-held ambitions to burnish Russia's great-power image, Putin may also want to avoid seeming to accede to Turkey's wishes.

In the United States, a heated presidential campaign spares little attention for a conflict with which many Americans are unfamiliar, but Democratic contender Joe Biden on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to call on leaders of both Azerbaijan and Armenia to immediately de-escalate. He also said Washington must demand that "others — like Turkey — stay out of this conflict."

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, traveling in Greece, on Tuesday called for a halt to hostilities. President Donald Trump's wording on the matter, however, has been more vague; he said this week the conflict was being looked at "very strongly."

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(c)2020 Los Angeles Times


International Symposium Astronomical Surveys and Big Data 2 kicks off

Panorama, Armenia
Sept 14 2020

The International Symposium Astronomical Surveys and Big Data 2 (ASBD-2) started on Monday, September 14, and it will continue till 18 September.

This is the 2nd such meeting organized by the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO), the 1st one being held in 2015 with participation of astronomers and computer scientists, BAO reported.

During the meeting large astronomical surveys will be reviewed and discussed, a tribute will be given to Markarian and other important surveys, the future of astronomical research by joint efforts of astronomers and computer scientists will be discussed and so on.

Topics of the Symposium are the following:

• Historical surveys; Byurakan surveys for active galaxies (Markarian, Arakelian, Kazarian) and others
• Surveys for exoplanets
• Surveys for stars and nebulae
• Extragalactic and cosmological surveys
• Digitization of astronomical data
• Astronomical Catalogues, Archives and Databases
• Cross-identifications between surveys and discovery of new objects
• Future large-area surveys
• Big Data in Astronomy
• Data Science
• Computational Astrophysics, Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics
• Virtual Observatories

Among the invited speakers of the symposium are AregMickaelian (director of BAO), Oleg Malkov (Russia), co-founder of Astroinformatics Ashish Mahabal (USA), Chair of International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) Chenzhou Cui (China), Alain Sarkissian(France) and others.



Turkey denounces Bahrain-Israel normalization deal

Panorama, Armenia
Sept 12 2020

Turkey on Friday strongly condemned the normalization agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Israel, saying the deal contradicts the commitments made under the Arab Peace Initiative and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Daily Sabah reported.

According to Turkish officials, the step will deliver a fresh blow to the efforts to defend the Palestinian cause and will further encourage Israel to continue its illegitimate practices toward Palestinians.

"We are concerned and strongly condemn Bahrain's undertaking to establish diplomatic relations with Israel," it said in a statement.

Turkey’s authorities emphasized that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East is through a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue within the framework of international law and U.N. resolutions.

"It will further encourage Israel to continue illegitimate practices toward Palestine and its efforts to make the occupation of Palestinian lands permanent," the ministry statement said.

Opposition MP: Many young people unable to leave Armenia to study abroad

Panorama, Armenia
Sept 2 2020

Many young people admitted to foreign universities are unable to leave Armenia to study abroad due to the closed borders, Naira Zohrabyan, a lawmaker from the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

"I applied in writing to the prime minister to get clarifications on the issue, today I received a response from the minister of education, science, culture and sport,” she wrote.

Zohrabyan also shared the minister’s response on her page so that the students admitted to foreign universities who applied to her are aware of it.



Artsakh Ombudsman receives Coordinator of “Armenian Refugees Platform” Initiative Group

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 14:13, 1 September, 2020

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic Human Rights Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan received on August 31 Arthur Ghazaryan, coordinator of the “Armenian Refugees Platform” initiative group, the Ombudsman’s Office told Armenpress.

Artak Beglaryan emphasized the importance of public initiatives and platforms in the protection of the rights of Azerbaijani-Armenians and NKR internally displaced persons, noting that joint and consistent efforts can provide significant results in this direction. The Ombudsman stressed that this issue is under his attention and expressed readiness to assist the group’s activities within his powers.

Arthur Ghazaryan introduced the main directions and goals of the “Armenian Refugees Platform.” He pointed up that the aim of the initiative is to unite the efforts of different groups aimed at protecting the rights and interests of the Armenian refugees, highlighting Artsakh as one of the main directions of their activities.

The meeting was also attended by Tevan Poghosyan, Chairman of the “International Center for Human Development.”

TUMO center opens in Moscow

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 21:12, 26 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, ARMENPRESS. TUMO center opened in the Russian capital, Moscow on August 26, ARMENPRESS was informed from the TUMO center for creative technologies.

‘Following Paris and Beirut, now the youngsters of Moscow will be able to get acquainted with the TUMO program, use the newest technologies and gain skills in a number of modern spheres.

Thanks to the cooperation between TUMO and Genome Ventures the TUMO members of Moscow will be able to specialize in 8 spheres in the initial stage – programming, graphic design, robotics, 3D modeling, game creation, music, filmmaking and animation.In the future 6 more directions will be available – Website creation, drawing, photography, new media, mobile graphics and arts.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin attended the opening of the center. ‘’Technological education is very demanded and popular in Moscow. I am confident there will be huge aspiration for studying here’’, he said.

TUMO center is located in the center of Moscow, next to ‘’Moscow City’’ business center. It has its own building and is designed for 2 thousand students. Classes will start from October.

2 more international TUMO centers will open until the end of the year – in Berlin and Tirana.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Universal income declaration mechanisms discussed at Government

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 20:30, 27 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 27, ARMENPRESS. Issues related to the mechanisms of investing universal declaration of income of citizens were discussed at the Government on August 27 headed by PM Pashinyan.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of the Prime Minister, a number of proposals and observations were presented during exchange of ideas.

Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the investment of the culture of income declaration, emphasizing that the aim of this reform is shaping state-oriented mentality and civic responsibility. The PM tasked to continue the works for elaborating mechanisms for universal income declaration and present proposals.

Erdogan: Turkey will make no concessions in eastern Mediterranean

 Panorama, Armenia
Aug 26 2020

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned he would make "no concessions" in the eastern Mediterranean and that Ankara is determined to do whatever is necessary to obtain its rights in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean, Al Jazeera reported.
 
Speaking at an event on Wednesday commemorating the 11th-century military victory by Seljuk Turks over the Byzantine empire at Malazgirt, Erdogan also called on Turkey's counterparts to avoid mistakes that he said would bring their destruction.
 
"We don't have our eye on someone else's territory, sovereignty and interests, but we will make no concessions on that which is ours," Erdogan said, urging Greece to "avoid wrongs that will be the path to ruin".
 
"We will not compromise what is ours… We are determined to do whatever is necessary."
 
The source reminds that tensions over energy resources escalated between Turkey and Greece after Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a move Athens has called illegal.