2017 – Page 398 – Armenian Directory & News

Sports: Artsakh athletes win 3 gold at European Wushu Championships

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 David Nargizian

Panorama, Armenia

The athletes from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) have conquered six medals at the European Traditional Wushu Championships (Junior, Youth and Adult) held in Tbilisi, Georgia. As Artsakhpress told Panorama.am, seven athletes from Artsakh took part in the tournament as part of the Armenian team. Three Artsakh wushuists won gold medals, while the three others won bronze.

In the Junior Championship, Artsakh athletes Arsen Baghryan (under 48kg) and Vardan Abrahamyan (60kg) became European Champions. Another athlete from Artsakh Hayk Gasparyan (56kg) also won the gold medal in the Adult Championship.

Wushuists David Danielyan, Goris Sargsyan and Hayk Khachatryan won bronze medals.

More than 800 athletes from 28 countries took part in the tournament.

Sports: Armenian arm wrestlers win six medals at European Championships

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Jhanna Virabian

PanArmenian

– 12:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian arm wrestlers won 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals at the European Championships, held on May 13-22 in the Polish city of Katowice.

The national team of Armenia was represented by 10 sportsmen.

As president of the Arm Wrestling Federation Arsen Gabrielyan said, the Armenian arm wrestlers will start preparing for the World Championships in Budapest (September 2-11).

BAKU: Armenians warned over planned anti-Azerbaijani provocation in Russia’s Kursk

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Bedik Zaminian

APA, Azerbaijan

Armenian youth have been warned over a planned anti-Azerbaijani provocation in Russia’s Kursk city on May 28 – Republic Day of Azerbaijan.

The chairman of the Development and Renaissance Foundation of Azerbaijani Culture in Russia, Shamil Tagiyev, told APA Azerbaijani youth appealed to concerned bodies, including the city mayor’s office, after the Kursk Armenian Youth Association announced that they would a provocative event on the 25th anniversary of Shusha’s “liberation” and a “concert”.

According to him, a group of Azerbaijani diaspora members in Kursk met with representatives of the city mayor’s office and Armenian diaspora to demand that the provocative event be prevented.

The Armenians promised that they will put the mistake right and remove the phrase “25th anniversary of the liberation of Shusha” from ads and programs, noted Tagiyev.

“It was noted that if any provocative case occurs in connection with Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, Azerbaijanis will react sharply to it,” he added.

Note that the Kursk Armenian Youth Association, announced that they will organize a provocative march “25th anniversary of the liberation of Shusha” and a “festive concert” upon an official authorization. The Azerbaijanis living in Russia complained to relevant bodies of the country in this regard.

Azerbaijan’s Shusha city was occupied by Armenian armed forces on May 8, 1992.

BAKU: Russian expert: Armenia will have to leave territories of Azerbaijan

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 George Mamian

AzerNews, Azerbaijan

18:49 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The recent Armenian provocation, which resulted in destruction of the Osa surface-to-air missile system of the Armenian Armed Forces by the Azerbaijani side, continues to be widely debated in Armenian media and expert community.

On May 15, an Osa surface-to-air missile system, belonging to the Armenian Air Defense Forces, was taken to a new position on the frontline in the Fuzuli-Khojavand direction, and an attempt was made to take control over the airspace of Azerbaijan.

As a result, the Osa missile system, a re-supply vehicle and personnel of the Armenian Armed Forces were destroyed in order to eliminate the real threat to Azerbaijani aircraft and suppress the enemy’s activity.

This is one of many provocations by Armenia aimed to aggravate the situation on the front line. On April 27, the air defense units of Armenia launched a guided missile from the Osa system in Khojavend-Fuzuli direction of the front. Without hitting any targets, the rocket fell onto an empty section in the territory controlled by Azerbaijan.

Commenting on the recent incident at the contact line, the well-known Russian expert Igor Shatrov told Day.az that today there are many hot spots on the planet; many states have territorial problems that typically arise in the course of violation of the norms of international law by one of the sides. However, in all such conflicts the first step towards a solution was always full and unconditional ceasefire by both sides, noted Shatrov.

“This does not mean that the resolution of the issue will be immediately found, but it is a prerequisite on the way to such a resolution,” the expert said.

Shatrov believes that Armenia will eventually have to fulfill the will of the international community, which is expressed in the four resolutions of the UN Security Council – they demand de-occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.

“Only this will put an end to the constant provocations on the contact line of troops, which for many years result in losses in manpower and military equipment of both sides,” said Shatrov.

He reminded that Russia is a supporter of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means and it supports Azerbaijan in the issue of restoration of territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders.

Azerbaijani political scientist Fikrat Sadikhov also commented on the recent provocation of Armenia on the front line. He noted that Armenia is provoking Azerbaijan in every possible way with such attacks.

“In the incident with liquidation of Osa missile system in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Armenian side received a blow in response to its provocation. This case has shown the combat capability of the national army and high technical training of our military personnel,” Sadikhov said.

The expert believes that in the future, the political leadership of Armenia will realize that the results of such provocations created in the line of fire can be disastrous for themselves.

Sadikhov also noted that Russia can contribute to the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by putting pressure on its strategic ally Armenia.

“It is not about severing their alliance with this country, but it would be nice to reconsider some priorities and to approach this issue constructively, with the understanding that the development of relations with Azerbaijan is a more profitable process for Russia,” the expert noted.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed its consent to come to the negotiating table with Armenia to solve the conflict by peaceful means, but Armenia continues to play for time in order to preserve the status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, Armenia tries to provoke and sabotage the Azerbaijan Armed Forces on the contact line, but receives a strong rebuff.

BAKU: PACE co-rapporteurs to make proposal in relation to Karabakh conflict

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Tatoyan Vazgen

APA, Azerbaijan

The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for Azerbaijan and Armenia will make a proposal for possible activities in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the October part-session.

Such a decision was passed at a meeting of the Sub-Committee on Conflicts between Council of Europe Member States of the PACE Monitoring Committee in Helsinki on 15 May, APA reported.

The next meeting of the sub-committee will be held in Vienna June 9.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.

A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.

The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.

Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the CSCE (OSCE after the Budapest summit held in December 1994) Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.

Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, the US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.

Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.

ANKARA: Istanbul summit sees row over Nagorno-Karabakh

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Garo Vardanian

Hurriyet, Egypt


 Istanbul summit sees row over Nagorno-Karabakh

ISTANBUL



President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 22 criticized Armenian Deputy
Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimiyan over his remarks largely focusing
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Summit in Istanbul.

In his speech at the opening ceremony of the summit, Hovakimiyan gave
a lengthy response to Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Ogdal Asadov, who
had stated that one of the member countries “has still not given up
its poisonous ideology,” referring to Armenia.

“The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Summit is not a place for
political accusations,” Hovakimiyan said.

However, Erdoğan, who was chairing the session, slammed Hovakimiyan
for himself giving a “completely political speech.”

“No representative here made any [political] accusation or evaluation.
But you took up your entire speech with a political evaluation,” he
said.

Erdoğan also noted that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was within the
responsibility of the OSCE Minsk Group, pointing to Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

“There is a great benefit to make this issue end,” he said.

The decades-long dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh has its immediate roots
in a 1990s war that left some 30,000 people dead after ethnic-Armenian
separatists backed by Yerevan seized territory from Azerbaijan.

Despite years of internationally-mediated negotiations since the 1994
ceasefire, the two sides have not yet signed a final peace deal.

Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but the
ethnic-Azeri community - which before the war made up around 25
percent of the population - was entirely driven out. Almost all of the
current 145,000 population of the enclave is Armenian and the region
has declared itself the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

May/22/2017

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.hurriyetdailynews.com_istanbul-2Dsummit-2Dsees-2Drow-2Dover-2Dnagorno-2Dkarabakh.aspx-3FpageID-3D238-26nID-3D113406-26NewsCatID-3D510&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=RBQPb5MZuWJZjdq-gH_x765vdjwaQHfzChA-SRpBtg4&s=7v6doqG8gfFktzR6Lu5TmhhX1UcuLkPL6gT9PlDJmsM&e=

ANKARA: Film: The Ottoman lieutenant

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Kajoyan Gevork

Hurriyet, Turkey



The Ottoman lieutenant

TAHA AKYOL


Over the weekend my wife and I went to see the film “The Ottoman
Lieutenant,” directed by Joseph Ruben. It narrates the story of the
love between an Ottoman officer and an American nurse in Van, the city
that became a milestone with an Armenian insurgency in 1915.

Based on the passionate love between a young American anti-racist
humanitarian nurse Lillie (Hera Hilmar) and Ottoman officer İsmail
(Michiel Huisman), the film depicts Turkish-Armenian clashes and the
invasion of Van by the Russians. A third character in the film,
American doctor Jude (Josh Hartnett) is also in love with Lilly,
conflicting with İsmail.

We enjoyed the film and I certainly recommend it. Whenever I was to
learn more about a film, I turn to the veteran Turkish film critic
Atilla Dorsay. He praised “The Ottoman Lieutenant” on the T24 website.
“The film very well depicts the passion that is the main theme of the
film. The young actors who are mostly little known, expect for John
Hartnett who plays the doctor, are very good in their roles. I
particularly liked İsmail and Lillie, Michiel Huisman (who also
performs in Game of Thrones on TV) and Hera Hilmar,” Dorsay wrote.

My wife Tülin and I were both very much moved by the film. I watched
it based on my historic knowledge of the Van rebellion, which I once
made a documentary about.

The film was correct to define the mutual massacres as “common pain.”
Ziya Gökalp, the Turkish writer, poet and political activist, is
reported to have told a military court that the incidents were not
genocide but a “reciprocal massacre.” The name of my documentary, and
a book that was published in 2009, is also “Common Pain.”

The major rebellion in Van in March 1915 was certainly a milestone.
The idea of deportation emerged in the Ottoman administration
following the Van revolt.

American historian Justin McCarthy has written that Muslims in Van
were effectively destroyed without having any opportunity to organize
any resistance. Anything associated with Islam in Van was burnt and
torn down. Apart from three very ancient structures, all mosques in
the city were torched.

The Van rebellion and these horrific events took place after the
disaster that the Ottoman army suffered at Sarıkamış and while a
bloodbath was ongoing in the Dardanelles. The Russian army invaded Van
amid the Van rebellion and other Russian invasions in Eastern Anatolia
also began. In response, the Ottomans decided on a policy of
deportation of Armenians.

The narrative presented by “The Ottoman Lieutenant” is very different
to the narrative presented by the recent film “The Promise,” which is
much closer to Armenian views. The New York Times has written that
Turkish and Armenian views clash in these two movies. It said “The
Ottoman Lieutenant” was “Turkey’s quest to control a bitter history.”

It is natural that there are differences of opinion in history, but it
is important that the film “The Ottoman Lieutenant” is bringing to the
screen incidents that the Western public barely knows about.

While on the subject of a “promise,” I should write this: Russia, to
encourage the Armenians to rebel, “promised” to deliver Eastern
Anatolia, up to Sivas, to the Armenians. The weak Ottomans signed the
Yeniköy Agreement in 1914 in order to pass “reforms” in that
direction.

What happened next? In 1915, while Britain and France were dividing up
Ottoman land in the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement, Russia was
allocating Eastern Anatolia to itself, making no mention of the
Armenians.

May/23/2017

Turkish Tumult: No excuse for beatings by Erdogan’s bodyguards

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Edgar Tavakalian

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sunday

TURKISH TUMULT; NO EXCUSE FOR BEATINGS BY ERDOGAN'S BODYGUARDS

the Editorial Board
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The visit to Washington of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
included a violent confrontation at the Turkish ambassador's residence
between Mr. Erdogan's bodyguards and protesters against his visit.
Some of the protesters ended up in the hospital.

High-level visitors normally bring their own armed bodyguards to
supplement the efforts of various American services. These can include
the U.S. Secret Service, Department of State security and
Washington-area police forces. Protection of the visitors sometimes
becomes complicated, particularly when there are present in the United
States natives of those countries or Americans who are opposed to the
particular foreign leaders or their regimes.

Sometimes it gets really complicated. There was one instance in which
American security services were obliged to disarm the bodyguards of a
visiting African president when what was believed to be an attempted
coup d'etat occurred in his country during the visit and the loyalty
of his bodyguards came into question. One of the worst nightmares of
an American government would be the assassination of a foreign leader
during a visit to America. No one would ever believe that the United
States was not complicit.

The visit of the Turkish president presented particular difficulties
for U.S. security services because Mr. Erdogan and his government are
opposed in Turkey and by some in the United States by Kurds, Armenians
and the adherents of a Turkish opposition figure resident in
Pennsylvania, Fethullah Gulen. A small group of protesters gathered at
the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington, and were, in a nasty
melee, beaten by Mr. Erdogan's bodyguards.

Visiting VIPs' bodyguards are considered part of the visiting
delegation, with diplomatic immunity. In this case, the Turkish
bodyguards have since left American shores.

The bodyguards were absolutely wrong to behave brutally on American
soil, to the degree that they acted off the Turkish ambassador's
property, which is considered Turkish soil; the question is still
under study. There is also fault to be allocated to the various
American security elements for not keeping the bodyguards and
demonstrators apart. They are, in fact, quite accustomed to do so. Mr.
Erdogan is by no means the only controversial foreign figure to visit
Washington.

Nonetheless, the Turkish bodyguards did their country and their
government's cause no favor by beating up what were apparently
peaceful demonstrators.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.post-2Dgazette.com_opinion_editorials_2017_05_21_Turkish-2Dtumult-2DNo-2Dexcuse-2Dfor-2Dbeatings-2Dby-2DErdogan-2Ds-2Dbodyguards_stories_201705200015&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=VIDgXOvBWnPcX9gqp-fv573K3_520Xa_yAyL0lE70-o&s=DuCc762uqvQiGeRVD7Dtnpf1svD6h_zR9JlJ9KWGDUY&e=

View from Moscow: Permyakov`s extradition from Armenia to Russia from the point of view of logic is inexplicable

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Emil Lazarian

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Monday


View from Moscow: Permyakov`s extradition from Armenia to Russia from
the point of view of logic is inexplicable

Yerevan May 22

David Stepanyan. Extradition of Valery Permyakov from Armenia to
Russia from the point of view of logic is inexplicable. Caucasus
Department of the Institute of CIS countries Deputy Director, military
expert Vladimir Evseev, expressed this opinion to ArmInfo.

On May 19, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of seven
members of the Avetisyan family, a serviceman of the 102nd RMB,
located in Gyumri, Valery Permyakov was extradited to Russia.

"I do not know and do not understand the motives for this issue, but
in my opinion, the events that took place in Gyumri could not be
exactly the same as declared. According to my personal point of view,
the events in Gyumri have Turkish trail, it was a Turkish special
operation to withdraw the 102nd Base from the territory of Armenia. It
was perfectly understandable, as I cannot imagine how to stab a child
with a knife, noiselessly destroy the whole family," he stressed.

Based on a careful analysis of those tragic events, the military
expert arose many questions as to how all this was happening and
whether or not the perpetrator was Permyakov. But taking into account
the fact that in the public opinion in Armenia it is persistently
suggesting that it is Permyakov who is the culprit of the destruction
of the whole family, his return to Russia, Yevseyev, estimated as
inexpedient.

The expert is convinced that supporters of the deterioration of the
Armenian-Russian relations, which already use all what is possible for
this purpose, will use this. In this light, Yevseyev assesses the
decision on the extradition of Permyakov as not entirely correct and
not proceeding from the Russian interests.

"Permyakov, of course, is not Ramil Safarov, who hacked with an ax a
sleeping Armenian serviceman and presented him in Azerbaijan as a
hero. "It should be clearly understood that nobody will glorify
Permyakov, this outcast will sit in Russia." For Russia - Permyakov is
a problem in relations with Armenia, the problem of military
cooperation, a spot on the Russian Armed Forces, so Russia will do
everything to get Permyakov according to merit, but I cannot explain
his extradition from the point of view of normal logic," the Russian
expert summed up.

Analyst: "Exchange of territories for peace" will not lead Karabakh for a long peace

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Emil Lazarian

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Monday


Analyst: "Exchange of territories for peace" will not lead Karabakh
for a long peace

Yerevan May 22

David Stepanyan. The willingness to negotiate "around the exchange of
territories for peace" recently voiced by Elmar Mamedyarov is a
long-awaited interim solution for Azerbaijan. An independent analyst,
ex-head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman
Melikyan expressed such opinion to ArmInfo. The last week was
characterized by a significant increase in tension on the
Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line. Azerbaijani snipers killed three
servicemen of the NKR Defense Army. After that by the guided missile
was damaged the anti-aircraft missile system "Osa" of the NKR.

After all this, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said
that Baku is ready to negotiate "around the exchange of territories
for peace." In other words, the leadership of Azerbaijan promises not
to kill Armenian servicemen in response to the agreement to withdraw
troops from certain areas. However, in response to the alert, the
advanced units of the NKR DA resorted to punitive measures, as a
result of which several objects of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were
destroyed.

The analyst stressed that representatives of Russian political and
expert circles voiced the formula for the "exchange of territories for
peace" for months before Mamadyarov. According to his estimates,
through its implementation, Azerbaijan will be able to snatch half of
the territory of Artsakh and gain new strategic positions without a
single casualty and special efforts.

"According to these absolutely false and unfounded speeches, it is
allegedly possible to establish a lasting peace and eradicate
hostility. After a while, however, Azerbaijan does not hesitate to use
any convenient moment to attack the above-mentioned Armenian cities
and will try to capture Artsakh and Syunik," the analyst summed up.