Category: 2021

Cease-fire holds but Armenian refugees feel effects of conflict

Ani Basmajian
The Alabama Baptist
Jan 15 2021

Desperation and a sense of deep sadness continue.

Since the Azerbaijani military launched air raids and artillery attacks Sept. 27 on the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, long-disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, more than 150,000 Armenian refugees still find themselves seeking food, shelter and life’s necessities.

“The people of Armenia are still suffering because much land was lost,” said Don Parsons, ministry director to unreached people groups for Mission Eurasia. “In many cases people can’t go back to their homes. They have nothing to go back to.”

Some who are returning to the Nagorno-Karabakh region are discovering towns and cities with few resources.

“In some of the worst cases, people have lost their lives,” Parsons said. More than 5,000 soldiers and at least 143 civilians were killed in the conflict, he noted, citing a recent BBC report.

In November, following six weeks of hostilities, Russia brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The November ceasefire split Nagorno-Karabakh into two territories: one controlled by Azerbaijan, where the population is largely Muslim; the other controlled by ethnic Armenians where the population is largely Christian, Christianity Today reported.

“The cease-fire agreement is holding right now, but many are concerned it won’t be a long-lasting agreement,” Parsons said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down for talks in the Kremlin Jan. 11 with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Associated Press reported. Many Armenians opposed the peace deal, which brokered about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the region, but the Armenian prime minister has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to AP reports.

The Armenians were the first to declare Christianity as their national religion in the year 301. Alongside the devastating toll of human life and personal loss, many Armenian Christians fear destruction of the ancient symbols of their Christian heritage, such as churches and monasteries, particularly in the area of Nagorno-Karabakh controlled by Azerbaijan, CT reported.

In the city of Shusha, home to one of the largest Armenian Orthodox churches in the world, the situation is “deteriorating every day, said Father Andreas Taadyan, rector of the cathedral there, as reported by Christian Headlines. “In particular, I am told they are destroying houses, Armenian shrines and our cultural heritage. I believe that if the situation continues like this, there will be no traces of Armenians left there.”

Taadyan has fled his church but is trying to help displaced families.

“We all hope that tomorrow will be better than today,” Taadyan said. “So we go on with our lives, hoping for better days. I think that God will not leave us alone; everything will be fine, eventually. At the moment we are surrounded by Azerbaijanis, so there is a physical danger for all of us, but everything is in God’s hands.”

Parsons, who recently spent time in Armenia helping with relief efforts, recalls visiting “one home where multiple generations of refugees were living. When we entered, the place was quiet and sad, even with children there. Why? One of the men of the home, a young father and husband and son had been missing for more than two months. They fear the worst, but not knowing is devastating,” he said.

In another home, the head of the household wept as Parsons spoke with him. The man had lost his farm with 1,000 fruit trees, almost everything he had, because his territory is now under Azerbaijani control.

“Ethnic Armenians lost a lot of territory. Huge swaths of land, including homes and livelihoods, were taken away, and right now there appears to be little hope for them of getting it back,” Parsons said.

Even amid the devastation, Mission Eurasia, numerous churches and ministry partners have come together to offer hope to Armenian refugees, providing not only food and clothing but also prayer guides and portions of scripture.

“We were thankful to be able to help provide food and some needed relief for them, but especially to share the Word of God. Mission Eurasia’s desire of course in not just to provide food but to also share the Gospel of Christ with every home, with every refugee that we meet,” Parsons said.

He expects “there will still be many years of struggle for this little nation and region. They need our help both physically and spiritually.”

For more information visit https://missioneurasia.org/armenia-azerbaijan-war-response.

By Margaret Colson

Vitaly Balasanian, Karabakh’s Strongman-in-Waiting – Jamestown

Ara Felekian
The Jamestown Foundation
Jan 14 2021

09:15 PM 

Karabakh Security Council Secretary Vitaly Balasanian (Source: aravot-en.am)

The unrecognized Karabakh republic (“Artsakh” to Armenians), a militarized proto-state, seems headed for leadership change. Following its defeat (shared with Armenia) by Azerbaijan in the recent 44-day war, Karabakh’s so-called president, Araiyk Harutiunian, announced his intention to resign and quit politics as soon as a new presidential election can be held.

Pending another president’s election, Harutiunian has appointed Vitaly Balasanian as “secretary of Artsakh’s Security Council” (ArtsakhPress, December 2, 2020); and he followed up with an announcement that all decisions related to defense and security affairs are henceforth transferred into the Artsakh Security Council’s competency (ArtsakhPress, December 16, 2020). In a New Year’s statement, Harutiunian promised, “[W]e shall strengthen and rearm our forces with modern armament,” so as to build a “qualitatively new army” (News.am, January 1, 2021).

Those intentions are in line with Balasanian’s (see below). The latter is now deemed the most powerful office holder in Karabakh’s opaque internal politics. Power in Karabakh is heavily concentrated in the “president’s” hands, who doubles as “prime minister.” Harutiunian, elected in April 2020 for a five-year term, has now forfeited a large share of power by transferring it to Balasanian (see above). Harutiunian has considerable business interests and is a conciliatory figure. His non-martial personality starkly contrasts with Balasanian’s, a warrior type and retired two-star general. Balasanian is expected to run for president, although these expectations do not seem to factor in the need for a Russian green light to Balasanian.

Balasanian is closely aligned politically with Armenia’s former heads of state Robert Kocharian and Serge Sarkisian (presidents in 1998–2008 and 2008–2018, respectively; both native to Karabakh). Their antagonism toward Nikol Pashinian, Armenia’s current prime minister, dates back to at least 2008, did not abate after the 2018 regime change, and gained strength after Pashinian led Armenia (along with Karabakh) into the recent, lost war. Armenia’s 2018 “color revolution” did not extend to Karabakh; on the contrary, Karabakh remained a stronghold of the old authorities, and the leadership in Stepanakert was described as “counter-revolutionary” by Pashinian. As part of his anti-government fronde since 2018, Balasanian adopted a quasi-autonomist stance vis-à-vis Yerevan, emphasizing Karabakh’s own interests and decision-making rights (Vestnik Kavkaza, January 1, 2021).

In the wake of the lost war, Balasanian supports the ongoing protest movement in Yerevan against Pashinian’s government (see EDM, January 7, 2021). On January 8, Balasanian’s Karabakh-based Justice Party condemned the “defeatist attitude of Artsakh’s [i.e. Harutiunian’s] and Armenia’s authorities. We appeal to Armenia’s parliamentary and extra-parliamentary parties and its society to strive for the prime minister’s [Pashinian’s] earliest resignation.” According to the same statement, “The November 9 ceasefire must be followed by political steps, namely: restoring Artsakh’s status and its borders, pending a resolution of the conflict” (Newsam, Arminfo, January 8, 2021).

Balasanian was born in 1959 in the Upper Karabakh town of Askeran, served as a local field commander from day one of the Karabakh conflict, rose to the rank of general (commander of a division), served in various capacities in Stepanakert and Yerevan through the years, ran twice unsuccessfully for president of Karabakh, and served a first stint as Karabakh’s Security Council secretary in 2016–2019. He resigned from that post in 2019 over differences with Pashinian’s government.

Following his re-appointment to that post, grab of unique powers (see above) and perceived start on a presidential track, Balasanian has outlined his intentions in several interviews of a programmatic character. He intends for Karabakh not only to retain its panoply of military structures but to augment and upgrade them. The local army (labeled as the “Karabakh Defense Forces”) would introduce a new reserve training and mobilization system on two levels: for combat troops and for militias (the former to be paid for the time spent in training). He would increase the special forces, with a view to conducting “anti-terror” operations; and he would establish border troops for Karabakh (it does not have them as a distinct branch at present). The emphasis on defining these forces as Karabakh’s “own” seems to reflect Balasanian’s distrust of the Yerevan government.

According to Balasanian, all these forces have been resubordinated to Karabakh’s Security Council, which now has a new charter and wider powers under his leadership. Karabakh also needs “a new concept of information warfare,” for which purpose it will seek out some “international specialists.”

“Whether we are recognized internationally or not is a matter of secondary significance,” since Karabakh will in any case cooperate with Russia’s “peacekeeping” contingent and humanitarian response center in Karabakh (Aravot, Turan, December 29, 2020; Vestnik Kavkaza, News.am, January 1, 2021; EurasiaNet, January 7, 2021).

The lost war has apparently taught Balasanian that “we need to change everything, change our way of life.” He condemns nepotism and clanishness on personnel appointments, would take action against alcoholism and drug addiction, and promises to enforce “discipline” in civilian life generally. The Armenian Apostolic Church being the national church, all “religious sects” would have to close their offices in Karabakh.

Balasanian’s political prospects depend largely on Russia, which has taken over from Armenia the role of Karabakh’s security guarantor and socio-economic benefactor as a result of the recent war, with troops in place (see EDM, December 8, 10, 2020). Russia is unlikely to endorse a revanche-seeking local leader who would jeopardize the armistice and the whole postwar order that Moscow envisages for the region. Russia is interested in sealing, not reversing, the new status quo after the 44-day war, including Armenia’s weakness in defeat, which has maximized its dependence on Russia. The Kremlin relies on Pashinian’s weak, discredited government to deliver compliance with the armistice terms and with Moscow’s interests generally.

Erdogan Hints Peacekeepers Could Leave Karabakh

Emil Lazarian
Eurasia Review
Jan 15 2021

PanARMENIAN 0 Comments

Turkey wants to create conditions for coexistence in Nagorno-Karabakh without the need for peacekeeping forces, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, January 13 during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

“We want to create conditions that will ensure coexistence in Nagorno-Karabakh without the need for peacekeeping forces or monitoring activity. When this happens, I hope we will once again demonstrate to the world the constructive results of the Turkish-Russian partnership,” Erdogan wrote on his Telegram channel.

Erdogan said he and Putin also assessed the work of the joint Turkish-Russian center monitoring the ceasefire in Karabakh.

According to the Kremlin’s website, meanwhile, Putin has detailed Erdogan about the results of the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on January 11 in Moscow.

Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh begin coronavirus vaccination

Aram Torosian
TASS, Russia
Jan 15 2021

The day before, about 2,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine were delivered to a special-purpose medical unit

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Military doctors have begun vaccination against coronavirus of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"Military medics of the Russian peacekeeping contingent have begun vaccinating peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. The day before, about 2,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine were delivered to a special-purpose medical unit for further use in special thermal containers," the ministry said.

Vaccination will be in two stages: the first component of the vaccine will be administered to all peacekeepers by the end of January, the second component – by February 21.

The core of the peacekeeping contingent is made up of units of the 15th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Central Military District. The command is located in Stepanakert.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreements included the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopping at occupied positions, as well as deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.

Karabakh settlement among priorities of Swedish OSCE Chairpersonship

Lara Chatinian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 15 2021

Over the coming year, the Swedish Chairpersonship will do its part to ensure that the OSCE can make a real difference on the ground and defend the principles on which the Organization was founded, said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Ann Linde in her virtual address to the Permanent Council on Thursday.

“In a situation where multilateral co-operation and international law are increasingly being challenged, and our agreements and instruments to strengthen security are being questioned, we need to remind ourselves why we designed them in the first place,” said Linde. “Sweden is convinced that multilateral co-operation is the best way to address our common challenges. Sweden has shown that we are ready to shoulder our responsibility for the multilateral system.”

Elaborating on the Chairpersonship’s priorities, she said they will focus on the principles and commitments shared by all 57 participating States, defending the European security order and upholding the OSCE’s concept of comprehensive security. Political and economic security, human rights, democracy, the rule of law and equality are interrelated and interconnected, she added.

Conflict resolution efforts in the region is a high priority, Linde said, noting the ongoing conflicts and crises in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Belarus.

“Threats to international peace and security, as well as the suffering caused by conflicts, are simply unacceptable,” Linde said. “We therefore need to keep the resolution of the conflicts in our region at the top of our agenda.”

She said that the Chair will call for respect for international law in all conflicts and will back measures to mitigate the humanitarian consequences and advocate an inclusive approach. The Chair remains ready to engage directly with stakeholders and offers OSCE’s good offices to facilitate solutions, Linde added.

She stressed that achieving comprehensive security throughout the region requires meaningful inclusion and empowerment of women. Linde emphasized that as Chairperson-in-Office, she would place special emphasis on strengthening gender equality in all aspects of the Organization’s work. She also raised the strong and unique joint commitment within the OSCE to the participation of civil society.

Three Russian TV Channels to broadcast in Armenia without participating in tender

Yeghisabet Arthur
Aysor, Armenia
Jan 15 2021

Three Russian TV Channels will have right to broadcast in Armenia in accordance with the inter-state agreement signed between Armenia and Russia in December.

President of the National Television and Radio Commission Tigran Hakobyan stated today that one Russian TV Channel will get republican slot and two Russian TV channels capital slots without participation in the tender and license.

Besides, as a result of the tender five Armenian TV Channels will get republican slots and seven capital slots.

Hrant Dink commemorations to be held online this year

Lena Karagyozian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 15 2021

Commemorations for murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink will take place online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ahval reported on Thursday, citing organizers.

Dink served as editor-in-chief of Istanbul’s Armenian-language newspaper Agos before being gunned down outside its offices on Jan. 19. 2007.

More than 100,000 people joined the funeral for the journalist and human rights advocate, who sought to mend relations between Turkey and the Armenian community.

Traditionally, friends and supporters gather outside the Agos offices to mark the anniversary of the killing. This year, however, the memorial will take place online, with speeches and features on Dink’s life broadcasted throughout the day.

Ogun Samast, a Turkish ultra-nationalist, was convicted of Dink’s murder in 2011, but questions remain over the alleged involvement of state security forces.

On Tuesday, a former gendarmerie intelligence officer was detained in relation to the case, state-run Anadolu news agency said. 

Azerbaijani Soldier Killed In Armenian Attack, Breaching Ceasefire

Jane Topchian
The Organization for World Peace
Jan 15 2021
 in Conflict / Current Events by Kristen Morris

An Azerbaijani soldier was killed, and another wounded, in an Armenian attack in late December 2020, furthering tensions between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claims it will respond accordingly if Armenian soldiers continue with these deadly attacks, says Al Jazeera. Despite the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry blaming Armenian forces, Armenia says its soldiers are adhering to the ceasefire negotiated by Russia a few weeks ago. Russian peacekeepers in the region claim that renewed fighting is taking place, but their report did not name who is responsible. This is not the first peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia that has been complicated by allegations of fighting.

In 1994, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) claims a Russian-led peace agreement between the countries ended a six-year conflict over independence for 150,000 Armenians living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This region is internationally recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan yet has been inhabited and mostly controlled by ethnic Armenians for years. This conflict resulted in 30,000 deaths and over one million displaced people, including 800,000 Azerbaijanis, claims CFR and Los Angeles Times. The Russia-mediated peace deal was largely followed until 2016 when Azerbaijan reclaimed some of the land in the contested region by force, effectively breaking the ceasefire in a show of strength.

In July of 2020, tensions erupted again over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, leading to the current conflict that appeared in full force in September. On 10 November, Russia mediated a ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia that ended six weeks of intense fighting over the region. This agreement favoured Azerbaijan and allowed the country to gain control of some of the contested region as well as some land outside that region, claims Reuters. However, on 12 December, media reports of renewed fighting suggested a breach of the ceasefire deal, according to Al Jazeera.

Despite claims from both sides about the other breaking the ceasefire, including Azerbaijan accusing Armenian troops of killing an Azerbaijani soldier, Russian peacekeepers say that the agreement is largely holding. Given this attempt at long-term peace, refugees are returning to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Led by Russian peacekeepers as part of the ceasefire agreement, thousands of refugees have arrived by bus in the region, claims the Russian Ministry of Defense. Returning to a normal life amid an ongoing ethnic conflict is difficult. It is unclear whether these refugees returned too soon and will ultimately have to flee again if the ceasefire is not adhered to.

This current conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in September and is the worst fighting the South Caucasus region has experienced in almost three decades, claims the New York Times. Al Jazeera states that since the conflict erupted a few months ago, 5,600 people are estimated to have been killed, including civilians and soldiers from both sides.

A future of stability for Azerbaijanis, Armenians, and refugees in the South Caucasus region is uncertain. Further ethnic tensions will cause more economic and social issues for neighbouring countries who are housing refugees, continued destruction of infrastructure in the war zones, and more displaced people throughout the Caucasus region. Though a regional conflict, involved actors span international borders, and too many outside actors are trying to solve a problem with misguided intentions and actions. According to CFR, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, led by the U.S., France, and Russia, have clearly been unsuccessful in their 26-year attempt at long-term peace in the region. Additionally, Turkey backs Azerbaijan while Russia lends support to Armenia but supplies weapons to both sides, claims CFR. Turkey and Russia risk complicating their relationship even more since they are also on opposite sides of the Syrian and Libyan civil wars. If ethnic tensions in the South Caucasus region continue, the conflict could become another proxy war between Turkey and Russia.

According to Los Angeles Times, some Azerbaijanis believe negotiations are hopeless and that fighting is the only move to retake Azerbaijani homeland in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Though many Azerbaijanis were pushed from the contested region, military force is only resulting in more deaths, displacement, and indignation on both sides. There is too much animosity and unresolved tensions at the root of the conflict that need to be addressed by the parties directly involved. Peace talks should encompass how to deal with injustices on both sides, compromises between the countries, and joint plans for the peaceful future of people of all ethnic backgrounds in the region.

Authorities took no action to stop the war – Vazgen Manukyan

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 15 2021

"We were not protected during the war, as we had failed to purchase proper armament," Vazgen Manukyan, the candidate for PM's post from the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement stated on Friday during the meeting with citizens in Gyumri. 

Manukyan, along with other representatives of the Movement, tours the Armenian provinces to mobilize the population demanding the resignation of PM Pashinyan. 

"Days after the war started, the military leadership came to conclusion that it should be stopped, and negotiations should start. That was done during the April war in 2016, when Azerbaijan retreated and stopped the war at the demand of Moscow," Manukyan said, adding no action was taken by authorities to stop the war. "If the war were stopped we wouldn't have thousands of victims and loss of significant territories. Was that because of a treason or stupidity? That was either a stupidity, lack of state vision, or the result of a treason. You may choose any version," said Manukyan.  

The opposition figure added that the situation continues worsening as the borders of the country are being narrowed, Armenians are ignored by all, amid numerous losses, including material and an internal anxiety and despair prevailing in the public. "We have lost 100 thousand hectares of arable land, 315 thousand of meadowland, 15 major mines, $1 billion worth of weapons, self-confidence. The questions arises whether this was inevitable" said Manukyan. 

Turkish press: Revitalization of Turkey-EU relations

Maral Chavushian
 COLUMNS 
JAN 16, 2021 12:05 AM GMT+3

European Union countries experienced hard times during Donald Trump’s presidency in the U.S. During a period of time when the U.S. weakened the internal bonds between EU countries, the U.K. left the union, and France and Germany, as the leading members of the EU, sought to pursue their own national interests.

Now, the EU will enter a phase of recovery with the presidency of Joe Biden, who will seek to strengthen the European axis in NATO and the international arena.

In the meantime, Turkey faced a series of national and regional challenges, including the Syrian civil war, an attempted coup d’etat, the struggle against the PKK and Daesh, the refugee crisis, the Libyan civil war, the changing balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict and more.

Appearing at first glance to be a democratic movement, the Gezi protests in 2013 emerged as a design of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) to realize George Soros’ model of a “color revolution” with the support of global powers.

Following the end of the Gezi protests, FETÖ attempted to implement a bureaucratic coup d’etat via its cadres in the judiciary and police on Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 in 2013.

Even though the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) overcame this scheme, FETÖ attempted to realize a full-fledged coup d’etat in 2016. Under the veil of a religious charity and educational organization, FETÖ was a global spy ring that was directly used by global powers.

Preventing the coup d’etat with the support of the people, the AK Party government brought Turkey’s war on terror to a whole new level. The Turkish military conducted a series of cross-border operations in Syria, which dealt devastating blows to the PKK and Daesh, and defeated the Bashar Assad regime in Idlib.

Turkey adopted a proactive foreign policy not only in Syria and Iraq but also in Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and Azerbaijan. After overcoming all these national, regional and international challenges, Turkey has now returned to its reformist vision.

Even though Turkey-EU relations were troubled during the last five years, two recently emerged political dynamics will probably conclude with a rapprochement between Ankara and Brussels: the prospective strengthening of the EU by Biden’s coming to political power and Turkey’s entry into a reform process after successfully dealing with internal and external threats.

Turkey’s new reform process is comprehensive, covering the fields of democracy, judiciary, urbanization, administration and the economy. Since the economies of Turkey and the EU have become interwoven thanks to the customs union, neither side has the luxury of breaking up their relations.

Particularly, Turkey’s manufacturing industry and its import-export network with European countries provide a win-win scenario for the economies of both sides. Thus, EU-Turkey relations will most probably enter a new phase of rapprochement and revitalization.