Category: 2021

Armenia: When ‘Cancel Culture’ Means Canceling a Culture

Emil Lazarian
Jan 7 2021

What exactly is at the heart of the most recent troubles in Armenia?

Armenian soldiers pray on Nov. 1 in the damaged Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in the historic city of Shusha. (photo: KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images)

Ines Murzaku Blogs January 7, 2021

In more than two decades of teaching Church history, whenever I ask my students who are the earliest Christians or which is the first nation to have adopted Christianity as its official religion, the answers range from the Middle East to Rome and Constantinople.

Few of them know much about Armenia and the ancient Christian history of this land, where Christianity was established in the first centuries. Very few realize that Armenians are among the first to have embraced Christianity, as Sozomen wrote in his Ecclesiastical History (AD 440), the first Church history written.

Armenia has been making headlines since the eruption of conflict in September, when Azerbaijan (supported by Turkey) attacked Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh in Armenia.

What exactly is at the heart of the conflict?

The mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, which geographically connects Europe to Asia, is the contested region between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenians have been living in the area for two millennia.

In 1920 both Armenia and Azerbaijan were incorporated into the Soviet Union. A year later, in 1921, Josef Stalin assigned the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan, making it an autonomous region of Soviet Azerbaijan. At that time, Armenians made up over 90% of the population living in Soviet Azerbaijan.

The Bolsheviks aimed at balancing power and influence among diverse ethnic and religious groups throughout the Soviet Union. Consequently, Azeris were forcibly settled in the region with the focus of de-Armenizing Nagorno-Karabakh — an effort that was successful, as the Armenian population percentage fell from 90 to 75%.

During 1987–88, Mikhail Gorbachev’s Perestroika, Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh started requests for independence from Soviet Azerbaijan and to be united with Soviet Armenia. The conflict between Armenians and Azaris turned into a war after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989, which resulted in Nagorno-Karabakh voting for independence from Azerbaijan.

Once liberated from the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan entered a two-year-war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. By the end of that war, Armenia was successful and controlled Artsakh. However, 1994 peace talks failed to produce a peace treaty among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Artsakh, and the status of the contested region of Artsakh was uncertain until the recent belligerent events which ended in defeat for Armenia.

On Nov. 10, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement to end the conflict, to the detriment of Armenia. Part of Artsakh will go to Azerbaijan, meaning an eviction of Armenians from their lands and a high risk of “forever erasing the Armenian culture from the area,” as a group of 42 European scholars of Armenia wrote in an appeal to the Italian government, drawing clear parallels between the 1915 and 2020 genocides against Armenians and what is currently happening.

Armenians are setting fire to their property before being evicted from their ethnic villages. It is a catastrophe reminiscent of the Masada mass suicides of the Jews to avoid being enslaved by the Romans, as described by the Jewish historian Josephus (Book VII).

The Armenian Supreme Spiritual Council convened under the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II explains Armenia’s loss of part of Artsakh in a Nov. 16 statement:

“In the conditions of the hostilities unleashed against Artsakh by the international terrorists, Azerbaijan and Turkey… We are particularly saddened by the witnesses of our centuries-old identity to be abandoned in the areas to be handed over: the chapels, churches and monasteries, castles, historical and cultural monuments and museums. We call on the relevant state bodies, the Diaspora forces; in consultation with the Armenian Church; to make every effort to save them from further destruction from the anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan.”

The Armenian Catholicos calls out “terrorists” and laments the annihilation of Armenians and Armenian Christian identity that is occurring in this historic Christian place.

Why is Erdogan’s Turkey involved in the conflict? Tayyip Erdogan has been actively engaged in the Middle East crisis. Though Artsakh, Turkey is leaving its mark on the Caucasus. Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan is obvious in material and human supplies, technological aid, and jihadist militants or “international terrorists” serving as Erdogan’s mercenaries in the area. Azerbaijanis are brother Muslims although they are Shiites.

But religion is not the only point of unity between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan are the only countries to deny the genocide of Armenians during 1915-16 by the Ottoman Turks. A new extermination of Armenians and Armenian Christianity is in the making in Artsakh, with the destruction of medieval tombstones of Djulfa (Julfan) and the bombardment of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi on Oct. 8.

Erdogan and his government have been actively engaged in every scenario in the Middle Eastern crisis, from Syria to Libya and the Caucasus. Erdogan has embraced a revivalist-expansionist platform of the Ottoman legacy. The recent conversion of Hagia Sophia from museum to mosque is part of the platform to change Turkey and build up the Old Ottoman Empire influence, including in the Holy Land. On Oct. 1, Erdogan in a tweet declared that “Jerusalem is our city, a city from us. We consider it an honor on behalf of our country and nation to express the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people on every platform, with whom we have lived for centuries.”

Erdogan’s program of cancel culture, and canceling religious sites, is accompanied by his lavish international appetite for building mosques from Albania to Azerbaijan to Russia, Germany, England, Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere.

Pope Francis recognized the genocide of the Armenians during his apostolic visit to Armenia in 2016, saying, “That tragedy, that genocide, was the first of the deplorable series of catastrophes of the past century, made possible by twisted racial, ideological or religious aims that darkened the minds of the tormentors even to the point of planning the annihilation of entire peoples. It is so sad that — in this as in the others two — the great powers looked the other way.”

Cultural-religious destruction, a cancel culture in action, is taking place right before our eyes. Armenia and Armenians are the victims, while the West does not seem particularly interested in the plight of Christians. As Pope Francis rightly said, the great powers are still looking the other way.

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Ines Murzaku Ines Angeli Murzaku is Professor of Church History at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Her research has been published in multiple articles and seven books. Prof. Murzaku is currently writing a book entitled Mother Teresa: The Saint of the Peripheries Who Became Catholicism’s Centerpiece (Paulist Press 2018). She is a regular contributor to media outlets on religious matters including the Associated Press, CNN, National Catholic Register, Voice of America, Relevant Radio, The Catholic Thing, Crux, Salt and Light, The Record, The Stream, Radio Tirana (Albania), Vatican Radio, and EWTN (Rome).

Armenia ready to ensure communication between Eastern part of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan only after…

Emil Lazarian
Aysor, Armenia
Jan 8 2021

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly drawn the attention to the fact that there is no talk about a corridor connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan in the November 10 statement, PM's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan told Armenpress asked to comment on the statement of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the Nakhijevan corridor.

She stressed that point 9 of the statement is about unblocking the transportation and economic infrastructure of the region and in this context about establishing a transport connection between the eastern part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.

"Armenia, of course, is interested in the possibility of transporting Armenian cargo through the territory of Azerbaijan to Russia and Iran and the opposite direction. We are interested in the possibility of the transfer of the Armenian cargo through road and rail transportation to Russia, and to Iran especially through railway transportation. In this context Armenia, naturally, is ready to ensure communication between the Eastern part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.

However, the complete discussion of all these issues would be difficult without the complete fulfillment of point 8 of the November 10 joint statement which envisages exchange of captives, hostages, other detained persons and the bodies of the dead. The Armenian side also attaches importance to expanding the scale of ongoing search-rescue operations in the battle zones. The recent statements made by Azerbaijan on this topic are puzzling and question Baku’s commitment to implement the agreements of the November 10 statement. There are still Armenian captives in Baku, there are numerous evidence on ill treatment shown against the Armenian POWs. There is evidence on executions of the captives, and all these evidence must be investigated in detail, including in the international platforms.

At the same time, the anti-Armenian propaganda of the past decade still continues in Azerbaijan. In order to establish stability and peace in the region, it is necessary to put an end to the provocative actions and statements," she said.

https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2021/01/08/mane-gevorgyan/1789965

Armenia’s MFA: Azerbaijan continues violating key provisions of trilateral statement

Ani Basmajian
Aysor, Armenia
Jan 8 2021

As a result of the November 9 statement, large-scale hostilities have been ceased and the Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in Artsakh. At the same time, the Azerbaijani side has violated and continues to violate a number of key provisions of the trilateral statement, Armenia’s MFA spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan told Interfax.

“Thus, according to the first provision of the trilateral statement, the parties must stand on their positions as of November 10 and cease the hostilities. Meanwhile, in more than a month after the ceasefire was established, the Azerbaijani side carried out military operations in direction of Old Tagher and Khtsaberd settlements, in the Hadrut region of Artsakh, resulting in casualties and capturing Armenian servicemen on the ground.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia referred to that gross violation of the statement in its statement made on December 13.

To date, the Azerbaijani side has not fully complied with the Article 8 of the trilateral statement, according to which, the prisoners of war, hostages and other captured civilians should be exchanged. As a result, Armenian prisoners of war and hostages are not being released.  Moreover, the Azerbaijani side is prosecuting Armenian prisoners of war at the highest level, presenting them as terrorists, attempting to prevent the full implementation of the November 9 trilateral statement.

The cessation of violations of the statement of November 9 by Azerbaijan is necessary for the full implementation of the trilateral statement,” she said.

https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2021/01/08/naghdalyan-violations/1789957

There can’t be any word on change of Armenia’s borders – justice minister

David Nargizian
Aysor, Armenia

Jan 8 2021

Armenia’s Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan met with the protestors that gathered in front of the ministry building.

“I reaffirm that there is no treaty in the Ministry of Justice. The disseminated information is misinformation, it does not correspond to reality. A new style has come forth – a Telegram channel of unknown origin disseminates misinformation. Then our other mass media disseminate it raising concerns among the people. I urge just not to believe, not to trust the news spread by such channels,” Badasyan said.

He said there is no international treaty in the ministry.

“If there was an international treaty, as a member of government I would have been aware of it. Such issue has not been discussed in the government, I have no information about existence of such treaty,” Badasyan said.

He said there can't be any word about change of Armenia’s borders.

To note, on January 11 Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan will be visiting Russian Federation where he will meet with Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev.

Yesterday information was disseminated about a document to be signed in Moscow by which Pashinyan will make new concessions. According to the information, the document was sent to the Armenia’s Ministry of Justice to make it correspond to the Constitution.

The Ministry though denies the existence of any document.

Minister Badasyan said the ministry has not received any document within any procedure.


Politicization of human rights issues unacceptable – Armenian Ombudsman

Emil Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 8 2021

Armenian servicemen captured and held prisoners by the Azerbaijani military must be released and returned to Armenia, Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said, adding that “this must be done immediately and without any preconditions.”

The Ombudsman released a statement, which reads:

2. It is absolutely impermissible that Section 8 of the Tripartite Declaration of November 10, 2020 does not specify a date for the exchange or return of the prisoners of war or others who are otherwise detained and are held in captivity.

But this does not mean that it is permissible for Azerbaijani authorities to continue violating international human rights standards and humanitarian agreements. The return of the prisoners of war is artificially delayed; the accurate numbers are not disclosed; and, even attempts are made to present a smaller number than the real number. All the while, the torture and inhumane treatment of these prisoners continue to take place, as evidenced by the purposeful publication of videos attesting to that; and, the recovery of the bodies of the deceased are being circumvented.

I have already stated that the studies, complaints addressed to Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, reports, as well as 24/7 of the Defender’s Office confirm that these acts are aimed at causing mental suffering to the families of those still in captivity, intended as a means of playing with the emotions of the Armenian society, and aimed at causing Ans raising tensions in our country.

3. The statements of the Azerbaijani authorities that they are not prisoners of war, but rather, they are terrorists who have been arrested, grossly violate the post-war humanitarian processes and international human rights requirements. These statements are in direct contradiction with the requirement of Section 8 of the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020.

They are “Prisoners of War” by status, period!

Similarly, all these demands and adherence must also apply to the exchange of the bodies of victims and for the search and rescue of those who are still missing.

4. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia considers absolutely condemnable the politicization of this humanitarian and human rights issue, and even remotely connecting these matters of human rights related to any territorial issue, or for that matter, the obvious attempts of the Azerbaijani authorities to exploit these matters for political purposes.


Aliyev’s speech included open threats against Armenia – Ombudsman

Kanayan Tamar
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 8 2021

Yesterday, on January 7, 2021, the President of Azerbaijan, in his speech summarizing 2020, used statements, which are part of Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian policy and organized propaganda of hostility towards the Armenian people, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan says.

In particular, he says, the speech included open threats against Armenia and the Armenian society, expressions threatening the entire Armenian people and insulting their dignity.

“The speech also referred to the isolation of Artsakh, and to the disruption of humanitarian aid to Artsakh. This, as a matter of law, violates the internationally recognized principle that no one should be left behind and no human right ignored, regardless of the political status of the territory in which one is present or resides therein,” the Ombudsman said in a Facebook post.

The Ombudsman of Armenia says speech of the President of Azerbaijan should be viewed in the context that the entirety of the war of September-November 2020 was accompanied by the Azerbaijani armed forces’ onslaught onto internationally recognized rights to life, health, property, and other internationally protected rights of Armenians. These gross violations of rights were carried out and caused mass destruction of peaceful Armenian residential towns, villages and communities. Similar violations were also recorded at different times and instances which predated this war.

“The wording and emphasis of this speech should be viewed in the context of the condemnable actions committed by the Azerbaijani military in recent days against the border residents of our country and, in general, our people,” she said.

Here are just two such examples, which are based on alarming complaints addressed to Armenia’s Human Rights Defender from civilians of bordering regions, as well as on monitoring of the Defender’s Office:

1) placing a sign with “Welcome to Azerbaijan” and a map covering the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the middle of the road connecting the two communities of Syunik region of Armenia, Goris and Vorotan, and doing it in a way that intimidates civilians;

2) placing Azerbaijani flags on civilian houses in peaceful communities of Syunik region and posting videos that clearly offend civilians in order to blatantly intimidate them and much more.

And all these activities provoking civilians are done against the background of the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces during this war.

“Therefore, I draw the attention of the international community to the fact that the distortions and emphases of the speech of the President of Azerbaijan on January 7, 2021 violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law in general,” Tatoyan said.

“These sentiments are absolutely reprehensible and continue to serve to encourage anti-Armenian policies and hostility towards the Armenian people at the highest state level,” the Ombudsman said.


Legal norms of visa-free travel between Armenia and Azerbaijan “de facto inoperative” – MFA

Markos Nalchajian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 8 2021


The legal norms of visa-free travel between Armenia and Azerbaijan established by 1992 Bishkek agreement are de facto inoperative, Foreign Minister Spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said in a statement.

The agreement on visa-free travel of citizens of the CIS member states, signed in Bishkek on October 9, 1992, establishes a regime of entry, exit and movement of citizens without a visa to each other’s territory, an opportunity to regulate those procedures under national law, as well as the right to impose restrictions on movement or to establish other internal regulations.

Later, the visa-free regime with a number of CIS member states was supplemented or replaced by bilateral agreements.

The legal norms of the above-mentioned agreement do not apply de facto to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan; in special cases the entry of citizens of both countries to the Republic of Armenia or Azerbaijan is allowed out on the basis of a special permit under the direct control of the competent authorities.

Pursuant to Article 6.1 of the Law on Foreigners, the condition for entry of foreigners to the Republic of Armenia is the permission of the state administration body (border guard service) authorized by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, which applies to any foreigner, regardless of the visa regime or visa requirement.

The above information has always been available on the website of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs.





Parents of missing soldiers stage sit-in in Armenia’s Etchmiadzin

Mike Maghakian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 8 2021

Parents of about 30 servicemen who went missing during the 44-day war in Artsakh, have staged a sit-in protest outside a military unit in Etchmiadzin, a city in Armenia’s Armavir Province, since Thursday, one of the missing soldiers' mother, Anahit Adoyan, told Panorama.am on Friday.

"On January 7, at 6pm, more than 30 parents gathered near the military unit to stage a sit-in. Up to this point, no one has come out of the military unit to provide answers to us. They even closed the gate with several bars so that we could not enter," the mother said.

She noted that they demanded information on their missing sons from the local officials.

"We will stay here until we get an answer. We want the commander to come here and say when he is heading to Stepanakert to deal with our problem, but we are told that commander Arsen Abgaryan is at a funeral service. What kind of memorial service is taking place at this hour?" she said.

The protesting parent also underlined that it did not make any sense to apply to the government, as their children were sent off to Artsakh from the Etchmiadzin military unit, adding they were waiting for an explanation from the military unit. 



Armenian soldiers’ parents protest outside military university in Yerevan

Albert Nalbandian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 8 2021

Parents of servicemen carrying out mandatory military service on Friday, January 8, staged a protest in front of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University of the Armenian Defense Ministry in Yerevan, demanding that the authorities guarantee their children’s safe return to Artsakh.

They claim that the road leading to Artsakh is unsafe and there are no guarantees whether their sons will get to Artsakh or not.

“None of the commanders said that security guarantees are provided," said one of the parents.

He said that the soldiers were to rejoin the Artsakh military after a short vacation on December 28, however they were barred from entering Artsakh by Azerbaijani troops. Therefore, the servicemen were temporarily transferred to the military university.

“10-20 days ago there were dangers, is it safe now? Nobody says why it is safe now,” the parents said.

They state that they do not mind their children serving in Artsakh, they just demand security guarantees. Parents say they are ready to take their children home until such guarantees are ensured.

Protesting patents demanded a meeting with the Defense Ministry representatives.