On December 18, 2021, two trespasser servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were detained in the guard posts of the one of the military units of the Armenian Ministry of Defense.
On December 20, mediated by Russia, the mentioned servicemen were returned to the Azerbaijani side for humanitarian reasons.
Politic.am media outlet has published a footage, showing the moment of capture of two Azerbaijani servicemen by Armenian soldiers.
To remind, political and public figure Avetik Chalabyan informed on Sunday that Armenian servicemen on combat duty in the area near Tsghuk village, north to Sisian town, detained two Azeri servicemen. The Azeris, who had entered the protection zone of a military posts in the territory of Armenia, were later transported to Yerevan.
"This important news comes to show that after November 16 statement from the last year, our army started to straighten its backs and rebuff the enemy," Chalabyan wrote on Sunday. To note, the Ministry of Defense has not commented yet on the report about the capture of Azeri servicemen.
Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR has set up a petrol station on Goris-Kapan roadway, which passes through Armenia's Syunik region and was handed over to Azerbaijan with verbal agreement by Pashinyan.
The opening event was attended by the president of the company Rovnag Abdullayev, the Azerbaijani media reported.
To note, Azerbaijani forces, which had intruded into the sovereign territory of Armenia, earlier established customs checkpoints by acquiescence of the RA leadership, continue to levy sums as fees, and transfer them to its budget.
Furthermore, on August 25, Azerbaijan blocked the Karmrakar-Shurnukh section of the Goris-Kapan roadway which passes exclusively through the territory of the Republic of Armenia and where vehicles were evacuated only after negotiations held by Russian border guards.
Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, winner of numerous prestigious international competitions, will perform in Amsterdam. The concert by the Armenian cellist will take place at the Royal Concertgebouw Concert Hall in on December 27, Orer.eu reports.
To note, the Concertgebouw is one of the world's greatest concert halls famed for its amazing acoustic. The Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra regularly performs there as do some of the biggest names in classical music.
Some nine hundred concerts and other events per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of over 700,000, making it one of the most-visited concert halls in the world.
Below is an interview of Panorama.am with political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan, head of the Voskanapat analytical center.
Question: Armenia and Turkey are launching a dialogue aimed at normalizing relations. The sides have appointed special envoys to that end. What do you think Ankara and Yerevan will achieve as a result of this process?
Answer: I would say that the Armenian and Turkish authorities have already made significant progress in establishing relations between the two countries. In any case, it is clear that the process is not actually unfolding the way the public imagines it. Otherwise, how should we interpret the fact that the Armenian authorities, who refute regularly reported contacts with Turkish officials, are suddenly so enthusiastic about Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s statement on normalizing relations with Armenia and appointing a special representative to that end, and within days they appoint Ruben Rubinyan as Yerevan's special envoy for the Armenia-Turkey dialogue?
Obviously, this is not a new process and, by and large, everything was decided here long ago; Armenia and Turkey will soon announce the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders. In all likelihood there will be no preconditions. The reason is simple: the preconditions put forward earlier by Turkey are in fact no longer relevant, the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem won the 44-day war, the Armenian-held territories of Artsakh no longer pose a great threat to the enemy, and Ankara and Baku are now solving quite different problems.
Question: The Armenian Foreign Ministry has announced that Deputy National Assembly Speaker Ruben Rubinyan will be Armenia's special envoy in the dialogue with Turkey. Do you think he is a good fit for the job?
Answer: In my opinion he was the only candidate, or one of the few candidates. You see, Pashinyan's government has no choice. After all, it is not easy to act against the state and the people. Thank God there are not many such figures in Armenia. This is the reason why Pashinyan appoints not specialists to different posts, but those who agree to take the position.
Suffice it to recall that for months after the end of the war the head of the Armenian government failed to find a single candidate for the post of foreign minister. Thus, he tried to appoint Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan to that position, but it did not work out either. I think it was due to external pressure. Now Ararat Mirzoyan represents Armenia's interests in the international arena. With Pashinyan being prime minister and Mirzoyan foreign minister, let Rubinyan be our special envoy in the process of normalizing ties with Turkey. All the same, it is clear that none of them is a defender of Armenian interests and doesn't understand what Armenian interests mean in general.
Question: You said that Baku and Ankara are now solving completely different problems. What do you mean? What are the priorities of their regional policy?
Answer: In short, there is a growing Turkish role in the South Caucasus. As a result of the 44-day war, Turkey managed to become a military-political factor in our region. By supporting Aliyev in the war against Artsakh, Erdogan's government became the de facto dictator of Azerbaijan's foreign and security policy. Now Turkey is taking the next step and literally entering the South Caucasus. It needs, at the very least, open borders, communications and various infrastructures for that. At the same time, Ankara will do everything possible to first weaken and then completely neutralize the influence of other geopolitical actors, especially Russia, in our region. I do not rule out that the Turkish authorities may start to cajole the Armenian society after some time in order to resolve this problem. So please don`t be surprised if some circles soon start convincing the people that Turks are not what they used to be, they are now civilized, etc. This will definitely be the case.
The whole interview is available in Armenian here. https://www.panorama.am/am/news/2021/12/20/%D5%80%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%BF-%D5%84%D5%A5%D5%AC%D5%AB%D6%84-%D5%87%D5%A1%D5%B0%D5%B6%D5%A1%D5%A6%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6/2616614
Deputy of the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Gudrat Hasanguliyev proposed to ‘open casinos in Karabakh and Zangezur’ during a discussion on the bill on tourism, Azerbaijani presses report.
According to him, there are many casinos around the world, ‘but there are no casinos operating here’. “I believe it should be allowed to open casinos in Karabakh and Zangezur,” he added.
Apparently, Hasanguliyev is referring to the occupied sector of Nagorno-Karabakh and the proclaimed ‘Eastern Zangezur’ territory.
The Turkish foreign minister once again touched upon the topic of normalizing relations with Armenia.
Mevlut Cavusoglu recalled that both Armenia and Turkey have already appointed envoys in this regard, and that they will meet in the nearest future, according to Hurriyet daily of Turkey.
Cavusoglu stressed that Turkey's goal is to implement the railways and motorways, especially the "Zangezur project," connecting the countries in the region.
"Turkey will do its best to implement these projects," said Cavusoglu, adding, however, that Turkey will coordinate with Azerbaijan all its steps in connection with Armenia.
YEREVAN. – The Armenian authorities have not said anything about normalization of relations with Turkey. Only one person speaks about this: Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Gegham Manukyan, an MP of the opposition "Armenia" Faction, on Monday told reporters about this in the National Assembly of Armenia.
According to the MP, this only proves that Turkey is the one dictating the agenda today.
"The Armenian authorities are behaving very inertly in the process of the planned dialogue with Turkey. Back in August of this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had set a number of preconditions for Armenia—including issues related to both Karabakh and the Armenian Genocide," Manukyan said.
Also, he recalled that a few days later, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan announced that he had received a positive signal from Turkey.
"There was no response to the proposal of the Armenian MPs to clarify this fact," added Manukyan.
Moreover, according to him, the wording noted in the Armenian government program on the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide was perceived by Turkey as an attempt to fulfill one of the abovementioned preconditions.
"Turkey declares that the issue of recognizing the Armenian Genocide should be excluded from the agenda. The Armenian Foreign Ministry traditional statement on December 9, in connection with the international day of remembrance of the victims of the crimes of genocide, said nothing on the process of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. It turns out that the preconditions set earlier by Ankara are being fulfilled," Gegham Manukyan concluded.
Discussions on the photo released by US journalist Lindsey Snell continue online.
In the released photo, the Turkish Minister of Internal Affairs and Fahim Issa, commander of the Sultan Murad militarized unit sending terrorists to Syria, are standing side-by-side.
Snell states that the photo was taken in the Syrian city of al-Rai, which is known for being a center for recruitment of militants.
The US journalist reminds that mercenaries were sent to Nagorno-Karabakh and Syria from al-Rai.
1- Jesus, Obama and Muhammad Were Turks,
According to Turkish False Claims
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Anna Turcotte makes history as Westbrook, Maine, City
Council president
3- Aram Gavoor Appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
at George Washington University Law School
4- France’s Zemmour calls for defense of Armenia,
a ‘Christian’ nation in ‘Islamic ocean’
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
************************************************************************************************************************************************
1- Jesus, Obama and Muhammad Were Turks,
According to Turkish False Claims
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
There is nothing wrong with being proud of one’s nationality, ethnic
origin or religion. However, when that pride becomes so fanatical,
reaching the level of absurdity, then we are dealing with someone who
has lost all sense of reality.
Turkish political analyst Burak Bekdil acknowledged in his article
published by BESA Center Perspectives: “The Turkish-Islamist psyche is
susceptible to…the pitfalls of honor, fatalism, conspiracism, bombast,
publicity, and confusion.”
Over the years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made many
bizarre statements that raise suspicions about his mental sanity.
Here are some examples of Erdogan’s nutty statements.
In 2014, Erdogan told a group of Latin American Muslims visiting
Istanbul that Muslim Pilgrims discovered America several centuries
before Christopher Columbus: “It is alleged that the American
continent was discovered by Columbus in 1492. In fact, Muslim sailors
reached the American continent 314 years before Columbus in 1178. …In
his memoirs, Christopher Columbus mentions the existence of a mosque
atop a hill on the coast of Cuba. A mosque would look perfect on that
hill today.” Of course, Columbus never said such a thing in his
memoirs.
In another outlandish claim, Pres. Erdogan announced that Turkey will
send a spaceship with a Turkish astronaut to the moon in 2023 on the
centennial of the Republic of Turkey. He speculated that a female
astronaut may be a part of the Turkish space team. It would be
interesting to see how Turkey, a bankrupt country, could spend
billions of dollars on such a far-fetched adventure, not to mention
its lack of space technology. Maybe this whole topic is a hoax to
divert the people’s attention from their woes and empty pockets to
gazing at the moon and stars! A skeptical Turk sarcastically said: “We
cannot go to the supermarket, so how will we go to space?” Another
Turk remarked, “We were not able to distribute masks [for COVID] to
citizens, so how do we go to space?”
Before Erdogan can fantasize about going to space, he should worry
about the collapsing Lira, millions of unemployed Turks, and a huge
percentage of his people suffering from abject poverty. According to
Turkish sources, 34 million Turks are on the verge of starvation. In
the first six months of this year, 1.6 million Turkish families had
their electricity and gas cut off because they could not pay their
bills.
Turkish analyst Burak Bekdil wrote that he “grew up in classrooms
filled up with mottoes like ‘A Turk is worth the world,’ ‘Turks have
had to fight the seven biggest world powers,’ and ‘A Turk’s only
friend is another Turk.’ Our textbooks taught us that the supreme
Turkish race dominated the entire world for centuries; that the
Ottoman Empire collapsed only after a coalition of world powers
attacked it; that we lost WWI because we had allied with the Germans,
who were defeated (not us); and that one day, we will make the entire
planet Turkish. We were taught that an Ottoman warrior could keep on
fighting even after having been beheaded by the [Byzantine] enemy.”
As a result, Bekdil explained, “Turks are hungry for fairy tales about
the good life they did not get to enjoy over the past century, but
believe they deserve. Any feel-good news propaganda, even Erdogan’s
famous ‘The West, including the Germans, are jealous of us!’ tirade,
finds millions of receptive listeners in Turkey’s post-modern
marketplace of absurdity.”
In an article titled, “‘Jesus Was Turkish’: the Bizarre Resurgence of
Pseudo-Turkology,” Luka Ivan Jukic wrote in NEW/LINES Magazine: “You
would be forgiven for not knowing that former U.S. President Barack
Obama was a Turk. Or that Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad were,
likewise, of Turkic origin. You would be forgiven for not knowing that
Russia is really a great Turkic nation, that Kazakhs and the Japanese
are genetically identical or that the legendary English King Arthur
was, you guessed it, a Turk. You would be forgiven because none of
this is true. Yet in countries from central Europe to Central Asia and
everywhere in between, supposed historical facts like these and the
theories they support have made their way from the minds of
overzealous and pseudo-academics into national school textbooks,
popular culture and, indeed, official government ideology.”
In 1932, the Turkish language Institute invented the fake “Sun
Language Theory” which claimed that “the Turkish language was the
source of all human language and therefore all human civilization,”
Jukic wrote. “Linguists from the Institute claimed that language had
been invented by sun-worshipping proto-Turks in Central Asia as they
babbled at the sun.” Furthermore, the Turkish History Thesis claimed
that “Turks had brought civilization to China, Europe, India and
elsewhere when they migrated from the Eurasian Steppe.” These
pseudo-theories found their way into Turkish textbooks and popular
books, brainwashing several generations of Turks. Most adherents of
these pseudo-scientific claims are the followers of Pres. Erdogan.
There is no super race. All people are equal. They are all God’s
children. While claims of superiority may satisfy a vain human
inclination, no one should treat other races as inferior.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
2- Anna Turcotte makes history as Westbrook, Maine, City
Council president
(Press Herald, Maine)—The Westbrook City Council made local history
last week in unanimously selecting Anna Astvatsaturova Turcotte as its
president, the first refugee and by all accounts the first woman to
fill that role.
A lawyer specializing in international law, Turcotte has long been
involved in advocacy work around her birth city of Baku, Azerbaijan.
She wants to do more for Westbrook.
“I am a Mainer,” Turcotte. “This is my home, and at this point, I’ve
lived here for 30 years, longer than my home country.”
Turcotte’s Armenian family fled Azerbaijan when she was a child
because of attacks on Armenians there. The family spent three years in
Armenia before moving to the United States.
After graduating from the University of Maine School of Law in 2003,
Turcotte worked as a clerk at the International Criminal Court in the
Netherlands. In 2012, she published “Nowhere, the Story of Exile,” a
collection of her diary entries as a child fleeing from her homes.
Her political career in Maine began to take shape in 2013 when she
successfully worked to get the Legislature to officially recognize the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, an autonomous state home to many Armenians
in Azerbaijan.
A few years later, she ran for the Westbrook council in Ward 3.
What she found while out among residents campaigning was pleasantly surprising.
She won the 2015 election with 64% of the vote, defeating incumbent
Councilor Paul Emery. She was unopposed in her reelection bid in 2018
and became the council’s vice president.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
3- Aram Gavoor Appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
at George Washington University Law School
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The George Washington University Law School recently
appointed Aram A. Gavoor as its Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
A senior Department of Justice attorney with years of trial and
appellate experience and public law policy expertise, Gavoor also
teaches Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, and other courses at The
George Washington University Law School, where he received the
school’s Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award in 2020 and
2017.
Gavoor is a nationally recognized scholar in the fields of
administrative law, federal courts, and national security law whose
scholarship was cited by the Supreme Court of the United States. He
was recognized by The National Law Journal as a D.C. Rising Star (40
under 40) honoree.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- France’s Zemmour calls for defense of Armenia,
a ‘Christian’ nation in ‘Islamic ocean’
(Middle East Eye)—Eric Zemmour, far-right candidate for the 2022
French presidential election, called on Sunday, December 12 Zemmour
during a surprise visit to Arrmenia to better defend Armenia, a
“Christian” nation in the middle of “an Islamic ocean”.
The former journalist and commentator, known for provocative
statements against Islam and immigration, is the main challenger to
longtime far-right figure Marine Le Pen for a place in a second round
of France’s presidential election slated for April. One of them could
face the incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in the runoff vote. He
said on Friday that he chose Armenia for his first campaign trip
because "it is an old Christian land” and “one of the cradles of our
civilization.”
During a visit to the monastery of Khor Virap, his first overseas trip
as a candidate, Zemmour invoked what he described as a historical
clash between Christianity and Islam.
“It is the great confrontation between Christianity and Islam which is
reborn today,” he said. “We see it here with a Christian nation, which
intends to remain so, in the middle of an Islamic ocean.”
Zemmour delivered the remarks following a Christian mass at the
historic monastery located near the border with Turkey. “On the border
between Armenia and Turkey, facing Mount Ararat, I want to tell the
Armenians what a model of resistance they have been for centuries,”
the 63-year-old tweeted afterwards.
The 63-year-old presidential candidate for the Reconquete party has
been described by some as “France’s Trump” because of his hostile
rhetoric on migration and Islam.
Upon his arrival at Yerevan airport in Armenia on Saturday, a small
group of protesters shouted slogans against Zemmour, describing him as
a racist, and some held up signs in French that read, “Not welcome,
Eric Zemmour”.
“We have seen French people who fail in their duty because they talk
but they do not really defend Armenia,” said Zemmour.
Zemmour also visited the Armenian genocide memorial near Yerevan.
In Yerevan, Zemmour also dined with members of the local French
chamber of commerce and met with Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphael
Bedros XXI before holding talks on Monday with four members of
Armenia’s parliament affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract party.
Two of those lawmakers head the parliament’s standing committees on
legal and foreign affairs. The parliamentary press service said they
discussed with Zemmour the “development of French-Armenian relations.”
France, home to a sizeable Armenian diaspora, is among some 30
countries that recognize the mass killings of Armenians during the
First World War as “genocide”.
While accusing Azerbaijan of systematically destroying Armenian
churches, Armenian leaders have long insisted that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not a religious one. Armenia has also had
a cordial relationship with another Muslim neighbor, Iran.
France is home to an influential Armenian community. The latter was
instrumental in the December 2020 passage by both houses of the French
parliament of resolutions calling on Macron’s government to recognize
Karabakh as an independent republic.
Macron criticized Azerbaijan and accused Turkey of recruiting jihadist
fighters from Syria for the Azerbaijani army shortly after the
outbreak of last year’s war over Karabakh. The French president stated
in September this year that France and Armenia enjoy a “special
relationship” that should be deepened further.
Zemmour complained at the weekend that French leaders “talk but don't
really defend Armenia.”
***********************************************************************************************************************************************
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia continues the fight against COVID-19, as the country continues
promoting the vaccination phase.
The U.S. State Department on July 26 warned American citizens to
reconsider travel to Armenia due to the increase in cases of the
Covid-19.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a
Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Armenia due to COVID-19, indicating a
high level of COVID-19 in the country,” said the State Department.
The State Department also urged U.S. citizens not to travel to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region due to armed conflict.
“The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S.
citizens in Nagorno-Karabakh as U.S. government employees are
restricted from traveling there,” the State Department added.
WHO, with funding from the European Union, in September supplied X-ray
equipment to 7 COVID-19 frontline hospitals – 1 in the capital Yerevan
and in 6 other cities in Armenia.
A new law came into effect on December 10, by order of the Armenian
Ministry of Health, that would allow employers to fire workers who
refuse to provide proof of vaccination. Armenia has the lowest
vaccination rate in the region and Europe.
Armenia began its mass vaccination campaign in April with authorities
planning to inoculate 700,000 of the country's 2.9 million citizens by
the end of the year. However, only 516,989 citizens had been fully
vaccinated by Dec. 6.
620,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were donated to Armenia by Norway
with the support of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism within the
framework of the Team Europe initiative is already in Armenia.
Poland has donated a total of 201,640 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca
anti-COVID-19 vaccine worth nearly $660,000. Poland's embassy in
Yerevan said on November 25 that the donation was made by the Polish
Foreign Ministry to Armenia's Health Ministry.
"The entire infrastructure is ready to carry out a large number of
vaccinations. I add that vaccination does not exclude the disease, but
reduces the risk of contagion", Armenian Health Minister Anahit
Avanesyan reported during a recent press conference, adding that the
late entry into force of the restrictive measures was a shortcoming of
her department. According to the minister, they are currently
considering the option of requesting certification of negativity from
Covid or vaccination to enter restaurants and attend concerts.
There were 7,006 active cases in Armenia as of December 20. Armenia
has recorded 343708 coronavirus cases and 7,903 deaths; 328,799 have
recovered.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
************************************************************************************************************************************************
California Courier Online provides readers of the Armenian News News Service
with a few of the articles in this week's issue of The California
Courier. Letters to the editor are encouraged through our e-mail
address, . Letters are published with
the author’s name and location; authors are required to disclose their
identity to the editorial staff (name, address, and/or telephone
numbers for verification purposes).
California Courier subscribers can change or modify mailing addresses
by emailing .