Month: September 2015

The US recognizes the role of the population in Nagorno-Karabakh in deciding their future, Spokesman for the Department of State John Kirby told a daily briefing.

“In the context of a comprehensive settlement on the conflict, we recognize the role of the population in Nagorno-Karabakh in deciding their future. However, the United States does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent sovereign state, and we will not accept the results of the elections on the 13th of September as affecting the legal status of the region,” the Spokesman said.

He also stressed that “the elections in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

On Monday, September 7, Pope Francis celebrated Mass, in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in Vatican City, with the recently-elected Armenian Patriarch of Cilicia, His Beatitude Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, as well as with the Bishops of Synod of the Apostolic Armenian Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.

During the Mass, Pope Francis spoke about the persecution of Christians throughout history, specifically referencing the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, and drew parallels to Christian persecution today in the Middle East.

“Today I would like, on this day of our first Eucharist, as brother Bishops, dear brother Bishops and Patriarch and all of you Armenian faithful and priests, to embrace you and remember this persecution that you have suffered, and to remember your holy ones, your many saints who died of hunger, in the cold, under torture, [cast] into the wilderness only for being Christians,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis referred to the Armenian Genocide as “One of many great persecutions: that of the Armenian people,” and that Armenia was “The first nation to convert to Christianity: the first.” “They were persecuted just for being Christians,” he said. “The Armenian people were persecuted, chased away from their homeland, helpless, in the desert.”

“We now, in the newspapers, hear the horror of what some terrorist groups do, who slit the throats of people just because [their victims] are Christians. We think of the Egyptian martyrs, recently, on the Libyan coast, who were slaughtered while pronouncing the name of Jesus,” the Pontiff said, pointing out that “this happens before the whole world, with the complicit silence of many powerful leaders who could stop it.”

The Assembly strongly supports the Holy Father’s call on the international community to take action. Indeed, the ongoing refugee crisis caused by the wars in Syria and Iraq must be addressed and could have been prevented. Equally troubling are the renewed attacks on the Kurds and threats to Armenians in Turkey. “We must turn these districts into Armenian and Kurdish cemeteries,” in the Armenian populated district of Istanbul this week.

The Pope’s remarks this week reaffirms the solidarity that the Catholic Church shares with the Armenian people. On the second Sunday of Easter earlier this year, Pope Francis held the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass with Armenian Catholicoi His Holiness Karekin II and His Holiness Aram I, where he called the Armenian killings “the first genocide of the 20th century.” “Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” Francis said during the historic Armenian Genocide centennial service on April 12.

The Pope’s April comments were at the epicenter of a wave of universal acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide on the centennial anniversary. His leadership set the stage for a series of commemorative events, services, and activities performed and organized by Catholic leaders along with Armenian Church leaders across the United States. In Los Angeles, California, home to the largest Armenian community in America, Roman Catholic Archbishop Jose Gomez hosted the Armenian Genocide centennial service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. During the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Reverend Monsignor Walter R. Rossi, Rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University hosted Armenian Catholicoi His Holiness Karekin II and His Holiness Aram I and a delegation of Armenian clergy for a special requiem service.

As previously noted, Pope Francis is not the first leader of the Catholic Church to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. In 2001, Pope John Paul II offered his own acknowledgement of the genocide and prayer for the victims. The Papacy itself has a long history of condemning the atrocities as far back as 1915.

“The Armenian Assembly of America greatly appreciates Pope Francis for his acknowledgement and reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,” stated Assembly board co-chairmen Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian. “One hundred years after the Armenian Genocide, the Pontiff calls on leaders of nations and the perpetrator state to heal the wounds and prevent mass atrocities against those who suffer in the region today, whether they be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Yezidi. We commend Armenia for taking in thousands of refugees and urge the United States to take a greater role as the refugee crisis spreads and more importantly address the root causes.”

During Monday’s Mass, Pope Francis stated: “May the Lord, today, make us feel within the body of the Church, the love for our martyrs and also our vocation to martyrdom. We do not know what will happen here: we do not know. Only Let the Lord give us the grace, should this persecution happen here one day, of the courage and the witness that all Christian martyrs have shown, and especially the Christians of the Armenian people.”

Within the framework of an official visit to Great Britain, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian offered a speech at the Chatham House:

Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be back to the Chatham House. I would like to thank for the invitation and the opportunity to address the esteemed audience on some of the foreign policy challenges that Armenia and the region face.

The attention of the international community is focused today on the unacceptability of the further escalation of the conflicts in the Middle East and beyond. The spread of terrorist networks and devastations caused by their activities, crisis in Ukraine, instability in many other parts of the world show that the world is undergoing through heavy shocks of turbulence. Yesterday on my way from Paris to London the Eurostar train had to stop for almost two hours because of a situation related to refugees. What’s happening thousands of miles away knocks the doors of Europe. We can no more talk about isolated problems. Early warning and prevention of conflicts and destructive wars should always be top priorities not only for those affected, but also for the international community, as a whole.

The Armenians have for centuries been a distinctive part of the multicultural mosaic of the Middle East. We are grateful to the people of the region who a century ago sheltered hundreds of thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Now, when the ethnic and religious communities face an existential threat, we feel moral responsibility to stand with them.

The violence in the Middle East has not bypassed our compatriots, many of whom lost their lives in terrorist attacks, the Armenian settlements, churches, schools and cultural institutions were destroyed. Just as one hundred years ago tens of thousands of Armenians, together with other peoples of the Middle East, today again were obliged to abandon their places of residence. More than 15 thousand Syrian-Armenians found refuge in Armenia.

It is not a coincidence that the terrorists declared a war against the cultural heritage of the people of the region. It is exactly through the history and the collective memory that the universal values of civilized world, the tolerance, coexistence and respect to the culture and religion of others pass from generation to generation. These values stand in a stark contrast to the ideology of xenophobia and discrimination adhered by the terrorist groups. Destruction of many Islamic sacred sites and the monuments of historic Palmyra and Nimrud, the blowing up of the Armenian church in Der ez-Zor – a sanctuary of the remains of many victims of the Armenian Genocide and other similar barbaric acts are crimes committed against civilization.

It is imperative to create mechanisms to deprive terrorists of the resources and financial means, prevent the influx of the foreign fighters, precluding them to continue the use of the territory of the neighboring states for trans-boundary attacks. The international law holds responsibility not only for the crimes against humanity but also for its complicity. This should be clear for all those who try to deny and justify the past crimes and incite current violence.

This year marks the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The commemoration attracted huge international attention. Here, in Britain, too, the leading media outlets were widely covering the message of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

In 1929 Winston Churchill characterized the Armenian massacres as a “holocaust” and added that “this crime was planned and executed for political reasons. The opportunity presented itself for clearing Turkish soil of a Christian race.” British historian Arnold Toynbee entitled his 1915 report as “The Murder of a Nation” and called it “an organized murder of the Armenian race.”

What happens today in the Middle East revives the horrors of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915 Armenians were forced to march through the deserts where now the terror of Daesh is spreading, where Yazidis, Christians and other minority groups are being exterminated, and traces of ancient civilizations are being destroyed. Lack of adequate international reaction to the massacres committed against Armenians in 1894-96 and impunity resulted in the Genocide of 1915. On May 24th, 1915 the allied powers – Great Britain, Russia and France- adopted a special declaration warning the perpetrators of the atrocities against the Armenian people that they would be held personally responsible “for these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization.” However, it was a late attempt at preventing what had to be stopped much earlier. Failure of early warning mechanisms and prevention efforts made genocide a re-occurring phenomenon in the 20th century.

We, Armenians, as the survivors of the first genocide of the 20th century, feel a great moral responsibility towards the prevention of new crimes against humanity. We initiate Genocide prevention resolutions in the UN, organize regular international conferences and workshops for genocide scholars, and are determined to extend our contribution to the genocide prevention efforts of the international community.

Unfortunately, this year was not only the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, but also a Centenary of Turkish denial of this genocide.
I would like to recall the powerful words of Pope Francis the First during the Mass in St. Peter’s Cathedral this April: “Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.” Lack of proper recognition of genocides perpetuates the occurrence of new ones.

The irreversible process of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide continues on different levels and dimensions. Not only have a number of countries reaffirmed its recognition, but they also have been joined by new states. Since late 2014 the Parliaments of Bolivia, Austria, Luxemburg, Chile, Brazil adopted special resolutions. They were joined by the European Parliament, the Latin American Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and others.

I would specially like to underline the courageous statement of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany in which he not only paid tribute to the innocent victims massacred in the Ottoman Empire, but also spoke of Germany’s part of responsibility in that crime.

High level delegations from more than 60 countries joined the Armenian nation on the commemoration day in Yerevan as a sign of compassion for this tragedy of not only a single nation but the humanity as a whole.

It was another missed opportunity for the Turkish leadership which was invited to participate in this commemoration. In Ankara I personally passed the written message from the President of Armenia inviting his Turkish counterpart to Yerevan on this occasion. It was not only a missed opportunity, but on the same day the Turkish leadership organized the commemoration of the battle of Gallipoli making apparently a failed attempt to divert international attention from the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The problems that our region, the South Caucasus, is facing may seem less visible to many observers from various parts of the world, but this should not mislead anyone. This region has for a long time been a place of geopolitical rivalry, marked by lingering wounds.

The resolution of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the main priorities of our foreign policy. A couple of months ago there was an excellent opportunity here at the Chatham House to get first hand insights on this issue directly from the President of Nagorno-Karabakh. Needless to say, that the views and approaches of Nagorno-Karabakh are essential in the conflict resolution.

Armenia continues to make efforts together with the mediators – the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries – United States, Russia and Fr
ance, to reach an exclusively peaceful solution to this conflict.

The Co-Chairs have a common approach on the fundamental principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. This is a rare example in the current turmoil in the international relations when those countries adhere to the same approach. We forthrightly stand by the position of the international community that negotiations, compromises and preparation of our societies to peace have no alternative for the conflict resolution.

The Co-Chair countries have outlined their proposals on numerous occasions, most notably in five statements of the presidents of France, USA and Russia made since 2009. Those proposals are better known as Basic Principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and are consisted of three principles of international law: non-use of force or threat of force, peoples right to self-determination and territorial integrity. The Co-Chair’s proposal gives a full credit to the right of people of Nagorno-Karabakh to determine their future status through legally binding expression of will. Armenia has expressed its commitment to move forward based on those proposals.

The reason that a breakthrough in the peace talks has not been achieved is the rejection of Azerbaijan of the proposals of the Co-Chair countries.

Continuous cease-fire violations by Baku along the border with Armenia and on the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh once again prove that Azerbaijan continues to jeopardize the conflict resolution process, the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at the peaceful settlement of the issue and undermining the upcoming meetings initiated by the mediators.

During the Baku European Games this June Azerbaijan exercised restraint on the ground, since they needed a calm period. The situation drastically changed immediately after the Games when Azerbaijan intensified the ceasefire violations. In fact by its actions Azerbaijan once again clearly identified, which side is responsible for the escalation of the situation. Baku didn’t even bother to conceal its militaristic attitude.

Azerbaijan continues heavy military buildup, by increasing its military budget nearly 30 times in a decade. As long as Azerbaijan’s bellicose aspirations are not curtailed, there will be no real progress in the peace talks.

The implementation of the agreement on the mechanism to investigate the incidents on the Line of Contact, together with other proposals on confidence and security building measures made by the Co-Chairs could be an important tool for prevention of such incidents and creation of the environment conducive for the peace talks. Azerbaijan continuously rejects numerous proposals of Co-Chairs on consolidation of the cease-fire, withdrawal of snipers and on other confidence building measures while Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have welcomed those proposals. It is obvious there is no military or political goal that Nagorno-Karabakh or Armenia might seek via the escalation of the situation.

While the international community speaks about the necessity of preparing the societies for peace Azerbaijan continues on an official level the policy of injection of hatred against Armenians. The similarities between the destruction of thousands of Armenian Medieval cross stones in Nakhichevan by the Azerbaijani army and the devastation of 2000-year-old monuments in the historic Palmyra bear a striking resemblance. Deliberate destruction of monuments, be that in Syria or Nakhichevan, should be considered as a crime against civilization.

The road from authoritarianism to totalitarianism and despotism is interlinked to the escalation of the tensions through which the Azerbaijani leadership is attempting to mislead and distract the attention of the international community from the outrageous human rights violations in Azerbaijan. The cornerstone of authoritarianism is hatred. Propaganda of enmity towards a neighbor is one of the favorite methods of such regimes to strengthen loyalty inside their countries by punishing representatives of media, civil society and intelligentsia, who dare to speak up against the regime and stand for peace and reconciliation. Not surprisingly many of them in Azerbaijan have been put behind the bars with allegations on serving the Armenian interests. The xenophobic hatred against Armenians has become the dominating rhetoric of Azerbaijan and state-supported policy for decades. While stating that Armenia is situated on native Azerbaijani lands, President of that country declared that Armenians all over the world are the “Number 1 enemy” of Azerbaijan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to add a couple of words about my current visit to the UK. I am here in London upon the invitation of my colleague Foreign Secretary Mr. Philip Hammond with whom I had a meeting yesterday. I also met Minister for Europe Mr. David Lidington. Later today, I will meet Secretary of State for Culture Mr. John Wittingdale. Together with my British colleagues we continue discussions on efforts to further boost Armenian-British cooperation in different fields of mutual interest. We have a very solid foundation to build on, to enhance our bilateral relations that date back to centuries. Lord Byron famously portrayed Armenia as one of the most interesting countries on the globe. We will continue our efforts aimed at further strengthening of our relations not just as countries interested in each other, but also as a good partners.

Thank you.

On September 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan received parliamentarians of the Kingdom of Belgium, who arrived in Artsakh, accompanied by European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) President Kaspar Karampetian.

Artsakh Foreign Minister welcomed the members of the delegation and stressed the importance of such visits in the establishment and deepening of cooperation in the framework of parliamentary diplomacy.

At the request of the guests, Karen Mirzoyan presented in detail the current stage of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement. He emphasized the importance of full-fledged participation of the NKR in the negotiation process as the main guarantee in reaching a final settlement of the conflict.

Karen Mirzoyan stressed the importance of the processes of state-building and democratization in Artsakh, noting that the people and authorities are united in their aspiration to build an independent democratic state.

On September 10 Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale.

Minister Nalbanidn hailed Mr. Whittingdale’s past activity in the House of Commons as the head of the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group, underlining that the Armenian-British parliamentary ties actively developed under his leadership.

Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to John Whittingdale for his participation in April 24 events in Yerevan dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

During the meeting reference was made to the perspectives of expansion of Armenian-British relations in the field of culture and discussed the implementation of joint programs with a view of presenting the Armenian cultural heritage in the UK.

Edward Nalbandian visited the British Parliament, where he met with members of the House of Lords Caroline Cox and Henry Harrison. Issues related to Armenian-British parliamentary cooperation were discussed.

The same day Minister Nalbandian met with members of the commission coordinating the Armenian Genocide centennial events in the United Kingdom.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the events organized in Armenia and the world, dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

During the meeting reference was made to the preparations for the ecumenical service to be held at the Westminster Abbey in October to commemorate the Armenian Genocide centennial.

On 11 September Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan convoked a consultation dedicated to preparedness for the September 13 elections to local self-government bodies.

Head of the Central Electoral Commission Srbuhi Arzumanyan delivered a corresponding report.

President Sahakyan expressed confidence that as always everything would be done for holding the elections on a high level, open and transparent, in full correspondence with democratic norms.

National Assembly chairman Ashot Ghoulyan, prime-minister Arayik Haroutyunyan and other officials partook at the consultation.

Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard was summoned to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Sept.11, over the resolution adopted by the European Parliament, Trend reports.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev informed Mard about the country’s position on this document.

“Azerbaijan strongly condemns the resolution adopted by the European Parliament,” he said.

Noting that this document is ‘biased and destructive,’ Mammadguliyev said that it is a blow to Azerbaijani-EU relations.

Azerbaijan’s Milli Mejlis will hold an extraordinary session September 14 to consider the attitude toward the resolution of the European Parliament. MPs have been hastily recalled from their vacations on this occasion.

Remind that in a resolution adopted on Thursday the MEPs call for the release of all political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

The European Parliament calls for the immediate and unconditional release from jail of all political prisoners, human rights defenders, journalists and other civil society activists, including Khadija Ismayilova, Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus, in line with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights and/or a prompt investigation into the death of the journalist Rasim Aliyev.

It demands that the Azerbaijan government immediately end its crackdown on civil society and human rights work and says that “the negotiations for a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Azerbaijan should be immediately put on hold as long the government fails to take concrete steps in advancing respect for universal human rights”.

The resolution calls on the Commission “to review and suspend temporarily, if needed, all funding not related to human rights, civil society and grassroots level people-to-people cooperation granted to Azerbaijan through the European Neighbourhood Instrument, and recalls Parliament’s decision to send a delegation to Azerbaijan.

The non-legislative resolution was adopted by 365 votes to 202, with 72 abstentions.

Aram Papoyan, Director of the Institute for Physical Research of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, has won an ICO Galileo Galilei Award for his “considerable achievements in the field of spectroscopic study of high solubility of alkali atoms and his contribution to the development of experimental atomic physics in Armenia,” Press Service of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

The ICO Galileo Galilei Award recognizes the promotion of Optics under difficult circumstances. The award was established by the 1993 General Assembly of ICO and has been awarded annually since 1994.

Aram Papoyan was born in Yerevan in 1959. The scope of his study includes laser and atomic physics, as well as quantum and nonlinear optics. In 2004 he received RA President’s Award in Physics for the series of papers on “New possibilities for the study of laser radiation interaction with atomic vapor opened by new optical cells.”

He is a member of the Alfred Kastler Foundation of the French Academy of Sciences and a member of the Armenian Optical Society.

Guarantees of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention related to the access to justice in environmental matters in the context of modern international developments were discussed at the OSCE-supported workshop on 11 September 2015 in Yerevan.

The workshop was organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan together with the Centre of Economic-Legal Analyses in co-operation with the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.

The event aimed at bringing together high-level professionals in the field to share experiences, identify challenges and explore possible ways to enhance the implementation of the “Access to Justice” pillar of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention).

Participants were introduced to the experts’ view on the protection of environmental rights and the basic directions of its improvement.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan has been promoting implementation of the Aarhus Convention through the establishment of a network of 15 regional Aarhus Centres in Armenia, which provide information and advice, organize discussions on environmental issues.

US Co-Chair of the OSCE Misnk Group James Warlick has called for joint use of the Sarsang water reservoir.

Warlick uploaded the photo of the reservoir on

“I took this photo last year with the Co-Chairs. We need to ensure that the reservoir continues to provide safe reliable power to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Co-Chair wrote.

“It’s also important that the dam is safe and that those downstream in Azerbaijan have water when it is needed. Why can’t the sides cooperate when it is in their mutual interest? This is a win-win and we are ready to help,” James Warlick said.