Month: April 2016

The Azerbaijani side kept firing all along the line of contact with Karabakh forces last night, using artillery weapons, as well as 60 and 82 mm mortars and grenade launchers, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

Two Armenian servicemen Gagik Movsisyan (born in 1997) and Vazgen Harutyunyan (born in 1968) were killed as a result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side.

The NKR Defense Ministry share the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses its condolences to the families and friends of the killed soldiers.

“The actions of the rival will not go unpunished, and the Azerbaijani side will bear full responsibility for the consequences,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Violent tension between lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) descended into a brawl during a plenary session on April 27, delaying efforts to pass legislation on an EU migration deal,  the reports.

Deputies threw punches, pushed and tried to restrain each other in the assembly late on April 27 in a row over deadly operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeast.

Fighting erupted after HDP Şırnak deputy Ferhat Encü “commemorated all civilians and children massacred by the security services.”

“I remember the civilians recently massacred by shelling in [the southeastern district of] Silopi. I remember the 34 people, including children, who were brutally bombed by Turkish warplanes in Roboski four years ago,” said Encü.

Turkish warplanes killed 34 villagers, Encü’s relatives, in late 2011 on the border with Iraq in the eastern district of Uludere in the Roboski Massacre.

The acting speaker announced at the end of the April 27 session, following the scuffles, the parliament would not meet again in a full session until May 2.

Lawmakers had been expected to work on April 29 and April 30 on legislation needed for Turks to secure visa-free travel to Europe, a key part of Ankara’s deal with the European Union on stopping uncontrolled migration to Europe.

“You may not like it, but unfortunately these things are true,” he added.

During the speech, AKP deputies reacted angrily and started shouting, declaring Encü a supporter of the PKK. “You are a murderer. You support murderers. You are despicable. You are a terrorist and a defender of murderers. You should be in jail. You came from the mountains,” the AKP MPs were heard shouting, referring to the Kandil Mountains that are known as the PKK’s headquarters in northern Iraq.

In response, Encü said “those accusing him of being a terrorist are the real terrorists.”

After the fight erupted between the MPs, Parliamentary Speaker Ahmet Aydın declared a break in proceedings.

Encü later wrote on his Twitter account that he was “not afraid” of the AKP deputies who targeted him in parliament.

“They attempted to lynch me for commemorating the civilians massacred by the security services. They think that Turkish officers don’t kill. Is that so? If you’ve had just a little honor, you wouldn’t say that to me, as 34 of my own relatives were massacred by law enforcement,” he also wrote.

The fight broke out during debates on a draft bill to establish a supervisory commission to oversee law enforcement officers’ compliance with the law, which was opened on April 27.

The drafts suggested the commission would be led by the Interior Ministry’s undersecretary and have seven members work to enhance the law enforcement complaint system, as well as make it function transparently, improve its credibility, and centralize the recording of processes initiated against law enforcement officers for their alleged crimes and offenses.

While the general assembly was shut, there were scuffles again on April 28 during a meeting of a constitutional commission which was discussing legislation on lifting lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution.

Since interest from both members of parliament and journalists on deliberations over the government-led provisional change in the constitution that would allow parliament to lift legislative immunities was high, the meeting began with a large number of attendees standing in order to follow the debate. The HDP objected to an attempt to usher journalists out of the commission room and asked for a change of the venue.

Tension rose when AKP deputies opposed the HDP’s proposal.

The Azerbaijani side kept violating the agreement on ceasefire all along the line of contact with Karabakh forces last night, the NKR Defense Ministry informs.

The rival used artillery weapons of various caliber, also as 60, 82 and 120 mm mortars, RPG-7, HHN-9  and HAN-17 grenade launchers.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the situation at the frontline and confidently continue with their military duty.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for a “Leahy Law” investigation into reports that the Azerbaijan armed forces, which annually receive millions of dollars in U.S. military aid, committed gross violations of human rights during Baku’s April 2nd offensive against Nagorno Karabakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In remarks during an Armed Services hearing today on the National Defense Authorization Act, Rep. Sanchez noted that she has reviewed credible allegations that units of the Azerbaijani military have committed gross violations of human rights.  “I believe that these blatant human rights violations warrant action on our part to direct our Secretary of Defense to work with our Secretary of State on an investigation on possible human rights violations.  And I believe the U.S. should conduct an investigation on whether the ‘Leahy Law’ is being violated by the Azerbaijani military,” stated Rep. Sanchez.  “We, the United States, we are a leader on human rights and we cannot afford to support militaries that commit human rights violations.”

In her remarks, Rep. Sanchez cited sharp criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record and called attention to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev’s pardon and praise for Ramil Safarov, who axe-murdered an Armenian officer while he slept during a NATO peace-keeping training program in Hungary.  Rep. Sanchez’s statement accompanied an amendment that she submitted, but later withdrew for procedural purposes.

Members of U.S. Senate and House took part in the annual Capitol Hill remembrance of the Armenian Genocide on April 27, stressing that the United States, as a matter of national policy, should be working toward a truthful and just recognition of this crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

During the evening remembrance program, legislators raised serious concerns, on a bipartisan basis, regarding the dangerous modern day implications of continued official U.S. and international indifference to a century of unchecked anti-Armenian violence and genocide, even amid warning signs of renewed atrocities against Nagorno Karabakh.

“We want to thank each of the legislators who joined us today, and the many more who are working to stop official U.S. complicity in Ankara’s genocide denials and bring an end to the Administration’s troubling silence in the face of Azerbaijan’s reckless military escalation against Nagorno Karabakh,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Sadly, we are seeing today – in Azerbaijan’s attacks all along the Nagorno Karabakh line-of-contact – the results of longstanding U.S. appeasement of Turkey and international indifference to Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian aggression, even amid clear warning signs of renewed atrocities.”

A prominent theme was the escalation of Azerbaijan’s attacks against Nagorno Karabakh, which claimed several hundred Armenian and Azerbaijani lives between April 2nd and 5th. Constant ceasefire violations continue to undermine peace in the region, with three members of Artsakh’s defense forces killed in just the last two days. Members of Congress called for zeroing out military aid to Azerbaijan, with many urging an increase in assistance to Artsakh in light of recent violence.

The annual Capitol Hill observance of the Armenian Genocide was organized by the Congressional Armenian Caucus in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, Office of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in the U.S. and Armenian American organizations.

Among the federal legislators offering remarks were Senator Robert Menendez (D-CA), Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Robert Dold (R-IL) as well as, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), Select Committee on Intelligence Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff (D-CA), Armenian and Assyrian American Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and David Trott (R-MI). Also in attendance were Rep. David Brat (R-VA), Hellenic Caucus Co-Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Co-Chair James McGovern (D-MA), and Armenian Genocide Resolution lead author David Valadao (R-CA).

Capitol Hill veteran and Greater Washington DC community activist Elise Kenderian Aronson served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening, inviting clerical leaders His Eminence Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Eastern U.S. and Rev. Fr. Tatev Terteryan of St. Mary Apostolic Church to offer the benediction and invocation. Also offering keynote remarks were His Excellency Grigor Hovhannissian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the U.S., and the Honorable Robert Avetisyan, Nagorno Karabakh representative to the U.S.

Armenian Americans were joined by representatives from the Hellenic, Assyrian and Kurdish communities at the observance, including Ted Katsoubas from the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC); Steve Oshana, Executive Director of A Demand for Action; and, Dasko Shirwani of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) among many others.

Photo:  12 News

 

A cross stone installed at the St. Apkar Armenian church in Scottsdale was destroyed by vandals.

Someone broke it into pieces and church officials told that they feel the vandals targeted them.

Artin Kandjian, the architect of the church, said, “It feels deliberate because it’s a terrible coincidence that this happened during the week of April 24th, which is a traditional commemoration of the Armenian genocide, which took place in 1915.”

Photo: Reuters

 

The UN says the situation in Syria’s city of Aleppo is catastrophic, after dozens of people were killed in attacks on targets including a hospital, the BBC reports.

Air strikes on and around the Medecins Sans Frontieres-backed al-Quds hospital killed at least 27 people, while more than 30 died in other attacks.

UN envoy Jan Egeland said the next days would be vital for the humanitarian aid lifeline for much of Syria.

The violence has left a partial truce hanging by a thread.

UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned the cessation of hostilities agreed between non-jihadist rebels and government forces on 27 February was now “barely alive”.

At the meeting of the Executive Board of the Republican Party of Armenia, President Serzh Sargsyan has proposed three important steps needed for resumption of the negotiation process, Spokesman for the Republican Party of Armenia Edward Sharmazanov told reporters after the sitting.

“First, it’s necessary to implement mechanisms of investigation of border incidents; second, the statements of the international community must be more targeted; third, there should be guarantees that Azerbaijan will not undertake new aggression and terrorist acts against NKR people,” Sharmazanov said.

“Speaking about resumption of negotiations is untimely now , as the military actions continue, as Azerbaijan continues to violate the 1994 ceasefire agreement signed with Artsakh and Armenia, as well as the verbal agreement reached in Moscow,” he said.

The 101st anniversray of the Armenian Genocide was commemorated in different cities accross the globe.

Yerevan

Athens

London

Paris

Los Angeles

Prague

Ottawa

Sydney

Tel Aviv

Spanish media outlet claim the Gunners are looking increasingly likely to sign the Armenian international, according to the

Chelsea and Juventus have also been linked with the attacking ace.

But according to Italian football experts , Arsenal are leading the race for his services.

It’s understood the north Londoners will pay around £23m for the Bundesliga sensation.

They’re also set to offer him an annual salary of £5m, which works at £96,000-a-week.

The midfielder has enjoyed a phenomenal season, scoring 23 goals and creating a further 30 in 49 appearances.

He is about to enter the final 12 months of his current Dortmund deal and appears no closer to a new deal after snubbing a £6.4m-a-year extension.

When asked by German newspaper Bild if he is about to pen fresh terms, Mkhitaryan said: “I do not know yet.”