President of the Republic of Armenia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan visited the Ministry of Defense today.
Serzh Sargsyan was briefed on the steps the Armenian Armed Forces are taking. The President gave corresponding instructions.
Following a meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Bureau in Copenhagen, Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) and the OSCE PA Special Representative on the South Caucasus, Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria), reiterated the Assembly’s hopes for a sustained ceasefire and willingness to contribute to efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“My colleagues and I are united in our hope for a complete cessation of hostilities. The human toll that continued fighting – not only in the past week, but over more than 20 years – is having on the people in the region is simply not tolerable. We owe it to those who regularly suffer from this violence to take a forward-looking approach on ways to find a peaceful settlement,” said President Kanerva.
The OSCE PA Bureau, consisting of the President, Vice-Presidents and Committee Officers of the Assembly, heard a report by Special Representative Vigenin on recent developments in the zone of conflict.
“The very significant increase in violence last week underlines the need for a rapid return to the political process. While immediate efforts are understandably concentrated on halting hostilities, I intend to continue working at the parliamentary level to encourage increased political will from the sides in the region to engage in serious efforts to negotiate a comprehensive settlement within the framework of the Minsk Group. The rapid agreement on confidence building-measures to reduce the risk for further hostilities can be an important first step in this direction, and we stand ready to contribute to all these efforts,” said Special Representative Vigenin.
The President and Special Representative expressed their support for the continued work of the Minsk Group and its Co-Chairs to facilitate a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Vigenin reported to the OSCE PA Bureau that he would maintain contact with parliamentary colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan, and intends to continue discussions during the Assembly’s 25th Annual Session, to be held in Tbilisi from 1-5 July.
The OSCE PA Bureau meets each year in April, to discuss ongoing work and to plan for the Assembly’s Annual Session.
On 11 April President Bako Sahakyan held a meeting with the Armenian National Assembly deputy chairman Edward Sharmazanov and a group of deputies from Greek and Latvian parliaments.
The meeting addressed issues relating to the military operations recently launched by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic.
Bako Sahakyan hailed the support of many countries, representatives of their political and public circles to the peace process and condemnation of aggression
The President noted at the same time that the international community must have a tough and targeted assessment of the Azerbaijani militaristic and destructive policy, highlighting the importance of an adequate of the response for restraining aggression.
The deputy chairman of a Swedish-Turkish association has resigned after derogatory comments he made about Armenians last week, the Associated Press reports.
Barbaros Leylani, who called for death “to Armenian dogs” at a Stockholm rally, apologized Monday on the association’s website saying he’d been misunderstood.
Swedish legal watchdog Juridikfronten said it had reported the speech for incitement to racial hatred to police and an Armenian association says it also plans to make a police report.
Armenia’s First Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan met with Mrs. Caroline Douilliez, Head of the ICRC delegation in Armenia
The parties discussed issues related to the search for and recovery of the bodies of the soldiers killed as a result of the military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan.
David Tonoyan expressed gratitude to the Head of the ICRC Delegation for organizing the exchange of bodies with the mediation of the ICRC and OSCE representatives.
The Deputy Defense Minister informed Mrs. Douilliez that all 18 bodies handed over the Armenian side were mutilated, which not only violates the second paragraph of Common Article 3 of all 1949 Geneva Conventions (…To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture), the 1st paragraph of Article 130 of the 1949 4th Geneva Convention, the provisions of Article 4.2. of the Second Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions, but also constitute a heavy crime under the criminal jurisdiction of any legal state.
David Tonoyan noted that the Armenian side will pursue the condemnations of the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces by the international community and specialized bodies.
Anti-Armenian demonstrators in Paris were attacked by a group of Kurds, Ermenihaber.am reports.
Paris-based Turks had joined an anti-Armenian rally organized in the French capital by Azerbaijani organizations, the Turkish Habervitrini website reported.
The participants of the rally were attacked by a group of young people waving the flags of the Kurdish Workers’ Party and holding the photos of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
The Police had to interfere, the source reports.
The agreement on ceasefire was mostly respected at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan last night.
The NKR Ministry of Defense reports that the rival violated the ceasefire in the northern line of the line of contact, opening fire from 82mm mortars and 12 mm D-30 howitzers.
the front divisions of the NKR Defense Army remain committed to the agreement on ceasefire and confidently carry out their tasks.
A massive fire swept through a temple in India’s southern Kerala state on Sunday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than 200 who had gathered for a fireworks display to mark the start of the local Hindu new year, Reuters reports.
Thousands of devotees had packed into the Puttingal Devi temple in the coastal district of Kollam. The fireworks display began at midnight and went on for hours.
The fire started when one of the crackers fell onto a shed where the fireworks were stored, said residents near the temple site, about 70 km from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), has expressed solidarity with Artsakh.
“Yesterday, more than 3,000, including these fantastic interns from ANCA Western Region, gathered in front of the Azerbaijani Consulate on Wilshire to protest Baku’s attacks on Artsakh. We are all united for peace and justice. We are#ArtsakhStrong,” Rep. wrote as a caption to the photo he shared on Facebook.
Adam Schiff earlier released a statement condemning the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno Karabakh.
““Until Azerbaijan faces strong and meaningful consequences over their policy of escalation and violence and its self-serving refusal to agree to international monitoring of the Line of Contact, there is little chance of resolving the conflict and avoiding further bloodshed. The true victims of this policy are the people of Artsakh who simply want to live free of sniper fire and mortar barrages and to exercise their right of self-determination,” Schiff said in the statement.
Today is the 24th anniversary of the Maragha massacre.
Twenty-four years ago, on 10 April, the village of Maragha located in the Martakert region of Nagorno Karabakh was attacked by the Azerbaijani forces. This was one of the most tragic episodes of Azerbaijan’s military aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
On April 10, 1992, after intensive artillery shelling the Azerbaijani armed units invaded the peaceful village and committed a ruthless reprisal over defenseless people.
The Maragha Massacre was the mass murder of ethnic Armenian civilians. Up to now the Azerbaijani government has not received deserved punishment by the international community.