Month: February 2021

Reuters
Feb. 10, 2021



(Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday called on Turkey to
immediately release philanthropist and human rights activist Osman
Kavala, who has been detained for more than three years without
conviction.

“The specious charges against Kavala, his ongoing detention, and the
continuing delays in the conclusion of his trial, including through
the merger of cases against him, undermine respect for the rule of law
and democracy,” the U.S. State Department said.

Kavala was acquitted a year ago of charges related to 2013
anti-government protests, but was immediately rearrested on charges
relating to a failed 2016 coup. An appeals court subsequently
overturned his acquittal on the protest charges.

A Turkish court ruled on Friday to combine the two outstanding cases
and rejected Kavala’s request to be released.

Kavala was accused by Turkey of collaborating with Henri Barkey, a
prominent U.S.-based Turkey scholar, and both men were charged with
attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

An indictment alleged that Barkey had links to the network of
U.S.-based Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Ankara says
had orchestrated the coup attempt. Gulen denies involvement and Barkey
has said the charges are a “complete fabrication”.

“We also note with concern U.S. citizen Dr. Henri Barkey’s inclusion
in these unwarranted court proceedings. We believe the charges against
Dr. Barkey to be baseless”, the State Department said on Wednesday.

The State Department urged Turkey to abide by a European Court of
Human Rights ruling in late 2019 that Kavala be released.


 

                                        Thursday, 

Armenian Parliament Approves Heavier Fines For Defamation

        • Nane Sahakian

Armenia - Deputy parliament speaker Alen Simonian speaks to journalists, January 
30, 2020

Ignoring strong objections from press freedom groups, the Armenian parliament 
approved on Thursday a fivefold increase in maximum legal fines set for 
defamation.

Under a bill passed by the National Assembly in the first reading, media outlets 
and individuals convicted of “slander” could be fined as much as 10 million 
drams ($19,200) while those making offensive claims will face a maximum fine of 
up to 5 million drams.

The bill involving relevant amendments to the Armenian Criminal Code was drafted 
last year by Alen Simonian, a deputy parliament speaker and leading member of 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step bloc.

In a joint statement issued in September, Armenia’s leading media organizations 
denounced it as a threat to the freedom of speech.

One of the signatories, Shushan Doydoyan of the Yerevan-based Center for Freedom 
of Information, insisted on Thursday that the much heavier fines could be used 
by the government or non-state actors to muzzle the mass media. She also argued 
that anonymous social media accounts will remain the main sources of slanderous 
information and will not be affected by the bill.

“We stated that this is a politically motivated bill which cannot contribute to 
the fight against irresponsible journalism, disinformation or slander,” Doydoyan 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “It is completely useless. At the same time it 
could deal a serious blow to the mass media and freedom of speech in general.”

The Armenian government also objected to the sharp toughening of defamation 
penalties. Addressing lawmakers, Deputy Justice Minister Vahe Danielian said it 
is disproportionate and could disrupt the “fair balance” between the freedom of 
expression and people’s honor and dignity.

Simonian insisted on the proposed amendments. He dismissed concerns about its 
impact on press freedom, saying that it will be up to Armenian courts to 
determine the amount of fines for various libel offenses.

Simonian’s bill was then backed by 72 deputies of the 132-member parliament.

All forms of libel were decriminalized in Armenia in 2010 during the rule of 
former President Serzh Sarkisian. Many members of the current parliament now 
seem ready to make it a criminal offense again.

“If necessary I too will stand for criminalizing insults and slander,” Babken 
Tunian, a senior pro-government lawmaker and former journalist, said during 
Thursday’s parliament debate.

“I think that would be a step backwards,” countered Heriknaz Tigranian, another 
deputy representing the ruling bloc.



Karabakh Activist Freed Despite Coup Charge

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia - Vahan Badasian talks to journalists at the Yerablur Military Pantheon 
in Yerevan, January 28, 2021

A prominent Nagorno-Karabakh politician and war veteran was released late on 
Wednesday two weeks after being arrested on charges of calling for a violent 
overthrow of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Vahan Badasian branded Pashinian an “enemy” of the nation and blamed the latter 
for the Armenian side’s defeat in the autumn war with Azerbaijan when he spoke 
with journalists at Yerevan’s Yerablur military cemetery on January 28. He said 
Pashinian will be removed from power “physically” and through an armed revolt if 
he keeps refusing to step down.

Badasian was arrested a few hours later. A Yerevan court remanded him in 
pre-trial custody on charges of publicly advocating a violent regime change.

A prosecutor overseeing the criminal investigation said on Wednesday that 
Badasian will be set free for now because he realized the illegal character of 
his statement.

Badasian seemed unrepentant and described the charges leveled against him as 
“ridiculous” on Thursday.

His lawyer, Arayik Papikian, insisted that the charges are politically motivated 
and his client never called for a violent overthrow of the constitutional 
order.” “He did not and does not intend to take any illegal actions,” Papikian 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Badasian, who leads a small party not represented in Karabakh’s parliament, 
lived in the southern Karabakh town of Hadrut occupied by Azerbaijani forces 
during the recent war. He took part in the six-week war and was wounded in 
action.

Armenian opposition groups have also condemned Pashinian’s handling of the war 
and demanded his resignation. The prime minister has rejected their demands.



EU-Armenia Accord Set To Take Effect

        • Artak Khulian

Belgium - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Armenian Foreign 
Minister Edward Nalbandian sign the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced 
Partnership Agreement in Brussels, 24Nov2017.

European Union member states have completed the ratification of the EU’s 
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Armenia which was 
signed more than three years ago.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said the EU notified Yerevan about the “completion 
of the ratification process” on Wednesday.

“The Agreement will fully enter into force on March 1, 2021,” the ministry 
announced in a statement.

The 350-page agreement commits the Armenian authorities to carrying out 
political reforms that will democratize the country’s political system and boost 
human rights protection. They must also gradually “approximate” Armenian 
economic laws and regulations to those of the EU.

The CEPA was signed in November 2017 as a less ambitious substitute for an 
Association Agreement which Armenian and EU negotiators nearly finalized in 
2013. Then Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian scuttled the signing of that 
agreement with his unexpected decision to seek his country’s membership in a 
Russian-led trade bloc.

The Foreign Ministry described the CEPA as a “solid legal basis” for deepening 
Armenia’s ties with the EU in a wide range of areas.

“The effective implementation of the Agreement will bring tangible results to 
our citizens by promoting democracy, political, economic and social stability 
through extensive reforms and will over time have a positive impact on the 
welfare of our citizens,” read its statement.

Arman Yeghoyan, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on European 
integration, likewise expressed confidence on Thursday that the accord will 
produce “qualitative changes” in Armenia’s relationship with the EU.

Yeghoyan said that although the CEPA makes no reference to visa liberalization 
it will facilitate the eventual lifting of the EU’s visa requirements for 
Armenian citizens.



Armenian Government Vows Bypass Roads In Border Region

        • Susan Badalian

Armenia/Azerbaijan -- A new billboard at an Azerbaijani-controlled section of a 
highway leading to the Armenian city of Kapan, February 2, 2021. (Photo by 
Armenia's Office of Human Rights Defender).

The Armenian government has pledged to build or repair roads bypassing areas 
along Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province controversially handed over to 
Azerbaijan as a result of the Russian-brokered ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict zone.

Syunik borders the Zangelan and Kubatli districts southwest of Karabakh which 
were mostly recaptured by Azerbaijan during the autumn war in Karabakh. Armenian 
army units and local militias completed in December their withdrawal from parts 
of the districts close to Syunik’s capital Kapan and many other communities.

Some of those lands are located along the Soviet-era Armenian-Azerbaijani border 
which has never been demarcated due to the Karabakh conflict. Local government 
officials in Syunik and opposition figures in Yerevan have accused Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian of hastily and illegally ceding them to Baku. Pashinian 
has insisted that “not a single inch” of Armenia’s internationally recognized 
territory has been lost as a result of the troop withdrawal.

The areas in question include a 20-kilometer section of the main highway 
connecting Kapan to another major Syunik town, Goris. A 4-kilometer section of 
another provincial highway stretching from Kapan to several Armenian villages 
was also placed under Azerbaijani control.

Under further Armenian-Azerbaijan agreements reached after the ceasefire deal, 
Syunik residents are still able to travel along those road sections without any 
restrictions. Their security is to be guaranteed by Russian military posts set 
up there recently.


A road connecting Kapan to Goris, September 3, 2018.

With the Karabakh conflict still unresolved, many Syunik residents are wary of 
using the roads for safety reasons. Their concerns have been aggravated by 
several reported cases of Azerbaijani border guards and soldiers standing on the 
contested road sections and watching car traffic through them.

Speaking in the Armenian parliament on Wednesday, Minister for Territorial 
Administration and Infrastructures Suren Papikian promised new bypass roads for 
the mountainous region that also borders Iran.

“As soon as weather conditions allow, we will build them,” Papikian said without 
elaborating.

Travellers can also navigate between Kapan and Goris through another road 
located deeper inside Armenian territory. But its principal 42-kilometer section 
has been barely used since the early 1990s and has fallen into disrepair.


Azerbaijani border guards are seen from the Armeian village of Syunik, February 
8, 2021.

A government-funded reconstruction of 12 kilometers of that road was completed 
last year shortly before the outbreak of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. The 
government planned to refurbish a second, 17-kilometer section of it this year.

“Given the new situation, we have called for the reconstruction of the entire 
30-kilometer stretch [in 2021,]” Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service on Thursday.

Parsian said the government is also planning to build from scratch another 
highway that will bypass the 4-kilometer road stretch that also technically 
belongs to Azerbaijan now. He said local authorities want a longer bypass that 
will reach villages located farther from Syunik’s main city.

The government is also understood to be planning to repair a road connecting 
Kapan to three other Armenian villages.

The new roads will not address all security concerns of residents of the 
Armenian border communities. Some of them are now located just a few hundred 
meters from nearest Azerbaijani military posts.

In a village just east of Kapan, also called Syunik, the house belonging to 
Martun Arzumanian is now separated from Azerbaijan by the Voghji river. On a 
recent afternoon, two Azerbaijani servicemen could be seen manning a border post 
overlooking the village.


A view from the village of Shurnukh, December 19, 2020.

“When they talk to each other loudly you can hear them,” Arzumanian told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “The river is only 10-12 meters wide. They can hit us 
even with stones.”

“How can you not be alarmed when the enemy is only a few meters away?” said 
another villager, Anushavan Sargsian.

Another village, Shurnukh, straddles the existing Kapan-Goris highway. It was 
effectively divided into two parts as a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
border delimitation.

Twelve Shurnukh houses are on what is now the Azerbaijani side of the frontier. 
Their residents were evacuated before Azerbaijani forces entered that part of 
the village in December. The Armenian government has pledged to build new homes 
for them.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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