Month: May 2021

Armenia's ex-president, the leader of "Armenia" pre-election bloc Robert Kocharyan has responded to a question concerning the recent tension on the near-border area of Armenia's Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces where the Azerbaijani forces have advanced into the sovereign territory of Armenia. 

The ex-president's comments came at a press conference with reporters on Tuesday when asked to assess the tactic of the Armenian leaders to solve the issue through negotiations and avoid using military force to prevent a large-scale war.

"First of all, we shouldn't have allowed to be treated like that. If your policy and statements leave an impression you can be treated like that, you will face similar issues in other locations as well. As long as they [ed. Azerbaijanis] have certain expectations from the Republic of Armenia over serious additional concession, they would continue exerting pressures to reach their goals including through provoking such tensions," Kocharyan said. 

"Armenia must show that it will not bow to Azerbaijani pressures which is absolutely not the case in our approach in the current situation. Yes, the matter should be resolved through negotiations. But let me stress if today's issue is solved with the help of Russia, tomorrow we may face another problem on a different section of the border," added Kocharyan.

Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has wanted some officials and public figures against dangerous statements about the borders of the Republic of Armenia in recent days, The Ombudsman has specifically voiced conversation about mechanical approaches, referring only to some maps or simply using the words "delimitation" and "demarcation".

"Your mechanical statements directly contradict rights and legal interests of the entire population of the Republic of Armenia and, first and foremost, it’s border residents.These irresponsible statements numb the vigilance of our people, endanger rights of our children and the peaceful future in the long perspective.

Proper delimitation is a strong guarantee of human rights, but delimitation issues cannot be approached mechanically," Ombudsman wrote on Facebook. 

In his words, delimitation has a direct impact on the rights of people living in our border villages and towns (property, farming and animal husbandry, dignified, safe and peaceful living, etc).

"We should not forget that at the highest level of power in Azerbaijan, Armenia, RA citizens of and the Armenian people, are considered enemies, and the hatred towards Armenians is state supported. 

We should not forget that the Azerbaijani armed forces were torturing and beheading our compatriots only a few months ago, and for that they were not only not held accountable, but rather, they were only encouraged. We should not forget about the human rights violations by the Azerbaijani armed soldiers in Syunik and Gegharkunik after the cessation of the military attacks, as well as the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities still refuse to return our captives in gross violation of international human rights requirements," the Ombudsman said, adding: "The exact opposite should be done: delimitation must be carried out only after creation of a security zone, or at the very least, in parallel with it." 

In the words of Tatoyan, in the current conditions, the delimitation with Azerbaijan without a security zone will not only not guarantee rights of the citizens of Armenia, especially rights of border residents, but will cause new human rights violations and new tensions, and will not ensure peace in the region.

Dozens of U.S. House members joined Rep. David G. Valadao (R-CA) and fellow Congressional Armenian Caucus leaders in a bipartisan call upon the Biden Administration stop all U.S. military assistance that contributes directly or indirectly to Azerbaijan’s military operations, activities, or capabilities, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The May 24th Congressional letter also requests an urgent review of the deeply flawed U.S. waiver authority for Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to the corrupt Aliyev regime.

“Not a single American tax dollar should be sent to the armed forces of oil-rich Azerbaijan – a country that ethnically cleansed Artsakh, holds Armenians POWs, and now occupies territory in the Republic of Armenia,” said Congressman David Valadao. “President Biden should immediately withdraw his waiver of Section 907 and, if he won’t, Congress should statutorily prevent any and all U.S. arms or aid to the Aliyev regime. The alternative – continuing to ship U.S. military aid to Baku despite its ongoing anti-Armenian aggression – sends Aliyev the green light to escalate his attacks,” concluded Rep. Valadao.

“Armenian Americans from Fresno and across California’s Central Valley join with our community and coalition partners across America in thanking Congressman Valadao and his fellow Co-Chairs of the Armenian Caucus for working to stop all U.S. arms and aid to Azerbaijan’s oil-rich Aliyev regime,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Amid Baku’s escalating aggression, we are especially appreciative of the strong bipartisan leadership of Congressman Valadao, who has traveled to Artsakh, witnessed first-hand the challenges its people face, and championed U.S. aid to this at-risk population.”

Congressional co-signers of the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken are asking for the “immediate termination of all U.S. military or security aid to Azerbaijan.” The letter expresses concern about the Biden Administration’s waiver of the Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, which restricts U.S. aid to Azerbaijan based on their blockade of and aggression against Armenia and Artsakh. “We are concerned that the State Department did not fully consider Azerbaijan’s lack of progress in ceasing its blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), and instead moved forward with this waiver without detailing serious national security concerns,” stated the letter.

The Public TV Company and Public Radio refused to cover a news conference of the Armenia bloc leaders on Tuesday, Aram Vardevanyan, the official representative of the bloc’s election campaign headquarters, said in a statement.

“Today, the joint press conference of the leaders of the Armenia bloc, second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, member of the ARF Supreme Council Ishkhan Saghatelyan and Chairman of the Reviving Armenia party Vahe Hakobyan, took place at the headquarters of the alliance.

“First of all, I would like to thank all the media outlets that responded to the invitation of the press service of the Armenia bloc, were accredited and covered today's meeting.

“At the same time, I would like to inform you that the Public TV Company and Public Radio, which are obviously under the influence of the government, failed to attend today's news conference after receiving the invitation and even being notified by phone, and, in fact, refused to cover it. We assess the move as bias in the context of pre-election political processes,” reads the statement. 

The Armenian Defense Ministry refutes reports of Azerbaijani shootings in the Sisian border area in Syunik Province of Armenia.

“The reports about the enemy shootings in the Sisian section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the injuries from the Armenian side as a result of them have not been confirmed.

“No incidents were recorded in that part of the border,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Earlier some media reports alleged that the Azerbaijani troops opened fire in the Sisian border area, injuring  some Armenian soldiers.