Author: Alex Jidarian

Europe’s Rights Defender Calls on Baku to Release Armenian POWs

Alex Jidarian

February 26,  2021



One of the five Armenian prisoners of war is being escorted off a plane that landed at Erebuni Airport on Jan. 28

The Secretary General of the European Ombudsman Institute Josef Siegele on Friday called on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan. The Artsakh Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) welcomed the EIO chief’s appeal.

“Everyone deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict should be returned immediately after the cessation of hostilities and without any preconditions,” Siegele said.

“It should be considered exclusively in the context of human rights and the humanitarian process as an international requirement which is to be automatically applied,” he added.

“Delaying the return of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians undermined human dignity and seriously violates the fundamental requirements guaranteed by the Geneva Convention. This grossly undermines the post-war humanitarian processes and the international human rights mandates,” he noted.

Josef Siegele stressed that the release of the captives and their safe return require immediate resolution.

The Artsakh Human Rights Defender’s Office called on international structures and human rights organizations to condemn Azerbaijan’s non-fulfillment of its international obligations and the creation of artificial obstacles to the return of Armenian captives.

The Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh is a member of the European Ombudsman Institute since 2009.

On a related matter, the European Union issued a statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council session also calling for the immediate release of prisoners of war.

՛՛As regards to Nagorno-Karabakh, the EU stresses that international humanitarian law must be respected and calls for full implementation of the provisions of the November 9, 2020 cease-fire agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war and the repatriation of human remains. Should any foreign fighters still remain in the region, they should be promptly and fully withdrawn. The EU calls for the negotiation of a comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the conflict resulting in lasting peace in the region,՛՛ said the EU statement.

Putin discusses situation around Nagorno Karabakh with Security Council

Alex Jidarian

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 15:54,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a consultation with the permanent members of the Security Council to discuss the situation around Nagorno Karabakh, the Kremlin press service reported.

“Today we will discuss with you the situation around the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. I would like to listen to your assessments on the operation of our peacekeepers, the emergency situations ministry forces, the border troops and on how the cooperation with the international organizations, our foreign partners is going on in this direction”, the Russian leader said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Homeland Salvation Movement denies ties to General Staff’s statement

Alex Jidarian

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 14:47,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. The Homeland Salvation Movement – an alliance of various political parties and individuals demanding the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan – says it has nothing to do with the military’s February 25 statement.

“They are trying to attribute it, as if there is a secret agreement with political forces. There is no such thing,” said Artsvik Minasyan, a high ranking member of the ARF, one of the political parties coordinating the movement. “Yesterday the army stood by the people’s demand and demanded the resignation of the government and the prime minister.”

Vazgen Manukyan, the movement’s candidate for caretaker prime minister, responded to Pashinyan’s accusations that the military’s statement amounted to an attempted coup. “A military coup means when the troops enter the capital and take over power or transfer the power to the opposition. No such thing happened in Armenia,” Manukyan said. He stressed that the General Staff’s statement doesn’t amount to a coup attempt.

Artur Vanetsyan, the President of the Homeland Party and a former Director of the National Security Service, also stressed that the General Staff’s statement shouldn’t anyhow be perceived as the military’s endorsement to their movement or any political force. “[The General Staff] spoke about Pashinyan no longer being able to ensure our country’s security,” Vanetsyan said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Asbarez: ANCA-WR Welcomes Two ‘Stop Investment in Turkey’ Bills in Calif. Legislature

Alex Jidarian

February 23,  2021



ANCA-WR welcomed 2 “stop investment in Turkey” initiatives by the California legislature

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region welcomed the introduction of two ‘Stop Investment in Turkey’ bills in the California State Assembly and Senate, AB1019 and SB457, respectively.

Introduced by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41), AB 1019 mandates the state stop all new investments and precludes renewal of existing investments issued or owned by Turkey using the full force of the California government to pressure Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide and take steps towards justice to its victims.

Introduced by Senators Anthony Portantino (D-25) and Scott Wilk (R-21), SB 457 is a measure that requires the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and the State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) Boards of Administration to allow school districts and cities to opt out of investment vehicles issued or owned by the Republic of Turkey. Legislators who have signed on as co-authors of SB 457 include Senator Bob Archuleta (D-32) and Senator Andreas Borgeas (R-08).

As part of ongoing government outreach efforts, the ANCA Western Region Board of Directors, Staff, and local chapter representatives had earlier held productive meetings with Assemblymember Holden, Senator Portantino, and Senator Wilk.

“The ANCA Western Region is grateful to Assemblymember Holden, Senator Portantino, and Senator Wilk for introducing these bills, both of which send a strong message in line with Congress’ 2019 pronouncement of US policy rejecting efforts to engage the United States in Turkey’s ongoing denialist campaign,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “At a time when Turkey has revealed its continued genocidal policies through its support of Azerbaijan’s recent aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, including its own provision of foreign mercenaries to attack innocent Armenian civilians and ethnically cleanse the Armenian presence from our ancestral Homeland, these bills seek to hold Turkey accountable for its past and present crimes. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure that these bills are passed and signed into law so that California’s taxpayer and pension funds are not used by Turkey to advance its genocide denial agenda.”

Current California law established by AB1320 (in 2019), can impose economic sanctions against Turkey for not recognizing its responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, but only upon passage of federal sanctions imposed specifically for Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Since passage of AB1320 the United States Government has taken significant action against Turkey. At the end of 2019 the United States Congress formally recognized the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.296 and S.Res.150) with overwhelming bipartisan support. In 2020, the Executive Branch imposed sanctions on Turkey over a multibillion-dollar acquisition of a Russian missile system under the “CAATSA – Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.”

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

ANCA Welcomes Alex Manoukian as Newest Addition to DC Team

Alex Jidarian

February 24,  2021



Alex Manoukian

New Director of Programs Will Oversee Internships, Job Placement, and Youth Programming

WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America welcomed Alex Manoukian as a new and powerful addition to its professional staff in the nation’s capital.

“The ANCA is proud to have Alex Manoukian join our team of professionals in Washington, DC,” shared ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. “Across many ANCA programs, we offer ladders of success for emerging Armenian American professionals. We are confident that Alex is going to build on these ladders to help young leaders reach their full potential,” Hamparian added.

Manoukian, who is studying toward a Bachelors in Government with a Minor in Arabic at Georgetown University, will serve as the organization’s Director of Programs. He will steward the expansion of the ANCA’s signature youth initiatives – the Leo Sarkisian Internship and the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program, as well as Rising Leaders, an innovative multi-day series of interactive seminars to introduce college-age Armenian Americans to Washington, DC.

“I’m excited to join the ANCA Washington DC team as Programs Director,” said Manoukian. “I look forward to working with students and recent graduates across the U.S. to share the incredible resources that the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program and Leo Sarkisian Internship have to offer – both in terms of career development and pro-Armenian advocacy.  Whether it’s expanding the Armenian American presence professionally in politics, policy, and media or increasing our collective voice in Congress and State Capitols across the U.S. – today’s Armenian youth are the game changers who will take Armenian advocacy to new heights. And the ANCA is ready to work with them every step of the way,” concluded Manoukian.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Manoukian attended Mesrobian Armenian Catholic High School and the Melankton & Haig Arslanian Djemaran, prior to moving with his family to Montebello, Calif., where he studied at Armenian Mesrobian School in Pico Rivera. He belongs to his local Armenian Youth Federation AYF DC “Ani” senior chapter, serves as a member of the AYF Eastern Region Central Executive, and is active in the Armenian Relief Society, the Armenian General Athletic Union (Homenetmen), Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural Association, Georgetown Armenian Students Association, and Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church. He is fluent in Armenian and Arabic.

The ANCA’s Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program, Leo Sarkisian Internship Program, and newer initiatives like ANCA Rising Leaders and the Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Fellowship empower the next generation of Armenian Americans by training university students as effective advocates and helping recent graduates start promising policy, political, government, and media careers in Washington, DC.

Now in its 35th year, the Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship has trained hundreds of community leaders during annual intensive eight-week programs designed to give them the tools necessary to effectively advance issues of concern to the Armenian American community on the federal, state, and local level. Former interns hold leadership positions in the ANCA and across the Armenian community.  The Summer 2021 program will take place virtually from June 14th to August 6th.  For more information and to apply, visit anca.org/internship.  The application deadline is March 31st.

Established in 2003, the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program (CGP) has placed hundreds of recent college graduates in full-time positions in the White House, Congress, Federal agencies, World Bank, think tanks, media outlets, and other influential organizations.  Alumni give back through the CGP Advisory Committee, which leverages the ANCA’s influential political network to assist program fellows. Mentorship, enrichment seminars, and networking events featuring alumni and Washington DC’s seasoned public policy professionals are staples of the program.  The Spring session of the Gateway Program is set to begin on March 31st. To learn more and apply, visit anca.org/gateway.

Armenian NGO founder: Karen Bekaryan, Ara Saghatelyan and Mher Avagyan are detained

Alex Jidarian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 19 2021
23:58, 19.02.2021

Karen Bekaryan, Ara Saghatelyan and Mher Avagyan are detained. This is what co-founder of Legal Way NGO Ruben Melikyan told reporters in front of the building of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia a little while ago.

“I just talked to Ara Saghatelyan’s attorney, who told me that investigative actions are underway. Ara Saghatelyan and Karen Bekaryan are detained under three articles, and Mher Avagyan is detained under one article,” Melikyan said, adding that the detainees’ attorneys have declared that they will file appeals against the lawfulness of the detention after the investigative actions.

“This is simply embarrassing, it is political persecution,” Melikyan concluded.

Earlier, masked officers of the NSS apprehended co-founder of Quartet Media, political analyst Karen Bekaryan in his house and took him to the NSS. The officers also conducted searches in the office of former chief of staff of the National Assembly Ara Saghatelyan and two other offices near that one, after which Saghatelyan was apprehended and taken to the NSS.

Attorney Mikayel Shkhimyan reported on his Facebook page that, in his presence, the officers of the NSS threw his client Mher Avagyan to the ground in the obscenest way and videotaped him.

Azerologist Anzhela Elibegova and constitutional expert Gohar Meloyan were also apprehended and taken to the NSS. They were released a little while ago.

Pashinyan visits Gyumri

Alex Jidarian

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 10:52,

GYUMRI, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is visiting the city of Gyumri Wednesday morning. He is now chairing a meeting at the Shirak Governor’s Office.

According to unconfirmed reports Pashinyan is planning to meet with families of the servicemen who are still being held captive in Azerbaijan after the Nagorno Karabakh war.

Reporting by Armenuhi Mkhoyan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Ambassador Tigran Balayan delivers credentials to Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri Albert

Alex Jidarian

Ambassador Tigran Balayan delivers credentials to Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri Albert 

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 21:15,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS.  Ambassador of Armenia to Luxembourg Tigran Balayan delivered credentials to Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri Albert, ARMENPRESS reports Balayan wrote on his Facebook page.

‘’I delivered credentials to His Excellency, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. I am very impressed by the knowledge of the Duke about Armenia, its history and traditions’’, Balayan wrote.

The Ambassador hoped that mutual efforts will be made for the expansion of multilateral cooperation.

Azerbaijan won the war in Nagorno-Karabakh but reduced its sovereignty

Alex Jidarian
Greek City Times
Feb 3 2021



by Paul Antonopoulos

Azerbaijan Won The War In Nagorno-Karabakh But Reduced Its Sovereignty – Greek City Times

Although Azerbaijan won the war against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, both countries have in fact lost part of their sovereignty.

Azerbaijan won the war and expanded territorially after it captured or received the districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh proper that Armenian forces captured in the first war (1988-1994). The status of Nagorno-Karabakh proper remains undetermined but is protected by Russian peacekeepers and is still governed by Armenians.

Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Despite this territorial expansion, Azerbaijan has in fact partly lost its sovereignty. During the war, reports began emerging that Azerbaijani military leaders were becoming increasingly frustrated with the level of control that Turkey had over their fighting forces. These reports were quickly dismissed and denied by Azerbaijan as Armenian attempts to create division through misinformation. But if this was just misinformation, then there would be no risk of division to begin with, meaning it would not be worth giving attention to, suggesting there was certainly an element of truth to it.

Azerbaijan’s military success lays with two key factors: the Armenian political and military incompetency and lack of will, and Turkey’s contribution with drones, special forces, intelligence and transfer of Syrian jihadists.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan never truly committed to the war effort as Armenian forces were never fully mobilized, powerful Iskander missiles infrequently used, the Armenian Air Force mostly grounded, Armenian diaspora and foreign volunteers rejected from fighting, and local Armenian militias not equipped with enough ammunition, maps and communication devices, nor were the militias assigned commanders – yet this was supposedly a “war for survival,” as Pashinyan termed it.

None-the-less, despite the incompetency of the Armenian leadership, Azerbaijan’s rapid success in Nagorno-Karabakh would not have been possible without significant Turkish support. Even Azerbaijan’s success is limited as it did not achieve its main war aim – the capture of Nagorno-Karabakh.

More importantly, Ankara’s footprint in the country massively expanded through the deployment of more Turkish troops to Azerbaijan, control of more military bases, and the establishment of a joint observation center with Russia in the Agdam region.

As said, reports circulated during the war that divisions in the Azerbaijani military and political circles were emerging between a pro-Turkish faction and another faction in opposition to Turkey’s dominant role in the war effort. These reports have only intensified in recent days as Turkish troops are now deployed in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani politicians and military leaders are beginning to worry about Ankara’s strong influence in the country, with critics commenting that Azerbaijan has become the 82nd province of Turkey. Although Azerbaijan now controls most of the formerly Armenian-held territory, it cannot exercise control over it without Turkish and Russian oversight.

In fact, even Iran has greater opportunities to influence Azerbaijan that it was not able to do before the war. Azerbaijan’s capture of the districts to the south of Nagorno-Karabakh proper means that it shares external borders with only Armenia and Iran. Effectively Iran has great opportunities to be one of the leading foreign investors in the region as Armenia and Azerbaijan have not normalized their relations. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan, the region wedged between Armenia, Turkey and Iran, to boost regional cooperation through new railroad and transportation routes.

In turn, it will be inevitable that Iran will attempt to gain influence through pan-Shi’ism, but this may prove difficult to gain a foothold as pan-Turkism has become the dominant ideology of Azerbaijan because of Turkey’s own soft power manoeuvers. Russia will utilize its influence through its peacekeepers in the region, and also soft power through economic exchanges.

Although Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will relish his country’s long-awaited victory after his father Heydar Aliyev signed a humiliating ceasefire in May 1994 to conclude the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the long-term repercussion means that Turkey dominates the Azerbaijani military and wields great political influence over Baku. Also, there is limited Azerbaijani governance in the territories it controls because of Russia’s watchful eye through the deployment of peacekeepers. And finally, we can see much stronger Iranian influence as it aims to penetrate the region through economic and religious means.

Azerbaijani flags may be flying over the captured territories, but it certainly has come at the price of reduced sovereignty – militarily, economically, politically, and perhaps even religiously and culturally.

Source: InfoBrics



China’s Rise Complicates Biden’s Mideast Policy Plans

Alex Jidarian 
VOA
By John Xie
February 04, 2021
As the Biden administration contemplates a return to Obama-era
policies in the Middle East – from the Iran nuclear deal to
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations -- it is finding those policies
complicated by China’s rising role as an influential political player
throughout the region.
China became the largest trading partner of Arab countries in the
first half of 2020 with two-way trade of more than $115 billion. It
has established strategic partnerships or a Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership with 12 Arab nations.
A recent survey conducted in the region found China is viewed more
favorably than the United States. Arab Barometer, a research network
based at Princeton University, polled citizens in six countries in the
Middle East -- Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia --
to gauge their attitudes toward China and the U.S. "The survey results
make clear that Arab publics prefer China," the organization said.
China’s government has made its “Belt and Road” infrastructure
initiative a key part of its regional outreach. Although the U.S.
still criticizes the plan for extending loans that some countries may
struggle to repay, 18 nations have joined including Israel,
Washington’s closest ally in the region.
Through this trillion-dollar initiative, China has invested throughout
Asia, Europe and Africa. "To connect all these places, China is very
active in building or helping to build or helping to finance ports and
military bases and just striking up strong economic and strategic
partnerships with the countries of the greater Middle East," Robert D.
Kaplan, chair in geopolitics at the Pennsylvania-based Foreign Policy
Research Institute, told VOA in a telephone interview.
By linking Europe with East Asia through the Middle East, China could
dominate Afro-Eurasia trading routes —what the great British
geographer Halford Mackinder labeled the “World-Island,” said Kaplan.
The U.S. regional withdrawal
The last two decades have seen Washington escalating and then winding
down its presence in the Middle East and southwest Asia. After years
of grinding wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for foreign military
engagements in the region has dropped among members of both U.S.
political parties.
Former President Barack Obama once described the region as beset by
conflicts going back millennia, while Donald Trump repeatedly
advocated that the U.S. should leave behind the "forever wars."
"I think that the Americans have been complaining and Americans in the
national security community have been complaining for two or three
decades now that the Middle East is a distraction from the things that
we really need to commit to it," said Robert Farley, a senior lecturer
at the University of Kentucky, in a telephone interview with VOA.
Patterson is with the university’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and
International Commerce.
Analysts say the fierce competition between China and the U.S. has
reinforced Washington's desire to reduce the strategic importance of
the Middle East, which some have been pushing for since the Obama
administration’s "Pivot to Asia" 10 years ago.
Kaplan argued that as Beijing fills the Middle East vacuum, it will
eventually pose a threat to the U.S.
"It's a threat because most of the talk in Washington over the past
few years is that we need to withdraw from the Middle East, because
we've been engaged there in the so-called endless wars. And if we
truly withdraw, or even partially withdraw from the Middle East, that
will open up a vast avenue of opportunity for the Chinese," Kaplan
told VOA.
Iran - China's foothold
While China is happy to work with both foes and friends of Washington
in the region, its tie to Iran holds particular significance for both
countries. Burdened by sanctions and deepening isolation on the world
stage, Tehran has turned to China for economic and military support
while Beijing looks for cheaper energy resources.
After a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two countries
established a so-called Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016,
giving China a foothold in a region that has been a strategic
preoccupation of the United States for decades.
Wojciech Michnik is an assistant professor of international relations
and security studies at Poland’s Jagiellonian University. He said
among the influential powers in the Middle East, Iran is China's
natural partner.
“Iran is quite an important power, especially after the 2003 U.S.
invasion of Iraq and the fallout of the Saddam Hussein, Iran gained in
terms of the relative power in the region. It has been using its
proxies from Syria to Yemen," Michnik told VOA.
China is currently Iran’s largest trading partner and oil buyer, as
well as Iran’s largest export market for non-oil products and an
important source of foreign investment.  Bilateral trade was only
about $400 million in 1994 but increased to $2.48 billion in 2000. By
2019, according to data release by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce,
the value reached more than $23 billion, an increase of nearly 10
times.
With the change in the U.S. administration and Washington's policy on
the Iran nuclear agreement, the two governments have recently
recommitted to strengthening their relationship.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is the speaker of Iran’s hardliner-dominated
parliament. Last month, he told Li Zhanshu of China's National
People's Congress that "ties between Tehran and Beijing are not and
will not be affected by the international conditions” and will
continue to deepen.
Engagement redefined
While experts doubt the United States will be disengaging in any
substantial way from the Middle East, Washington’s interests are
likely shifting from a focus on terrorism to China’s growing regional
influence.
"Yes, we do need to confront China, but now we need to pay attention
to the Middle East, not because of terrorism, but rather because of
China's growing influence in Iran, of China's developing relationship
with Saudi Arabia, and so forth,” said Farley, who was also a visiting
professor at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.
He said that shift in thinking is reflected in other parts of the U.S.
national security community, where analysts have begun to redefine
what American engagement means in the context of China’s robust
foreign diplomacy.