The co-founder of the “Path of Law” NGO, former Ombudsman of Artsakh Ruben Melikyan believes police actions against the protestors during the Saturday’s rally inn Yerevan were apparently disproportionate.
‘The actions of the law enforcement against the participants of the peaceful protest at Charles Aznavour Square are an apparent use of excessive force. Those actions were aimed at unlawful disruption of holding the peaceful protest,’ Melikyan wrote on his Facebook page.
To remind, a protest action against the September 21 Independence Day celebration was earlier dispersed by police. Several people were forcibly taken to police stations as they tried to march to the Republic Square.
An Armenian cross-stone (khachkar) dedicated to the innocent victims of the Ukrainian and Armenian peoples was unveiled and consecrated in the city of Mariupol of Donetsk Region, AnalitikaUA.net reports.
The cross-stone was consecrated by Father Husik Nurijanyan.
Among the attendees of the ceremony were Vice-President of the Union of Armenian of Ukraine Davit Mkrtchyan and representative of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine in Donetsk Region Ruben Makaryan, representatives of the local authorities, clergymen, as well as guests from Armenian communities.
10:18,
DUSHANBE, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon said at the CSTO summit in Dushanbe that his country’s chairmanship of the military bloc coincided with a period of emergency challenges and threats facing the region.
The Tajik leader said that the member states of the organization were generally able to maintain high level of political partnership and ensure coordination of foreign political positions, and that inter-parliamentary partnership was expanded and the practice of adopting joint declarations on pressing issues continued.
“We were able to complete the work of adopting the re-equipment program of the CSTO collective rapid reaction forces. This is a very important achievement. The respective decision will be adopted today. In terms of fulfilling objectives, the high level of readiness of the Collective Security Forces was maintained, which is extremely important, given the tense situation in neighboring Afghanistan,” President Rahmon said.
He added that during his country’s chairmanship the CSTO expanded contacts with international organizations. The organization has also advanced in developing its peacemaking potential, he said.
President Rahmon thanked CSTO member states for joint work and added that the CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas has a big role in all achievements.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
TEHRAN, Sep. 14 (MNA) – Iranian powerlifting team has become the champions of the international tournament in Armenia after winning 8 gold medals.
An international powerlifting tournament was held in Armenia with the participation of athletes from Iran, Armenia, Russia, and Georgia.
At the end of the competitions, the Iranian team in both men and women’s divisions won the title of the tournament after winning eight gold medals.
Iran had sent 11 male and female athletes in total to the Armenian competitions. The medal winners have now secured a ticket to take part in the world championships which are going to be held in London later this year.
KI/IRIB news channel
The conference on International Religious Freedom and Peace, convened at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia on 9-10 September 2021, brought a special focus to the promotion of freedom of religion and preservation of spiritual, cultural and historical heritage. As the Information Service at the Mother See reported, at the end of the conference the organizing Committee adopted a joint Communiqué.
The document reads:
‘Meeting in Holy Etchmiadzin, under the patronage of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and with the presence and testimonies of representatives of the Government of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, we conference participants from the worldwide Christian community were deeply moved and inspired by the history of the Armenian people, the first nation to adopt the Christian faith as State religion, their survival despite the crime of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in early XX century, the horrors of the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh and other ills in the course of history. The Armenian people’s continued resilience and faithfulness to their faith and culture deserved further appreciation by the Christian world.
We re-affirm the principles of the right to freedom of religion or belief, as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international and regional human rights treaties. We claim this right, equally, for all people, of any faith or none, and regardless of nation, history or political circumstances – including for those Armenian prisoners of war still illegally held in captivity by Azerbaijan, for whose swift release and repatriation we appeal and pray, and for the people of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh whose rights to free and peaceful assembly and association necessarily implicate the sacred character of human life.
We stress the critical importance of the protection of holy sites, places of worship and religious heritage for the effective realization of religious freedom, and for the promotion and preservation of peaceful relations among nations and communities. Protecting places of worship and safeguarding free access to them is essential for guaranteeing the exercise of religious freedom.
Moreover, holy sites, places of worship and items of religious heritage are representative of the deepest identities of people and communities of faith. Precisely for this reason, in situations of conflict they are often deliberately targeted in order to inflict maximum collective trauma on a particular community. Any attack on any religious community, whether on individuals who are members of that community or on places related to that community, is an attack on religious freedom in general, and therefore an attack on all religious communities. And because religious buildings and sites are bearers of religious identity, damaging a place of worship is an act of real violence against the personal and collective religious identity of believers, wounding their identities and memories.
On the other hand, by caring for the physical integrity of holy sites and places of worship, we uphold the human dignity of those who hold them dear, and, when we cooperate among nations, governments and communities of faith to protect religious heritage, a transformative message of healing and togetherness is conveyed.
We therefore join in endorsing the Universal Code of Conduct on Holy Sites, and in particular the following provisions and stipulations:
• Holy sites shall be preserved for present and future generations, with dignity, integrity and respect for their name and confessional identity. They shall be preserved both as sites of religious significance, and as historical, cultural and ecological legacies of their communities and of humankind. They shall not be desecrated or damaged, nor shall religious communities be forcibly deprived of their holy sites; and
• …all parties shall promote the preservation of holy sites, acknowledge the significance of holy sites of others as places of worship and sites of identity, respect the sensitivities of others with regard to these sites, and stress their spiritual value rather than any strategic, territorial or military significance. The attachment of a group to its holy site shall not be denied.
We also acknowledge and affirm relevant provisions of the UN Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites; the UN Plan of Action for religious leaders and actors to prevent incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes; the World Heritage Convention; and the Statement on the protection of religious properties within the framework of the World Heritage Convention.
With regard to the situation in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh following the conflict in 2020, perpetrated by Azerbaijan and supported by its allies, we are deeply alarmed by the many reports of destruction, damage and desecration of Armenian religious and cultural heritage in areas now under Azerbaijani control. Our concern is greatly amplified by the well-substantiated reports of the systematic erasure of Armenian historical sites of world heritage significance in Djulfa, Nakhichevan, and elsewhere in Azerbaijan.
We therefore:
– Call on the Government of Azerbaijan to allow immediate and unimpeded international access to the areas of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh which have recently come under Azerbaijan’s control, as well as to relevant sites in Nakhichevan and elsewhere in Azerbaijan, for the purpose of independent assessment and monitoring missions.
– Urge UNESCO to make an assessment mission to these areas an urgent priority.
– Encourage proactive and regular engagement in dialogue and cooperation, and vocal and active solidarity when religious sites and worshippers from other religions and faiths are targeted.
– Appeal for solidarity and action from all members of the international community to assure Armenian people and communities of the same rights to which all are entitled as a matter of international law and moral responsibility, including the rights to life, to freedom of religion or belief, to cultural _expression_, and to self-determination.
– Express our deep Christian solidarity, and the solidarity of the global ecumenical fellowship with the Armenian Church and people in their lives, ministries and witness to the world.
– Pledge to continue to work together in the development and implementation of a more detailed action plan to address the issues and concerns raised during these days together in Holy Etchmiadzin.
Russia doesn’t plan to pull out peacekeepers from Karabakh upon completion of initial term, says analyst Vladimir Evseev
16:55,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Russia doesn’t plan to pull out its peacekeeping forces from Nagorno Karabakh, military expert Vladimir Evseev told ARMENPRESS when asked to comment the former commander of the troops Lt. General Rustam Muradov’s latest statement.
“I think Russia doesn’t plan to pull out peacekeepers upon the completion of the 5-year term. But of course everything will depend on the current situation. Azerbaijan will certainly try to somehow drive out Russian peacekeepers, but I don’t think they’ll succeed,” the Russian analyst said.
Lt. General Rustam Muradov, who led the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh since the signing of the ceasefire and who was only recently replaced by Major General Mikhail Kosobokov, told TASS that a decision on extending the mission’s term will be made when the 5-year term is completed. Muradov mentioned that he assesses highly the peacekeeping activities, and noted that this assessment is given by the civilian population of Artsakh.
In this context, Evseev said that almost a year since the end of the war Azerbaijan basically hasn’t yet mastered the territories it occupied.
“I don’t see how Azerbaijan is [mastering] Karabakh. This isn’t visible. There is some military mastering, but the territories aren’t being populated. Turns out the 7000 Azerbaijanis which Azerbaijan lost in the war died for nothing. Turns out they captured territories where no one lives. In this case, what was the point in taking so many casualties? What do Arabs for example do in Nagorno Karabakh? Why did they appear there? There are many questions. Therefore I think it’s too early to speak about what could happen in 4 years. But in any case I think Russia doesn’t plan to pull out its peacekeepers. This is my personal opinion,” Evseev said.
Interview by Aram Sargsyan
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Artsakh rescuers found the remains of two more soldiers of the Armenian side as a result of their search operations for the 2020 Artsakh war casualties on Friday, September 10.
The remains were retrieved from the northeastern direction, near Mataghis, the State Service of Emergency Situations of Artsakh’s Interior Ministry reported. The bodies are yet to be identified through a forensic medical examination, the source said.
Since the end of hostilities, a total of 1,662 bodies of Armenian soldiers and civilians have been found and recovered from the Artsakh territories temporarily occupied by Azerbaijan as a result of the 44-day war unleashed by it.
12:50, 7 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Taliban opened fire to disperse an anti-Pakistan protest in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, TASS reports citing the France Presse news agency.
According to the news outlet, about 70 people gathered in front of the Pakistani embassy in the Afghan capital, “waving posters and chanting anti-Pakistan slogans”.
Taliban fighters are reported to have “fired in the air several times in order to disperse dozens of Afghans protesting against Pakistan’s interference in Afghanistan’s affairs”.