Author: Alex Nanijanian

Armenian ombudsman: Azerbaijani servicemen’s acts pose serious threat to civilian population of Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces

Alex Nanijanian
Panorama, Armenia

The government of Armenia is obliged to take active steps to guarantee the rights of the Armenian citizens and the entire population of Armenia, while the international community should abandon its passive stance and immediately take decisive measures to prevent the blatantly illegal and criminal acts, the continuous human rights violations and the real threats of further violations by the Azerbaijani armed forces, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on Wednesday.

In particular, the evidence gathered by the human rights defender of Armenia also confirms that on 25 May the Azerbaijani troops illegally staying in the village of Verin Shorzha in the Vardenis community of Gegharkunik Province, which is a part of the sovereign territory of Armenia, presented to the Armenian servicemen blatantly illegal demands to abandon the area where they were present, provoked a scuffle and intentionally shot and killed an Armenian soldier.

According to the gathered evidence, in the days preceding the latest incident, the Azerbaijani military regularly tried to provoke clashes and brawl, while illegally being in the sovereign territory of Armenia. These incidents occurred both in Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces.

The ombudsman specifically underlines that these incidents also pose a threat to the civilian population of Armenia. These are the areas which serve as pastures and hayfields for the civilian population. They graze their large and small cattle in these areas and live there during spring, summer and autumn.

According to the conviction of the human rights defender, the described concrete acts of the Azerbaijani servicemen pose a serious threat, in fact, to the civilian population of Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces (for example, their attempts of illegal advance towards the villages of Khoznavar, Verishen, Akner, Kut, Ayrk, Verin Shorzha, etc.).

“These actions should be viewed within the context of their illegal incursion into the sovereign territory of Armenia on May 12 and 13, 2021, the threatening of the shepherds of the villages of Gegharkunik and Syunik with murder and captivity, their provocation near the border areas and creation of tensions within the civilian population of Armenia,” Tatoyan said.

“These acts of the Azerbaijani armed forces should also be viewed within the context of the policies of Armenophobia and enmity pursued by the authorities of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the regular criminal acts of the Azerbaijani troops against the border residents of Armenia should also be taken into consideration (the throwing of stones at an Armenian civilian car on the Goris-Kapan road, the dragging of the shepherd of Aravus, and punching him in the eye, the blocking of the road from Grois to Chakaten with an Azerbaijani car, and grossly violating the right of free movement of the residents of the villages, the threating of the border residents of Armenia, including the shepherds, the refusal to return the cattle that crosses into areas under Azerbaijani control, and other incidents).

“Therefore, it is evident that these reveal the real threat of the Azerbaijani armed forces directed at the Armenian citizens and the entire population of Armenia, which also undermine peace and security in the region.

“The human rights defender will continue sending reports based on evidence about the real situation on the ground to the international organizations,” he said. 

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 05/21/2021

Alex Nanijanian 
                                        Friday, 
Yerevan Insists On Ex-Soviet Common Energy Market
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) and other Armenian officials 
participate in a virtual summit of the Eurasian Economic Union, Yerevan, May 21, 
2021.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian again called on Friday for the creation of a 
single energy market that could lower the cost of Russian natural gas imported 
by Armenia and other members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
The gas price is currently significantly lower for consumers in Russia than 
other ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led trade bloc. Two of them, 
Armenia and Belarus, have said that this puts their manufactures reliant on gas 
in a disadvantaged position vis-à-vis their Russian competitors. Over the past 
year they have pressed Moscow to agree to uniform EEU energy tariffs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly opposed that in May 2020, implying 
that Yerevan and Minsk should agree first to deeper economic integration with 
Moscow which would result in a “single budget and system of taxation” for all 
EEU member states.
Pashinian insisted on the idea when he spoke at a virtual EEU summit attended by 
Putin. “We attach great importance to the formation of the union’s common gas 
market,” he said.
He added that Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan should also 
agree on “nondiscriminatory” transit fees for gas imported by them from third 
countries.
Pashinian noted that the creation of a “full-fledged common market for goods and 
services” is hampered not only by differences among the EEU member states but 
also “some objective difficulties.” “We continue to look for constructive 
solutions,” he said.
Armenian Official Denies Secret Concessions To Baku
        • Naira Nalbandian
        • Aza Babayan
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia - Yerevan-based foreign military attaches visit an area in Armenia's 
Syunik province where Armenian and Azerbaijani troops are locked in a border 
standoff, .
A senior pro-government lawmaker insisted on Friday that Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian has not secretly agreed to cede any Armenian territory to Azerbaijan 
as part of a demarcation of the border between the two states proposed by Russia.
Pashinian admitted on Thursday Moscow drafted earlier this week an agreement on 
the creation of an Armenian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission tasked with 
delimiting and demarcating the border. But he flatly denied the existence of any 
secret protocols to the agreement that would commit Yerevan to making major 
territorial concessions to Baku.
Opposition leaders and other critics of the Armenian government remained 
unconvinced by these assurances, renewing their demands for Pashinian’s 
immediate resignation.
Ruben Rubinian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign 
relations, also dismissed allegations about secret border deals with Baku.
“I want to make it clear to you that there is no agreement, including an oral 
one, on the return or exchange of villages or surrender of territory,” he told 
reporters. “Such an issue has not been a subject of discussions.”
Rubinian also stressed that Yerevan will continue to make the signing of the 
Russian-drafted agreement conditional on the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces 
from Armenian border areas occupied by them last week.
Armenia - Ruben Rubinian, the chairman of the parliament committee on foreign 
relations, speaks with journaists, .
Russia proposed the creation of the commission on the borer delimitation and 
demarcation as part of its efforts to end a continuing Armenian-Azerbaijani 
military standoff caused by the Azerbaijani troop movements at several sections 
of the frontier.
In remarks that seemed primarily addressed to Armenian factions, Kremlin 
spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday urged all stakeholders to ignore unconfirmed 
reports about the border crisis and possible solutions to it.
“This issue is so sensitive and efforts to resolve this situation are so serious 
that one must react to such frivolous reports in a very restrained manner and to 
follow only official sources,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.
Yerevan maintains that Azerbaijani forces advanced several kilometres into 
Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces on May 12-13. The Armenian military 
sent reinforcements there in a bid to stop and reverse those advances. No 
gunfights or skirmishes between the two sides have been reported so far.
The Azerbaijani side has denied crossing into Armenian territory, saying that 
its troops simply took up new positions on the Azerbaijani side of the border.
Pashinian said on Thursday that between 500 and 600 Azerbaijani soldiers remain 
stationed within Armenia’s internationally recognized borders. The Armenian 
Defense Ministry reported the following day that the situation there remains 
largely unchanged but “stable.”
The epicenter of the standoff is a mountainous area about 10 kilometers north of 
the Syunik town of Goris. According to Syunik Governor Melikset Poghosian, three 
dozen Azerbaijani soldiers advanced on Thursday towards the Armenian village of 
Khoznavar located just east of that area.
Khoznavar residents confirmed the information. They said children and elderly 
persons living in the village were evacuated for security reasons.
Local shepherds said they were the first to notice the Azerbaijani servicemen 
while grazing cattle on nearby hills.
“We approached them, thinking that they are our guys,” one of them told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service. “We then saw that they are not wearing [Armenian] uniforms and 
not saying anything. One them signaled me to go away.”
The locals said that Khoznavar, which has about 400 inhabitants and is heavily 
dependent on animal husbandry, now risks losing most of its pastures.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said on Friday that the Azerbaijani troops 
were forced to retreat from those pastures late on Thursday after brawling with 
Armenian soldiers guarding Khoznavar. Eleven Armenians were injured in that 
clash, the law-enforcement agency said, adding that it occurred on the Armenian 
side of the local border section.
Azerbaijani authorities did not report violent incidents or comment on troop 
movements in that area as of Friday evening.
EU Parliament Demands Release Of Armenian Prisoners Held In Azerbaijan
France - European Union flags fly in front of the European Parliament building 
in Strasbourg, October 6, 2020.
The European Parliament has demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release 
of all Armenian prisoners held by Azerbaijan more than six months after a 
Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a resolution overwhelmingly passed on Thursday, the European Union’s 
legislative body also expressed serious concern over “credible reports” that 
they have been tortured and held in “degrading conditions.” It said at least two 
Armenian civilians have died in Azerbaijani captivity as a result.
The resolution calls on both Azerbaijan and Armenia to fully comply with the 
November 2020 truce agreement that requires the unconditional release of all 
prisoners held by the conflicting sides.
The Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh have arranged several prisoner 
swaps in recent months. No Azerbaijani prisoners are known to be held in Armenia 
or Karabakh at present.
A total of 73 Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians have been freed to 
date. More than 100 others are believed to remain in Azerbaijani captivity.
Azerbaijan says that they are not covered by the truce agreement because they 
were captured after it took effect on November 10. Azerbaijani officials have 
branded them as “terrorists” and said Baku does not intend to release them. 
Yerevan regards this as a gross violation of the accord brokered by Russian 
President Vladimir Putin.
The EU called for the release of the remaining Armenian prisoners in a statement 
released in late April. It also said Baku must also provide the European Court 
of Human Rights (ECHR) with information about their whereabouts and detention 
and health conditions
The European Parliament resolution notes that the Azerbaijani authorities have 
failed to comply with relevant “interim measures” issued by the Strasbourg-based 
court with regard to at least 112 Armenians. It urges them to “cooperate fully 
with the ECHR on the issue of Armenian prisoners.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Baroness Cox Faults UK Government for Failing to Address Baku’s Aggression

Alex Nanijanian



Baroness Cox visited Artsakh in November, accompanied by Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan

During a debate on Thursday, Caroline Cox, a member of the British House of Lords, discussed Azerbaijan’s refusal to release Armenian prisoners of war and civilian detainees, atrocities perpetrated by Azerbaijan during the Karabakh War last fall, as well as the escalation of anti-Armenian rhetoric or Armenophobia in Azerbaijan.

Baroness Cox also presented the current situation resulting from the incursion of the Azerbaijani armed units to the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.

“I visited Karabakh during that war and witnessed the perpetration of war crimes by Azerbaijan, including the deliberate bombing of civilian targets such as the maternity hospital in Stepanakert. However, despite a ceasefire in November, there are at least four urgent concerns, which Her Majesty’s Government, unlike the Governments of France, the United States and Canada, have failed adequately to address,” said Cox.

The first, she said, is the refusal by Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners of war and civilian detainees who are subject to killings—including beheadings—torture and indefinite imprisonment.

Secondly, the Baroness added, there are serious concerns over the fate of hundreds of Armenian Christian monuments and cultural heritage sites, now under Azerbaijan’s control.
“There has already been footage of the jubilant destruction of a church by Azeri soldiers. Between 1997 and 2006, an estimated 28,000 Christian monuments were destroyed by Azerbaijan in the previously Armenian land of Nakhchivan,” she noted.

“Thirdly, anti-Armenian rhetoric, or Armenophobia, by the Azeri president, other officials, and across social media, has escalated, naming Armenians as pigs, dogs and brainless. This hatred has generated the creation of the Spoils of War Park in Baku; it displays mocking, humiliating mannequins of Armenian soldiers, which children are encouraged to hit, and a corridor lined with the helmets of dead Armenian soldiers,” explained Cox.

“Fourthly,” she added, “recently and very disturbingly, Azerbaijani forces have advanced into new positions along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border, away from the conflict zone, and occupied the sovereign territory of Armenia itself. This included, on 12 May, armed units advancing three to four kilometers into the Armenian province of Syunik.”

“The atrocities perpetrated by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh during the recent war have been so serious that Genocide Watch has defined them as genocide. They have largely been unrecognized by the UK, with no appropriate response. That is very dangerous because, as has been well said, every genocide which is not condemned is an encouragement to the perpetrator to continue genocidal policies with impunity,” Baroness Cox said.

She reminded that the International Association of Genocide Scholars raised similar urgent concerns in October, warning that “genocide of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and perhaps even Armenia, is a very real possibility.”

“Yet despite these warnings Her Majesty’s Government have chosen not to intervene to protect civilians. They continue to refuse to hold Turkey and Azerbaijan to account for their actions, despite clear evidence of past, recent and ongoing atrocities, choosing instead to define the crisis as a “problem on both sides”, in which Armenia is portrayed as equally guilty as Azerbaijan and Turkey. While war often involves crimes against humanity, and Armenia may have some culpability, there is absolutely no equivalence with the atrocities and war crimes perpetrated by Azerbaijan,” she stated.

“As the Armenian Foreign Minister said to us on a recent visit to Armenia: ‘Autocratic states have assessed how far they can get away with things. They have concluded that the “democratic world” is somewhere else. They have assessed the democratic world and they will therefore continue this policy, as they have learnt from this.’ There is therefore an urgent need to fulfill the commitment in Her Majesty’s gracious Speech to uphold human rights and to alleviate human suffering for the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia,” Caroline Cox said.

In response to Cox’s concerns,Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, known as Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, repeated the false parity often voiced by the UK government, saying, “we are well aware of the allegations from both sides that war crimes have been committed. We have urged relevant authorities to investigate and understand the situation on the ground.”

Pashinyan says positions of int’l partners and Armenia are the same: Azerbaijani forces must leave Armenian territory

Alex Nanijanian

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 11:53,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Major diplomatic work has been carried out and is being carried out after the recent incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenia’s territory, Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during the Cabinet meeting today, presenting the activities aimed at condemning the Azerbaijani actions and withdrawing its troops from the Armenian territory.

“One of the key evidence of this is also the fact that today the foreign minister is not attending the Cabinet session because our colleagues of foreign ministry are engaged in this work at this moment. I would like to state that I consider the diplomatic work of this moment effective. And not only the foreign ministry, but also the defense ministry, the deputy prime ministers work on this direction”, he said, calling this work successful because, according to him, the positions of international partners and Armenia are the same in fact, that is the Azerbaijani armed forces must leave Armenia’s territory.

Recently, on May 12, the Azerbaijani armed forces have illegally crossed into Armenia’s territory, in particular the Sev Lake in Syunik province. Thanks to the actions of the Armenian side, some of the Azerbaijani forces have returned back to their initial positions, but some Azeri troops still remain in some border sections of Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces. Negotiations over the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani forces are taking place.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

French FM calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to reach agreement on withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops

Alex Nanijanian

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 19:08,

YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian calls on Baku and Yerevan to reach an agreement over the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the territory of Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, the French Foreign Ministry said based on the phone conversations with Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs.

‘’On the occasion of the recent escalation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Jean-Yves Le Drian reminded about the deep concern of France and France’s commitment to the territorial integrity of Armenia. France attentively monitors the situation and calls on the sides to continue the dialogue for ensuring the immediate withdrawal of the Azerbaijani forces from the territory of Armenia’’, the Ministry said.

Russian peacekeepers deterred bloodshed against Karabakh residents, says Armenian diplomat

Alex Nanijanian
TASS, Russia
May 6 2021
WorldMay 06, 16:05

“I want to note that the presence of Russian peacekeepers prevented any further atrocities against the residents of Artsakh (unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic),” the top diplomat said.

The involvement of international organizations in the effort to return Nagorno-Karabakh back to peace should not be politicized, he stressed. “During an exchange of opinions on the issue of involving respective international organization in the rehabilitation of Artsakh, I stated that humanitarian access to Artsakh must not be politicized, since we are talking about the protection of inalienable human rights, which should not be conditioned on status considerations,” he added.

According the top Armenian diplomat, the opening of communications among the regions will offer new opportunities. “Issues of security as well as regional development were in the focus of our discussion. It was noted that within the context of unblocking economic ties and transport links, that the opening of regional communications may create new possibilities, including for diversifying logistical ties between Armenia and Russia,” he said.

“The trilateral statement [by the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders] of January 11 establishes a clear framework of this process,” Ayvazyan stressed. He also said that the republic was ready to work towards bolstering economic ties with Russia. “The level of economic cooperation dropped by 10% because of COVID-19. However, we are ready to take steps to boost economic ties [with Moscow],” Armenia’s top diplomat said, adding that a large Armenian diaspora in Russia could help in that.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku and Yerevan have disputed sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region declared its secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic.

On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had maintained, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Also, some districts were handed over to Azerbaijan.

Nos campagnes d’été 2021

Alex Nanijanian
Title: OTC_2021_campagnes1

Chers
membres, chers amis,


Terre
et Culture vous rappelle ses programmes en Arménie pour cet été
 : 



1
– Campagne “Enfance” – Août 2021 (Siunik)


L’Organisation Terre
et Culture propose cet été à ses membres une campagne de
solidarité.

L’objectif
est de mettre en place un camp de vacances pour les enfants des
villages autour de Goris, avec parmi eux des enfants de familles
réfugiées suite à la guerre de
cet automne.

 

Une
navette dédiée récupérera les enfants dans plusieurs villages chaque
matin et notre équipe de volontaires animera leur journée jusqu’à la
fin d’après-midi. Les volontaires imagineront et aideront à la mise en
place d’activités pour les enfants toute la journée : activités
musicales, activités artistiques, sport, etc.

Un
programme de construction et rénovation pourra également être mis en
place, avec pour objectif de restaurer les abris pour les
garde-frontières. 

 

Sur
les deux semaines de campagne, le programme se découpe comme suit :

•
Nuit du samedi soir à Erevan pour un diner/soirée de rencontre entre
les bénévoles

• Départ le dimanche vers le Siunik

• Démarrage de la campagne le lundi

• Retour à Erevan le samedi de la deuxième semaine.



Pour
les volontaires qui souhaitent partir un mois, ils pourront enchainer
les deux semaines en passant le week-end du 14-15 août à Erevan
pour profiter de la capitale.

Chaque
week-end sera un moment de pause et de visites.

Prix
: 250 € pour 2 semaines, 400 € pour 1 mois. Le prix du billet
d’avion est en sus, à la charge du participant.

NB
: nous n’acceptons que les volontaires majeurs, donc ayant 18 ans
révolus. 

 

La
campagne de recrutement des bénévoles démarre actuellement, vous
pouvez d’ores et déjà vous inscrire via le formulaire suivant : lien 

Notre
objectif est de constituer une équipe d’une quinzaine de bénévoles
pour chaque session, qui soit la plus cohérente et complémentaire
possible.

N’hésitez
pas à nous écrire à l’adresse : [email protected]
pour toute question

 

2
– Campagne de restauration de l’église Sourp Hovhannes de Meghri –
Août 2021 (Siunik)

 

Découvrir
le pays arménien et travailler à la préservation de son héritage
architectural  en participant aux chantiers de
restauration.

Date
: Août 2021

Prix
: 250 € pour 2 semaines, 400 € pour 1 mois. Le prix du billet d’avion est
en sus, à la charge du participant.

NB
: nous n’acceptons que les volontaires majeurs, donc ayant 18 ans
révolus. 


Inscriptions
ouvertes et renseignements pour la campagne de
Meghri : [email protected]




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Opinion: Biden’s recognition of Armenian genocide reflects dispensability of Turkey

Alex Nanijanian
WION News, India
May 1 2021
Written By: Achal Malhotra
Opinion: Biden’s recognition of Armenian genocide reflects dispensability of Turkey, Opinions & Blogs News | wionews.com

President Joe Biden will be remembered by the global Armenian community as the first  US  President who formally described the large-scale massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks during the First World War as “genocide” . He did so through a Presidential statement on April 24, 2021. The  day is commemorated by Armenians all over the world as “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day” 

Ten million Armenians including an estimated seven million Armenian diaspora spread all over the world have been demanding the recognition of Armenian Genocide by the Turkish Ottoman regime during and after the World War 1. 

There is a broad consensus amongst international scholars that the Christian Armenian minority in Muslim-majority Turkey under Ottoman rule was subjected to blatant discrimination. During the First World War, the Turks suspected that the loyalty of the Christian Armenians of Turkey was with the Christian Russians. Many of them were residing in Eastern Anatolia, bordering with Imperialist Russia. 

Enraged by a heavy defeat at the hands of the Russian forces in the Battle of Saikamish (December 1914 to January 1915), the Ottoman Turks began destroying Ottoman Armenian villages during their retreat. The Ottoman War Minister Anwar Pasha publically accused the Armenians of treachery and what followed was the arrest of a large number of Armenians from different walks of life in Constantinople (now Istanbul) on April 24, 1915, and subsequent deportations en masse to the Syrian desert and elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were massacred or died from starvation or disease. A large number of Armenian women are alleged to have been molested/raped.  

The Armenians put the total figure of those who died in the process at 1.5 million.  Turkey admits that there were indeed casualties but insists the numbers were no more than three hundred thousand and denies any systematic or premeditated plan for ethnic cleansing. Relations between Armenia and Turkey remain overshadowed by this burden of history as the two neighbouring countries do not have diplomatic relations and their borders remain closed for each other.

Continuous influx of Armenians into the United States since the 17th century has created a vibrant, active, and diverse Armenian American Diaspora, estimated to be 1.6 million and the second-largest worldwide. The high concentration of Armenian Americans in certain electoral districts, particularly in California, allows them to influence the electoral outcome of elections in those districts.

The primary objectives of the Armenian lobby in the USA, spearheaded by the domestic organisations such as Armenian National Committee of America and Armenian Assembly of America revolve around improving the US relations with Armenia, securing US aid and assistance for Armenia, blocking US aid to Turkey and Azerbaijan and above all the recognition of Armenian genocide.

The Armenian lobby had so far succeeded in enlisting the support of as many as 49 US states in describing the Armenians massacre as genocide. Further in 2019 the US House of Representatives and the Senate had adopted separate but identical Resolutions the thrust of which inter-alia was that “It is the policy of the United States to commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance” and “to reject efforts to enlist, engage or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or other genocides”.

The US State Department however said that  despite the resolutions the US Government’s official position did not change.

The successive US Presidents had so far refrained from any official reference to Armenian Genocide; they did so in deference to the sensitivities of Turkey- an important strategic NATO ally of the USA. In April 2020, the then US President Trump did pay tributes to the victims of “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century” but stopped short of describing it as genocide. Even the Democratic President Barak Obama is accused of having reneged on the election campaign promises of recognising the Armenian genocide. 

Joe Biden’s decision is bound to please the Armenians who were somewhat disappointed over the US’s failure under President Trump to make any effective and substantive intervention during the 44-days armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. The conflict ended in a humiliating military defeat for Armenia and also resulted, besides the loss of lives and territories, in a widespread agitation in Armenia against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

He ultimately resigned on 25th April 2021 to pave the way for mid-term elections in June 2021; as a matter of coincidence he resigned just a day after the release of Joe Biden’s Presidential Statement. Prima-facie there is no link between the US Presidential Statement and Armenian PM’s resignation.

What prompted Joe Biden to accord official recognition to Armenian genocide- an act from which his predecessors both Democrats as well as Republicans had refrained from? For sure, this could not just be to appease and please the Armenians, considering in particular that the next elections are four years away,  whereas the announcement could have an immediate adverse impact on the US-Turkey relations which are already on the downslide for some time for a variety of reasons. Turkey’s response has been on the predicted lines. President Erdogan accused President Biden of yielding to political pressure from “radical Armenian circles and anti-Turkey groups” and asked him  to “reverse this wrong step immediately” 

So, does the US President’s recognition of Armenian genocide reflect the diminishing importance of Turkey for the USA as an ally, particularly in the backdrop of the US drawing down its military commitments to hotspots in the Middle East? 

By recognising the Armenian genocide, does the Biden Administration wish to convey its strong commitments to human rights? If so, the questions are being asked as to whether one can expect a similar approach for the  Bengalis of Eastern Pakistan (now Bangladesh) who were butchered by the Pakistani Army in 1971 or for the Rohingya Muslims being currently persecuted by the Buddhist majority and the military junta in Myanmar? Perhaps not as neither Rohingyas nor Bengalis have any lobbying power in USA. Moreover, Pakistan still has some nuisance value for the USA in the context of Afghanistan.

Is the Biden Administration trying to convey a message that the USA will not differentiate between friends, allies, or foes on matters which it considers as matters of principles and can go to any extent to prove the point. Remember, only recently (7th April) the US Navy had not only trespassed India’s Exclusive Economic Zone in its territorial waters but also had the audacity of making a public statement that it had done so without informing India or obtaining India’s prior’s consent and that it had done so to assert the Freedom of Navigation and to challenge India’s “excessive maritime claims”. 

Reverting to the issue of Armenian genocide, the Armenians have so far met with partial but reasonable success in securing global recognition. The recognition has come mainly from the Western States and organisations. 

While India has not recognised the Armenian Genocide all these years, the high-level dignitaries on official visits to  Armenia do visit the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to pay tribute to the victims of Armenian genocide. 

On last such occasion, the then Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari, had visited the Memorial on 25th April, 2017, laid a wreath and observed: “This is a tragedy, indescribable things done to humans by humans.” Earlier in 2005 the then  Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had also visited the Memorial in Yerevan and planted a tree besides laying a wreath.

In nutshell, the US President’s recognition of the Armenian genocide is a shot in  the  arm for Armenians  for their global campaign 

The full impact of the recognition on US relations with Turkey remains to be seen. Other than verbal rhetoric there are no firm indications at this point of time of any retaliatory measure which Turkey may be contemplating to counter the “insult and injury”.  

It is clear however that Turkey is now a dispensable ally for the USA. Turkey has been making unacceptable un-palatable statements from time to time on Kashmir in disregard to India’s sensitivities. India can and should therefore use the Armenian genocide issue as a diplomatic weapon to dissuade Turkey from its unwarranted interference in India’s internal affairs, including those pertaining to Muslims in India in general and Kashmir in particular. If Turkey refuses to behave, India may reconsider its position on the issue of Armenian genocide, though that may require a well-articulated policy on the issue of genocide in general.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)



Superpowers fighting for Armenia’s Syunik today, political analyst says

Alex Nanijanian
Panorama, Armenia
May 1 2021

Political analyst Argishti Kiviryan touched upon interim Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest visit to Syunik Province where he faced angry protests.

“It was extremely important for Nikol to go to the area where he was not accepted. He wanted to give himself hope that he could enter any territory of Armenia,” Kiviryan told a news conference on Saturday.

According to him, Pashinyan’s latest visit had worse consequences than the previous one, when his entry into the border region had been blocked.

He stated Pashinyan fails to realize that he has “fallen from grace”, urging him to at least think about his family and children.

“We all see that the part of the society with sober judgment rejects this man. Nikol not only ceded Artsakh, but also put the border of Armenia in danger. As long as he stays in power, the handover of Syunik is a matter of time. This man constantly contributes to the downfall of Armenia. He is a man who led the nation to downfall, which is simply hard to imagine,” the analyst said.

Kiviryan stated resorting to manipulation, Pashinyan tries to mislead the society and push ahead with his “model of downfall”.

“There is a character in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” a pig with the ability to hypnotize other animals by twisting its tail. Nikol is just like that pig,” he said.

The political analyst stated that Syunik has become a serious geopolitical factor, with superpowers fighting for the region today.

“After the fall of Artsakh and the handover of the zone near Araks, a small corridor remained [Meghri corridor], which has geopolitical significance. It can be a corridor, a door or a wall. And today the superpowers are fighting for Syunik. This struggle is going to heat up,” Kiviryan said.  

CivilNet: Robomart Is The Driverless Minimart Co-Founded by Tigran Shahverdyan

Alex Nanijanian
CIVILNET.AM

28 Apr, 2021 08:04

The Robomart looks like a minivan. But it’s a bit more than that. This is the world’s first self-driving store. From fruits, vegetables, to personal and pharmacy products, Robomart brings what the clients need, where they need. They only need to have the app. 

The California based smart car and store-hailing service has three co-founders. One of them is Tigran Shahverdyan from Armenia.