Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

​Armenia Investigative Committee launches case regarding party leader’s calls for using violence

Andranik Taslakhchian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 22 2020
 
 
 
Armenia Investigative Committee launches case regarding party leader’s calls for using violence
23:48, 22.12.2020
 
In regard to the prima facie calls for violence that leader of National Security Party Garnik Isagulyan made in the video entitled “The person who executes Nikol needs to be granted the title of National Hero or a reward of one million dollars” and posted on YouTube, the Investigative Committee has instituted a criminal case for actions targeted at incitement of national, racial or religious hatred publicly or by mass media, with violence or threat of violence, and is conducting preliminary investigation, as reported the Investigative Committee of Armenia.
 
Note: A person suspected or accused of an alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the court judgment that has entered into legal force as prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.

Video showing Armenian servicemen being freed from siege authentic, Defense Ministry says

Andranik Taslakhchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 16 2020

Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed the authenticity of the video circulating on the web, showing a group of Armenian servicemen being taken out of blockade from the area of Hin Tagher-Khtsaberd villages in the Hadrut region.

“The video is real,” the Defense Ministry said.

It added that the operation was carried out thanks to the active steps of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, with the direct mediation of commander, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov.

Artsakh’s Defense Ministry said this morning contact had been lost with the personnel of several military positions located in the direction of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages in the vicinity of Hadrut.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/12/16/video-showing-armenian-servicemen-being-freed-from-siege-authentic-defense-ministry-says/


Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 17-12-20

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 17:33,

YEREVAN, 17 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 17 December, USD exchange rate down by 1.48 drams to 523.42 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.44 drams to 640.20 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 7.19 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.40 drams to 710.91 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 66.18 drams to 31165.25 drams. Silver price up by 14.25 drams to 422.9 drams. Platinum price up by 18.44 drams to 17350.02 drams.

Artsakh President’s meeting with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs cancelled at Armenian initiative

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 15:48,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The meeting between the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk and the President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan has been cancelled at the initiative of the Armenian side, President Harutyunyan’s spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan told ARMENPRESS.

“The meeting of the Co-Chairs and Arayik Harutyunyan was cancelled at the initiative of the Armenian side. The reason of the cancellation is the incomplete format, especially given the fact that the Russian Co-Chair isn’t participating in the regional visit,” Poghosyan said.

The American and French Co-Chairs – Andrew Schofer and Stéphane Visconti –  of the OSCE Minsk Group arrived in Armenia on December 13 after visiting Azerbaijan. On December 14, they met with the Armenian FM Ara Aivazian. A meeting with the Armenian Premier Nikol Pashinyan is underway. The Russian Co-Chair – Igor Popov – is not participating in the visit.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

De-occupation of Artsakh territories an imperative: Armenia condemns Azerbaijan’s violation of ceasefire

Andranik Taslakhchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 13 2020

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has condemned the gross violation of the trilateral statement by Azerbaijan.

On December 11, at around 8:40 pm, taking advantage of the fact that no peacekeeping forces were deployed in this part of the Artsakh Republic, the special detachments of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attacked the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact in the direction of Old Tagher and Khtsaberd settlements of the Hadrut region.

As a result, six servicemen of the Defense Army received gunshot wounds of various degrees. Azerbaijani forces continued their provocative actions today in the direction of Mets Shen-Hin Shen settlements in Hadrut region.

“Strongly condemning this gross violation of the commitments made by the top military-political leadership of Azerbaijan in the trilateral statement on the cessation of hostilities and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, we emphasize that these actions are aimed at devaluing the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Adhering to its traditional way of acting, the Azerbaijani side resorted to the provocation during the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to the region. In fact, this challenge to the efforts of the Co-Chairs is a continuation of the belligerent and unacceptable statements made by the leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan during the recent parade in Baku. Such a policy once again demonstrates the Turkish-Azerbaijani expansionist policy, which continues to undermine regional security and stability, and is fraught with expansion into neighboring regions, the Ministry added.

It stressed that these actions of official Baku make it more imperative to eliminate the consequences of the recent Azerbaijani aggression, including the de-occupation of the territories of Artsakh and the return of the Armenians of Artsakh to their places of residence.

“Given the impunity of Azerbaijan for violating its international obligations through force and its aftermath, we call on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to respond unequivocally and clearly to the Azerbaijani side’s actions aimed at violating the ceasefire, ethnic cleansing and occupation of Armenian settlements,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/12/13/de-occupation-of-artsakh-territories-an-imperative-armenia-condemns-azerbaijans-violation-of-ceasefire/

​Artsakh’s unnoticed humanitarian crisis

Andranik Taslakhchian
Albuquerque Journal
Dec 9 2020
 
Artsakh’s unnoticed humanitarian crisis
 
By: Barlow Der Mugrdechian / Berberian Coordinator, Armenian Studies Program, California State University-fresno
 
A humanitarian disaster has occurred in a part of the world little-known to most Americans. Artsakh, a small republic bordering Armenia, was attacked on Sept. 27 by invading forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The ensuing 44-day war caused thousands of Armenians to flee their homes and resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and soldiers. For Armenians throughout the world, this human tragedy was a bitter reminder of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which caused the deaths of more than 1,500,000 Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. The Sept. 27 invasion, considered by Armenians as a planned second genocide, would fulfill the long-held pan-Turkic dreams of Turkey, in the process ethnically cleansing Artsakh first and then Armenia.
 
Where was the international attention and why was there no action by the United States, the United Nations, or other major powers to influence Azerbaijan and Turkey to stop this aggression? The answer lies in Azerbaijan’s production of oil, which is viewed as a valuable resource by the West, and in Turkey’s influence in NATO. Azerbaijan has used its oil money to both arm itself and to also influence public opinion in its favor. Turkey has found a ready ally in Azerbaijan.
 
Artsakh, formerly Nagorno-Karabagh, is a self-declared republic of less than 150,000 people, which emerged from the breakup of the former Soviet Union in 1991. It was illegally placed in the jurisdiction of Soviet Azerbaijan by Stalin in 1921. However, in accordance with the constitution of the Soviet Union, and in accordance with international agreements, the people of Artsakh held a referendum on Dec. 10, 1991, overwhelmingly affirming their right to self-determination.
 
An ensuing war in 1991-1994 between Nagorno-Karabagh and Azerbaijan resulted in an Armenian victory on the battlefield, but the ultimate resolution on the question of the status of Karabagh was left to the Minsk sub-group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Co-chairs from the United States, Russia and France were tasked with finding a permanent resolution to the conflict, and yet 26 years had passed with no permanent diplomatic resolution.
 
Azerbaijan found the opportune time to unleash its attack as the United States was pre-occupied with presidential elections and the rest of the world was coping with a pandemic. Aided by the Republic of Turkey and Syrian mercenaries hired by Turkey, Azerbaijan initiated the invasion. Artsakh was therefore fighting not only against Azerbaijan, but also facing the military capability of Turkey, with a population of over 80,000,000. Azerbaijan utilized weapons that have been banned by the international community, including cluster bombs and phosphorous bombs. In contravention of international law, Armenian churches, including the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in the city of Shushi, were targeted.
 
On Nov. 9, the Russian Federation brokered a statement between Armenia and Azerbaijan halting hostilities, which called for Azerbaijan to have jurisdiction over a large swath of Artsakh’s territory. This far exceeded any previous maximalist demands by Azerbaijan. A Russian peace-keeping force entered into the region to guarantee that hostilities would not erupt again.
 
For Armenians, the war has become a cause of great pain, and of betrayal and loss, as they await negotiations that are certain to follow the agreement. Appeals to Europe and the United States have been left unanswered, and Armenians now feel isolated and alone.
 
The human cost of the crisis now facing the Armenians of Artsakh is overwhelming. Cities and towns have been almost completely devastated by war, and the population is facing the onset of winter without adequate provisions or shelter. It is incumbent on the United States to provide assistance to Artsakh and to sanction both Azerbaijan and Turkey.
 
The international community was for the most part silent in condemning the use of force by Azerbaijan. Today, Armenian churches are endangered in the territory taken over and any traces of an ancient Christian civilization will be destroyed.
 
It is a telling commentary on the state of the world today.
 
 

Armenian PM releases flurry of FB notes on Karabakh, recounts interactions with ex presidents

Andranik Taslakhchian
JAM News

Nov 30 2020

    JAMnews, Yerevan

The first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan called Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ‘a national disaster’ earlier today, responding to the Armenian PM’s decision to release a number of Facebook notes pertaining to the Karabakh conflict, interactions he has had in recent months with both Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh presidents and other topics.

More about Pashinyan’s musings on these topics below.

  • Armenian PM Pashinyan on wife’s presence at command post, who’s to blame for war failures
  • More than 11,000 people return to homes in Nagorno-Karabakh

Meeting with former presidents

In one of his Facebook notes, Nikol Pashinyan said that on October 20 the former presidents of Karabakh Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan proposed to organize a meeting of the current and former leaders of Armenia and Karabakh, ‘which would become an _expression_ of national unity during the war.’

Then, according to Pashinyan, a nuance was added to this idea: he was offered to play the role of a ‘mediator’ so that Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov would accept ex-presidents of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan as special envoys, but he did not agree to this.

Pashinyan says he suggested instead of urgently organizing a protocol visit to Moscow for Ter-Petrosyan and Kocharyan as former presidents, where they would meet with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is also deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.

The ex presidents were not so interested in this proposal, Pashinyan concluded:

“Unexpectedly for me, Sahakyan said that Ter-Petrosyan and Kocharyan had already agreed on a meeting with Lavrov. What then was needed from me? Let them go to Moscow and meet him. It turned out that Kocharyan’s passport was in court [ed. the ex-president is accused of overthrowing the constitutional order, is currently on bail and the trial is ongoing]. And then I advised they petition the court to return his passport, and that I would ask the prosecution not to object. And so it was. Kocharyan’s passport was returned, but he and Ter-Petrosyan never went to Moscow. “

Pashinyan’s entry on the ‘Karabakh impasse’

In another entry, Nikol Pashinyan said that by 2018, when he took office, the Karabakh issue was at an impasse, from which there was only one way out – the unconditional surrender of territories, “and without guarantees that Azerbaijan would not put forward new demands.”

In the context of these new demands, Pashinyan wrote, the likelihood of war increased again.

“But what should we do now? We must gradually stabilize the situation, not aggravate it. The most important issue now is the problem of prisoners, missing persons, perhaps those who were able to hide, a problem that needs to be solved very quickly,” the head of the Cabinet noted.

Attempts to stop the war

Pashinyan also presented some details of attempts to stop the Karabakh war. The fact is that now many accuse him of the being late with the decision to end hostilities.

As Pashinyan writes, on October 19, Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan told him that the war must be stopped:

“He also said that he expresses this point of view not only on his own behalf, but also on behalf of the former presidents of Karabakh, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, as well as [former presidents of Armenia] Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan.”

Then Pashinyan called Putin.

“He said that, in his opinion, this should be done according to the logic of the Russian proposals. That is, to postpone the question of the status of [Karabakh], to transfer the areas [around NK, which came under the control of the Armenian side during the First Karabakh war in the early 90s], and to introduce Russian peacekeepers,” Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page.

He informed the President of Karabakh about Putin’s answer. Arayik Harutyunyan agreed with the proposal of the Russian President. But it turned out that the former presidents of NK Bako Sahakyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan did not accept any agreements without specifying the status of Karabakh or a clarification mechanism.

“In fact, they said this on behalf of Robert Kocharian, Serzh Sargsyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan.”

As a result, almost a month later, on the night of November 10, a statement was signed, which many in Armenia now perceive of as a ‘traitorous’ document voluntarily transferring Karabakh to Azerbaijan.

CivilNet: Armenian villagers in Lachin remain uncertain about their future

Andranik Taslakhchian
CIVILNET.AM

2 December, 2020 06:14

Click CC for English.

The Lachin region, which served as a land connection between Armenia and Karabakh, was handed over to Azerbaijan on December 1. According to the trilateral “end of war” statement signed on November 9, a five kilometer corridor managed by the Russian peacekeepers will remain to continue to connect Armenia and Karabakh. There are rumors that in addition to the corridor, several towns and villages nearby will also remain outside Azerbaijan’s control. But with no clear information from the authorities, a portion of residents from the town of Berdzor and the villages of Aghavno and Sus are already leaving. 

Even if the villages do stay under the control of Russian peacekeepers, it remains to be seen whether residents will feel secure enough to continue their lives in the area. CIVILNET’s Tatul Hakobyan and Aren Grigoryan are in Lachin’s Berdzor and Aghavno areas.

Ucom expands free access list of educational websites

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 17:09,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Emphasizing of the importance of education for middle and high school students both in the Republic of Armenia and those who moved from Artsakh, as well as the provision of affordable internet access, Ucom has expanded the list of educational resources with free access for the subscribers of U!Prepaid, Ucom Universal and Universal Plus tariff plans, Ucom told Armenpress.

In particular, following the request of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, Youth and Sports from November 21, 2020 the subscribers of Ucom’s u1000, u1500, u2000 and u3000 prepaid tariff plans, as well as Ucom Universal and Universal Plus postpaid service subscribers will not pay for any internet usage when visiting Google Classroom and Microsoft Team websites. The same regulation has been in place for months for the following websites: zoom.us, armedu.am, emis.am, kahoot.com and etwinning.net.

The company also reminds that until November 30th inclusive, the subscribers of the mentioned tariff plans will not be charged for internet use when benefiting from Twitter, Skype, Zoom, Viber, WhatsApp applications.

All sides will benefit if Karabakh armistice terms are implemented, says Lavrov

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 15:28,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov says he believes that all parties will benefit if the agreements under the Nagorno Karabakh armistice are implemented.

Speaking during a November 12 news conference, Lavrov said the unblocking of all transportation and economic communications should have major role in reviving the region, including for the economic development of Armenia, which suffered the most as a result of being deprived from transportation and commercial links in the direction of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

“Now, in accordance to this agreement which has taken effect, all these links are being restored, the economy must breathe freely. If we bring to life everything we agreed upon, and now I don’t see any signs indicating that someone is trying to disrupt these agreements, then I am convinced that everyone will benefit,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov added that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 11, and that he himself spoke with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on November 12. “I am sure that the Armenian government realizes its responsibility, understands that it has signed these agreements proceeding from the high interests of its people. And I am convinced that the completeness of this agreement will be maintained and it will be implemented,” Lavrov said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan