Author: Ani Tigranian

US State Department confirms Turkish participation in Nagorno-Karabakh War, highlights Azerbaijani war crimes

Ani Tigranian

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 12:43, 2 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. A report from the US Department of State has confirmed the role of Turkey in supporting Azerbaijan’s war against the Republic of Artsakh.

The 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices report on Azerbaijan highlights war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during the conflict, including military strikes against civilian targets and the torture and abuse of Armenian prisoners.

The report states that Azerbaijan’s invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh was conducted “with Turkish support”.

The US Department of State notes “significant human rights issues” perpetrated by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, including “unlawful killings, civilian casualties, and inhuman treatment”.

“For example, on October 3 and December 11, Human Rights Watch criticized Azerbaijan’s armed forces for repeatedly using weapons on residential areas in Nagorno-Karabakh. On October 5, Amnesty International crisis response experts corroborated the authenticity of video footage–consistent with the use of cluster munitions–from the city of Stepanakert that was published in early October and identified Israeli-made cluster munitions that appeared to have been fired by Azerbaijani armed forces. The Hazardous Area Life-support Organization (HALO) Trust, an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) working in Nagorno-Karabakh to clear unexploded ordnance, confirmed the use of cluster munitions in operations striking civilian infrastructure in Nagorno-Karabakh during intensive fighting in the fall,” the report said in part.

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan

Slovakia’s National Council adopts resolution on Nagorno Karabakh

Ani Tigranian

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 16:26, 1 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. During the 25th plenary session on April 1 the National Council (Parliament) of Slovakia has adopted a resolution on Nagorno Karabakh.

The resolution has been submitted by Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marián Kéry, (SMER-SD/Social Democrats). It was approved with 120 votes in favor.

The resolution strongly condemns the killings of civilian population, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, cultural and religious sites and monuments, expresses concern over the military involvement of third countries during the conflict and their destabilizing role, emphasizes that the process of achieving lasting peace and determining the future legal status of Nagorno Karabakh should be implemented under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The resolution also expresses deep concern that the prisoners of war and other detained persons, including civilians, have not been released in accordance with the international humanitarian law, in particular the Third Geneva Convention.

The resolution calls on the government of Slovakia, the European Union and international organizations to ensure the proper investigation of war crimes, including all accusations about the use of cluster munitions, that all prisoners of war and civilians are released immediately, and that international humanitarian organizations enter into Nagorno Karabakh without restrictions.

This is the second resolution adopted by the Slovak National Council over the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh. The first resolution was adopted on October 22, 2020.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian prime minister to step down in April

Ani Tigranian
Deutsche Welle, Germany

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced his resignation as a means of curbing the political turmoil in the former Soviet republic.

   

The embattled Armenian prime minister has announced snap parliamentary elections for June

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will resign in April to hold snap elections in June, he announced in a video on his Facebook page on Sunday.

“I will resign in April. I will resign not to resign, but in order for early elections to take place,” he told a crowd during a visit to the northwest of the country.

“I will continue to serve as interim prime minister,” he added.

Pashinyan announced the snap elections earlier in March. In line with Armenian law, snap elections can take place once the prime minister steps down and parliament fails to elect a replacement two times.

Pashinyan has been under increasing pressure to step down following a military defeat against neighboring Azerbaijan and an ongoing spat with Armenian military leaders.

Why is there pressure on Pashinyan to step down?

Pashinyan has faced constant calls to step down after signing a Russian-brokered ceasefire with Azerbaijan in November.

The conflict ended with Armenia ceding control over the de facto autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan.

Concern is growing in Armenia over deepening political crisis

In the ensuing row between the government and the military over who was responsible for the humiliating defeat, the military joined calls for Pashinyan’s resignation.

The prime minister in turn tried to remove the military’s chief of staff Onik Gasparyan, claiming that there had effectively been an attempted coup.

Gasparyan refused to step down and President Armen Sarkisian refused to enforce the prime minister’s order.

Thousands of protesters have also called on Pashinyan to leave power, blaming him for the country’s military defeat.

Bodies of 5 more fallen servicemen found in Karabakh search operations

Ani Tigranian
News.am, Armenia
18:16, 27.03.2021

STEPANAKERT. – As a result of search operations carried out Saturday in Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) southern wing in the regions of Jrakan (Jabrayil) and Varanda (Fizuli)—which are now under the control of Azerbaijan—, Artsakh rescuers have found and retrieved the bodies of five more fallen servicemen. This was reported by the Artsakh State Service of Emergency Situations.

Since the ceasefire, the total number of remains found in the occupied territories of Artsakh—or transferred to the Armenian side by Azerbaijan—since November 13, 2020, is 1,523, of which, according to preliminary data, 25 are of civilians, and the rest are of servicemen, volunteers or reservists killed during the recent Artsakh war.

The Artsakh State Service of Emergency Situations will continue the search in the coming days, too, but from now on—as needed.

Yerevan protesters march towards Security Council building

Ani Tigranian
News.am, Armenia
(PHOTOS)
17:10, 28.03.2021

Yerevan protesters marched towards the Security Council building.

The Homeland Salvation Movement coordinator Iskhan Saghatelyan noted that the citizens of Armenia should treat the Secretary of the Security Council as an agent of Turkey in Armenia. 

“There are two political lines in Armenia, one line – Nikol and his team, who want to lead Armenia to a final collapse under the pretext of pseudo-peace-loving slogans, which we will not allow. The second direction is we – we want to preserve our national values, our statehood, Artsakh, not give up our demands, build a national state and develop,” Saghatelyan added.

Speaking about the further steps of the movement, Saghatelyan said that visits to the region would begin until April 22.

Armenia’s PM says his statements about SU-30 do not contradict one another

Ani Tigranian
Aysor, Armenia

Unfortunately during the war the government failed to acquire all the necessary accessories, missiles that would have given opportunity to apply SU-30 new generation weapon at its full power, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at the parliament today.

“SU-30 fighters arrived in Armenia in May 2020 and yes, they implemented exercise flights and used the missiles Armenia had in its arsenal,” Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that the decision to apply them or not was made assessing the opportunity of fulfillment of their task with the existing ammunition.

He also noted that his statements made during the visit to Aragatstotn province and previously do not contradict one another.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/21/2021

Ani Tigranian 
                                        Sunday, 
Sarkisian Hits Back At Pashinian Over Remarks On Karabakh Talks
Former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian (archive photo)
Former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has called Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s account of the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process that 
puts the blame for its failure on the previous government as an outright lie.
In a statement released by his office Sarkisian responded to accusations made by 
Pashinian during a public rally on a visit to the western Aragatsotn province on 
Saturday.
Addressing scores of supporters in the village of Nerkin Bazmaberd Pashinian, in 
particular, charged that Sarkisian had driven the negotiations with Azerbaijan 
on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh to a state where seven districts around the 
disputed region would be handed over to Baku in exchange for only the 
restoration of the former autonomous oblast.
Earlier, Pashinian said that his government attempted to change the logic of the 
negotiations to seek Nagorno-Karabakh’s independent status, but failed to do 
that.
Meanwhile, Sarkisian insisted that it is Pashinian’s policies that paved the way 
for last fall’s six-week war in which Azerbaijan restored control over seven 
districts around Nagorno-Karabakh (both militarily and under a November 10 
ceasefire agreement with Armenia brokered by Russia) and captured a chunk of the 
former autonomous oblast proper.
“Thousands of people have been killed due to your mediocrity or by you malicious 
intent (the court will soon decide which of the two). You resignedly endure the 
enemy’s encroachments on Armenia, flirt with the enemy who tortures our fellow 
citizens in Baku prisons, destroys our cultural values in Artsakh [the Armenian 
name for Nagorno-Karabakh]. Nobody believes you anymore, because you lied 
throughout the war, after it and continue to lie to this day,” the former leader 
said.
Sarkisian reminded that since coming to power in 2018 Pashinian insisted that he 
was not conducting negotiations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. 
According to the former president, however, “the lie was revealed” when in April 
2020 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that back in April 2019 a new 
draft proposal envisaging a phased settlement was submitted to the parties. “No 
one in Yerevan has officially denied Lavrov’s statement,” Sarkisian said.
“Another lie was exposed when the Russian co-chair of the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, Igor Popov, commented 
on [Pashinian’s] notorious article “The Origin of the 44-Day War,” in which the 
capitulator claimed that the proposals of the Russian side to resolve the 
conflict did not concern the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, but concerned only the 
return of seven districts to Azerbaijan,” Sarkisian said.
In his comments, Popov, in particular, said: “The statements that Russia offered 
that [Armenia] simply return seven districts [to Azerbaijan] and forget about 
the status [of Nagorno-Karabakh] do not correspond to reality.”
Sarkisian continued: “Representatives of the other two co-chairing countries – 
the United States and France – have not refuted this [Popov’s] statement, 
revealing the irresponsible and deceitful essence of the person occupying the 
post of the prime minister in Armenia.”
Sarkisian further charged that because of Pashinian’s “starting negotiations 
from his own point” and his “populist manner of action” “all provisions on the 
right of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people to self-determination were pushed out of the 
negotiations.”
The former president again cited Popov, who said that “although it was not 
possible to reach a full agreement, the most important thing was that the 
negotiations were going on continuously until 2018 when Yerevan put forward new 
conditions.”
Addressing his words to Pashinian, Sarkisian concluded: “Your manipulations are 
endless, but you won’t be able to mislead the people. The time has come for you 
to answer for your actions.”
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.

AbuDhabi: Mohamed bin Zayed receives message from President of Armenia

Ani Tigranian
WAM News Agency, UAE
March 11 2021

ABU DHABI, 11th March, 2021 (WAM) — His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received a written message from President of Armenia, Armen Sargsyan, on promoting bilateral relations.

The message was delivered to H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as he welcomed Ara Ayvazyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, over a dinner banquet Sheikh Abdullah hosted for the guest.

The two top diplomats reviewed the prospects of accelerating cooperation between the two nations across various fields, including investment and food security.

The meeting also addressed a number of regional and international issues of interest, with Sheikh Abdullah hailing the privileged relations between the two sides and the UAE’s keenness to advance them to a higher level.

The Armenian minister said his country is looking forward to enhancing the bilateral relations and commended the stature boasted by the UAE at the regional and international levels.

WAM/Hatem Mohamed

Asbarez: More Than 150 Artsakh Households Receive Humanitarian Aid Through Tufenkian-Izmirlian Partnership

Ani Tigranian



Residents of Martuni’s Herher, Kherkhan, and Tsovategh Villages Were Given Food Packages

YEREVAN—More than 150 families in three villages of Artsakh’s Martuni region have received desperately needed humanitarian assistance packages, thanks to a recent partnership between the Tufenkian Foundation and the Yerevan-based Izmirlian Foundation.

The residents of Herher and its surrounding villages, Kherkhan and Tsovategh, came under heavy bombardment during the 44-day war against Azerbaijan late last year. Over the past few months, thousands of families who had fled the region during the intense battles have returned to their homes, many of which have sustained substantial damages. Because of the war, many villagers also lost their harvests and were unable to adequately prepare their food reserves for the winter.

“The villagers are returning to their ancestral homes—these villages and towns are all they have known, and this is the region that made them the people they are. They are returning with the hope of rebuilding their lives and their homes, not only for themselves but for generations to come,” said Tufenkian Foundation executive director Raffi Doudaklian.

The first distribution took place on Dec. 25, 2020. While many around the world were celebrating Christmas, the Tufenkian Foundation staff, accompanied by several dedicated volunteers from the United States, traveled to the villages to help with the effort. The families in the three villages were given special food packages, which included flour, rice, buckwheat, pasta, oil, and other staples.

One of the volunteers, Dickran Khodanian of Los Angeles, Calif., said that the aid could not have come at a more crucial time for the villagers. “The humanitarian aid distribution came at a time when there was not much help getting to the residents of these distant villages. I am happy that organizations like Tufenkian and Izmirlian continue to focus their efforts and energy in these places; I am glad that the needs of our compatriots there are not ignored,” explained Khodanian.

Subsequent distributions were carried out in the region on Jan. 23 and March 5. “The purpose of our partnership with the Izmirlian Foundation is to help ensure that the residents of the affected villages can overcome the challenges of the harsh winter. This food assistance helped lessen the financial burden on villagers during these months, enabling them to take care of other necessary expenses,” said Doudaklian.

Established in 1990 by Dikran Izmirlian, the Izmirlian Foundation has launched and implemented diverse initiatives in the areas of education, healthcare, economic development, social welfare, and the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage.

Tsovategh, one of the three villages where the program was implemented, is home to around 150 residents. The ancient Armenian village was made a target during heavy bombardment in the region during the most recent war against Azerbaijan. According to Tsovategh’s Mayor Samvel Abrahamyan, programs like the food distributions allow for the residents to remain in the village and to carry on their families’ legacies who have been there for generations.

Kherkhan’s Mayor Grisha Karapetyan also thanked the two foundations for their work in his village, which is home to a historic 11th-century cemetery. “On behalf of the people of Kherkhan—a resilient people, but one in desperate need following the war—I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all those who made this project possible. The residents of Kherkhan felt empowered and inspired when they realized that our compatriots have not forgotten about them. We look forward to working with the Tufenkian Foundation in the future,” Mayor Karapetyan explained.

The distribution of humanitarian aid is one of several projects the Tufenkian Foundation has started to implement in the affected Martuni region. Last month, the Foundation announced that it is renovating and restoring a total of 13 homes in the region that have suffered major damages during the war, as well as the family homes of fallen soldiers. The renovation project is being implemented in cooperation with the Hayastan All Armenian Fund (Himnadram). The Avagyans, an Armenian family of eight whose home sustained major damage by Azerbaijani shelling last year, were the first family to move back into their renovated house as a result of the project.

Immediately following the war, the Foundation also distributed aid to hundreds of displaced families from Artsakh in Goris and its surrounding villages. As those families began to return to Artsakh, other distributions of humanitarian assistance were carried out in the villages of Machkalashen and Khnushinak, in cooperation with the Lyon-based Mérieux Foundation.

Speaking about the importance of continuing to invest in the most vulnerable parts of Artsakh, Raffi Doudaklian said that investment in the area is more important now than ever before: “We, at Tufenkian, believe that the homeland must be built on determination and hard work. The Tufenkian Foundation is always ready to support the people of Artsakh and Armenia.”

Established in 1999, the Tufenkian Foundation addresses the most pressing social, economic, cultural, and environmental challenges facing Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh). Since its inception, the Tufenkian Foundation has supported various community initiatives as well as civic activism and public advocacy campaigns to help improve life in Armenia, while providing housing, education, social, health, and livelihood support for the Armenians of Artsakh. 




Armenian President once again refused to sign General Staff appointment motion –

Ani Tigranian
TASS, Russia
The head of state will also not challenge this motion in the Constitutional Court

YEREVAN, March 12. /TASS/. Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan once again refused to sign Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motion to appoint Artak Davryan as the new Armed Forces General Staff head. According to the presidential press service, the head of state will also not challenge this motion in the Constitutional Court.

“The president of the republic will not sign the draft order and will not turn to the Constitutional Court. We remind that, on , the president has already contacted the Constitutional Court, asking to decide on whether the law ‘on military service and the status of serviceman’ complies with the norms of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court’s ruling and adoption of necessary measures may have a significant effect on legal procedures of dismissal and appointment of a General Staff head,” the press service said.

Earlier, Pashinyan filed the motion to appoint Davtyan as the new General Staff head for the second time. Once such motion is filed, the president must either sign it within three days of challenge it in the Constitutional Court.

Davtyan already served as the head of the General Staff between 2018 and June 2020, but was dismissed by the Prime Minister’s motion. Later, Pashinyan appointed Onik Gasparyan to this position. This Wednesday, Pashinyan stated that Gasparyan was dismissed, because the president failed to sign the motion or challenge it in the court within three days. Gasparyan said his resignation is unconstitutional and announced his intention to challenge it in the court. In the meantime, Sarkisyan asked the Constitutional Court to review the law “on military service” for compliance with the constitution. The opposition demands that Gasparyan keeps his position.

This political crisis in Armenia started on February 25, when Gasparyan and other senior military staff called for resignation of Pashinyan. The Prime Minister viewed such move as an armed coup attempt, and has already filed two motions to the president to dismiss the General Staff head.