Author: Ani Tigranian

Women gathered in Yerevan to discuss violence against women, ways of organising and struggling against violence on the occasion of 25 November.

Lianna Mihoyan, a member of the Free Women's Union, read a statement on the meaning of 25 November, stressing that the day is based on the struggle of the Mirabel sisters and that this struggle continues today.

Mihoyan commemorated the resistance of many women from Jeanne d'Arc to Sakine Cansız and stated that women's struggle is growing.

In the speeches made at the meeting, political violence against women was discussed and the need to come together against the male system and the state was emphasised.

Lianna Mihoyan said, "We have the power to protect ourselves and take care of ourselves. We must feel each other's pain and create our own organisation so that we do not accept any kind of violence and injustice done to us."

Larisa Alaverdyan, a human rights defender in Armenia, stated that violence against women is not only physical but also mental, and that work should be done to change the mentality of society.

Syriac parliamentarian Zemfira Mirzoyev stated that they live in a world where strong men have a say and women have a great responsibility in every field.

Kristine Vardanya, President of the National United Social Organisation, said that women in every country in the world are subjected to male violence.

"Our actions should not be limited to today. Because women are subjected to violence every day, it exists in all nations and religions."

Maria Karapetyan, MP for the Party of Civil Contract, said that the ongoing wars in all parts of the world have caused many women and children to suffer and be subjected to violence.

"All states are run with a male mentality and these wars are also being fought with a male mentality," Maria Karapetyan said.

https://anfenglish.com/women/kurdish-armenian-syriac-and-georgian-women-came-together-in-yerevan-70485

Nov 24 (Reuters) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that Russia had not yet delivered weapons his country had paid for and that talks were underway to try to find a solution, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Relations between Russia and Armenia, treaty allies, have soured in recent months, with Pashinyan accusing Moscow of failing to support his country in its conflict with longtime rival Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Baku's forces in September recaptured Karabakh, which is viewed internationally as part of Azerbaijan, prompting more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the territory into Armenia as Russian peacekeepers largely stood by.

"As for the non-provision of weapons and equipment in exchange for payments, of course, there are problems," TASS quoted Pashinyan as saying during a press conference broadcast online.

"Consultations are underway on mechanisms for solving these problems," he said, adding that one option might be to reduce Armenia's outstanding debts to Russia in exchange for the payment already made, given that Moscow also needed weapons.

He gave no details on the arms that Armenia had bought or how much it had paid for them.

Pashinyan also accused Russian state television channels broadcasting in Armenia of violating local rules, saying that consultations with Moscow on that issue were also needed.

Russian state television has repeatedly blamed Pashinyan for Armenia's loss of Karabakh.

The Armenian premier referred to a bilateral accord between Yerevan and Moscow which stipulates "that no steps should be taken to interfere in the internal affairs of the country, to destabilize the internal political situation in the country".

Pashinyan has annoyed Moscow in recent months by calling into question Armenia's alliance with Russia and seeking to deepen ties to Western countries, while also purchasing arms from new suppliers including France and India.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs hastily made a statement about the decision of the International Court of Justice dated November 17, 2023, trying to create the impression that the decision was in line with France's position.

Azernews reports that the information has been released in the statement of the Western Azerbaijan Community.

"French diplomacy is well aware that the decision of the International Court of Justice only lists the steps that Azerbaijan is already taking. Azerbaijan ensures the rights of all people living in its territory, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation. Azerbaijan should clearly state its policy regarding the right of return of Armenians who moved from the Garabagh region.

Therefore, France's intervention in this matter is inappropriate, baseless, and provocative.

It would be good if France directed its remarks to itself and to the Armenian government, which does not even theoretically agree to the return of the expelled Azerbaijanis. By unconditionally supporting Armenia, France is complicit in its crimes against humanity, including the violation of the right of return of Azerbaijanis.

The Western Azerbaijan Community will continue to expose France's attempts to advance its nefarious neo-colonial goals in the region by abusing the sublime value of human rights," it was said in the statement.

AKIPRESS.COM - Armenia is “not preparing the ground” for withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), but is giving itself and the bloc time to think about further steps, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in Parliament. This is how he commented on the decision to skip the CSTO meeting, which is scheduled for November 23 in Minsk, News.am reports.

According to Pashinyan, Armenia is looking for other partners in the security field, but "it is not going to announce changes in strategic policy until it has declared or decided to leave the CSTO."

The Prime Minister said that the CSTO "has not responded properly to security challenges of Armenia": "De jure, the CSTO refuses to fix its area of responsibility in Armenia. This may mean that in these conditions, by remaining silent, we can share a worldview that could threaten the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia," explained the Armenian prime minister.

Pashinyan said Yerevan did not refuse the CSTO mission, but demanded to clarify "what Armenia is in their minds." "The CSTO did not do this. We cannot accept such a mission, because it turns out that we legitimize the blurred idea of Armenia and thus legitimize Azerbaijan’s invasions," he added.

Pashinyan did not sign the joint declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council in November 2022 due to the lack of a political assessment of "Azerbaijan’s aggression" against the sovereignty of Armenia. It was about clashes on the border of the two countries in 2021 and 2022, as a result of which Baku occupied about 140 square meters. km of Armenian territory, he said.

In May, Pashinyan admitted that Armenia could suspend its membership in the CSTO. He stated that, in Yerevan's opinion, the CSTO does not respond to requests to send a monitoring mission; thus, one gets the impression that the organization is “leaving Armenia.”