Wednesday,
Pashinian Sees ‘External Threats’ To Democracy In Armenia
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses a conference in Yerevan, May
31, 2023.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian spoke on Wednesday of “external threats” facing
democracy in Armenia which he claims to have established during his rule.
“I want to point out that there is no internal threat to democracy in Armenia …
All potential threats to democracy in Armenia are external, and these threats
are, of course, well-known and visible to everyone,” he said during a “forum for
democracy” organized in Yerevan by a local civic group and the U.S. watchdog
Freedom House.
Pashinian did not name foreign countries which he thinks pose such threats. He
pointed instead to the “thickest question” preoccupying the domestic public: “Is
democracy also capable of ensuring security?”
“We do believe in a positive answer to this question but it has yet to be
proved,” he told the conference held in the conspicuous absence of Armenian
opposition leaders and other well-known critics of Pashinian.
The latter accuse the prime minister of tolerating no dissent, jailing his
political opponents and curbing judicial independence.
Armenia - Security officers remove opposition deputy Gegham Manukian from the
parliament podium, Օctober 26, 2021
Pashinian insisted that democracy is “Armenia’s main brand and our conviction
and strategy.” He argued, in particular, that elections held on his watch were
not marred by reports of serious fraud.
According to Freedom House’s latest Nations in Transit survey of former
Communist countries released last week, Armenia remains a “hybrid regime” and
has yet to become an established or even “semi-consolidated” democracy five
years after the “velvet revolution” that brought Pashinian to power.
Still, Freedom House concluded that Armenia “continued to make democratic gains
in 2022.”
“The potential for deterioration remains, however, as evidenced by arrests of
opposition candidates before local elections last August,” cautioned its annual
report. “With its dependence on authoritarian Russia for military protection
against Azerbaijan, its openly hostile and equally authoritarian neighbor,
Armenia’s democratic project faces uniquely powerful headwinds.”
Armenian Gold Mine Closed 'Due To Azeri Gunfire’
Armenia - Gold mines at Sotk.
The Russian owner of Armenia’s largest gold mine has indicated that it will not
restart open-pit operations there because of continuing cross-border fire from
nearby Azerbaijani army positions.
The Sotk mine, which employs more than 700 people and is located on the volatile
border with Azerbaijan, has stood idle since an upsurge in skirmishes between
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in mid-April. Its employees say that they have
repeatedly come under fire and been evacuated after trying to return to work.
Fighting at that section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border escalated on May
11-12, involving exchanges of artillery fire and resulting in several casualties
from both sides.
“The situation of constant danger for the employees of the enterprise persists
for more than a month,” read a statement released by the mine operator, GPM
Gold, late on Tuesday. “As a consequence, further work of the Sotk open pit has
become impossible due to circumstances beyond the Company's control.”
The subsidiary of Russia’s GeoProMining group added that it has therefore
decided to “stop the operation of the open-pit mine” and put its workers on
unpaid leave.
Hovannes Harutiunian, an Armenian deputy minister of local government and
infrastructures, predicted GPM Gold’s decision earlier this month. Harutiunian
told lawmakers in Yerevan that the company plans to switch to underground mining
due to the periodical border clashes and Azerbaijani gunfire targeting its
open-pit facilities.
The GPM Gold statement said nothing about that, however. Nor did it shed light
on the uncertain future of GeoProMining’s gold smelter located in Ararat, a town
50 kilometers south of Yerevan.
The company already lost control over a large part of the mountainous area’s
gold deposits following the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh and the resulting
Armenian withdrawal from the Kelbajar district bordering Sotk. This appears to
explain why total taxes paid by it plummeted from 20.8 billion drams ($53
million) in 2021 to just 3.2 billion drams in 2022.
U.S. Hails Aliyev’s ‘Amnesty’ Offer To Karabakh Leaders
U.S. - The State Department building in Washington, January 26, 2017.
The United States has welcomed Azerbaijani President Aliyev’s stated readiness
to grant “amnesty” to Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian leaders if they resign
and “surrender” to Baku.
Aliyev made the offer on Sunday while again telling the Karabakh Armenians to
unconditionally accept Azerbaijani rule and threatening to take military action
against them as well as Armenia.
“Everyone knows that we can carry out any [military] operation in that territory
[Karabakh,]” he warned. “That is why the [Karabakh] parliament must be
dissolved, the element who calls himself the president [of Karabakh] must
surrender and all ministers, deputies and other officials must resign. Only then
can there be talk of amnesty.”
The Armenian government and Karabakh’s leadership condemned the threats. The
Armenian Foreign Ministry said Aliyev not only threatened the Karabakh Armenians
with “ethnic cleansing” but is also “preparing the ground for another aggressive
action against Nagorno-Karabakh’s population.”
“We recently expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Pashinian’s commitment to
peace, and we welcome President Aliyev’s recent remarks on consideration of
amnesty,” the U.S. State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said in a
statement issued late on Tuesday.
Miller at the same time stressed: “Aggressive rhetoric can only perpetuate the
violence of the past; constructive dialogue -- both public and private -- can
create peace, opportunity, and hope.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed dismay at the U.S. reaction on
Wednesday, insisting that Aliyev’s remarks “contained clear threats” to
Armenia’s territorial integrity and the security of Karabakh’s population.
Washington “should react appropriately to such statements,” said a ministry
spokeswoman.
Aliyev made the threats ahead of his fresh meeting Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian scheduled for Thursday. The two leaders will meet together with
European Union chief Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova.
Aliyev and Pashinian apparently made significant progress towards an
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty during their May 14 meeting in Brussels hosted
by Michel. Pashinian confirmed afterwards that he is ready to recognize
Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Pashinian’s stance was hailed by a senior U.S. official but condemned by the
Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s leadership. Karabakh’s parliament said on May
22 that any peace deal ignoring the Karabakh Armenians’ right to
self-determination would be “null and void” for Stepanakert.
The U.S. had backed that right through peace plans jointly drafted with Russia
and France before the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Antranik Varosian
Sports: Hungary and Armenia win multiple golds at World Challenge Cup of Varna
Hungary won half of the women’s titles and the Armenian men, led by triple medalist Artur Davtyan, earned two victories at the World Challenge Cup of Varna that ended Sunday in Varna.
Women’s vault champion Tijana Korent (née Tkalcec), who turned 34 on April 27, captured her first World Cup or World Challenge Cup medal in four years. She was third on vault at the 2019 World Challenge Cup of Mersin and second on vault at the 2019 World Cup of Guimaraes. Korent placed eighth on vault at the 2013 and 2020 Europeans.
Bengisu Yildiz of Turkey earned her first World Cup or World Challenge Cup medal when she placed third on vault. Born September 29, 2006, in Cankaya, she was 59th all-around at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, and 66th all-around in qualifications at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool.
Yildiz’s previous top World Challenge Cup results were fourth on uneven bars at the 2022 World Challenge Cup of Osijek, and fourth on vault at the 2022 World Challenge Cup of Mersin. Earlier this year she was eighth on vault at the World Cup of Baku.
2017 and 2023 European all-around silver medalist Zsofia Kovacs of Hungary finished first on uneven bars while teammate Bettina Lili Czifra won balance beam, her first World Cup or World Challenge Cup medal.
Czifra, a 16-year-old born in Dunaujvaros, placed 40th all-around in qualifications at the 2020 Junior European Championships in Mersin, and 12th all-around at the 2022 Junior Europeans in Munich.
France’s Silane Mielle took the title on floor exercise in her first World Challenge Cup competition. Mielle, a Voiron native who will turn 18 on July 28, finished third on uneven bars at the 2022 French Championships and was a member of the sixth-place French team at this spring’s European Championships in Antalya.
In the men’s competition, Bulgaria’s 32-year-old Eddie Penev won gold on floor exercise. Penev, a Sofia native who moved with his family to the U.S. when he was three, represented Bulgaria from 2007-2011 and then competed for the U.S. until resuming his career for his native country this year. He won gold on floor exercise and gold on vault at the 2014 World Challenge Cup of Anadia, and gold on floor exercise at the 2017 World Challenge Cup of Koper.
Albania’s Matvei Petrov notched his third World Challenge Cup gold in winning the title on pommel horse. Petrov, the 2020 European champion on pommel horse, placed first on that apparatus at the 2021 World Challenge Cup of Osijek and the 2021 World Challenge Cup of Koper.
Still rings champion Artur Davetisyan of Armenia added gold to his 2023 medal collection after winning bronzes on that apparatus at the World Cup of Cottbus and the World Cup of Cairo earlier this year. He was seventh on still rings at last month’s Europeans.
Davetisyan’s teammate Artur Davtyan won the title on vault, having earned gold on that apparatus at all six World Cup competitions he entered in 2022 and 2023. He also placed first on vault at last year’s Worlds. Davtyan was the only gymnast to win three medals in Varna, where he also placed fifth on parallel bars and sixth on floor exercise.
Rasuljon Abdurakhimov of Uzbekistan earned gold on parallel bars, his first World Cup or World Challenge Cup medal. He achieved all of his previous finals berths at these competitions on that apparatus, finishing seventh at the 2021 World Challenge Cup of Varna, fifth at the 2022 World Cup of Cairo and seventh at the 2023 World Cup of Baku.
On horizontal bar, Sofus Heggemsnes of Norway placed first and collected the second medal of his World Cup or World Challenge Cup career. He took bronze on vault at the 2019 World Challenge Cup of Szombathely.
2023 World Challenge Cup of Varna
May 26-28
Women:
Vault:
- Tijana Korent CRO 13.050
- Greta Mayer HUN 13.049
- Bengisu Yildiz TUR 12.849
Uneven Bars:
- Zsofia Kovacs HUN 14.166
- Djenna Laroui FRA 12.900
- Barbora Mokosova SVK 12.866
Balance Beam:
- Bettina Lili Czifra HUN 13.466
- Tina Zelcic CRO 12.266
- Naomi Visser NED 12.233
Floor Exercise:
- Silane Mielle FRA 12.933
- Maddison Hajjar CAN 12.833
- Emma Ross AUS 12.566
Men:
Floor Exercise:
- Eddie Penev BUL 14.366
- Botond Molnar HUN 13.833
- Emil Akhmejanov KAZ 13.800
Pommel Horse:
- Matvei Petrov ALB 14.800
- Abdul Azimov UZB 14.500
- Artur Davtyan ARM 14.233
Still Rings:
- Artur Avetisyan ARM 14.700
- Mehmet Kosak TUR 14.133
- Artur Davtyan ARM 14.066
Vault:
- Artur Davtyan ARM 14.799
- Sebastian Sponevik NOR 14.300
- Dusan Dordevic SRB 14.116
Parallel Bars:
- Rasuljon Abdurakhimov UZB 14.233
- Yordan Aleksandrov BUL 14.233*
- Jermain Gruenberg NED 14.066
*tie broken in favor of Abdurakhimov’s higher Execution score
Horizontal Bar:
- Sofus Heggemsnes NOR 13.833
- Yordan Aleksandrov BUL 13.733
- David Vecsernyes HUN 13.666
International Gymnast Online’s recent features on 2023 World Challenge Cup of Varna competitors includes:
https://www.intlgymnast.com/news/hungary-and-armenia-win-multiple-golds-at-world-challenge-cup-of-varna/
Armenia, Azerbaijan Optimistic on Normalization at Moscow Talks
Arch foes Armenia and Azerbaijan are advancing toward normalizing ties following mutual recognition of territorial integrity, the two countries' leaders said Thursday as they held talks in Moscow.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the three held joint negotiations late on Thursday.
The talks were held following recent deadly border clashes between the two Caucasus neighbors, which have been locked in a decades-long conflict for control of Azerbaijan's predominantly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"There is a possibility of coming to a peace agreement, considering that Armenia has formally recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan," Aliyev said ahead of talks.
"Azerbaijan has no territorial claims to Armenia," he added.
Pashinyan said the two countries were "making good progress in normalizing relationships, based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity."
He said Yerevan was ready "to unblock all the transport links in the region that pass through Armenian territory."
Putin said that "despite all the difficulties and problems that still remain, the situation is developing toward the settlement" of the Karabakh conflict.
He said the three countries' deputy prime ministers will meet in a week's time in Moscow "to resolve the remaining issues" regarding the reopening of transport links between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The Caucasus neighbors have been seeking to negotiate a peace agreement with the help of the European Union and United States.
On May 14, they agreed at a meeting hosted in Brussels by the European Council President Charles Michel on mutual recognition of territorial integrity.
But the West's diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked Moscow, the traditional power broker in the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars — in 2020 and in the 1990s — for control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Six weeks of hostilities in the fall of 2020 ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.
Armenia, which has relied on Russia for military and economic support since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has accused Moscow of failing to fulfil its peacekeeping role in Karabakh.
Yerevan's concerns have grown after Azerbaijani activists blocked in December Karabakh's only land link to Armenia. In April, Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint manned by border guards along the route.
Last year, Yerevan also accused Azerbaijan of occupying a pocket of its land, in what it has said amounted to military aggression and demanded military help from Russia, which has never materialized.
With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan's key ally Turkey, the United States and European Union have sought to repair ties between the Caucasus rivals.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict claimed some 30,000 lives.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/05/26/armenia-azerbaijan-optimistic-on-normalization-at-moscow-talks-a81290
Dismantling of Nemesis Monument in Yerevan out of the question, reporter claims
Panorama
Armenia –
Turkey has not issued an ultimatum to Armenia to dismantle the Nemesis Monument in Yerevan, famous reporter Artem Yerkanyan claims.
The monument installed in the Armenian capital on 25 April pays tribute to participants of Operation Nemesis, a 1920s program of assassinations of Ottoman Turkish perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide.
Turkey closed its airspace to Armenian flights heading to a third destination in response to the unveiling of the monument. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced later that Turkey would take additional steps against Armenia if the Nemesis Monument was not dismantled.
"There is no need to whip up panic. Turkey has not issued an ultimatum to Armenia to dismantle the Nemesis Monument,” Yerkanyan wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“Cavusoglu once again addressed the issue of the monument not on his own initiative, but in response to an Azerbaijani journalist's question.
“Ankara has not officially laid out any demands to Yerevan regarding the monument through diplomatic channels. I think it's safe to say that the issue of dismantling the monument is out of the question,” the reporter stated.
Artem Yerkanyan is a relative of one of the Operation Nemesis participants, Aram Yerkanyan.
PACE representatives to visit Armenia
19:02, 19 May 2023
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Paul Gavan, the rapporteur of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, the author of the report "Addressing the Humanitarian Consequences of the Lachin Corridor Blockade" and Tatiana Termacic, the Head of the Committee, will arrive in the Republic of Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports, Public TV of Armenia informed.
It is noted that they will conduct a fact-finding mission from May 30 to June 2.
Armenpress: We have two homelands, Turkey and Armenia, and we want reconciliation – Marmara Publishing Director tells ARMENPRESS
09:31,
ISTANBUL, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish-Armenian community wants Armenia and Turkey to reconcile, Marmara newspaper’s Publishing Director Ari Haddeciyan told ARMENPRESS.
Ari Haddeciyan is the son of Marmara Editor-in-Chief, playwright and writer Rober Haddeciyan. He currently runs Marmara together with his brother as their 97-year-old father is having difficulties coming to the office due to health issues.
Marmara is an Armenian-language daily newspaper published since August 31, 1940 in Istanbul. Rober Haddeciyan has been its editor-in-chief since 1967.
“We have two homelands, Turkey and Armenia. We certainly wish our two homelands to reconcile, so that we will be able to freely, easily and confidently travel, speak, and live happily,” Ari Haddeciyan said, emphasizing the importance of the Armenian-Turkish relations.
Normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey will positively impact the societies of the two countries, according to Haddeciyan.
Speaking about the Turkish-Armenian community, which has an estimated population of over 50,000 and is concentrated in Istanbul, Haddeciyan said that regrettably many of them don’t speak Armenian.
“There’s no one left who speaks or reads Armenian. We have 5 high schools and 12-13 elementary schools, every year thousands of students enroll in these schools, but finding someone among them who reads or wants to read in Armenian is like finding a miracle. They assimilate with Turkish,” he said, adding that this is one of the reasons why the number of Marmara subscribers has dropped significantly.
“Just like other Armenian newspapers, Marmara has a decreasing number of readers and subscribers, today we no longer have the number of subscribers we used to have some 10 or 20 years ago. But we will persistently struggle, we will continue our path, we hope that we will be able to continue publishing the Armenian newspaper for many years,” Haddeciyan said.
Araks Kasyan
TAAL Brings Elected Officials, Experts & Community Leaders Together to Discuss Anti-Armenian Racist Flyers in Beverly Hills and Glendale
Gagrule.net
April 20 2023
‘It’s unfathomable that on the heels of the Armenian Genocide anniversary on April 24, Armenians are terrorized by flyers around schools and churches that call for the extermination of Armenians’ — Vic Gerami, Founder, TAAL
Los Angeles — Truth And Accountability League (TAAL), in partnership with the LA County Commission on Human Relations’ LA vs. Hate, will hold an in-person Town Hall, ‘Stand Hall to Hate,’ on Thursday, May 4, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This free event with RSVP is open to the public and is being held at the Glendale Central Library, 222 East Harvard Street, Glendale, 91205. It will feature an open panel discussion with city officials, experts, and community leaders, including the Executive Director, L.A. County Commission on Human Relations Robin S. Toma, Esq., Glendale Mayor Daniel Brotman, Police Chief Manuel Cid, Chief of Staff Joseph F. Iniguez from the LA County District Attorney’s Office, and State Commissioner Sam Kbushyan.
Moderated by TAAL’s founder & Chair, Vic Gerami, the goal of the meeting is to bring awareness, educate the public, and discuss solutions to the rising anti-Armenian racism, Armenophobia, and propaganda through questions and discussion with participants.
‘The recent anti-Armenian flyers posted around LA County, home to hundreds of thousands of Armenian-Americans, remind us that we must be vigilant about racism, hate acts, and propaganda. It’s unfathomable that on the heels of the Armenian Genocide anniversary, Armenians are terrorized by flyers around schools and churches that call for the extermination of Armenians,’ said Vic Gerami, founder of TAAL.
He added, ‘But we mustn’t allow the hate of a few to create division, pin us against each other, and get us stuck in the problem. The Truth And Accountability League is focused on the solution. We want to bring together, not only members of the Armenian community, but everyone to create awareness, educate, and find answers. Our panel of leaders and experts will discuss ways to handle malice that aims to victimize, dehumanize, and diminish us. Hate acts affect everyone, regardless of ethnic background, race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. TAAL’s Town Hall is a forum to empower everyone.’
The two-hour event is a part of TAAL’s comprehensive and integrated Community Outreach Campaign to address the rise in anti-Armenian hate crimes the last three years, including the anti-Armenian flyers posted in Glendale on March 31 and similar ones in Beverly Hills in January and that called for the massacre of Armenians.
‘The Armenian American community is such an essential part of our L.A. County community, but the amount of discrimination and negative stereotyping they’ve experienced is too often understated because it is underreported,’ said Robin S. Toma, Executive Director of the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations. ‘I look forward to sharing the data we collect on acts of hate in our county, and most importantly, what we are doing with LA vs Hate to increase reporting and eradicate hate in all our cities and neighborhoods.’
‘Stand TAAL to Hate’ is a Town Hall to benefit every group that has experienced racism, been subject to hate crimes, and defamation, along with LA’s Armenian community, which has been a target of such acts more frequently in recent years. With its nearly 40% Armenian community, Glendale is the perfect crossroad for such an event.
Glendale Mayor Daniel Brotman said, ‘I am proud to be the Mayor of Glendale, a city rich with diversity, including one of the largest Armenian diaspora communities in the world. The Jewel City has zero tolerance for racism, hate acts, and defamation. I strongly condemn the recent anti-Armenian flyers and work with Glendale Police and community leaders to find the perpetrator.’
He continued, ‘I’m honored to be a panelist for the Truth And Accountability League’s Town Hall. I applaud Vic Gerami and his team for launching a community outreach campaign to create awareness, educate, and empower not only the residents of Glendale but all of LA County.’
We’ve also witnessed the former president of the LA City Council, Nury Martinez, make a racist statement about a colleague that was caught on tape. The prevalence of the problem led the Burbank Board of Education to revise its anti-racism statement and update the board policy to stand in solidarity with Armenians.
‘I look forward to participating in the Truth and Accountability League Town Hall in May. Coming together to discuss hate, accountability, and transparency is a powerful act of solidarity and progress. This will be a great opportunity to educate our community on the efforts law enforcement is making to address these challenges, as well as to learn, share, and work together towards a more equitable future,’ said Manuel Cid, Chief of Police, Glendale Police Department.
The audience will have a chance to submit questions in writing before the start of the town hall. RSVP is required and can be sent through Eventbrite: TAALTownHall.Eventbrite.com
‘As district attorney of Los Angeles County, home to more than 200,000 Armenians, I’m immensely proud to represent the largest Armenian population in the United States and the greatest number outside of Armenia itself,’ District Attorney George Gascón said. “Our Armenian community makes tremendous academic, artistic, altruistic, and many other contributions to our region.’
He continued, ‘These hate-filled flyers that incite violence are abhorrent and must be condemned. My office takes hate crimes very seriously, filing 86 percent of the hate crime cases referred to us, far above the statewide average of 54 percent. I commend TAAL for becoming an antidote for the poison that is racism and holding this important Town Hall to promote equality and protect human rights.’
CA State Commissioner Sam Kbushyan, an Armenian-American, believes in tackling the problem head-on. He’s been a long-time community organizer and member of Mayor Karen Bass’ Transition Team.
‘It’s been shocking to see anti-Armenian flyers advocating Genocide against Armenians in Glendale and across LA County. We must all condemn this bigotry in the strongest terms. While our families and loved ones in Armenia and Artsakh are under assault by Azerbaijan, LA County’s Armenian community is being terrorized by hate, defamation, and propaganda,’ said State Commissioner Sam Kbushyan.
He added, ‘Vic Gerami and his team at the Truth And Accountability League have taken a proactive step in organizing a Town Hall in Glendale to create a safe place for the community to address this ongoing matter. I look forward to being on the panel and serving the greater LA community.’
Elected officials who would like to attend and have special requests and members of the media interested in interviews should contact Vic Gerami at 310.880.8563 (or) [email protected]. For additional information, visit TAAL’s website, TruthAndAccountabilityLeague.org.
Please click here for photos and see the attached invitation.
About TAAL
TAAL is a 501©3 non-profit advocacy organization founded in 2020 due to a significant increase in anti-Armenian racism, defamation, hate crimes, and Armenophobia. We monitor and confront bias, disinformation, propaganda, and slander of the Armenian people and culture at the media level, including social media, academics, intelligentsia, and public policy.
Our Mission
To protect human rights, promote equality, combat racism where it appears and exists, stop the defamation and threats of violence against people of Armenian ethnicity, educate the community about racism, bias, and discrimination, achieve worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and end the crime of Genocide for all people across the world.
About the LA County Commission on Human Relations
The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations is dedicated to promoting positive human relations in our richly diverse, multicultural county. The Commission works to develop programs that proactively address racism, homophobia, religious prejudice, linguistic bias, anti-immigrant sentiment, and other divisive attitudes that can lead to intercultural tension, hate crimes, and related violence. Partnering with law enforcement, schools, cities, community-based organizations, youth, academics, policy makers, businesses, and other leaders, the Commission brings key players together to resolve immediate intercultural conflicts and to work toward the longer term aim of eradicating bias and prejudice.
LA County’s Human Relations Commission has a legacy that dates back more than 75 years to shortly after the so-called “Zoot Suit Riots” displayed serious, long-standing human relations concerns. This incident, during which large numbers of mostly White young men in the military clashed with local young men of color for three days in the streets of LA, served as a wake-up call to county residents. In January, 1944, the County Board of Supervisors established a Committee for Interracial Progress. Two years later it was renamed the Committee for Human Relations. Following national recognition for its effective work to improve intergroup relations, the Committee became an official agency of County government in 1958 and was renamed the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. The Commission is among the oldest and largest of its kind in the U.S.
Each County Supervisor appoints three Commissioners who serve multi-year terms. The 15-member Commission meets each month. A staff of professional and support personnel in the County’s Department of Workforce Development, Aging, and Community Services executes the Commission’s programmatic work. The Commission’s signature projects include the annual Hate Crime Report and the annual John Anson Ford Human Relations Awards which recognize exemplary practices and exceptional leadership in human relations work.
About Vic Gerami
Vic Gerami is an award-winning journalist and the editor + publisher of The Blunt Post. Gerami is also the host and co-producer of the national headline news + politics program, THE BLUNT POST with VIC on KPFK 90.7 FM (Pacifica Network).
Most recently, Gerami wrote, directed, and produce the journalistic documentary feature film, ‘Motherland,’ about Azerbaijan’s, Turkey’s unprovoked genocidal attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020 and the massacre of 5,000+ people, and the two nations’ ongoing campaign of hate, violence, and disinformation against the indigenous Armenians. Here is a sneak peek at the film’s 5-minute sizzle.
Today reaching national and international audiences, Gerami first built a foundation of knowledge and skills by learning the media industry during his years at Frontiers Magazine, followed by positions at LA Weekly and Voice Media Group.
Gerami’s radio program, TBPV, covers national, regional, and local headline news, politics, and current events, and Gerami offers analysis and commentary. He also interviews a high-profile member of Congress or other high-profile public figures on each show. His recent guests include Congressman Adam Schiff, Senator Bob Menendez, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Governor Howard Dean, Congresswoman Katie Porter, Congressman Brad Sherman, Congressman Mike Levin, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Congresswoman Judy Chu, LA District Attorney George Gascon, among many others. You can listen to all the interviews here.
Gerami is also a contributor to some of the most prominent publications in the nation, including Windy City Times, Bay Area Reporter, Armenian Mirror-Spectator, The Advocate, The Immigrant Magazine, GoWeHo, Destination Luxury, OUT Traveler, The Fight, and among others.
The Wall Street Journal featured Gerami as a “leading gay activist” in its landmark 2008 coverage of opposition to Proposition 8, the ballot measure that for years denied same-sex couples in California the freedom to marry. In addition to his years of volunteer work as a leading advocate for marriage equality, Gerami served as a Planning Committee member for the historic Resist March in 2017.
In 2015, Gerami was referenced in the landmark Supreme Court civil rights case, Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court held in a 5–4 decision that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process and the Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
https://gagrule.net/truth-and-accountability-league-taal-brings-elected-officials-experts-and-community-leaders-together-to-discuss-anti-armenian-racist-flyers-in-beverly-hills-and-glendale/
Palestine, Jordan suspends recognition of Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
RAMALLAH, Friday, (WAFA) – Palestine and Jordan Thursday suspended their recognition of Archbishop Nourhan Manougian as the Patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, the Holy Land and Jordan.
According to the Jordan News Agency, both countries issued a joint statement suspending their recognition of Manougian as Patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church because of Manougian's "dealings" with the real estate of the Armenian quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The statement noted that the two countries had decided to suspend their recognition following instructions from President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II after Manougian took real estate measures and deals that would affect the future of Jerusalem without agreement and consultation with the relevant parties.
The decision, according to the statement, came after the "deal" related to the al-Bustan site known as the "Cow Garden" and its surroundings, which extends to the "Al-Qishla" building in Bab al-Khalil, which constitutes a large part of the Armenian quarter.
Both countries stressed that the site constitutes an integral part of the Old City of Jerusalem, a part of the territories occupied since June 1967, and to which United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions, including UNSC Resolution 1515, UNSC Resolution 476, UNSC Resolution 338 and UNSC Resolution 2334, apply.
The statement also noted that the Executive Board of UNESCO has issued several resolutions, recognizing the Old City and its walls as part of the endangered World Heritage list. The actions of Patriarch Manougian were considered a clear violation of international charters and resolutions aimed at preserving Jerusalem’s status quo and safeguarding the Armenian heritage of the city, the statement said.
In November 2021, Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister, Riyad Malki, raised the issue of the leasing the “Goveroun Bardez” plot of land, located in the historic Armenian Quarter of East Jerusalem and owned by the Armenian Patriarchate Jerusalem, to the Israeli occupation authorities, namely the Jerusalem municipality and Jerusalem Development Authority, with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, in Paris.
At the time, Malki underscored the gravity of the transaction, which would open the door for the gradual encroachment of Israel’s settler-colonialism into the Aremian Quarter in Jerusalem.
He urged the Armenian Foreign Ministry to intervene to protect the properties of the Armenian Church in the Old City, stop any action that can affect its legal and historic status and safeguard the Palestinian people and Armenians’ rights to the Old City.
The top Palestinian diplomat stressed the need for the Armenian Foreign Ministry to take prompt action and exert pressures in order to cancel this “suspicious transaction”, which risks accelerating the obliteration of the Palestinian, Muslim and Christian, character of Jerusalem.
K.F.
Armenpress: Artsakh MFA issued a statement regarding the environmental disaster provoked by Azerbaijan, asking for UNSC intervention
21:31, 8 May 2023
YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh issued a statement regarding the imminent environmental disaster provoked by Azerbaijan. As ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Artsakh, the statement reads as follows,
“For almost five months now, the Republic of Artsakh has been under siege, accompanied by an unlawful transport and energy blockade, as one of the main instruments of the ethnic cleansing policy consistently and systematically pursued by Azerbaijan at the state level. As part of this policy, the Azerbaijani authorities are trying not only to create unbearable socio-economic conditions, but also artificially provoke an environmental disaster and undermine the foundations of sustainable development of Artsakh.
In particular, Azerbaijan is still preventing the repair of the damaged Aghavno-Berdzor section of the only high-voltage power line running from Armenia to Artsakh. To deepen the energy crisis, Azerbaijan has also regularly disrupted the supply of natural gas from Armenia to Artsakh. It has been two months since the last cut off. As a result, the hydroelectric power plant on the Sarsang reservoir became the only means to mitigate the energy crisis, however, the continued Azerbaijani policy of siege and energy blockade resulted in the release of an unprecedented amount of water from the reservoir to generate the electricity needed for the besieged population of Artsakh during the cold winter period.
The authorities of Artsakh have repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community to the fact that the continued deliberate obstruction by Azerbaijan of natural gas and electricity supply from Armenia to Artsakh will lead to disastrous consequences, in particular for the Sarsang reservoir, which is the largest and most critically important source of freshwater in Artsakh. Shallowing of the Sarsang reservoir will have serious environmental consequences for the entire ecosystem of the region, and will deprive the population of both Artsakh and some regions of Azerbaijan of water resources necessary for normal life activity.
By creating prerequisites for the shallowing of the Sarsang reservoir and provoking an environmental disaster, the Azerbaijani authorities are pursuing several goals, including creating unbearable living conditions in Artsakh and preparing the ground for accusations of unscrupulous use of water resources as a pretext for new military provocations.
We emphasise again that due to the ongoing unlawful and aggressive actions of Azerbaijan, the humanitarian situation in the Republic of Artsakh and the overall military-political situation in the region are rapidly deteriorating. In the current extremely dangerous situation, we consider it absolutely necessary to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, as well as the immediate and resolute intervention of the international community and, first of all, the UN Security Council, to prevent the continuation of massive and systematic violations of human rights in Artsakh and to stop the criminal plans and genocidal intentions of Azerbaijan”.
Energy crisis looms in Nagorno-Karabakh as reservoir levels fall
May 8 2023
8 May 2023
Sarsang reservoir. Photo: Ani Balayan/CivilNet
As Nagorno-Karabakh continues to experience gas and electricity cuts in its fifth month under blockade, the region’s largest water reservoir faces depletion, threatening to leave the region without the hydroelectric power it depends on.
Government officials on Saturday announced that the water volume of the Sarsang reservoir in northern Nagorno-Karabakh was at its lowest in 30 years.
The reservoir’s water level has fallen by 25 metres since it became the main source of electricity for over 120,000 people living in the region, which has been under blockade since December 2022.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been relying on domestically produced electricity since January, after wires carrying electricity from Armenia were damaged in areas under Azerbaijani control.
While accusing Azerbaijani authorities of not allowing repair crews to approach the damaged area, the authorities in Stepanakert took action by introducing rolling power cuts and increasing the volume of electricity produced by hydropower.
Nagorno-Karabakh has also faced repeated gas cuts since the sole road connecting the region to Armenia was blocked in mid-December, and residents of the region have had to use electricity for heating.
The latest gas cut to the region is ongoing, having begun around two months ago on 22 March.
According to the director of Sarsang Hydropower Plant, Grigor Grigoryan, the volume of electricity produced by the plant in the past month and a half was more than two and a half times higher than in the same period the previous year.
The head of the Artsakh Water Committee, Georgi Hayriyan, told RFE/RL that, if the issue of falling water levels in the reservoir was not resolved, the region might not have enough electricity for the summer months and that producing electricity in winter would be ‘out of the question’.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s State Minister, Gurgen Nersisyan, stated on 6 May that the region’s electricity was provided by six hydroelectric power plants, ‘of which the Sarsang reservoir power plant alone accounts for about 70% of the total capacity’.
‘Before the interruption of the electricity supply by Azerbaijan, domestic production met about 30% of demand’, wrote Nersisyan. ‘From 9 January, in order to meet the minimum energy needs of the population, the government of Artsakh had to introduce a number of additional measures, including the suspension of the work of all major business enterprises, daily rolling blackouts, operation at maximum capacity of all existing power plants, etc’.
While noting that dry weather had led to the water flow into the reservoir to halve, the State Minister stated that Azerbaijan was responsible for disrupting the electricity supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, and described this as ‘economic, humanitarian, and ecological terrorism’.
He added that the reservoir’s water resources were reaching a ‘critical limit’ of 88 million cubic metres, approaching an ‘unusable’ volume of 70 million cubic metres.
Nersisyan also argued that the depletion of the reservoir would negatively impact people in Azerbaijan, claiming that the reservoir provided water used to irrigate around 96,000 hectares (960 square kilometres) of agricultural land in Azerbaijan.
The announcement came as Alexander Lentsov, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces appointed two weeks ago, launched a round of talks with Azerbaijan aimed at lifting the blockade. Shortly before Lentsov’s appointment, Azerbaijan installed a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor.
Speaking in a Sunday cabinet meeting, Nagorno-Karabakh’s State Minister stated that the first round of negotiations had not yielded any results, but that another meeting was set to be held in the near future.
Armenia and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministers spent four days in Washington last week, negotiating the possible normalisation of relations with the mediation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. While the US State Department reported that progress had been made in the talks, Yerevan stated that disagreements over key issues remained unresolved.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later clarified that one of the main disagreements was over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Pashinyan is expected to meet with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels this weekend.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.