Author: Arpi Talalian

Nagorno-Karabakh asks ICRC to evacuate hemodialysis patients as hospitals run out of life-saving drugs

Arpi Talalian

 20:05,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Acute shortage of medications and medical supplies has been growing ever since Azerbaijan imposed a complete blockade upon Nagorno-Karabakh(Artsakh). In order to transport patients receiving hemodialysis to specialized medical facilities in Armenia, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Artsakh has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross ,otherwise the patients will die after a week of not receiving the necessary care and medication, the Healthcare Ministry of Artsakh said in a press release.

In the Republican Medical Center, a total of 41 patients were continuously receiving hemodialysis, 19 of them were evacuated by the ICRC office of the Republic of Armenia in recent days, and another 10 will be evacuated tomorrow. Twelve of these patients declined their opportunity of transportation.

“ In about two weeks the medical supplies needed for hemodialysis will run out, which has forced us to opt for the possibility of evacuating patients. Without hemodialysis the level of nitrogen in the patient’s body will drastically rise, leading to their death in about a week of time. Patients who suffer from the terminal stage of acute and chronic kidney failure have been severely affected by the blockade as they can’t follow a special diet, adding additional dangers for their life and health” said anesthesiologist-reanimatologist K. Avagimyan.

“I am bedridden, I have a caregiver at home. I want to live, people like me also deserve to live. World, please help the people of Artsakh and the all help all seriously ill people to survive. I can’t go to Yerevan in this state and receive treatment, because I want to die confined to my wheelchair here in Artsakh and be buried in my own cemetery. – said 64-year-old Vera Hovsepyan, who lost her eyesight due to diabetes, cannot walk and has been receiving hemodialysis for the past five years.

When suppression of kidney function becomes life-threatening, dialysis or kidney transplantation is performed. Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. The method is used in the terminal stage of severe kidney failure when the kidneys no longer perform their function.

For a long time, Azerbaijan has been hindering the transportation of vital medicines and medical supplies to Artsakh by Red Cross vehicles. As a result, life-saving and other critically needed medicines and supplies are increasingly lacking, leading to deaths and deteriorating health conditions.

AW: ANC of Rhode Island secures third Friendship City between Smithfield, RI and Stepanakert, Artsakh

Arpi Talalian
 ANCA-Eastern Region Community News, Diaspora, ANCA News 0

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Armenian National Committee of Rhode Island (ANC-RI) welcomed the establishment of its third Friendship City this year between Smithfield and Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh. The Friendship City was established at a Smithfield, Rhode Island Town Council meeting on Tuesday, August 8.

ANC-RI leadership, including Stephen Elmasian, George Mangalo and Rhode Island State Senator David Tikoian, led the charge in securing the Friendship City with Smithfield Town Council President T. Michael Lawton. 

“Being so far from Artsakh and the Caucasus doesn’t mean that we still can’t voice our cause and our fight for Artsakh’s freedom and right to self-determination. As long as this unjust and immoral crime against humanity – the blockade – continues, rest assured, the ANC of Rhode Island will not cease in its fight to restore dignity and life to the people of Artsakh. We welcome the Town Council of Smithfield’s support and decision to stand on the right side of history as we battle for the voiceless, no matter how many thousands of miles apart Artsakh and Smithfield are,” Sen. Tikoian said. 

Smithfield, a town north of Providence, is home to a quaint Armenian American community, as well as to Sen. Tikoian. Smithfield’s dedication to Armenian Americans runs deep – the town flies the Armenian flag every April 24 in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

“As we welcome another Friendship City between Rhode Island and our compatriots in Artsakh, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of our supporters in this initiative. Every Friendship City agreement that we establish on a local level echoes forever throughout the region, as we create more incentive, highlighting the true power of grassroots activism. With each forthcoming agreement, we hope to raise our voices louder throughout the Eastern Region simultaneously as our activists continue to draw greater attention to this ongoing genocide in Artsakh,” said ANC-RI co-chair Elmasian.

Stepanakert has been under attack since 2020, and most recently, the people of Stepanakert have been living in dire conditions due to Azerbaijan’s deadly blockade, which has gone on for over 240 days. The ongoing blockade has limited life-supporting essentials such as food, medicine and electricity, igniting a humanitarian crisis of magnanimous proportions. 

Friendship Cities with Artsakh have been established in the Eastern Region between Granite City, Illinois, and Ashan, Republic of Artsakh; Cranston, Rhode Island, and Stepanakert, Republic of Artsakh; North Providence, Rhode Island and Jardar, Republic of Artsakh; and now, Smithfield, Rhode Island and Stepanakert, Republic of Artsakh.

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The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots organization, the ANCA. Working in coordination with the ANCA in Washington, DC, and a network of chapters and supporters throughout the Eastern United States, the ANCA-ER actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


Armenia requests UN Security Council emergency meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh

Arpi Talalian

 11:44,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. On August 11, the Republic of Armenia appealed to the United Nations Security Council with a request to convene an emergency meeting regarding the deterioration of the humanitarian situation as a result of the total blockade inflicted upon the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign ministry reported.

Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, Mher Margaryan, in a letter addressed to the President of the UN Security Council, particularly stated:

“Further to the letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia addressed to the President of the Security Council dated 12 July 2023, I am writing in relation to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation as a result of the total blockade inflicted upon the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The severe shortage of essential goods, including food, medicine and fuel, has been exacerbated since June 15, 2023, when Azerbaijan fully blocked the Lachin corridor – the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the outer world – by banning any access to Nagorno-Karabakh, even humanitarian. The continued deliberate obstruction of natural gas and electricity supply to Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan has been detrimental for the daily life of the people.

“The suspension of all humanitarian supplies coupled with the gradual utilization of limited domestic stocks, targeted shootings of agricultural areas by Azerbaijani Armed Forces, has resulted in an acute food shortage and closures of shops. Due to the lack of essential food and vitamins, approximately 2,000 pregnant women, around 30,000 children, 20,000 older persons, and 9,000 persons with disabilities are struggling to survive under conditions of malnutrition.

“People with chronic diseases, including 4,687 individuals with diabetes and 8,450 individuals with circulatory diseases, are left almost without any medicine needed. As a result of this situation there has been a recorded increase of mortality from several diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms. From January to July, compared to the same period of the previous year, the level of anemia among pregnant women under medical observation has reached around 90%. This is due to inadequate nutrition and the absence or insufficiency of appropriate medications. Moreover, the hot weather conditions and absence of sanitizers and medicine create risks of epidemics in the region.

“As a result, today the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe.

“These actions of Azerbaijan constitute a flagrant violation not only of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020 but also of international humanitarian law and are in direct breach of the Orders issued by the International Court of Justice on 22 February and 6 July 2023, according to which Azerbaijan should “take all measures to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”

“The deliberate creation of unbearable life conditions for the population is nothing but an act of mass atrocity targeting the indigenous people of Nagorno-Karabakh and forcing them to leave their homes and homeland. Such an infliction of collective punishment upon the people of Nagorno-Karabakh constitutes an existential threat to them should they be left alone vis-a-vis the Azerbaijani aggressive policy.

“Under current circumstances, the Government of Armenia requests the intervention of the UN Security Council as a principal body of safeguarding global security and preventing mass atrocities including war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and genocide.

“With reference to my letter dated 13 September 2022 addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2022/688), and in follow up to the meeting of the Security Council held on 20 December 2022, I would like to request that an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council be convened based on Article 35 (1) of the UN Charter.

“I also ask that the delegation of Armenia be allowed to participate in the Council’s meeting in accordance with the relevant provisions of the United Nations Charter and pursuant to rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Security Council.

“Please, accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.”

Film: ‘Aurora’s Sunrise’ Review: A Patchwork Record of the Armenian Genocide

Arpi Talalian
The New York Times
Aug 10 2023

CRITIC’S PICK

This standout documentary combines archival footage and animated re-enactments to share one survivor’s memories.


By Teo Bugbee
The documentary “Aurora’s Sunrise” shares the great and terrible story of Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian survivor of the genocide that began in 1915. Aurora was 14 years old and living in a small town in the Ottoman Empire when the violence started. Her peaceful life was obliterated when her father and brother were rounded up and murdered by Ottoman Turk soldiers. Aurora was then forced into a death march across the desert of what is now Syria. She survived weeks of the march and two years of subsequent violence. Aurora witnessed unimaginable atrocities: rivers teeming with corpses, children begging for their lives, bandits pillaging the caravans of survivors.

Aurora escaped these horrors through the aid of Armenian resistance groups. Her survival already made her a rarity, but Aurora’s most improbable achievement was that she was able to create a contemporary record of her own memories. This film follows Aurora’s story after she resettled in America and starred in the 1919 silent film, “Auction of Souls,” which dramatized the events of her own life. She never stopped sharing her memories, including in interviews that were filmed decades later.

Using many of the materials Aurora left behind, the documentary’s director, Inna Sahakyan, crafts a cohesive narrative of the woman’s life. Clips from “Auction of Souls” and footage from Aurora’s later interviews support animated re-enactments of her recorded memories. Despite the presence of material that is more than 100 years old, the parts using cutouts and rotoscoping (redolent of the 2008 war docudrama “Waltz With Bashir) are what feel the most dated. But even with that herky-jerky animation, the effect of Sahakyan’s compilation is still admirably seamless, and she creates a reconstructed, yet still personal record of a long-unrecognized genocide. The film’s coherence is a reflection of both the skill of the filmmaker, and the heroic efforts of Aurora herself to ensure that her view of history would not be forgotten.

Aurora’s Sunrise
Not rated. In Armenian, Turkish, English, German and Kurdish, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters.

NYT Critic’s Pick
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Director
Inna Sahakyan
Writers
Peter Liakhov, Kerstin Meyer-Beetz, Inna Sahakyan
Stars
Anzhelika Hakobyan, Arpi Petrossian, Shushan Abrahamyan, Seyran Akopov, Miqayel Aleksanyan
Rating
Not Rated
Running Time
1h 36m
Genres
Documentary, Animation
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/movies/auroras-sunrise-review.html

Maryland Legislators Boast of Securing Taxpayer Funding for Hostile Turkish Regime Institution

Arpi Talalian
Focus on Western Islamism
Aug 9 2023
BySam Westrop
August 9, 2023

Several Islamist institutions in Maryland, including the overseas arm of the Turkish regime’s religious directorate, are to receive hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s $2 billion dollar Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

On August 4, a delegation of Democrat Party Senators and Congressmen, led by Senator Chris Van Hollen, announced the provision of over $15 million of “preparedness grants to strengthen security at houses of worship in Maryland,” and provided a full list of the recipients and awarded amounts.

While most of the grants will benefit ordinary mosques, churches and other religious organizations, some of the money is benefiting institutions accused of radical ties. Most notably, the funding includes two grants to Maryland’s Turkish American Community Center, totaling almost $300,000.

Some of the funding announced by Senator Van Hollen
and other federal legislators from Maryland

The Turkish American Community Center is better known as the Diyanet, an enormous Islamic center comprising a mosque, school and other facilities, built just a few miles outside of Washington D.C.

The Diyanet in Maryland is an office of the Diyanet in Türkiye, which is the regime’s Directorate of Religious Affairs.

Critics argue that these regime arms are used to control and propagate Turkish regime Islamism, and even to spy on Turkish dissidents and critics of President Erdoğan.

Built with Turkish government monies, the center in Maryland was opened by Erdoğan himself in 2016, and has since served as an important staging ground for domestic Islamist influence operations in the nation’s capital.

Georgetown academic Ahmet Yayla concludes that, around the world, Diyanet religious sermons serve to advance Turkish foreign policy and Turkish Islamism, with Diyanet officials declaring Turkish military actions “as the highest level of jihad.”

The regime uses the Diyanet to bend American Islam to its will. Following the purported coup attempt in 2016, Turkish government officials visited the Diyanet in Maryland to “brief [American] Muslim leaders” on the regime’s questionable narrative about the coup. These “Muslim leaders,” who seemingly attended without question, were all top officials of prominent American Islamist organizations.

The Diyanet regularly runs events with extremist preachers. One such speaker is Mufti Hussein Kamani, invited to address the institution in February 2021.

Kamani, an imam from the hardline Deobandi sect, is among the most extreme preachers in the United States. In a talk hosted elsewhere, titled “Sex, Masturbation and Islam,” Kamani explained that Muslim men may fulfill any sexual desires “with a female slave that belongs to him.”

Those who commit adultery or have sex outside of marriage, Kamani has declared, must be “stoned to death.” And when Muslim husbands are learning to “train their wives,” beating them, Kamani concedes, should only be a “last measure.”

FWI has contacted Senator Van Hollen’s office, to ask if legislators were aware of the Diyanet’s extremist activities, and if official outposts of unfriendly foreign governments should be provided with taxpayers’ money. Any response will be appended to this coverage.

The selection of some other recipients for federal funding is also sparking concern. The Islamic Society of Baltimore, for instance, will receive $150,000, despite its well-documented extremist past.

The mosque’s former imam, Mohammad Adam el-Sheikh, served as an official of a designated Al-Qaeda funding charity. As uncovered by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, former webpages for the mosque openly praised the “jihad” in Chechnya, and promoted Salafi-jihadist figures such as Abdullah Azzam.

In recent years, the Islamic Society of Baltimore has continued to promote extremist speakers, even inviting hardline clerics, such as Mufti Hussein Kamani, to address students at its full-time school.

Armenian foreign ministry highlights critical role of free, objective coverage of blockade against Azeri propaganda

Arpi Talalian

 12:10,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. The free and objective coverage of the inhumane blockade of Lachin Corridor and the real goal of Azerbaijan plays a critical role against Azerbaijan’s continuous propaganda, Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan has said.

Badalyan posted the international media coverage on the report by Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court who warned that Azerbaijan’s blockade of Lachin Corridor constitutes genocide.

“Int’l media writing about worsening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh, also with reference to conclusions by former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Free & objective coverage of inhuman blockade of Lachin Corridor & of Azerbaijan’s real goal play critical role against AZ continuous propaganda,” Badalyan said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures, Iranian Ambassador discuss joint projects

Arpi Talalian

 14:10,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan has met with the new Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Sobhani.

Minister Sanosyan welcomed the newly appointed ambassador and wished him success during his mission in Armenia, the ministry said in a readout. Both sides attached importance to the warm, friendly Armenian-Iranian relations and the need to develop it.

“I am happy to note that our relations are developing with good pace, but there is great potential to develop and enhance the relations in other directions as well,” Sanosyan said, highlighting the importance of the existing cooperation in the energy sector.

The course of joint projects was discussed during the meeting. Sanosyan attached importance to the need for completing the projects in the defined timeframes. The need for a speedy completion of the construction of the third power transmission line between Iran and Armenia was underscored. The Iranian Ambassador said he will make sure that the work implemented in Armenia gets completed within the defined timeframes.

Both sides attached importance to the involvement of Iranian construction companies in construction processes taking place in Armenia. Issues related to road construction and mining were also discussed.

Defense Minister, outgoing EU ambassador discuss monitoring mission and regional security

Arpi Talalian

 17:04, 4 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan has held a meeting with the outgoing Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin.

The Ministry of Defense said in a readout that Papikyan and Wiktorin discussed “a number of issues related to the activity of the EU monitoring mission and regional security.”

Karabakh Cease-fire Accord: Azerbaijan Demands Russian Accountability

Arpi Talalian
NewsTrackLive
ByANIKET DIXIT


Baku: On Sunday, Azerbaijan accused Russia of failing to uphold its end of a 2020 cease-fire deal that Moscow mediated to put an end to hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Russian government “did nothing to prevent” Armenian military supplies from reaching separatist forces in the troubled enclave, according to the foreign ministry of Baku. “The Russian side did not ensure full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations,” the ministry added.

A cease-fire sponsored by Russia in the autumn of 2020 put an end to six weeks of fighting over the mountainous breakaway region.

As part of the agreement, large areas of Armenian territory were ceded, and Russia sent peacekeepers to the five-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor, the only land route connecting the enclave to Armenia.

The corridor was recently closed by Baku, setting off protests and fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Russia’s foreign ministry pleaded with Azerbaijan to reopen the tunnel on Saturday.

The declaration added that Armenia’s recent recognition of Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan “has radically changed the standing of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”

“Under such conditions, the responsibility for the destiny of Karabakh’s Armenian population should not be shifted onto third countries,” it stated, possibly alluding to the Armenian separatists’ demands that Moscow ensure the reopening of the land link.

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, met on Saturday in Brussels for negotiations to end their long-running conflict over control of Karabakh. The negotiations were facilitated by the EU.

With the assistance of the European Union and the United States, whose escalating diplomatic activity in the Caucasus has irked Russia, Baku and Yerevan have been attempting to negotiate a peace agreement.

Moscow on Saturday offered to host the foreign ministers of the two nations and suggested that their future peace treaty could be signed there in an effort to reassert its power-broking position.

Despite the efforts of Russian peacekeeping troops, Baku’s aggression is gaining new scale. Supreme Spiritual Council

Arpi Talalian

 20:51,

YEREVAN, 14 JULY, ARMENPRESS․ The Supreme Spiritual Council issued a statement regarding the difficult situation in Artsakh, considering it deeply worrying that, despite the efforts made by the Russian peacekeeping force, Azerbaijani aggression is gaining new scale, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Mother See.

The statement says: “We note with indignation that the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh is deepening as a result of Azerbaijan’s continued belligerent and Armenaphobic actions and the complete blockade of Artsakh. It is deeply worrying that, contrary to the efforts of the Russian peacekeeping troops, Azerbaijani aggression is gaining new scale.

In the difficult situation, when the people of Artsakh are deprived of supplies of necessary food, medicine and vital supplies and face the genocidal actions of Azerbaijan, we appeal to the co-chair countries of the Minsk Group, the member states of the European Union, to urgently take preventive actions, including sanctions against Azerbaijan, so that first, to unblock the road of life of Artsakh, the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor, and to restore normal life in the Republic of Artsakh. It is necessary for the international community to take the most practical steps to condemn the inhumane and hostile policy of Azerbaijan directed against the people of Artsakh. Peace cannot be established in Artsakh under coercion and threats of reprisals.

We appeal to the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to give up concessive approach, show determination and ensure a resolution of the situation with the comprehensive application of fundamental human rights, which will become a guarantee for the independent, safe and dignified life of the people of Artsakh in their homeland.

We urge all our people in Armenia and in the Diaspora to continue making efforts with undiminished consistency in support of the Artsakh world and its God-believing and heroic people.

May God bless our country Armenia and Artsakh and our people around the world.”