Today is the 5th round of the men’s European Individual Chess Championship in Skopje.
Armenian national team member Hrant Melkumyan, who is half a point behind the leaders, will play against Israel’s Alexander Huzman. Robert Hovhannisyan will meet with Davit Harutyunyan, who is representing Georgia.
By
After decades of ethnic conflict, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are preparing to meet to try to resolve their long-term clash over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Observers have many reasons to be skeptical that yet another one-off meeting will lead to a thaw at long last.
However, something significant has changed since the last such push. A year ago, Armenian protesters brought down a prime minister, leading to free elections last December. Some evidence suggests that democratic societies are more likely to seek peace with their neighbors — and are most likely to achieve it if civil society groups are allowed to reach out and form contacts across borders before the formal negotiations.
Here’s what you need to know about what has happened, and what comes next.
1. A brief history of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Between Armenia and Azerbaijan lies a contested territory controlled by an unrecognized state called the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), which is supported, but not recognized, by the Armenian government — and is claimed by Azerbaijan.
In 1921, the Soviet Union joined this Armenian-majority highland enclave with Soviet-controlled Azerbaijan, separating the Armenians as part of Stalin’s divide-and-conquer strategies. In the late 1980s, as Moscow loosened its controls over the Soviet empire under perestroika, ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began campaigning to rejoin Armenia, agitating for democracy, human rights and self-rule — one of the early cracks that brought down the Soviet Union.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh formally voted to secede from Azerbaijan — prompting armed conflict between Armenia and the Armenian-majority population on one hand and Azerbaijan on the other. In 1994, after 30,000 people on both sides had died and more than 1 million refugees fled the violence, the two countries signed a shaky cease-fire agreement. Observers consider the standoff to be neither war nor peace, and it simmers with low but persistent levels of violence at the border.
2. The democratic wave in Armenia
Last April, Armenia’s parliamentary opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan led a mass nonviolent civil disobedience campaign that forced the prime minister to resign. For decades, Armenia had been “a soft authoritarian state in which the ruling elite … closely controlled political and economic opportunities,” as political scientists Mariam Matevosyan and Graeme Robertson explained here at TMC a year ago. By December, the protesters had forced free elections that put Pashinyan and his pro-democracy party in power. As I’ll explain below, that gave observers some hope that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be resolved.
[Armenian protesters brought down a prime minister. This is why they were in the streets.]
In recent months, the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, has mediated diplomatic efforts between the two sides. Armenia and Azerbaijan had been accusing each other of frequently violating the cease-fire with shootings, mortar attacks and use of other heavy weaponry that kills and wounds soldiers and civilians alike. Such attacks have ceased since Armenia’s democratic transition last year.
The global track record of this type of single-shot peace agreement sought by the OSCE Minsk Group has been mixed, as has the efficacy of external peace negotiators. Russia, one of the mediating parties, has continued to sell weapons to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has continued to threaten war and economic isolation to try to force negotiating concessions. And Armenia has continued to insist that it will not withdraw from the seven disputed districts it controls around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Past diplomatic rounds were followed by only temporary thaws. Many analysts and peace advocates remain skeptical about this most recent diplomatic opening, too.
3. Here’s what may now be different
Armenia’s democratic breakthrough may have shifted leaders’ incentives on both sides. Now two countries in the region, Armenia and Georgia, its neighbor to the north, embrace democracy.
Recent studies suggest that when a region has more democracies, the probability of conflict and aggression tends to go down. Democratic societies favor peaceful interactions with their neighbors. They tend to advance cooperation and compromise in their regions. And democratic societies are more likely to support one another’s shared goals of human rights and economic interests in bigger markets. That weakens support for military “solutions” to conflicts.
But that’s not enough by itself. Research also suggests that peace agreements are more likely to be implemented if all parties involved in a conflict are included in the peace process. What’s needed now are ways to engage the groups most affected by the conflict: rural communities near the conflict lines, women, refugees and Nagorno-Karabakh itself, all of which have been left out of negotiations over the years. Studies have shown that single-shot, top-down peace deals often fail — unless the parties simultaneously build broad-based connections among societies.
Of course, calling for contacts between people while militaries continue patrolling the borders, and without regionwide security guarantees, is unrealistic. All affected parties in the region — including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh itself, nongovernmental organizations, civil-society groups and others need to be involved in crafting broader regional security agreements and institutions. Regional security structures that incorporate all such interests are necessary to support and enable a sustainable peace agreement. Otherwise, connections across conflict lines will remain shallow and limited, and formal peace agreements between governments short-lived.
Such regional security can take the form of regionwide rules, treaties, pacts or issue-focused organizations. They can enable community leaders to work together on shared problems — such as drug trafficking, rural poverty, distorted trade routes, water cooperation or preserving cultural heritage sites — across conflict lines.
Building such connections in the region can help shift diplomacy away from short-term concessions and focus it instead on longer-term, regionwide issues of bread-and-butter governance. Such multilateral forums can dilute the rivalry between Armenia and Azerbaijan, helping various social groups build trust and connections across conflict lines — before international mediators and governing elites ask their people for concessions. Regionwide security guarantees can clarify and affirm nonviolence as a foundational principle for the region, and create the political stability needed to enable deeper diplomacy around the conflict itself.
Anna Ohanyan is Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, editor of “Russia Abroad: Driving Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia and Beyond” (Georgetown University Press, 2018), and author of “Networked Regionalism as Conflict Management” (Stanford University Press, 2015).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/20/long-last-peace-might-be-possible-between-armenia-azerbaijan-heres-whats-needed/?utm_term=.ae30293e893c
Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Dashgin Shikarov has reportedly appropriated 10 jars of caviar intended as a gift from the Azerbaijani government to Ruler of Abu Dhabi Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In addition, a special commission has been set up at the Azerbaijani Embassy in Abu Dhabi to probe the disappearance of half a million dollars, suspected to have been seized, Azerbaijan media reported.
Shikarov is a highly experienced diplomat. Previously, he headed the diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He began serving as Azerbaijani ambassador to the UAE in January 2016.
After this discovery, the Azerbaijani president is said to have recalled the ambassador.
The case once again comes to prove that Azerbaijan proceeds with its ‘caviar diplomacy.’
ArmInfo.Soldier Karen Karapetyan, born in 2000, died from a gunshot wound in a military unit in the northern direction of the Artsakh Defense Army on March 12, at about 06:50 am under unexplained circumstances.
Artsakh Armed Forces told ArmInfo that the investigation is underway.
WASHINGTON, March 9 — Rep. Brad Sherman, D-California, issued the following speech, which was published in the Congressional Record on March 7, commemorating the 1988 Sumgait pogroms against the Armenian community:
Madam Speaker, I stand in solidarity with the Armenian American community in commemorating the February 1988 Sumgait Pogroms. Thirty-one years ago in the Azerbaijani town of Sumgait, peaceful Armenian residents were brutally targeted on the basis of their ethnicity and subjected to unspeakable crimes. In March 1988, The Economist reported the atrocities and documented the murder and mutilation of pregnant Armenian women and newborn babies in a maternity hospital. Other mainstream media reports from the time speak of Azerbaijani mobs hunting down Armenian families and committing murder, rape and property theft.
The Sumgait Pogroms were the beginning of an escalation of violence against the Armenian minority, with a wave of anti-Armenian violence spreading to Kirovabad in November 1988 and to Baku in January 1990, which culminated in the forcible expulsion of 390,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan and the 1991-94 war over Artsakh (the former Nagorno Karabakh).
In response to the Sumgait and Kirovabad pogroms, Nobel Prize-winning dissident, nuclear physicist and human rights activist, Andrei Sakharov, appealed to the international community to condemn the atrocities and prevent further violence by stating: “Armenian people are again facing the threat of genocide. The events in Sumgait and Kirovabad may be its beginning. This must not be allowed to happen!” (November 26, 1988, The New York Times)
The government of Azerbaijan must be held accountable by the international community for the pogroms committed against its minority Armenian population, and I will continue to work in Congress to shed light on and learn the lessons of such atrocities.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 1
Trend:
New opportunities have emerged for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as stated in an interview with the “Voice of America” (VOA) radio station by James Warlick, former US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Warlick said that the current new situation opens up new opportunities for resolving the conflict.
Speaking about the “new situation”, the ex-co-chair added that he was referring to new opportunities which have appeared with the change of power in Armenia, saying that he is sure that, in these conditions, the co-chairs are “working towards” organizing an official meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Melkon Melkonian is a member of the ARF Western U.S. Central Committee
BY MELKON MELKONIAN
On February 24, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western U.S. Central Committee celebrated the 128th anniversary of the party’s establishment. During the event, the ARF Central Committee’s message was delivered by its member Melkon Melkonian. Below is the speech.
We are gathered here to celebrate the 128th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
Why?
Why are any of us here and why does this 128 year old organization matter?
Furthermore, what is the Tashnagtsutyun? Who is the Tashnagtstagan?
Many of us here, have answers to these and other such questions for ourselves and for those who ask. But it seems finding and justifying these answers have proven to be increasingly difficult.
Over the past year, since the last time we gathered here in front of our people to deliver our message, a lot has happened. Many changes have taken place here in our region and our homeland. Changes that asked of our people to stand together to demand a better life for themselves and our nation. Changes that gave birth to a new generation of Armenian activists. Young men and women of conviction, striving to a better future.
However, this type of change is never easy. Revolution is never easy. A peaceful, Velvet Revolution is even harder. But our people accomplished just that. And each and every Armenian can be proud of that. The Tashnagtsutyun is proud of our people.
But during these uncertain times, some people questioned the decisions and position of the ARF; not toward the political or social climate within Armenia, but they questioned the ARF’s intentions toward the homeland. That is where we draw the line.
You may not agree with our politics or methods. You may not agree with our policies or decisions. But let me declare to you, the ARF is and it remains dedicated with all its might to the protection, preservation, and prosperity of our people and Homeland. Believing and tirelessly working towards a free, independent and united Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk.
The Western United States Central Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, through that creed, sees itself as an organization that leads and protects the interests of our people in our region. But leading does not come through dictating our will on our people. The ARF leads by service. The ARF leads through its work. This organization that was founded 128 years ago, was born through the struggles of its people; was born through the will of its people; and was born to serve the people.
So then, what is the Tashnagtsutyun?
The Tashnagtsutyun was born under of Nationalist, Socialist, Democratic, and Revolutionary principles.
Nationalist, not to favor ourselves over any other nation, but to love our people, to protect the rights of our people, and be proud of our history and heritage.
Socialist, because we believe in Social Justice. We believe in the betterment of the quality of life our people; we believe that the rights of ordinary individuals must be preserved and protected. The safety and security of our nation is tied to the social equality and justice for our people.
Democratic, because we believe in the rule of law through democracy and democratic principles. To ensure that the will and voice of the people are safeguarded from tyranny and autocracy.
And finally Revolutionary; not for the sake of a revolution or opposition; but the belief in change. The belief that we as an organization and a people can strive and struggle to be better, to grow and prosper. And perhaps it is this last principles that ties all the others together. To be revolutionary is to dare to act when others retreat; it is to do what is right even when it is not popular; it is to struggle for the National, Social and Democratic rights of our people and not spare any effort to achieve those goals.
We believe in a safe and prosperous homeland.
We believe in the just resolution for the crime of the Armenian Genocide.
We believe in an independent and secure Artsakh.
We believe in a strong and vibrant Diaspora.
And we believe in protecting and fighting for the rights of our people wherever they may be.
Who is the Tashnagtsagan?
One of our great leaders and thinkers, Hratch Dasnabedian, describes the Tashnagtsagan as a person of conviction. “A person who has not only filled him or herself with an ideal, or the selfless dedication to a social or political goal, but also to proactively and consistently contribute to the realization of those ideals.”
For the Tashnagtsagan it is not enough to proclaim devotion or love for the nation, he must also be willing to work, to go down in the trenches, and shed sweat and if need be blood for our people and homeland.
So for those who ask, what or what the Tashnagtsutyun is: It is that same organization who led the formation of the First Armenian Republic in 1918; it is that same organization that sough and executed justice for the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide; It is the same organization that organized and preserved our diasporas all over the world, by building schools, churches, and community centers to serve the needs of our people; it is the same organization that stopped at nothing to send aid to our brothers and sisters in Artsakh; it is the same organization that continues to tirelessly work for our people and nation.
As proud as we are of our history as an organization, as humbled as we find ourselves living in the shadow of all those who came before us, we do not simply continue to exist because of our past. We are a Revolutionary organization because we believe in our future. We believe that our best days are not behind us, but are here among us in the eyes of our youth. The strength of our organization, comes from that youth, and the belief that our work and service to that nation is not done.
Today standing before you, I do not want to merely recount our past successes, but I want to tell you—I must tell you—about our work and accomplishments; because as we celebrate today, we are also here to stand accountable to you, our people, from whom we were born, for who we exist. The success of that work does not belong to an individual, or even a group of individuals, it belongs to the collective strength of the ARF in our region. It belongs to our regional Gomidehyutyuns. It belongs to our youth, the Armenian Youth Federation. It belongs, to the Armenian National Committee. And it belongs to all of our sister organizations and countless volunteers who work tirelessly in service of our people.
Here are just of a few examples of the new initiatives that I would like to recognize tonight in our region and in our homeland:
These new programs join many others already in existence through our Gomideyutyuns, such as day camps, social service programs, educational seminars or fundraising for our local schools and churches.
Not to mention all the others organized and executed by the AYF or the ANC, such as, The AYF Youth Corps program, founded to build a bridge between our homeland and the youth in our region, the AYF Summer Camp program, serving more than a thousand young Armenians each year, the AYF’s and Shant Student Association’s divest Turkey initiatives, to discourage investment into the republic of Turkey by the higher learning educational institutions in our region, the ANC’s internship program, developed to educate and encourage activism amongst our youth, as well as the many advocacy programs of the ANC and its local chapters.
Forgive me if I left out any other programs or activities that I should have mentioned. Our time to speak is short, and our work is a lot. But to all those volunteers, please accept our praise and gratitude.
This type of work or service to our people does not merely exist by chance. It is engrained into the very principles of our organization as I mentioned. Although much of this work has been around and initiated for some time now, it was further enforced and solidified when on January 24, 2019, the 33rd ARF World Congress declared that the ARF in the homeland and around the globe will dedicate its efforts towards Social Justice for our people through the established of programs and the newly formed ARF Office of Social Welfare.
The Central Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US, recommits itself to this effort and promises to continue and expand on this mission of service to our people.
Sireli Hayrenagtsiner, the work of building, strengthening and supporting our communities cannot be done by the ARF alone. It will require the dedication and commitment of all of us. We need you. The Nation needs you. Do not wait to be called up. Do not wait to be asked. Rise and lend a hand.
This is especially crucial in our region. The Western United States is the home of the most diverse and dynamic Armenian Diaspora in the world. We have communities old and new with rich histories and traditions, all woven together to create this home away from home. No one person or group represents us, yet we are one. The ARF has long been part of this rich history. And as long as we are here, we will continue to serve and protect these communities.
Thank You.