Author: Badalian Vardan

Nikolay Bordyuzha: CSTO cannot give military response to escalation of
tension along contact line of Azerbaijani-Armenian troops

by Tatevik Shahunyan
Friday, January 30, 18:07

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved only by peaceful means.
In connection with the escalation of tension in the conflict zone, in
2014 and before, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
repeatedly issued statements calling the parties for a peaceful
solution to the conflict, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha
said on Friday at a briefing in Rossiya Segodnya information agency.

According to APA’s Moscow correspondent, answering Armenian
journalist’s question on why the CSTO did not given any response to
what happened on the contact line of Azerbaijani-Armenian troops in
January 2014, Nikolay Bordyuzha said in 2014 and before, the CSTO and
Russia’s Foreign Ministry made numerous statements regarding the
escalation of tension in the conflict zone.

“The CSTO has clearly expressed its position through these statements.
Do you want us to give a military response? No, it is impossible and
contrary to the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization. The OSCE Minsk Group deals with the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The co-chair countries are making efforts
for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As for the
CSTO, it was chaired by Russia last year. In August 2014, the Russian
president met with presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi where
the sides underlined the importance of resolving the conflict only by
peaceful way. This is the position of the CSTO member states as well,”
he noted.

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Against the proposed Europe-wide legal ban on genocide denial

Posted: January 28, 2015 in anti-semitism and racism, genocide,
Israel / Palestine

Tags: anti-semitism, European Council on Toleration and
Reconciliation, genocide denial,Holocaust denial, Israeli ban on
Nakba, Nakba

I published this letter in the Guardian on 27 January 2015 (scroll
down for my letter):

‘The proposals of a European Council on Toleration and Reconciliation
report for a Europe-wide ban on genocide denial, as part of a swathe
of new legal measures (Jewish groups want EU ban on intolerance, 26
January), are highly problematic. First, it is proposed to ban denial
of the Holocaust, but not of other historic cases such as the Armenian
genocide or the Palestinian Nakba – although Nakba denial (legally
enforced in Israel) is as likely to contribute to antisemitism (a
major concern of the report) as is Holocaust denial.

Second, it is proposed to outlaw denial only of any “other act of
genocide the existence of which has been determined by an
international criminal court or tribunal”. This sounds reasonable, but
international courts try individuals, only adjudicating history
incidentally; most recent genocide, like historic genocide, has not
been tried internationally; and these courts’ operations are highly
politically constrained.

The proposed bans will only lead to arbitrary and contested
prosecutions which increase polarisation, not reconciliation. It is
better to combat genocide denial through argument and evidence.
Martin Shaw
Author, What is Genocide?’

To expand, there are at least five separate issues here:

1. Banning ideas, however reactionary, as such – rather than when they
threaten violence or discrimination – breaches freedom of speech.

2. The report doesn’t say what is to be banned – ‘literal’ denial (of
the facts) or ‘interpretative’ denial (whether the events constitute a
genocide). My reference to the Nakba illustrates the contentiousness
of the latter issue, and the line where legitimate debate and denial
gets blurred. I do not think it is possible to legally define this
line: it is a matter for historians.

3. Naming the Holocaust as a genocide that can’t be denied, while
requiring all other genocides to pass a legal test before their denial
counts for the purposes of banning, is inconsistent and protects the
memory of the Holocaust while not protecting that of many other
historic and contemporary episodes.

3 In any case, there is no international legal framework for
recognising genocides and the corpus of international legal decisions
is decidedly not robust enough to provide an impartial framework. Many
cases cannot be brought before international courts for political
reasons, and courts are subject to political pressures in operations,
leading them to inconsistent decisions which even involve genocide
denial as in the case of the International Court of Justice decision
on Bosnia.

4 In the contemporary European context, to legally ban Holocaust
denial while not protecting the memory of other genocides such as the
Nakba, which matter particularly to Muslim and Arab minorities, can
easily be construed as a partisan intervention, and enforcement could
easily contribute to polarisation. The incarceration of
Holocaust-denying ‘historian’ David Irving in Austria did little good,
and the indictment of Muslim Holocaust-deniers in France, say, could
actively cause harm.

5 The report is considerably motivated by the desire to stem (indeed
ban) anti-semitism. However we know that contemporary European
anti-semitism, while rooted in jihadist ideology as well as historic
legacies, is hugely stimulated by Israel’s treatment of the
Palestinians, as the big spike following last summer’s Israeli
atrocities in Gaza showed. Israel has instrumentalised the Holocaust
while simultaneously banning commemoration of the Nakba. Netanyahu is
now shamelessly instrumentalising the recent genocidal mini-massacre
of Jews in Paris. I argue that to weaken anti-semitism, rather than
reinforcing these Israeli narratives by banning Holocaust denial, it
is necessary to seek a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians
and to challenge Israeli ideology. Recognition of the Nakba could be a
powerful step in that direction. The European Council on Toleration
and Reconciliation would have done better to focus on.this alternative
agenda.

Bekaryan: Concessions proposed by mediators cannot be realized in practice

15:21 30/01/2015 >> POLITICS

Political analyst Karen Bekaryan believes the concessions proposed by
the Karabakh mediators are impossible to realize.

“The concessions proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs with an
aim of achieving a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict may seem good theoretically, but they cannot be realized in
practice, taking into consideration the conduct of Azerbaijan and the
lack of confidence,” the head of the European Integration NGO told
reporters on Friday.

The international community should be aware of this situation, the
analyst stressed.

Source: Panorama.am

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 30 2015

Colorado State Senate voices strong support for Azerbaijan,
embarrassing Armenian lobby’s fiasco

30 January 2015, 13:48 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova

Senate of the U.S.’ Colorado State has expressed strong support for
Azerbaijan and the U.S.-Azerbaijan relations.

Colorado State Senate presented a statement expressing strong support
for Azerbaijan on January 29, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in
Los Angeles reported.

Signed by Senate President Bill Cadman, the statement was solemnly
presented on the Senate Floor to Nasimi Aghayev, Azerbaijan’s Consul
General in Los Angeles.

Senator Larry Crowder noted that today the United States cannot fight
alone effectively against global problems such as international
terrorism. He stressed in this regard the importance of staunchly
supporting America’s allies in the world.

In this vein, Senator Crowder presented the said statement expressing
support for Azerbaijan.

The Senate affirmed “the expanding relationship between the United
States and Azerbaijan over the past two decades, cooperating on
matters of energy security, the fight against international terrorism,
drug and human trafficking, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction,” according to the statement.

The statement mentioned that “Azerbaijan was one of the first
countries to render unconditional assistance to the United States
after the terror attacks of 9/11, opening its airspace and airports
for the use by coalition troops in Afghanistan and sending its
soldiers to serve shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. troops there.”

The document concluded by extending “warmest welcome to Azerbaijan’s
Consul General” and expressing the great importance of “expanding
relations in all spheres, including trade, cultural, and educational
exchange” between Azerbaijan and the State of Colorado.

Before the presentation, the Armenian lobby in the U.S. launched a
nation-wide campaign to derail the recognition of Azerbaijan on the
Senate Floor and the expression of support by Colorado for
U.S.-Azerbaijan friendship and cooperation.

However this special interest group, which advocates for Armenia’s
corrupt and abusive government, and supports the occupation and ethnic
cleansing of Azerbaijan’s lands by Armenia utterly failed, the
Consulate said.

By not succumbing to the pressure from a noxious special interest
group, the Colorado Senators demonstrated visionary statesmanship and
principled stance on America’s values and national interests, the
Consulate said.

The video of the ceremony can be viewed here:

Since Azerbaijan’s emergence as an independent nation in 1991, the
U.S.-Azerbaijan relationship has evolved into a strategic partnership
based on mutual interests and common values.

At present, Azerbaijan-U.S. relations are developing rapidly.

Zee News, India
Jan 30 2015

Turkey ready `to pay price` if found guilty of Armenian massacres: Erdogan

Last Updated: Friday, January 30, 2015 – 19:16

Istanbul: Turkey is ready to “pay the price” if found guilty of the
mass killings of Armenians a century ago, Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said.

In a live interview with state-run TRT channel on Thursday, Erdogan
said his country would take the necessary steps if historians conclude
that it was at fault for the World War I-era massacres that Armenians
say amounted to genocide.

“If the results actually reveal that we have committed a crime, if we
have a price to pay, then as Turkey we would assess it and take the
required steps,” Erdogan said.

Turkey has vehemently rejected the genocide claim and says up to
500,000 Armenians died in fighting and of starvation after Armenians
sided with invading Russian troops. It claims a comparable number of
Turks were also killed.

Last year, Erdogan offered an unprecedented expression of condolence
for the massacres when he was prime minister but this did little to
satisfy Armenians, who want the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million
people recognised as genocide.

But Erdogan said in the interview: “It is impossible to accept such
thing. We are not obliged to recognise so-called Armenian genocide on
someone`s orders.”

He also reiterated that the mass killings should be studied by
historians on the basis of documents and archives, and not
politicians.

“If you are really sincere in this matter, let us give it to the
historians. Let the historians deal with the matter. We have opened
our archive and presented more than a million documents,” he said.

“If Armenia also has an archive, then they should open it too…. Then
we can sit and talk as politicians,” he said.

Earlier this month Erdogan said Ankara would “actively” challenge a
campaign pressuring Turkey to recognise as genocide the mass killings,
on the 100th anniversary of the tragedy this year.

AFP

Also at

&

Moscow Times, Russia
Jan 29 2015

Azerbaijan Says It Shot Down Armenian Drone Near Breakaway Region

BAKU — Azerbaijan said Thursday that it had shot down an Armenian
drone near the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, a report dismissed
by Armenia as “absurd.”

Renewed violence this year along the border between Armenia and
Azerbaijan and around Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan
but is controlled by its majority ethnic Armenians, has underlined the
risk of a wider conflict breaking out in the South Caucasus, which is
crossed by oil and gas pipelines.

The Azeri Defence Ministry said the drone had been shot down over
Azeri territory but Artsrun Hovhannesyan, the Armenian defense
minister’s press secretary, denied the report.

“Nagorno-Karabakh officially refutes this information. It is absurd,” he said.

Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh erupted in 1991 as the Soviet Union
broke up and a cease-fire was called in 1994. But Azerbaijan and
Armenia have regularly traded accusations of further violence around
Nagorno-Karabakh and along their border.

Nagorno-Karabakh has run its own affairs with heavy military and
financial backing from Armenia since the war that killed about 30,000
people. Armenian-backed forces also hold seven Azeri districts
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

Efforts to reach a permanent settlement have failed despite mediation
led by France, Russia and the U.S.

Oil-producing Azerbaijan, host to global majors including BP , Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take the mountain region back
by force, and is spending heavily on its armed forces.

Armenia, an ally of Russia, says it would not stand by if
Nagorno-Karabakh were attacked.

State commission unveils Armenian genocide centenary dedicated events

YEREVAN, January 30. / ARKA /. Chief of presidential staff Vigen
Sargsyan, who is coordinating a long string of events designed to
commemorate the centenary of the Armenian genocide unveiled them
today.

He said an international media forum entitled ‘At the Foothill of
Mount Ararat’ for journalists from CIS and other countries is
scheduled for April 18-20. They will arrive to cover the commemoration
that will run April 22-24.

On April 22-23 Yerevan will host an international conference entitled
‘Against Genocidal Crimes’ with participation of executive and
legislative authorities and religious leaders from many countries.

On April 23 a special ceremony will be conducted by the Armenian
Apostolic Church in Etchmiadizn to
sanctify 1.5 million Armenians killed by the government of Turkey in
1915-1923. On the same day the famous System of a Down music group
will perform a concert under the motto ‘Wake up the Souls.’

A torchlight march to Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial is scheduled
for April 23 evening. The genocide victims remembrance ceremony will
be held on April 24 morning. In the evening a concert of classical
music will be held featuring musicians from the countries which
officially recognized the Armenian genocide.

A flower called ‘forget-me-not’ was chosen as the symbol of the
events. The motto of the events is “We Remember and Demand…” -0-

Ownership of Armenia’s foreign ministry building to change in 2016

YEREVAN, January 30. /ARKA/. The ownership of Armenia’s foreign
ministry building will change in 2016, head of the state property
management department Arman Sahakyan told reporters on Friday.

The building was sold to Tango Ltd belonging to Armenian Argentinean
businessman Eduardo Ernekayn for 51,270,840 dollars under a government
decree of 2012.

According to earlier reports, a five-star Kempinski hotel was expected
to be built in the place of the building.

During 2016 the foreign ministry is expected to move to a new building
and hand over the old one to Tango, Sahakyan said.

The current foreign ministry building was built in the 1940’s. Its
total space is 14,241.9 square meters. The government said the buyer
had to commit to invest as much as required to remodel the building
into a five-star hotel, yet preserving its historical and cultural
appearance.

According to the government decree, the buyer is obliged to build a
new building where the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of
energy and natural resources and the ministry of justice will be
housed.

Eduardo Eurnekian is the owner of Armenia International Airports, the
operator of Zvartnots airport in Yerevan. The businessman is
implementing major agricultural projects and is the stockholder of the
Armenian Conversebank. -0–

“Broken Childhood”: 17 Year-Old Yerevan Painter Wins Holocaust Competition

Marine Martirosyan
15:26, January 30, 2015

17 year-old Yerevan resident Mikayel Harutyunyan won this
year’s”Remembering the Holocaust – Path to tolerance” competition
organized by The International Russian Holocaust Center.

Harutyunyan, a painter, won the competition( held in Moscow from
January 23-26) with a canvas entitled “Broken Childhood”.

The young artist told Hetq that he has two canvases dedicated to the
victims of the1915 Armenian Genocide.

“I decided to paint about the holocaust of the Jews,” notes Mikayel,
adding that 1,200 individuals submitted entries to the competition.

According to the Center’s website: “The purpose of the competition is
to create a environment for pupils, students and teacher in which they
can try to develop a intensified knowledge about the history of the
‘Holocaust’. In addition the competition wants to support their
participants to create critical, independent and tolerant thinking and
to increase the awareness of the participants for racism, chauvinism,
nationalism and anti-Semitism.”

Mikayel relates that visitors to the competition were attracted to his
work but that he never imagined it would win any prize.

“When they announced that I had come in first place I was very happy.
One of the Jewish students even wrote a poem in Armenian in my honor,
dedicating it to Armenia,” said Mikayel.

In his speech, Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director for International
Relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said that the painting would
be displayed at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

CSTO chief says organization’s stance on Karabakh conflict clearly stated

YEREVAN, January 30. / ARKA /. Chief of the Russia-led Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolay Bordyuzha said the
organization’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was clearly
stated in a series of statements made particularly last year.

Speaking today to journalists in Moscow he said he had visited
Armenian army units and discussed the problem with the president of
Armenia.

CSTO secretary general said the issue was discussed last summer at a
meeting of Russian president Vladimir Putin and the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in Sochi, when Putin chaired the Collective
Security Treaty Organization’s Council.

In response to a question from Novosti-Armenia journalist why CSTO did
not respond to commando raids by Azerbaijani troops across the border
with Armenia Bordyuzha said the CSTO can not respond by military
measures, because it runs counter to the basic formula of the
Collective Security Council, which says the Nagorno-Karabakh problem
is to be solved by peaceful means and on the basis of non-use of
force.

Speaking about the recent sabotage attacks by Azeri troops resulting
in deaths of Armenian armed forces soldiers, Bordyuzha said: “We are
talking about how this problem should be addressed at the political
level and I think the statements made CSTO are quite serious and
weighty reflecting not only the opinion of the Russian Federation.”

Since the beginning of January tension has escalated on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and along the line of contact in
Nagorno-Karabakh where clashes occur actually on a daily basis with
Azerbaijani forces shelling Armenian positions and conducting sabotage
raids.-0-