Author: Boris Nahapetian

Armenia ex-defense minister tells army generals and officers to get ready to be ‘sentenced’

Boris Nahapetian
News.am, Armenia

Armenia ex-defense minister tells army generals and officers to get ready to be ‘sentenced’

Armenia ex-defense minister tells army generals and officers to get ready to be ‘sentenced’

11:55, 18.04.2021

Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia Artak Zakaryan posted the following on his Facebook page:

“Back on November 12, 2020, I warned Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia Onik Gasparyan that after a while Nikol [Nikol Pashinyan] will throw the whole blame for the war on him. At the time, Gasparyan didn’t accept this, better yet, he didn’t believe me and said he and the other army generals are ready to be awarded and be brought to justice.

Yesterday Nikol, through former Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Samvel Babayan, accused the army’s command and General Staff on Armenian Public Television. Moreover, he blamed them for everything.

The same day, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan sharply refuted the facts and said Nikol wasn’t the Commander-in-Chief during the war.

According to Nikol, he isn’t to blame for anything and is a saint and that everyone else is to blame. These are the fruits of populism.

Get ready to be ‘sentenced’, army generals and officers. As a result of all this, it will turn out that you and all former army generals and ministers are the only ones to blame for the incited war and embarrassing defeat.

Many people who have a glorious past in the military and are dedicated to homeland defense have been criticized for the past three years. Now it turns out that they are traitors and saboteurs and must be brought to justice. What is ridiculous is that all this is due to the whim of one person.

P.S.: One may ask what I was doing in the office of the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. At Mr. Gasparyan’s invitation (I think Nikol knew about it), we were discussing the situation that had been created and the ways to get out of it. I had proposed to have Nikol, who was hiding in bunkers, to personally hold a meeting with the representatives of all political parties, answer everyone’s questions and immediately resign.”

Opinion: It’s time for Biden to say the words ‘Armenian genocide’

Boris Nahapetian
Houston Chronicle
By Edward B. Westermann | on 

The French poet Charles Baudelaire famously remarked, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” In a similar manner, the current policy of verbal appeasement that refuses to recognize the historical reality of the Armenian genocide maintains a time-worn fiction and denies the reality of the victims’ suffering. As the world community commemorates the Armenian genocide on April 24 more than a century after it began, the Biden administration, following the lead of congressional representatives from the House and the Senate, must now demonstrate the moral courage to call these crimes by their rightful name.

Regaining the high ground of moral authority represents an uphill battle for President Joe Biden and for U.S. diplomacy. Taking the lead on this issue and delivering a clear statement calling the Armenian genocide exactly what it is for the sake of the Armenian people and for history would represent a step in the right direction — and it could create new momentum for positive change.

One of the most profound effects of the Trump administration involved the massive erosion of U.S. moral authority in the field of global affairs. The administration’s myopic focus on parochial U.S. interests at the expense of global cooperation was highlighted by the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords, the denigration of individual European leaders and the NATO alliance, and the description of developing nations as s—hole countries. This loss of U.S. moral authority is neither merely symbolic nor temporary, but involves real consequences for U.S. hard and soft power and reversing the decay of U.S. moral authority requires decisive action on the part of the Biden administration.

Biden is faced with a daunting challenge in reestablishing the moral authority of U.S. foreign policy. It requires the courage to reexamine past positions and the wisdom to chart a new course based on universal values. Ending the policy of verbal appeasement with regard to the Ottoman Empire’s role in the genocide of an estimated 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children between 1915 and 1923 offers one opportunity to signal a reset in U.S. foreign policy in which issues of moral authority outweigh realist concerns of economic, political and military accommodation.

The ongoing crises associated with Syria and Iraq provide a decisive moment for reversing the past course leading into the oblivion of historical denial and for ending the timeworn policy of verbal appeasement with regard to Turkey. Historians argue that the past is prologue, and perhaps this is nowhere more apparent than in the Middle East today.

Ironically, it was the current president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who illustrated this point in his address to the United Nations in September 2018 by warning of the impending annihilation of a whole civilization in Syria and the “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. Erdoğan’s use of the terms annihilation and ethnic cleansing were reminiscent of the words of Henry Morgenthau Sr., the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, a century earlier who described the Ottoman campaign against the Armenians as a “campaign of race extermination.”

Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, aptly described genocide as a “problem from hell.” Dealing with the causes, events and after-effects of genocide is without doubt a predicament of infernal dimensions. But the open and candid identification of genocide does not require the valor of angels, but rather the strength of conviction in doing the right thing.

As a historian, I recognize the importance of not repeating the mistakes of the past and the U.S. engagement with Rwanda offers a clear lesson about the peril of ignoring moral imperatives for the sake of political expediency. Former President Bill Clinton revealed the danger of the latter in his apology to the people of Rwanda during a visit in 1998 four years after the genocide there. Clinton admitted that the U.S. and world community “did not act quickly enough after the killing began.” He also reflected, “We did not immediately call these crimes by their rightful name: genocide.”

Charting a new course requires a simple statement from a president who has repeatedly emphasized the need for the U.S. to live up to its founding ideals. Not only would such a pronouncement signal the end of a deafening silence for millions of Armenians worldwide, but it would demonstrate the new president’s commitment to rebuilding the shattered remains of U.S. moral authority in a world in continued need of such a voice as demonstrated by events in Syria, Iraq and Myanmar.

Westermann is the Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, a commissioner on the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission and author of several books on genocide.

 

Armenpress: Poland sends 3 tons of humanitarian aid to Artsakh’s displaced citizens

Boris Nahapetian

Poland sends 3 tons of humanitarian aid to Artsakh’s displaced citizens

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 21:20,

YEREVAN, APRIL 15, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Poland sent 3 tons of humanitarian aid to Armenia, which will be provided to the displaced citizens of Artsakh that reside in Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports 1st Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Tatevik Stepanyan said at Zvartnots airport, noting that there are nearly 1000 citizens of Artsakh residing in state shelters in Armenia.

According to Tatevik Stepanyan, the citizens displaced from Artsakh are provided with all necessary stuff, while the humanitarian aid sent by Poland will be a supplementary assistance.

Ambassador of Poland to Armenia Paweł Cieplak reminded that on March 31, 2021 Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazian had called for humanitarian assistance, which was rapidly responded by Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

‘’The aid is for the citizens who have lost their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. We sent first aid kits for refugees – medical thermometers, pressure gauges, etc’’, Ambassador Cieplak said.

Pashinyan congratulates Armenia’s Yazidi community on their New Year

Boris Nahapetian

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 12:41,

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to the Yazidi community of Armenia on their New Year, the PM’s Office told Armenpress.

“Dear representatives of the Yazidi community of Armenia,

I warmly congratulate you on your New Year – the Malake Taus.

The friendship of the Armenian and Yazidi peoples having a centuries-old history have passed through a common struggle trial, have strengthened with a peaceful, creative work and common achievements.

You have a great contribution to the creation and protection of our country.

Malake Taus brings new hope and dream, therefore, I wish our region to be peaceful and safe in the new year, and the trials to remain in the past.

I wish you good luck”.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

To Sputnik V or to AstraZeneca? Armenia gets new batches of Covid vaccines amidst public skepticism

Boris Nahapetian
JAM News
April 8 2021
    JAMnews, Yerevan

Vaccination in Armenia

On April 8, the first purchased batch of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine was delivered to Armenia. These 15,000 doses are intended for risk groups.

Previously, only high-risk health workers were vaccinated – those who serve patients with coronavirus. To this end, the Russian side provided Armenia with 2,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine for 1,000 people free of charge.

On March 28, the first batch of the British-Swedish vaccine AstraZeneca, against coronavirus AstraZeneca – 24,000 doses was also delivered to Yerevan.

AstraZeneca is currently the most widely-used coronavirus vaccine in the world; it has received approval by government authorities in 49 countries, while Sputnik V is the second most widely-used, approved in 45 countries.

The first case of coronavirus infection in Armenia was registered on March 1, 2020. From March 16 to September 11, 2020, the state of emergency was in force. Then, a quarantine was introduced in the country, which will last until July 11, 2021. Over the past day, 1,231 new cases of infection have been registered. In total, there are 200 129 infected people in the country, 179,043 recovered, 3,675 died.

All the details – who will receive the vaccines in the first place, what the doctors say and how the residents of the country feel about the imported vaccines.

  • Armenian officials receive millions of dollars in bonuses
  • Armenia: disinformation spreading faster than the epidemic

At the end of March, when the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine was delivered to Yerevan, alarming information about it appeared at the same time.

7 British residents who were vaccinated against the coronavirus with a vaccine produced by Oxford University and the AstraZeneca company died of thrombosis, and later a nurse died after vaccination in Georgia. Vaccination with AstraZeneca has been partially suspended in some countries.

Then there was information that, in total, thrombosis in the UK occurred in 30 people out of 18 million UK citizens who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Armenian doctors have not shown alarm over these cases; Deputy Health Minister Gevorg Simonyan says that the data on the effectiveness and safety of this drug meet the criteria of the World Health Organization.

From April 5, the AstraZeneca vaccine was to be delivered to the capital and regional polyclinics of Armenia.

Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan explained this by the fact that the causal relationship of the side effects caused by the vaccine has not been proven:

“We will use all vaccines recognized by international professional organizations as effective, safe, meeting all established standards. A number of countries temporarily stopped using a certain batch of AstraZeneca, a number of countries started using it again, and a number of countries did not refuse at all.”

The chairman of the parliamentary commission on health care Narek Zeynalyan, commenting on the attitude of people towards side effects, said that a large queue of people wishing to be vaccinated has already formed in Armenia:

“No vaccination in Armenia has been and will not be compulsory, [it will] only be voluntary. At the same time, it is necessary to conduct an informational educational program among the population in order to show people that vaccination is the only solution in the fight against the virus.”

Egor Zaitsev, WHO Representative in Armenia, also stated that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective and safe. According to him, WHO does not see the connection between vaccinations and cases of thromboembolism.

The Ministry of Health reports that the received batch of vaccines is provided for the following risk groups:

  • health workers
  • citizens aged 65 and over
  • people with chronic diseases aged 16-64
  • employees of social institutions (including nursing homes)

While the doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are already being distributed to the clinics, the Russian Sputnik V was delivered to Yerevan only on April 8, although negotiations on its purchase had been going on for a long time and were successfully completed in March.

The Russian side had problems, according to representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Health, with the production of the drug.

On April 7, at a meeting with Russian President Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan expects to purchase over a million doses of the Russian vaccine. Putin assured that problems with the production of the drug are being resolved.

A million vaccines are not yet available, but the first batch of 15,000 doses was delivered to Yerevan the very next day.

The expert commission, which included a pediatrician, immunologist, allergist, infectious disease specialist, neuropathologist and resuscitator, studied all the vaccine data that Armenia intended to purchase. According to her conclusion, Sputnik V has good performance.

“In case of vaccination, only local reactions are observed, the temperature rises up to 38 degrees within one or two days,” said the chairman of the commission Anna Chobanyan.

The opinions of users of the Armenian segment of Facebook regarding which vaccine to choose are divided.

Here are some comments:

“Half of Europe, including the state co-developer Sweden, has suspended vaccination with AstraZeneca due to unexplored side effects, and we are, as always, ahead of the rest.”

“The main question is on what basis this vaccine was purchased, the use of which has been suspended in half of Europe due to serious concerns about its safety. Someone got a kickback or was the purchase made at a serious discount?”

“From a common WHO statement, ‘the benefits of using the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks.’ So there are risks. They will test it on us”.

“I’d rather inject myself with this vaccine than with Putin’s fuflomycin.”

Over the past month, a large number of new coronavirus infections have been recorded daily in Armenia. In this regard, according to the Minister of Health, during this week the number of beds in clinics will be increased by another 300.

“The number of beds is not infinite, and at present, mainly those patients who need inpatient treatment, need oxygen are hospitalized,” Anahit Avanesyan said.

At the moment, there are enough ventilators. During the year, as the minister said, Armenia additionally purchased 15 oxygen stations and the necessary equipment, about 3000 beds were provided with oxygen devices.

In addition, Armenian-made artificial lung ventilation devices are completely ready for clinical trials, certification and production. Former Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan wrote about this in March, before his resignation on his Facebook page.

“If their safety and effectiveness are confirmed, they will be used. I cannot say how long the certification process will take, but our doctors also work together with them,” said Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan.

Russia conducts over 123 million COVID-19 tests

Boris Nahapetian

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 10:48, 9 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 9, ARMENPRESS. Russian healthcare workers have conducted more than 123 million coronavirus tests, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing said, reports TASS.

“More than 123 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in the Russian Federation”, its press service reported. As many as 340,000 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

According to the watchdog, about 499,400 people remain under medical supervision over suspected COVID-19.




Film director Anna Melikyan among the laureates of GQ Super Women award

Boris Nahapetian
Panorama, Armenia
April 3 2021

Culture 11:21 03/04/2021World

Russian-based Armenian film director Anna Melikyan was named the winner the GQ Super Women award in the nomination of Film Director.  As TASS reported, among other  laureates  are Katerina Gordeyeva in the “Media” category, Yekaterina Shergova in the “Charity” and Yelizaveta Tuktamisheva in the “Sports” category. 

The Editor-in-chief of the GQ journal Igor Garanin said at the award ceremony that for the past four years the annual event has helped to build relations among representatives of different spheres. 

Aivazyan Discusses Return of POWs, Destruction of Churches with Lavrov

Boris Nahapetian

April 1, 2021



Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ara Aivazyan (right) meets with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on April 1

The Russian Foreign Minister also meets with his Azerbaijani counterpart

Foreign Minister Ara Aivazyan on Thursday discussed issues surrounding the return of Armenian prisoners of war, as well as Azerbaijan’s destruction of churches in Artsakh when met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Aivazyan is in the Russian capital to attend the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers.

According to the Armenia’s Foreign Ministry press service, Aivazyan stressed the need for the immediate repatriation of Armenian POWs being held hostage by Azerbaijan in violation of their obligations under the tripartite statement.

Aivazyan also expressed serious concern over the deliberate targeting of Armenian cultural and religious monuments in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan, emphasizing the urgency of taking steps to protect that heritage on various fronts.

To this end the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stressed, during a press briefing Thursday, the need for an immediate mission by UNESCO to Karabakh.

“We reaffirm the need for the immediate organizing of a UNESCO mission to Nagorno Karabakh. We are also in contact with the sides over each particular case,’’ said Zakharova, adding that Russia has advocated for safeguarding cultural and religious sites in Karabakh “and the surrounding region.”

The Russian foreign ministry also reported that among other issues Lavrov discussed with Aivazyan was the opening of borders with Azerbaijan, which since the signing of the November 9 agreement has been referred to as “unblocking the region’s communication infrastructure.”

Lavrov had a separate meeting with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, with whom he discussed the implementation of the November 9 agreement, including “a solution to Nagorno Karabakh’s humanitarian issues and unblocking of economic and transport infrastructures.”

Newspaper: What is Armenia PM Pashinyan hiding from his political team?

Boris Nahapetian
News.am, Armenia
April 2 2021
09:22, 02.04.2021

YEREVAN. – Iravunk newspaper of Armenia writes: According to whispers circulating in the political backstage, Nikol Pashinyan, who is still clinging to the seat of Prime Minister, has already compiled the electoral list for his [political] team to run in the snap [parliamentary] elections [slated for June 20], but he does not even share with those closest to him as to who are on it.

This has become an occasion for hysterical convulsions within the ruling force, as hints are already being made that the list has undergone considerable changes, especially in terms of the [ruling] CC [Civil Contract] [party] members in the current executive [branch of power].

Due to the uncertain situation that has been created, some of the upper echelons are already seeking asylum—either at any [other political] party or simply abroad.

So, not only Pashinyan Nikol will make unpleasant surprises to his teammates in the near future, but, also, his [political] teammates—to him.

CIS foreign ministerial council session continues in extended format

Boris Nahapetian

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 14:56, 2 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. The session of the Council of the CIS Foreign Ministers, which kicked off today in Moscow, continues in an extended format, Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said on Facebook.

Earlier she informed that the session of the CIS foreign ministerial council has launched in a narrow format.

On the sidelines of the session Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian met with his Russian and Turkmen counterparts.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan