Author: Boris Nahapetian

The situation in Kumurdo is escalating again.

Boris Nahapetian
Rezonansi, Tbilisi, Georgia
Nov 6 2017
 
 
 
The situation in Kumurdo is escalating again.
 
One part of Armenian civic activists and politicians protest against the recognition of Kumurdo as a Georgian church by the Armenian Church
 
by Ekaterine Basilaia
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Georgian]
 
A new scandal and a confrontation might be brewing over a religious issue in the village of Kumurdo in [ethnic Armenian-populated] Javakheti [Province]. Several NGOs functioning in Javakheti make no secret of their dissatisfaction with and protest against the statement by the Armenian Apostolic Church, which says that Armenia lays no claims to the Kumurdo church. They demand that a new examination be carried out on the belonging of the church. They also say that it is vitally important to create in Javakheti an eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, “restraining the aggressive ambitions of the Georgian Church” by doing so.
 
Javakheti Armenians complain
 
They say that “the security of the [ethnic] Armenian population of Javakheti is becoming a priority”, asking high hierarchs of the Armenian clergy for support. In his interview to the [Russian] Sputnik [website], the leader of the Javakhk organisation functioning in Akhalkalaki, Norik Karapetyan, said that Kumurdo was an Armenian church and that local people made no secret of their dissatisfaction with the “hasty statement” by the Armenian Church, and that therefore, the Javakhk [Armenian: Javakheti] popular movement, the Javakhk organisation and the Virk [Armenian name of ancient east Georgian Kingdom of Iveria] party sent a letter to all churches in Armenia, the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Garegin II, the Supreme Spiritual Council, and the catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, asking for support in carrying out a new examination to establish who the church belongs to and creating a new diocese in Javakheti.
 
As Karapetyan put it, the Armenians living in the United States and Europe had already responded to their letter, promising support.
 
Two days ago, the letter was disseminated by the Armenian media. The authors of the appeal mainly speak about the local population’s indignation, which was first and foremost aroused by the restoration work done by Georgian restorers, which destroyed 700 year-old Armenian burial places, removing from the yard a traditional Armenian cross-stone – khachkar.
 
The organisations’ statement also emphasises that “it is necessary to create a separate diocese in Javakheti” as there is a [big] number of [Armenian] churches and [ethnic Armenian] population there – about 200,000 people, and that all this reflects the needs.
 
“Apart from this, the presence of a high spiritual hierarch in the region will really deter the aggressive ambitions of the Georgian Orthodox Church. We will be really grateful if we receive support from the catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, Aram I. We would like to ask you to think of creating a fundamental eparchy [phrase as published] of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia. The security of the Armenian population of Javakheti is becoming a priority and we would like to ask you for support,” the statement said.
 
Reasons for conflict
 
On 30 September, a major confrontation arose between the local Armenian population and law enforcers over the 10th century Holy Virgin Church in the village of Kumurdo in Akhalkalaki [District]. Six policemen and six residents of the village of Kumurdo were injured.
 
The reason for the conflict was as follows: Local people decided to rebury human bones found in the yard during restoration work in the church yard, erecting an Armenian cross-stone – khachkar, on the place. The decision, which was not coordinated with the state, ended in a confrontation with law enforcers’ special-purpose unit, stone-throwing, and smashing of the policemen’s and clergymen’s cars.
 
Tbilisi now intends to place the church under the protection of Unesco and according to the organisation’s rules, erecting a cross-stone is a breach. Precisely this caused the confrontation.
 
The incident was defused by Interior Minister [Giorgi Mghebrishvili’s] arrival in the place. Later, the Georgian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church issued a joint statement saying that the sides had agreed to set up a special commission to settle the issue of erecting a cross-stone in the yard of the 10th-century church. The statement also said that the Armenian Apostolic Church had no doubt that Kumurdo was a Georgian Orthodox church.
 
Conflict used to ‘stir up trouble’ – movement leader
 
The situation has been quiet in Kumurdo since then. However, after the letter, the Armenian mass media have already been reporting a new wave of conflict.
 
According to Akhalkalaki-based journalist Rima Gharibyan, nothing special has happened since the 30 September incident. Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan [the primate of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church] met villagers, telling them that they had to wait for the restoration work to end and that a khachkar would be erected in the church yard afterwards. The restoration work is going to be completed in 2-3 years.
 
According to the leader of the Multiethnic Georgia [movement], Arnold Stepanyan, it has not been decided yet where to erect the cross-stone. According to a representative of the Georgian Church, the cross-stone should be erected outside the church. However, according to the Armenian population, it should be erected in the churchyard, as the graves had been in the yard.
 
“At present, the situation is calm. However, the formula, which would calm down the situation in the long run, has not been found yet,” Stepanyan said.
 
As he put it, the church is Georgian and no-one of those, who are even vaguely familiar with [local] history, doubts this. However, for centuries now, only Armenians have been living in this village, praying in this church. Therefore, in their perception, the church is Armenian. The organisations, which made the statement, use the fact to stir up trouble.
 
“In this village, there are many different forces having influence on the population. Some of them are in Russia. Others are in Armenia. There is a version, according to which the confrontation is controlled from outside the country. However, inside the country, there are also concrete forces trying to fish in troubled waters, earning scores with the help of messages of the kind.
 
“However, there are also people, who think that this is unfair and that the church is Armenian and consequently, they are entitled to the church.
 
“Had there been no story with the bones, there would have been no formal reason for the conflict. It was not normal to throw out bones in this manner. This is uncivilised. However, I nevertheless think that the conflict will not erupt again, turning into a major confrontation,” Stepanyan said.
 
As regards the declaration of a Javakheti diocese, Stepanyan said that the Armenian Church also entertained the idea, thinking that there should be two dioceses in Georgia, not one, as Javakheti was densely populated by Armenians and they would look after the eparchy in a better way. For Stepanyan proper, this argument is not convincing, as it is not difficult to manage Javakheti from Tbilisi.
 
“Whatever the letter says is unserious. It is really regrettable that the Akhalkalaki-based organisations think in this particular manner. This statement is aimed to [help them] remain in the information field. There is nothing else they can do. The situation is complicated, but it is under control,” Stepanyan said.

Elimination of the risk of rock slide

Boris Nahapetian
  • 19:52 | November 9,2017 | Economy
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

On November 8-14 RA MES Rescue Service employees went to Drmbon Community of the Republic of Artsakh for the prevention and restoration work.

There were quarries in the mentioned area, making the highway impassable. The joint efforts of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia will allow avoiding further dangers and accidents.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh Region sends appeal to CNN TV presenter

Boris Nahapetian
3 November 2017 17:33 (UTC+04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.3

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

The Public Union of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh Region of Azerbaijan has sent an appeal to CNN TV presenter Anthony Bourdain and CNN.

The host of the show on CNN, American chef Anthony Bourdain has been added to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s list of undesirable persons for violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as laws of Azerbaijan.

Authors of the appeal said that war crimes, ethnic cleansing, indiscriminate violence against civilians have been an integral part of the ongoing aggression of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“During the active phase of the war in 1991-1994, the attack on the town of Khojaly was especially brutal and tragic. Before the conflict, we, survivors of this massacre, and other 7,000 people lived peacefully in Khojaly in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. From October 1991, the town was entirely surrounded by the armed forces of Armenia. In the early hours of February 26, 1992, following massive artillery bombardment of Khojaly, the assault was launched from various directions. As a result, the Armenian armed forces, with the help of the motorized infantry regiment No. 366 of the former Soviet Army still stationed in the area, seized Khojaly. Invaders destroyed Khojaly with special brutality and completely exterminated its civilian population. Atrocities by Armenian troops included scalping, beheading, bayoneting of pregnant women and mutilation of bodies. Even children were not spared. As a result, 613 civilians were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly. Another 1,000 people were wounded and 1,275 taken hostage. To this day, 150 people from Khojaly remain missing. The intentional slaughter of the civilians in Khojaly town was directed at their mass extermination based on racial discrimination,” reads the appeal.

Further, the authors note: “In a cynical admission of culpability, Armenia’s then-Defense Minister and current President, Serzh Sargsyan, was quoted by the British journalist Thomas de Waal, as saying, “[b]efore Khojali, the Azerbaijanis thought that … the Armenians were people who could not raise their hand against the civilian population. We were able to break that [stereotype]” (Thomas de Waal, Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War (New York and London, New York University Press, 2003), p. 172)).”

Indeed, Khojaly was chosen as a stage for further occupation and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijani territories, said the appeal.

The authors pointed out that as a result of war unleashed by Armenia against Azerbaijan, some 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory is currently occupied.

“In violation of international humanitarian law, Armenia carried out ethnic cleansing policy against almost one million Azerbaijani civilians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and in Armenia itself. It left Azerbaijan with one of the largest internally displaced population per capita in the world. We do respect your professionalism and your programs about international cuisine. In the times of peace, such culinary exchanges bring peoples together. But in the context of ongoing war and brutality, such a cultural program sends an unintended message of endorsing the ethnic cleansing and annexation by force to victims of war crimes, like ourselves, who have lost their loved ones and native homes. Please also understand that we are even deprived from the opportunity to visit graveyards of our parents and loved ones left in the occupied territories. For over 25 years, we live with the hope of returning to our native lands, rebuilding our homes and making traditional Azerbaijani shila pilaf for our children, like the dish you have been served in destroyed and depopulated Azerbaijani town of Shusha. Admittedly, your visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on a military helicopter and preparations to make culinary show right next to Khojaly, where crime against humanity committed, have seriously disappointed us and added insult to our injuries. We would like to believe that you have been misled about the realities on the ground and your visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan was not intentional. After all, it is hard to imagine you enjoying German food at the site of a Nazi concentration camp or enjoying a lunch with Bosnian Serb militants while they were in control of the mass murder site in Srebrenica,” reads the appeal.

The authors noted that Armenia’s illegal, violent and protracted occupation of Azerbaijani land, including Khojaly, harmed Armenia’s own people, its economy and its future.

“This is because our Armenian neighbors, with whom we lived in peace for centuries and hope to build a peaceful region together, need to understand that one cannot build happiness on the tragedy of others. Endorsing and thus prolonging the occupation and this war, helps nobody other than those who profit from this tragedy. Instead, we need to help the two nations find ways to come to peace and promote the international peace-making efforts. We urge to take into account sensitive nature of the situation and the suffering so many of us have lived through. We also appeal to you to reconsider your decision to include the segment from the occupied and ethnically cleansed territories of Azerbaijan in your show,” reads the appeal.

Earlier, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told BuzzFeed that making a culinary show from seized lands is utter disrespect to one million Azerbaijani refugees and [internally displaced peoples who were] forcefully displaced.

“We do regret that he has made himself a propaganda tool to justify and disguise occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands by Armenia,” he added.

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.

Schoolchildren from Armenia and Artsakh participate in table tennis competition

Boris Nahapetian
  • 15:16 | October 31,2017 | Sports
  • Armenian:

On October 31, the RA Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs hosted the final stage of the Table Tennis Tournament for pupils studying in 8-12 grade at public schools.

About 70 pupils of secondary schools of Armenia and Artsakh are participating in competitions. The results of the Table Tennis Tournament will be summed up tomorrow at the sports hall of the “Armenia” Sport Union. The same day the winners will be awarded.

Armenia Granted Asylum to 22,000 Refugees From Syria – Foreign Minister

Boris Nahapetian 
Sputnik News Service, Russia
 Tuesday 4:43 PM UTC
Armenia Granted Asylum to 22,000 Refugees From Syria - Foreign Minister
YEREVAN, October 24 (Sputnik) - Armenia has granted asylum to more
than 22,000 refugees from Syria since the beginning of the conflict in
that country, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said
Tuesday.
"From Syria alone Armenia has harbored about 22.000 refugees, on per
capita basis making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian
refugees in Europe," Nalbandian said at the 2017 OSCE Mediterranean
Conference on the refugee problems in Palermo, Italy.
This has caused a number of challenges for a country with a population
of just 3 million, which has already received hundreds of thousands of
refugees from Azerbaijan in the recent past, the minister noted.
The 110,000-strong Armenian community in Syria was considered one of
the most powerful diasporas before the beginning of the conflict in
the country. They mainly lived in Aleppo (60,000 people), Damascus
(7,000), Latakia, Kessab and Qamishli. After the outbreak of the
Syrian crisis, according to various estimates, more than 90,000
Armenians left Syria.
Syria has been engulfed in civil war since 2011, with millions of
people having to flee the country. According to the latest United
Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) data, a total of 5.16 million
people left Syria, with over a million of them being hosted in
Lebanon, some 600,000 in Jordan and more than three million in Turkey.

Culture: Matenadaran announces the 3rd international conference “Readings of Narekatsi”

Boris Nahapetian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 14 2017
Culture 18:59 14/10/2017

Matenadaran Scientific Research Institute of Ancient Manuscript informs the 3rd international conference “Readings of Narekatsi” will be held on October 17-18, 2017.

According to the source, the conference will start at 11:00 am in the Conference Hall of the Institute.

The scientific conference will feature book presentations, “Grigor Narekatsi and Narek School” by Hrachya Tamrazyan, “Works of Saint Grigor Narekatsi” by Abraham Teryan, samples of the Latin translation of “The Book of Lamentations” among them.

Azerbaijani Press: Peter Tase: Armenia becoming ‘North Korea of Europe’

Boris Nahapetian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Oct 14 2017
17:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The purchase of advanced weapons by the Armenian Government is surely a threat to peace and stability in Europe, said Peter Tase, a political analyst and international relations expert with the Milwaukee-based Marquette University.

Tase, commenting on the approval of Russia’s credit line worth $100 for purchase of the weapons, told Trend that such an attitude will further instigate armed clashes in the line of contact, result in more innocent Azerbaijani civilians being killed by the very same weapons, as well as harm the socio-economic environment in the Caucasus region.

The expert voiced surprise that NATO and the European Union have not denounced and condemned the recent purchase of weapons made by Yerevan.

“Indeed it is a ‘hypocritical’ gesture on the part of NATO,” he said. “We have Armenia, a European country purchasing a large quantity of weapons, becoming the North Korea of Europe, and such a threat is not perceived, nor condemned with a sense of urgency by NATO. “

In late 2015, Russia and Armenia agreed on allocation of a $ 200 million loan to Armenia for the purchase of modern weapons. The Armenian government approved the first $ 100 million loan package on October 12.

Under the agreement, a $100-million loan will be extended to Armenia for 20 years.

Asked about the timing of the credit approval by Armenia, which was announced ahead of the summit of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Geneva, Tase said that Yerevan’s attitude focused in piling up weapons and military equipment, is a threat to peace talks.

“Above all, it is a constant danger to the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Azerbaijan. The international community is making a big mistake as they are maintaining silence and continue to apply the famous formula of double standards, that in the long run will further ruin the image and reputation of multilateral diplomacy that is actively promoted by Brussels,” Tase said, adding that NATO’s silence is unacceptable.

Tase further voiced disbelief that the upcoming official meeting will generate any positive outcome nor any concrete results, as “the feeble pressure from international community is favoring the current status-quo that is embraced by Armenia, for a number of years”.

The expert called on the international community to raise its voice and call for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and for the immediate lifting of Armenian economic blockade imposed against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in a conflict, which emerged over Armenia’s territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Although the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, they have not been enforced to this day.