Author: Chakrian Hovsep

Bishop T. Vrtanes Abrahamyan appointed Primate of Artsakh Diocese

Chakrian Hovsep

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 15:44,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Bishop T. Vrtanes Abrahamyan has been appointed Primate of the Artsakh Diocese after being relieved from the position of spiritual leader of the Armed Forces of Armenia, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin told Armenpress.

Earlier today Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan has been relieved from the position of the Primate of the Artsakh Diocese and has been appointed Pontifical Nuncio-at-large.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Two Armenian rescuers wounded in landmine explosion during search operations for war casualties

Chakrian Hovsep

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 15:48,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Two Armenian rescuers suffered injuries in a landmine explosion during search operations for the bodies of the Artsakh War victims in the territory adjacent to the village of Nrnadzor of the Meghri region in the Province of Syunik.

The incident happened midday January 19.

Captain Artyom Shahnazaryan and Warrant Officer Aram Navasardyan of the Rescue Service were treated at the Meghri Medical Center and are now being transported to the Kapan city hospital, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said. 

Other details weren’t immediately clear.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijanis murder 44-year-old Armenian captive and bury him in Karabakh’s Hadrut

Chakrian Hovsep
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
Azerbaijanis murder 44-year-old Armenian captive and bury him in Karabakh’s Hadrut  

The 44-year-old man from Hadrut Province of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who was found dead yesterday in the territories of Artsakh that are now under the control of Azerbaijan was the son of Sasha Karakhanyan, who is from Hadrut and had returned about a month ago after being in captivity.

Vrezh Karakhanyan, Sasha Karakhanyan’s grandson, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the body of his uncle Arsen Karakhanyan was found by people who were conducting a search in Hadrut. Azerbaijanis had murdered Arsen and buried him in one of the villages of Hadrut.

Arsen’s family definitely found out that he was a captive on January 6 when the Azerbaijanis disseminated a video of him on social networks.

Resident of Hadrut Sasha Karakhanyan was captured from his home in October and returned to the homeland along with 44 persons about a month ago. The family didn’t have any news from Arsen and assumed that he was a captive, after which they saw the video on the Internet and became convinced that he had been captured.

Armenian Ombudsman raises the issue of POWS with Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Chakrian Hovsep
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 18 2021

– Public Radio of Armenia

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has raised the issue of return of Armenian prisoners from Azerbaijan and protection of their rights in official letters addressed to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The letter states, among other things, that the return or release of prisoners should be considered solely in the context of human rights or the humanitarian process. The letter applies to both servicemen and civilians.

“The return of prisoners must be ensured immediately after the cessation of hostilities. This is a universal requirement for international action to be automatically applied. Doing the opposite violates international human rights requirements – international humanitarian law, including the Third Geneva Convention 1949,” Arman Tatoyan says.

Therefore, he says, paragraph 8 of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020 should be interpreted autonomously and should not depend on other points of the statement.

According to the Human Rights Defender, the tripartite statement of should apply to all situations that may have appeared before and after November 9, as long as there the objective need for human rights protection and humanitarian process arising from the military actions persists.

“It is a matter of fundamental importance that the return of 64 Armenian servicemen captives is delayed by abusing legal proceedings, artificially giving them the status of suspects or culprits, posing them as terrorists and using detention as a preventive measure,” the Ombudsman says

Studies by the Ombudsman of Armenia and the results of the investigation of the complaints come to confirm that the release of the Armenian POWs and other detainees in Azerbaijan is being artificially delayed, and Baku fails to repot the real number of captives. This also contradicts international human rights requirements, violating in the first place the rights of their family members.

Moreover, the evidence collected by the Human Rights Defender’s Office confirms that their number is higher than the Azerbaijani authorities have confirmed.

“All this causes mental suffering to the families of the captives, causes tension in the Armenian society,” the Ombudsman says.

He stresses that the absolute urgency of the issue of the release of prisoners should be considered in the context of “anti-Armenianism” in Azerbaijan, which is encouraged by the country’s authorities and even cultural figures.

Therefore, taking into account the humanitarian mandates and role of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in the protection of human rights and the fact that our compatriots were taken prisoner in Artsakh, the Human Rights Defender has drawn their attention to the mentioned and other issues, stressing the urgent need to take decisive measures towards the release of prisoners.

Nearly 50,000 Artsakh residents already back home

Chakrian Hovsep

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 12:19,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Russian peacekeepers continue ensuring the safe return of the residents of Artsakh from Armenia to their homeland, the Russian defense ministry reports.

189 Artsakh residents have returned to Stepanakert in one day.

So far, a total of 49, 827 people have returned to Artsakh.

The Russian peacekeeping mission continues following the maintenance of the ceasefire from the observation posts.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Azerbaijan and Russia got what they wanted, Armenia’s concerns remained unsolved – Tigran Abrahamyan

Chakrian Hovsep
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 12 2021
Azerbaijan and Russia got what they wanted, Armenia’s concerns remained unsolved – Tigran Abrahamyan
 
 
“Azerbaijan and Russia got what they wanted out of yesterday’s trilateral meeting in Moscow, while Armenia’s prime minister only stated that the two issues raised by him – the status of Artsakh and the exchange of war prisoners – remained unsolved. Those issues supposedly weren’t even discussed seriously,” Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of ‘Henaket’ analytical center wrote on Facebook.
 
In Abrahamyan’s words, it became clear from the press statements of the three leaders that regional economic issues were at the center of the talks, including unblocking communications, issues of infrastructure and international transportations, while the regional security and mechanism to ensure it were touched upon in generic formulations.  
 
“This comes despite Pashinyan’s statement that he had put forward the issue of war prisoners and the return of the bodies of the killed as a precondition to be considered before substantive discussions on unblocking communications,” Abrahamyan added.
 

Armenia among 50 “most Instagrammable” places for 2021

Chakrian Hovsep
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 16 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

Armenia has been listed among the 50 most Instagrammable places of the world for 2021. Armenia is placed 39th between Warsaw (Poland) and Marrakech (Monaco).

The list was drawn up by Big 7 Travel after it analyzed Instagram hashtags for destinations around the world, asked the 600,000 people that follow its food and travel Instagram accounts for their opinions and considered the thoughts of its editorial team.

“Crumbling churches, incredible food and breathtaking scenery are just a few things sure to captivate in Armenia,” the website says.

“Tucked away in the Caucasus region, this culturally rich nation punches way above its weight when it comes to insta-worthy scenes. Get the perfect shot at the ever-charming Vernissage flea market loaded with trinkets and carpets galore and then explore the ancient grounds of any one of the country’s many churches and monasteries,” Big 7 Travel advises.

Tokyo tops the list followed by the stunning archipelago of the Philippines, and Paris in second nd third places, respectively.

Also making the top five are New York City (fourth) and ‘big-time photo-friendly’ Istanbul (fifth).

Dubai (UAE), Havana (Cuba), Sydney (Australia), London (England) and Chicago (Illinois) also make it to the top 10. 

Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh begin coronavirus vaccination

Chakrian Hovsep
TASS, Russia
Jan 15 2021

The day before, about 2,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine were delivered to a special-purpose medical unit

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Military doctors have begun vaccination against coronavirus of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

“Military medics of the Russian peacekeeping contingent have begun vaccinating peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. The day before, about 2,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine were delivered to a special-purpose medical unit for further use in special thermal containers,” the ministry said.

Vaccination will be in two stages: the first component of the vaccine will be administered to all peacekeepers by the end of January, the second component – by February 21.

The core of the peacekeeping contingent is made up of units of the 15th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Central Military District. The command is located in Stepanakert.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreements included the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopping at occupied positions, as well as deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.

Chiefs of Armenian, Azerbaijani security services meet again to discuss the exchange of POWs

Chakrian Hovsep
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 10 2021
The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia denies rumors claiming the chiefs of the National Security Services of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Tavush region tomorrow.
 
The NSS says a meeting in that format was held days ago in the neutral zone in the vicinity of Yeraskh community in Ararat province.
 
The chiefs of the security services of the two countries held another meeting today on the territory of Vorotan and Shurnush communities in Syunik province to discuss issues related to the exchange of prisoners and search for the missing.
 
The NSS notes that Mediaport and a number of other information platforms have been spreading false news and obvious misinformation in recent days claiming that territorial and border issues are on the agenda of the meetings, thus deliberately misleading the public.
 
“Based on the overriding interest of the nation and the state, the director of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia exclusively exercises the powers vested in him by law, has never engaged an will not engage in any function outside the scope of those powers,” the NSS said in a statement.
 

Armenia and Artsakh security chiefs meet near Vorotan and Shurnukh

Chakrian Hovsep
News.am, Armenia

Jan 10 2021
The National Security Service of Armenia claims that the information about the planned meeting of the directors of the National Security Service of Armenia and the State Security Service of Azerbaijan in the Tavush region is false.
 
“A meeting in a similar format took place a few days ago in the neutral zone of the Ararat region bordering the village of Yeraskh. A similar meeting was held today in the settlements of Vorotan and Shurnukh in the Syunik province, during which the exchange of prisoners and the search for the missing were discussed,” the statement noted. “The Director of the National Security Service acts exclusively within the powers granted by the law.”