Author: Chakrian Hovsep

The Azerbaijani government has begun arresting anti-war activists in the country following its offensive to take over Nagorno-Karabakh. 

At least five people known for publicly criticizing the attack were arrested in the last few days, and one’s whereabouts is unknown.

In the weeks preceding the offensive, Azerbaijani state-run and government-aligned media had mounted a smear campaign against the country’s small community of anti-war voices that emerged after the Second Karabakh War in 2020.

The first reported detention was of former Azerbaijani diplomat Emin Shaig Ibrahimov. He was arrested on September 20 and placed in administrative custody for a month for “spreading prohibited information,” according to his lawyer Agil Layic. 

Layic quoted his client as saying that he was taken from his home by plainclothes officers pretending to be utility workers, and that his house was raided without a warrant, with his laptop and cell phones confiscated. 

“The real reason for his arrest is his use of social media for expressing his views and criticism,” Layic said, quoting his client. 

Ibrahimov has long been known for his skeptical social media posts about Azerbaijan’s activities vis-a-vis Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. In his last Facebook post before his arrest, he reiterated his belief that Azerbaijan’s blockade of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, its installation of a checkpoint on that road, and launch of the latest assault, were all agreed with Russia, which has peacekeeping contingent in the Armenian-populated region. 

On the same day, another outspoken critic of Azerbaijan’s war efforts, Amrah Tahmazov, was put in jail for a month on the same charges. Tahmazov is known for his opposition to the 2020 war (in which Azerbaijan retook most of the territory it had lost in the first war in the 1990s) and the Azerbaijani government in general. In May too, he served a one-month administrative sentence after he wrote a Facebook post criticizing President Ilham Aliyev in defense of a fellow hunger-striking activist. 

A day earlier, activist Javid Ahmadov was summoned to the State Security Service, and released after reportedly being interrogated for four hours about his anti-war stance. 

Nemat Abbasov, another activist who is himself a veteran of the 2020 war, was detained on September 20 for a month on charges of disobeying the police. He had written on Facebook that “[a]ny mentality that legitimizes human deaths is stupid and wicked. Whatever their intention, thoughts that serve hatred, death, and any such concepts must be rejected.” 

A day later, journalist Nurlan Gahramanli was arrested for a month on charges of spreading prohibited information. His friends who attended his hearing said he told the court that he had been beaten by officers of the prosecutor’s office. He is quoted as saying that he believes his arrest was because of his anti-war posts.

On September 13, before the offensive, Gahramanli had told VoA that he had been summoned to the State Security Service and threatened with rape for his posts condemning Baku’s apparent plans for a new offensive. 

Another activist, Afiaddin Mammadov, was arrested on charges of hooliganism and intentionally causing damage to a person’s health. His supporters say it was a set-up. According to one fellow activist, he found himself in the vicinity of a person who had stabbed himself, he (Mammadov) was then punched in the face so he could not leave the scene and had the knife forcibly placed in his hand so it would have his fingerprints. 

Another government critic, Movsum Mammadov, was reportedly summoned to the prosecutor’s office in Kurdamir, a town in central Azerbaijan, two days ago. His whereabouts have been unknown since then. In his most recent Facebook posts, he mocked the launch of the new war and lamented the loss of soldiers’ lives. 

The Azerbaijani government has never been at ease with those calling for peace or criticizing the country’s stance on the Karabakh conflict. During the 2020 war, several peace activists were summoned to the State Security Service, though none were arrested at that time. 

In September last year, following Azerbaijan’s attacks on Armenian territory, pro-government media started a campaign against oppositionists who condemned the offensive, calling them traitors. One young politician, Ahmad Mammadli, known for his anti-war calls, was placed in administrative detention at the time. 

And most recently, on the eve of the latest offensive, Azerbaijani media resumed its smear campaign against anti-war activists. 

“During the recent war [President] Aliyev has also continued his usual business of imprisoning his critics,” Altay Goyushov, historian and government critic, posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Several peace activists including Amrah Tahmazov were locked behind bars yesterday. Amrah is accused of violating the internet rules of Azerbaijan, which in the language of local authorities means that he caused troubles to Aliyev’s propaganda ring.” 

The US has failed to address the dire humanitarian situation in contested Nagorno-Karabakh, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez said on Tuesday as he called for sanctions on Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

Mr Menedez also called for an immediate halt to US aid to Baku in a powerful 15-minute speech on the Senate floor.

“I don’t know how the United States can justify spending any kind of support, security or otherwise to the regime in Baku … to send them assistance makes a mockery of [US aid],” he said.

Also known as Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh is an internationally recognised part of Azerbaijan, despite having a majority ethnic Armenian population.

Azerbaijan has blockaded the region since December and installed a military checkpoint at the critical Lachin Corridor.

The UN Security Council discussed the blockade in August, after a former International Criminal Court prosecutor said the blockade may amount to a “genocide” against Armenians. Lawyers representing Azerbaijan called the claims unsubstantiated and inaccurate.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars also recently warned of the risk of genocide against the Armenian population in the region.

Mr Menedez called on the US ambassador to the UN to introduce a Security Council resolution that would force an end to the blockade.

The powerful committee chairman held up a photo that allegedly showed the body of an emaciated Armenian in the disputed territory, demonstrating the blockade’s impact on civilian health.

He cited videos “of Azerbaijani forces killing unarmed Armenian soldiers in cold blood, reports of Azerbaijani soldiers sexually assaulting and mutilating and Armenian female soldiers,” which he claimed “bears the hallmarks of genocide.”

“We have seen and heard this kind of propaganda throughout history. It is the work of a regime intent on destroying and erasing this ancient Armenian community’s history in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Mr Menedez said.

“Without immediate action this group of Armenians will be destroyed within a few weeks.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke to Mr Aliyev by phone, where he “reiterated our call to reopen the Lachin Corridor to humanitarian, commercial and passenger traffic, while recognising the importance of additional routes from Azerbaijan”, the State Department said.

Reuters reported that a Russian lorry carrying food aid for Armenians in the Karabakh city of Khankendi set off via the Aghdam road on Tuesday, amid uncertainty over the sustainability of a potential deal on aid deliveries.

Eight years after the Armenian Genocide of 1915 left more than one million Armenians dead or displaced, Armenia looked toward the power of film to reestablish the country’s culture and heal its wounds. 

The establishment of the Armenian State Committee of Cinema in 1923 heralded a robust era of filmmaking in the nation. While Armenian filmmakers faced restrictions from the Soviet Union, they did not stop sharing stories, which continue to shape Armenian filmmakers today.

Now, a century later, hundreds gathered in Glendale from Sept. 6 to 10 to celebrate the legacy of Armenian cinema as part of the inaugural Armenian Film Festival, launched by the Armenian Film Society, a non-profit organization raising awareness about Armenian filmmakers. 

“[This] film festival is a celebration, but it’s also an opportunity to better highlight Armenia as a country [and] as a culture,” said Armen Karaoghlanian, School of Cinematic Arts alum and co-founder of the Armenian Film Society.

Armen and his wife Mary started AFS in 2015. By hosting Q&A events and posting on social media about Armenian filmmakers in the industry, AFS established its presence across the Armenian diaspora. 

As support for AFS grew, the couple wanted to find more impactful ways to bring the community together and spotlight Armenian artists, leading to the conception of the Armenian Film Festival.

“We decided to do this, mainly because we felt like we were lacking a film festival in L.A. that is for Armenians, by Armenians [and] about Armenians,” Karaoghlanian said. “We’ve been very intentional in the programming in that we want there to be a variety of stories, all windows into who we are as people.”

The festival opened at the historic Alex Theatre with the premiere of Emmy-award winning actor and director Michael Goorjian’s film “Amerikatsi,” providing audiences with a “window” into the Armenian experience. 

“Amerikatsi,” which translates to “The American,” portrays a period of repatriation in Soviet Armenia. Charlie, the titular Amerikatsi played by Goorjian, returns to Armenia but finds himself stuck in prison because of miscommunication. Here, he gazes into the home of an Armenian couple from his prison window and discovers the beauty of his culture. 

“Every Armenian truth from our past to our present [are connected] into one emotional beautiful experience,” said Serj Tankian, System of a Down musician and executive producer on the film, during a post-screening discussion. 

These thematic strains of resilience and community reappeared throughout the festival. Filmmakers Milena Mooradian and Avo John Kambourian cited the strong bond of the Armenian community as inspirations for their short films shown on the festival’s third day. 

“The strength and resilience and community is so innate [among Armenians]. That emphasis really inspired me to bring more people together to talk about things people don’t usually want to talk about.” said Mooradian, a third-generation Armenian American discussing the inspirations behind her short film “Cycles,” a Student Academy Award semifinalist. 

“Cycles” is a surrealist exploration of the menstruation cycle’s innate connection to the natural world. Mooradian wanted to foster more open conversations about womanhood with this film. 

“There’s definitely a macho attitude, not just among Armenian [men] but men in general. I want them to see the film and recognize the power and beauty of what women hold,” Mooradian said.

From a young age, Kambourian, a recent MFA graduate from SCA, was motivated to pursue a career in filmmaking by the Armenian community. 

“I was always inspired by the stories that I would hear from my parents or my friends,” Kambourian said. “Seeing an Armenian name in the credits is [also] very inspiring because it says ‘Oh, I can do that too.’” 

Now, Kambourian finds his name on the silver screen, as he presents his short documentary film, “Echoes of Kef Time” which documents renowned Armenian American musician Richard Hagopian’s journey in passing down the folk music, known as “Kef,” to his grandchildren following his footsteps.

Recipient of Best Documentary Film at the USC Industry Relations Awards, “Echoes of Kef Time” represents a specific Armenian experience that also resonates across cultural boundaries. 

“The message is that we survive by culture,” Kambourian said. “Whether what’s happening in Artsakh right now [or] what happened during the Soviet Union collapse … we’ve always come out of it with a lot of culture and self-reflection.”

The Armenian Film Festival served as an opportunity for self-reflection in the Armenian community. From a book signing with legendary filmmaker Howard Kazanjian to countless  screenings to a closing night conversation with SCA alum and producer Sev Ohanian, the festival highlighted the diversity and creativity of the Armenian diaspora. 

“Hopefully [audiences] can walk away with a better understanding of who Armenians are because they might hear about the struggles we are going through, [but] I can’t think of a better way to really understand the [Armenian] people than through film,” Karaoghlanian said. 

https://dailytrojan.com/2023/09/12/festival-celebrates-armenian-filmmaking/

A Brentwood intersection was dedicated Thursday as Republic of Artsakh Square in an effort to raise awareness of the Azerbaijan blockade of Artsakh and its impacts.

The City Council voted in May to designate the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue as Republic of Artsakh Square in honor of the embattled region that has great meaning for Southern California’s vast Armenian community.

Azerbaijan’s Los Angeles consulate is located at the intersection..

“Azerbaijan’s dictator has explicitly threatened genocide and called for the expulsion of all Armenians from territories he claims, once again threatening the annihilation of the Armenian people in their ancient homeland,” City Council President Paul Krekorian said in a statement when the council approved the designation of the intersection.

A Brentwood intersection was dedicated Thursday as Republic of Artsakh Square in an effort to raise awareness of the Azerbaijan blockade of Artsakh and its impacts.

The City Council voted in May to designate the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue as Republic of Artsakh Square in honor of the embattled region that has great meaning for Southern California’s vast Armenian community.

Azerbaijan’s Los Angeles consulate is located at the intersection..

“Azerbaijan’s dictator has explicitly threatened genocide and called for the expulsion of all Armenians from territories he claims, once again threatening the annihilation of the Armenian people in their ancient homeland,” City Council President Paul Krekorian said in a statement when the council approved the designation of the intersection.

Azerbaijan Consul General Ramil Gurbanov issued a statement Thursday expressing his “deep concern regarding the decision of the Los Angeles City Council to name the intersection of Wilshire and Granville streets as “republic of artsakh square” and unveiling of street signs. This provocative act goes against international law, the spirit of peace, and confidence-building in the region and undermines the efforts of international diplomacy.”

https://mynewsla.com/life/2023/09/01/brentwood-intersection-dedicated-as-republic-of-artsakh-square-2/

After some initial confusion, EU officials confirmed that on August 14th, Tuesday evening, a European observer mission in the disputed region around the Azerbaijan-Armenia border had come under fire in what Armenian officials immediately pinned on the Azeri army.

According to reports and subsequent footage that emerged from the incident, European observers were temporarily pinned down by what was believed to be small arms fire from Azeri forces while on the Armenian side of the border, where they had been conducting their duties.