Author: Eduard Nalbandian

Azerbaijani press: Thomas Goltz: Moving civilians into occupied territories is Crime of War

Eduard Nalbandian
2 September 2020 13:00 (UTC+04:00)
578

By Trend

According the Geneva Conventions, moving civilians into a war zone as well as into (pacified) occupied territories is a Crime of War, Thomas Goltz, journalist, professor at the University of Montana (US), Honorary Doctor of ADA University, told Trend.

His remarks came in response to a question about the illegal settlement of other ethnic groups by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

“The problem is proving it and then prosecuting it,” said Goltz.

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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

Environment Minister orders immediate proceedings over killing of endangered brown bear cub

Eduard Nalbandian

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 15:17, 26 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan has ordered an immediate response to the killing of a bear cub in the Armenian countryside. Former lawmaker Lyova Khachatryan found the cub and contacted authorities and shared photos online. 

The ministry will contact law enforcement agencies and the Environmental and Subsoil Inspection Agency for further proceedings, Petrosyan’s spokesperson Davit Grigoryan said in a statement.

The brown bear is currently listed in Armenia’s Red Book – the list of the country’s endangered, vulnerable or threatened animals under special protection. Hunting an endangered animal is punishable by up to 3 months in jail with up to 5 million drams in penalties. Grigoryan says the ministry condemns the “unacceptable” act against the endangered animal.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

VII Fresco International Festival to kick off in Berd border town

Eduard Nalbandian

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 15:14,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. The 7th Fresco International Festival of Modern Art and Spiritual Films is scheduled to kick off August 22.

Fresco seeks to promote universal values through spiritual and cultural dialogue.

The event will be inaugurated in Berd, an Armenian border town in the Province of Tavush. The eponymous Berd Dance Ensemble will perform an open-air concert at the opening ceremony, followed by screenings of international films. Organizers said they will strictly follow the national coronavirus safety guidelines.

The festival’s Yerevan program will start August 24th and will run through September 1st in downtown, near the Katoghike Church, featuring film screenings, discussions, concerts and online meetings.

As part of the event, the State Dance Ensemble will perform on August 28th. Then, on August 29th, a concert honoring singer Ruben Hakhverdyan’s 70th birthday will take place.

Musician and composer Djivan Gasparyan’s performance is scheduled for August 30.

63 films from 23 countries have been selected from more than 3000 applications from 85 countries.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijani Press: Aliyev Asks Putin To Clarify Russian Military Shipment To Armenia

Eduard Nalbandian
Caspian News, Azerbaijan
Aug 14 2020

By Mushvig Mehdiyev August 14, 2020

Azerbaijan’ President Ilham Aliyev (R) received his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of Azerbaijan-Russia Interregional Forum, September 27, 2018 / President.Az

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    • In a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed reports about the delivery of large amounts of military supplies from Russia to Armenia starting on July 17, right after Armenia-Azerbaijan border skirmishes ended.

President Aliyev said the more than 400-ton Russian military shipment to Armenia raises concern and serious questions among the Azerbaijani public, emphasizing that the main purpose of the phone call was to clarify this issue, President.Az reports.

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan boiled over after Armenia attacked Azerbaijani positions stationed in the Tovuz region on the border with Armenia on July 12. A four-day war claimed the lives of 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including one general, and a civilian.

On their part, Armenian authorities reported four of its soldiers were killed. However, this figure has been dismissed by the public, who claim the true death toll to be over 30.

According to the 1news.az news portal, Russia was delivering modern weapons to Armenia during the height of fighting in Tovuz. After the ceasefire, Russia operated eight more flights carrying military supplies, including two flights on July 17 and one flight each on July 18, 20, 27, 29 and August 4, 6.

The military cargo planes were forced to make a detour on their way to Armenia after Georgia did not allow Russia to use its airspace for the delivery. Instead, the Il-76 heavy cargo-carrying aircraft flew along a route stretching from the Russian cities of Rostov and Minvody to the cities of Aktau in Kazakhstan, Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan and Nowsher in Iran. The final stretch of the flight was operated over Armenia’s southern town of Meghri near the border with Iran, finally arriving to the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

As a result, what was supposed to be a 500-km trip lasting one hour, turned into a 2000-km trip lasting three and a half hours.

Azerbaijan also accused Serbia of selling mortars and ammunition to Armenia during the fighting. Serbian officials confirmed that two private companies delivered arms to Armenia based on two separate contracts signed with Yerevan’s government in May and June.

While Serbian authorities initially defended the arms shipment, the country’s president Aleksandar Vucic later admitted that it was a “wrong decision.” In a phone call with his President Aliyev, Vucic expressed his regret over the use of Serbian-made weapons by the Armenian military and vowed a thorough investigation into the issue.

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have simmered since the late 1980s. At the time, anti-Azerbaijani sentiment grew after Armenia started to illegally claim the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. However, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, of which both Armenia and Azerbaijan were part of, the tensions boiled over into a full-scale war after Armenia launched military campaign against Azerbaijan. The full-scale war lasted until a ceasefire was reached in 1994.

Since then, Armenia has illegally occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, making up 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory. It has also killed 30,000 and displaced one million ethnic Azerbaijanis. 

Armenia has been refusing to fulfill four UN resolutions that demand unconditional withdrawal of the forces from the occupied lands and return of displaced people to their houses.

Turkish press: Azerbaijani president receives Turkish defense minister – Turkey News

Eduard Nalbandian
  • August 14 2020 09:11:31

Turkey will be Azerbaijan’s number one partner in military and military-technical cooperation in the near future, President Ilham Aliyev said on Aug. 13 during a meeting with a delegation led by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.  

“As is the case in all other areas, our cooperation in the military and military-technical spheres is developing fast. It is no secret that Turkey possesses a strong military-industrial potential and we are benefiting from this potential,” said Aliyev. 

He underlined that Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises reflect the unity and brotherhood between the two countries, noting that more than 10 joint exercises are held in both Turkey and Azerbaijan each year. 

Aliyev said that with such exercises being commonplace, there is no reason for some countries to be concerned, as it is just another manifestation of Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood. 

During the visit, Akar condemned the recent attack by Armenia in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district. 

“Azerbaijan is not alone. We will continue to support Azerbaijan in its just struggle. In the struggle of Azerbaijan for the liberation of the occupied lands, we, Turkey with a population of 83 million, are next to our brothers,” he said. 

Last month, Armenia attacked Azerbaijani troops in the northwestern Tovuz border region. At least 12 Azerbaijani soldiers were martyred, including a major general and a colonel. A 76-year-old Azerbaijani citizen also lost his life. 

Azerbaijan accused Armenia of “provocative” actions, with Ankara warning Yerevan that it would not hesitate to stand against any kind of attack on Azerbaijan. 

Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, has been under illegal Armenian occupation since 1991. 

International organizations including the U.N. have demanded the withdrawal of the occupational forces. 

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the US, was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. 

The war games between the two countries began on July 29, and Aug. 5 was the last day of ground engagements taking place in the capital Baku and the exclave of Nakhchivan – Azerbaijan’s autonomous region bordering Turkey – with artillery, armored vehicles and mortars striking simulated targets

High Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan considers options of helping Syrian-Armenians in COVID-19 response

Eduard Nalbandian

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 16:52,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan says discussions are underway to understand how they can help Armenians living in Syria in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at a press conference on August 14, Sinanyan said Armenians in Syria face not only financial but healthcare problems.

“Indeed, this issue exists and it was raised by our Syrian-Armenian compatriots. We are considering how we can help. The problem concerns medication, the most basic medications have become unavailable [there]. We are now thinking how we can [quickly] help our compatriots”, he said. 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Ucom Customers to Transfer 105 Million Drams to Insurance Foundation for Servicemen

Eduard Nalbandian

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 12:09,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. (Press Release) Ucom will transfer 105 million drams on behalf of its subscribers to the Insurance Foundation for Servicemen, taking into account the direction and importance of the latter’s activity. The decision has been made on the basis of the results of free SMS-voting and calls among Ucom fixed services’ subscribers.

The anonymous SMS-voting was carried out by “Nikita Mobile” company through the collection of the subscribers’ opinions on the disposal of the amount, sent to 1004 short number. 74.85% of thousands of subscribers have voted in favor of transferring 105 million AMD to the Insurance Foundation for Servicemen, while 25.15% voted in favor of distributing the amount among the subscribers.

“Despite this difficult period for the Company: the simultaneous departure of a large number of employees, technical and financial challenges, the Company has put continous efforts to resolve all tasks. We wouldn’t have liked the results of internal processes and settlement works to be visible to our subscribers, for which we apologize. We are really grateful to our customers for their patience, understanding and loyalty, and the decision to allocate funds is just our way of being thankful. The vast majority of subscribers preferred to transfer the entire amount to the Insurance Foundation of Servicemen and thus assist to solve one of the important issues in this country”, said Ara Sergei Khachatryan.

Film: Yessian documentary "An Armenian Trilogy" released in 5 languages

Eduard Nalbandian
Shoot Online
Aug 6 2020
Yessian documentary “An Armenian Trilogy” released in 5 languages

Dan Yessian
  • DETROIT

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“I See Wings,” the symphonic ballad recorded by Detroit performing artist Kenny Watson and featured in the documentary An Armenian Trilogy, has been released on iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify. The film about American composer Dan Yessian’s journey from advertising music creator to writing his first classical composition in remembrance of the 1915 Armenian Genocide victims, has also now been released with subtitles in French, Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Eastern Armenian on Vimeo.  The film was recently released on Amazon. Yessian composed “I See Wings” in collaboration with his longtime songwriting partner David Barrett, who is known for composing the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship anthem “One Shining Moment.”

“The song “I See Wings” is a memorial to all souls lost to the atrocities of hate,” explained Yessian. “While the Armenian Genocide happened a century ago, the age-old question of why people harm others due to differences remains too relevant today. My hope is the language of music can provide some healing.”

Watson said, “The lyrics are about a connection to ancestors and for me that would be to my African heritage. The song is beautiful, moving and calls out to anyone whose relatives have suffered unjustly.”

Yessian, who is of Armenian descent, was asked by his priest to write a classical composition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, when 1.5 million Armenian citizens were massacred by the Turkish Ottoman Empire from 1915-1922. The three movements of the composition, called “An Armenian Trilogy–The Freedom, The Fear and The Faith,” were originally written for piano and violin before being fully orchestrated. The documentary follows Yessian from his childhood as a budding clarinet player, to the early years of his business, through the success of his international music company, and then to Armenia where his composition was performed by the world-renowned Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra.  The film has been shown at festivals throughout the U.S. and won Best Score, Audience Choice and Exceptional Merit awards. 

Yessian is the founder of Yessian Music Inc., with offices in Detroit, L.A., NY and Hamburg, Germany. He was inducted into the Adcraft Hall of Fame in 2018. The company creates TV commercial music for brands such as United Airlines, Ford, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Nintendo, Disney, Walmart and Toyota. 


Armenia COVID-19: 196 new cases, 6 deaths in last 24 hours

Eduard Nalbandian

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 11:12, 4 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, ARMENPRESS. 196 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Armenia in the last 24 hours, bringing the total cumulative number of confirmed infections to 39298.

6 people have died from coronavirus complications over the past day, the health ministry said. So far, there have been a total of 768 fatal outcomes of COVID-19 cases in the country.

511 people recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 30372.

The number of active cases stands at 7930.

A total of 168164 tests have been carried out in the country since the outbreak began.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan




Justice ministry unveils bill on creating anti-corruption court

Eduard Nalbandian

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 11:41, 3 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Justice of Armenia has unveiled the bill on amending the Judicial Code and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament that envisage the creation of an Anti-Corruption Court. The bill has been published for public discussions.

The specialized court will be composed of 25 judges, 5 of whom will exclusively examine cases concerning Stolen Asset Recovery cases.

The legislative changes also propose the creation of an Appellate Anti-Corruption Court, composed of 10 judges.

Apart from other regulations, the bill also suggests introducing integrity examinations for candidates for prosecutors.

 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan