Author: Ekmekjian Janet

The ministry of foreign affairs and the civil defence announced on Wednesday that Cyprus has sent humanitarian aid to the people of Armenia.

“Cyprus could not remain uninvolved […] after the recent dramatic events and the displacement of more than 100,000 people from the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Armenia as a result of the military enterprise of Azerbaijan,” the announcement said.

Responding to a request by the EU civil protection mechanism, after completion of acceptance procedures by Armenia, the Republic of Cyprus on Tuesday sent €15,200 worth of medical and pharmaceutical supplies, donated by the state health services (Okypy) for the treatment of refugees who fled to Armenia.

The shipment of the cargo was carried out by air in the afternoon, on a flight by Cyprus Airways which waived the transport cost.

The ministry thanked the participants in the aid effort for their contribution.

“We hope that our cooperation will be extended to other humanitarian actions and initiatives,” it said.

Azerbaijan perpetuated its firm, supportive position in favor of Pakistan on its Kashmir narrative, as stated by the outgoing Azeri Ambassador to India, Ashraf Shikaliyev, in an interview.

Azerbaijan has maintained an amicable relationship with Pakistan, a policy in line with the the country’s affinity for a stance similar to its Turkish brother. Turkey has consistently maintained its cordial relations with Pakistan.

Most analysts would attribute this attitude to Erdogan’s growing aspirations to execute more clout in the South Asian region, directly or indirectly through its friend, Pakistan. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has staunchly maintained that Turkey would continue to extend its aid to Pakistan’s socio-economic development.

Since Erdogan visited Pakistan in 2020, he has pledged his country’s support to Islamabad over Kashmir.

Earlier in January 2023, a Turkish private military company called SADAT, also known as Erdogan’s private army, reportedly declared to send mercenaries to Kashmir to fight against the Indian Military.

Also, Pakistan’s unwavering support to Turkey regarding the Cypriot matter, has gained several brownie points with Ankara.

In 2021, Pakistani President Arif Alvi pledged solidarity with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

That year, Turkey and the TRNC tried to garner support for an independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was quickly acknowledged by both Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Pakistani parliament speakers accepted the Baku Declaration at a ceremony in the Azeri parliament. The goal of such a declaration was to strengthen ties and cooperation between the three countries.

Following such an initiative, Pakistan, remaining in cohorts with the Turkish agenda, also showed support to Azerbaijan regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Similar to Turkey and Azerbaijan, Pakistan has refused to acknowledge Armenia as a sovereign state.

With the existing tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, there is also a more remarkable development and the involvement of both nations seen on the Nagorno-Karabakh front.

There have been reports of Pakistan and Azerbaijan conducting joint exercises since 2016 and maintaining extensive strategic security contacts. There is also a strong likelihood of Islamabad selling Pakistani and Chinese-designed JF-17 fighter jets to Azerbaijan.

India, on the other hand, has maintained friendly relations with Armenia. In 2022, both nations tried to explore the potential of military cooperation.

With Pakistan supporting Azerbaijan, it is by default expected of India to support Armenia to balance Pakistan’s influence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Earlier in 2020, it was reported that the Indian government and private defense contractors had successfully sold various weapon systems, such as weapons tracking radar systems, multi-barrel rocket launchers, and ammunition to Armenia.

Media reports suggested that Armenia was keen on purchasing loitering munitions and drones from India as well.

In 1995, India and Armenia signed a Friendship and Cooperation Treaty. This was followed by the signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2019, which facilitated further cooperation in trade, investment, defense, and culture.

India ramped up its support to Armenia in 2022. It supplied Armenia with arms and ammunition worth $250 million. This included ePinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRL), anti-tank missiles, rockets, and ammunition. India has also signed a deal with Armenia to supply Akash air defense missiles to the country.

With India becoming an arms supplier to Armenia, it helps fill the vacuum created by the downsizing of Russian arms and strategic influence due to its war in Ukraine. Previously, in 2020, India had also exported a $43 million order of four Swathi weapon-locating radars to Armenia.

In 2022, the Armenian Minister of Defense, Suren Papikyan, met his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, during the Defence Expo 2022. Earlier this year, the Armenian government announced it was posting a military attaché to its embassy in New Delhi to build a stronger bilateral military cooperation with India.

On September 23, Armenia appointed a new Ambassador to India despite the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Armenian concern for purchasing Iranian weapons due to the sanctions and the West’s position against Iran was also ameliorated as Iran initiated the transit of weapons from India to Iran.

These developments were not received well by the Azeris, as they tried to admonish India by asking the Indian government to “reconsider selling and weaponizing Armenia.”

Armenia, too, has expressed its support towards India regarding Kashmir. This stance openly set the stage for the strengthening and restructuring of alliances among the three Islamic nations of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, with Armenia and India in the opposition.

In January 2021, foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Pakistan met in Islamabad to issue a joint declaration that addressed several issues. In the statement, the three nations also outlined concern over “human rights violations in and efforts to change the demographic structure of Jammu and Kashmir.”

The same year, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Pakistan conducted their first joint military drills, known as “Three Brothers – 2021,” in Baku.

It is evident, since Pakistan’s assistance to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, that Azerbaijan appears to be trying, in an act of gratitude and reciprocity, to facilitate the Pakistani stance on the issue of Kashmir.

This stems from the trilateral military alliance, which also involves Turkey, credited with strategizing Azerbaijan’s military victory. It is clear that for the triad of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, the subsequent military objective spells Kashmir.

Despite the ongoing developments, the Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)/ ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL)has also invested in an oilfield project in Azerbaijan, and GAIL (India) is exploring the prospects for cooperation in LNG.

Azerbaijan is a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route. The route joins India with Russia through Central Asia and can also connect India with Turkey and from the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars passenger and freight rail link.

India’s strategic approach in the Mediterranean region comes from its interest in increasing its energy security, which can be sustained through the region’s profuse supply of oil and gas.

Additionally, India looks forward to magnifying its regional trade and investment. This also acts as a countermeasure against China’s growing regional influence.

India’s ambitions to tap into the region with a strong alliance with Armenia, Greece, and Iran raises several red flags for Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, who are also cooperating to counter the Indian influence in the Middle Eastern and Central Asian region.

The region of the South Caucasus becomes a crucial area for India to construct a transportation corridor, the International North-South Transportation Corridor, or INSTC.

Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

This area would act as a junction to link Europe through the Iranian plateau. The planned Rail link by India would pass from North Western Iran through the Southern Caucasus to Russia or the Black Sea.

In this case, India and Iran could either build the link via Armenia’s Southern Syunik Province or the other via the Caspian coast through Azerbaijan.

INSTC provides an excellent advantage for India as it circulates Pakistan, accessing different routes to Europe and Central Asia, which remain blocked. The second beneficial factor also lies in building a closer relationship with Iran.

This move could also assist in countering the growing relationship between Iran and China and their Belt Road Initiative (BRI) in the region.

In January 2023, at the Voice of the South Virtual Summit, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan mentioned that Armenia is interested in “advancing cooperation within the framework of North-South connectivity, as well as the Persian Gulf-Black Sea international transport corridor.”

He further stated, “Armenia considers India’s potential and prospective role for these projects quite significant.”

With the growing relationship between India, Armenia, and Iran, it is expected that miffed Turkey, along with its cronies, will most likely try to entangle India in Pakistan-supplied false narratives on Kashmir to acquire a negative perception of India globally and also to hinder the capacity with which India aspires to take on its ventures in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia.

Pakistan struggles politically and economically while also failing to meet the requirements of the Universal Periodic Report on Human Rights in its homeland. However, it continues to point fingers at one of the world’s largest democracies, India, by raking up the false narratives on Kashmir at the United Nations.

As a result, nations such as Turkey and Azerbaijan, who are aligned with Pakistan, also back the latter as a form of reciprocity while diminishing their ties with India.

Turkey has consistently brought up the Kashmir matter at the UNGA, to which India has asked the country to refrain from interfering in its internal affairs. However, Pakistan’s determination to wage Gazwa-i-Hind and Turkey’s wishes to utilize Pakistan for its gains in South Asia will hardly deter the two from interfering in the Indian matter.

As for Azerbaijan, it acts as a proxy nation for Turkey due to the cultural similarities between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev, too, about the Turkish-Azeri relation, referred to the region of Azerbaijan as a part of “one nation” with “two states.”

• Aparna Rawal is an Indian research analyst specializing in the Af/Pak region and counter-terrorism. VIEWS PERSONAL.
• The author can be reached at aparnarawal (at) gmail.co

The Armenian Genocide monument in Cologne was removed under pressure from racist organisations affiliated with the Turkish state.

Having been the target of constant attacks for years, the Armenian Genocide monument in Cologne, Germany, was finally removed. While a small number of Armenians live in Cologne, the city has turned into the headquarters of the National Vision organisation affiliated to the Turkish state.

French journalist Guillaume Perrier wrote on his X account: "The city of Cologne is finally dismantling a monument commemorating the Armenian genocide. Cologne has a small Armenian community, but above all a large Turkish community".

Journalist Perrier added: "This is above all the result of pressure from the Turkish government and concessions from the German right (the CDU used, encouraged and supported the Grey Wolves and Milli Görüs against the influence of the left on Turkish immigrants)."

French senator Valerie Boyer wrote on her X account that "Cologne has bowed to the Turkish National Visionists who impose the denial of the 1915 Armenian genocide". Boyer said, "This is a direct consequence of Turkish immigration to Germany… It is a harbinger of bitter days in Europe".

The monument in Cologne symbolising the Armenian genocide, which Turkey does not recognise, has been erected and dismantled several times over the years following protests by Turkish nationalists.

The city had the statue removed, sometimes on the grounds of the construction of a cycle path and sometimes out of fear of "social unrest".

After a march in late October by Turkish nationalists, including supporters of the racist, far-right “Ülkü Ocakları” and DITIB associations, the city's final decision was "the monument must be removed".

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday exchanged prisoners of war, in line with an agreement announced last week that also promised the two countries would work towards a peace treaty and was hailed by the European Union as a major step toward peace in the tumultuous region.

Azerbaijan brought back two servicemen, while 32 soldiers returned to Armenia, officials in both countries reported.

Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In their joint statement last week, the two countries said they "share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace." They said they intend "to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."

They also promised to continue discussions "regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures" and called on the international community for support "that will contribute to building mutual trust between two countries."

The joint statement came after the two countries spent months bitterly arguing on the outline of a peace process amid mutual distrust.

As part of the deal, Armenia also agreed to lift its objections to Azerbaijan hosting next year's international conference on climate change.

European Council President Charles Michel praised the agreement as a major breakthrough, saying on X that he particularly welcomes the deal to release detainees and make an "unprecedented opening in political dialogue."

Michel called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize a peace deal as soon as possible.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/armenia-and-azerbaijan-exchange-pows-in-line-with-agreement-announced-last-week-1.6685747

Turkish prosecutors have launched seven investigations and filed three lawsuits against the Diyarbakır Bar Association administration since 2017 for Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), “Insulting the Turkish nation, state, government, Parliament, and its judicial bodiesi” for statements made during Armenian Genocide Remembrance Events.

The Media and Legal Studies Organization (MLSA) documented the Turkish state’s legal battle with the Bar Association of the southeastern Diyarbakır province over its stance on the Armenian genocide. 

A Diyarbakır prosecutor’s office most recently launched an investigation into chair Nahit Eren and ten executive board members of the Diyarbakır Bar Association regarding the statement “Confrontation and reconciliation must begin from 24 April 1915” published on the Bar Association website. 

The investigations for the TCK 301 require approval by the Justice Ministry. The ministry found that the remarks “Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were torn from their lands and were killed or left to die through the relocation supported and controlled by the Committee of Union and Progress,” warranted an investigation. 

The ministry however looked over the 2014 remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan included in the statement: “We wish that the Armenians who died due to conditions of the early 20th century rest in peace, and extend our condolences to their grandchildren.” 

The Bar Association interpreted the President’s remarks as “an important step to confront this dark history,” in their statement that is now subject to an investigation.

Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office called in the Bar Association executives for defense statements. The 11 bar officials rejected to give defenses and claimed that their statement fell under freedom of _expression_.

Deputy head of the Diyarbakır Bar Association Mehdi Özdemir said that the Justice Ministry allowed six investigations so far, four of which turned into lawsuits. The various Bar Association executives were acquitted in two of these cases. One case and two investigations are still ongoing. Özdemir stated another application to investigate the Bar Association’s 2023 Armenian Genocide statement had reached the Justice Ministry. 

Özdemir stated that the Penal Code Article 301 was infamously used to threaten everyone who voiced an opinion opposite to the official ideology of the government. He added, “We believe the enforced disappearances beginning with the 1915 Armenian Genocide and continuing with the 1937-38 Dersim Massacre are realities Turkey needs to face.”

“Unless we confront the truth, we cannot talk of real justice. We will continue defending this struggle for human rights as we honor our values and historical legacy,” said Özdemir.