Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

Azerbaijani troops terrorize Karabakh civilians, demand them to flee

Elizabeth Jabejian
Feb 26 2022

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Azerbaijani military has been threatening the residents of the village of Khramort, Nagorno-Karabakh for several days now, using loudspeakers to demand that they leave their homes and surrender the settlement to Azerbaijan.

According to journalist Tsovinar Barkhudaryan, a voice speaking in Armenian claims that if the villagers fail to leave the area voluntarily, the Azeris “will have to use force.”

The Azerbaijanis also say “Khramort is Azerbaijan, Kharabakh is Azerbaijan” to spread panic among the civilians.

Barkhudaryan revealed in a social media post on Friday, February 25 that a total 98 families, including 11 displaced during the Second Karabakh War, currently live in the village.

Court acquits Diyarbakır lawyers tried for Armenian genocide, Kurdistan remarks

Elizabeth Jabejian
Feb 22 2022
By

 SCF

 –

A Turkish court has acquitted current and former administrators of the Diyarbakır Bar Association who stood trial over references to the “Armenian genocide” and “Kurdistan,” Turkish Minute reported.

They were charged with insulting the Turkish nation and inciting hatred and hostility among the people.

The nine defendants acquitted by the Diyarbakır 13th High Criminal Court included Diyarbakır Bar Association President Nahit Eren and the association’s former president, Ahmet Özmen, MA said, adding that the charges were based on reports and statements released by the association between 2016 and 2018.

According to Mezopotamya, in two of those reports, which were issued on April 24, 2017 and April 24, 2018, the association used the term “genocide” when referring to the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916.

Armenians — supported by historians and scholars — say 1.5 million of their people died in a genocide committed under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Turkey accepts that both Armenians and Turks died in huge numbers as Ottoman forces fought czarist Russia but vehemently denies a deliberate policy of genocide and notes that the term had not been legally defined at the time.

In one of the statements the association condemned the temporary suspension from parliament of Osman Baydemir, a former lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), for using the word “Kurdistan” during a speech in parliament.

The statement released on Dec. 18, 2017 was titled “Punishing [use of the] _expression_ Kurdistan is shameful, unacceptable!” Mezopotamya said.

At the latest hearing of the lawyers’ trial, which started on Nov. 18, 2020, the court acquitted all nine defendants of the charges, also ordering the payment of TL 10,250 ($740) to each of them.

The decision would seem to indicate that using the words “Armenian genocide” and “Kurdistan” does not constitute a crime.

The Turkish bureaucracy and the public remain overly sensitive to the word “Kurdistan” and the tri-colored Kurdistan flag, which in some cases have been associated with “treason and terrorism” linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU.

More than 40,000 people, including 5,500 security force members, have been killed in four decades of fighting between the Turkish state and the PKK.

There have been cases of people being arrested for wearing Kurdistan T-shirts, activists detained for waving Kurdistan flags and students interrogated for tweeting pictures of the flag.

The websites of Turkey’s Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the state-run Anadolu news agency refer to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq as Kurdistan.

UNESCO responds to Azerbaijan: Heritage, history should not be subject of any political instrumentalization

Elizabeth Jabejian
 NEWS.am 
Armenia – Feb 15 2022
16:39, 15.02.2022

UNESCO continues working to send an Independent Technical Mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, the UNESCO Press Office said in response to the query of Armenpress, commenting on the reports about the cases of distortion and destruction of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) territories that have come under the Azerbaijani control after the 2020 war.

UNESCO hopes that this mission will be possible soon.

“We continue working to send a UNESCO Independent Technical Mission within the framework of the 1954 Convention. We hope that it will be possible soon, but for the moment the necessary conditions are not in place. So discussions are still ongoing”, Thomas Mallard, Press Officer at UNESCO, said.

Considering the fact that on December 7, 2021, the International Court of Justice has ordered Azerbaijan to “take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artifacts,” as a provisional measure in the context of Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), how does the organization assess the mentioned actions by Azerbaijan’s government regarding the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, UNESCO said: “Heritage and history shouldn’t be the subject of any political instrumentalization. We urge all our Member States, all over the world, to respect this principle.”

To note, many of these cultural crimes and vandalism by Azerbaijan are registered on .

Asbarez: Congressman Adam Schiff Visits Armenian American Museum Construction Site

Elizabeth Jabejian
by Contributor

 

 February 16, 2022

 

in Community, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

From left: Armenian American Museum Executive Director Shant Sahakian, Congressman Adam Schiff, Armenian American Museum Executive Chairman Berdj Karapetian

GLENDALE—The Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California welcomed Congressman Adam Schiff for a special tour of the construction site of the landmark center. The museum is slated to complete the Foundation Phase of construction in Summer 2022.

“I was thrilled to see all of the great progress being made at the Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California. When finished, the museum will draw people from all over the country and the world to learn from and appreciate the Armenian experience,” said Schiff. “The Armenian story is an American story, one of hope in the face of hardship, of perseverance, and of new beginnings, and the Museum will help ensure that story gets told for generations to come. It is an honor to work alongside my Armenian American constituents for recognition and justice, and I’ll keep working to make certain that this museum gets the support it deserves.”

From left: Armenian American Museum Executive Director Shant Sahakian, Congressman Adam Schiff, Armenian American Museum Executive Vice Chairman Zaven Kazazian From left: PNG Builders Project Executive Vince Arriola, Congressman Adam Schiff, Armenian American Museum Executive Director Shant Sahakian, Armenian American Museum Executive Chairman Berdj Karapetian

In Summer 2021, Congressman Schiff announced that $950,000 was secured in the fiscal year 2022 federal government funding legislation in support of the construction and development of the landmark center. When passed through Congress, the funding will support the ongoing construction and the development of the museum’s permanent exhibition and programming. The funds would represent the federal government’s first investment in the landmark center.

The Armenian American Museum is a world class cultural and educational institution that is currently under construction in the museum campus at Glendale Central Park. The museum will offer a wide range of public programming through the Permanent Exhibition, Temporary Exhibitions, Auditorium, Learning Center, Demonstration Kitchen, Archives Center, and more.

The mission of the museum is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience. The vision is a cultural campus that enriches the community, educates the public on the Armenian American story, and empowers individuals to embrace cultural diversity and speak out against prejudice.

For more information, visit the website.

Armenia COVID-19: Over 1400 new cases, 30 deaths in one day

Elizabeth Jabejian

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 11:38,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. 1469 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 414,764, the Armenian National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

30 people died, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 8308.

2587 people recovered (total 388,780).

5879 tests were conducted (total 2,857,715).

As of February 19 the number of active cases stood at 16,088.

EU will continue efforts for the return of Armenian POWs held in Azerbaijan

Elizabeth Jabejian

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 18:35,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Suren Papikyan received the delegation led by Toivo Klaar, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia. The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin also took part in the meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was infomred from the press service of the Defense Miinstry, greeting the guests, Suren Papikyan thanked the EU leadership, and personally Ambassador Klaar, for the active efforts for the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, presented the situation in Artsakh, on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Toivo Klaar noted that the European Union is ready to assist for the final settlement of the conflict, stabilization of the situation, and promotion of negotiations at various levels. It was noted that the European Union will continue to work in the humanitarian sphere, in particular, in the direction of the return of prisoners of war, other detainees and missing persons.

During the meeting, the parties also touched upon other issues related to regional security.

Spy scandal in Yerevan: Azerbaijani intelligence recruits Armenian servicemen on social media

Elizabeth Jabejian

Feb 10 2022


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Spy network in Armenia

The National Security Service of Armenia announced that it had identified and neutralized a spy network operating in the country. It is reported that dozens of Armenian servicemen were involved in it. 19 people have already been detained, some of them have already confessed.

According to the NSS statement, the network was created by foreign intelligence services. In the video, which was distributed by the press service of the department, one of the officers, in his testimony, clarifies that he met “with employees of the special services of Azerbaijan” on Facebook.

  • Karabakh official accuses HALO Trust of spying for Turkey
  • Armenian parliament speaker accused of being ‘Turkish agent’, NSS refutes
  • The ‘fake news epidemic’ in Armenia and the attempts to put an end to it

The SNB report describes how the spy network was created. It is said that in order to reduce the risk of exposure, fake accounts of supposedly Armenian women were opened on social media with personal photographs. Those women would then itroduce themselves to Armenian officers.

All employees of foreign intelligence services were fluent in Armenian, these “network acquaintances were transformed into close relationships.” Then the servicemen were offered to provide information about the armed forces of Armenia for a certain remuneration.

In particular, they were asked about the location of troops, the number and types of military and engineering equipment, details about the personnel and command staff of military units, the deployment of defensive structures.

The attention of the special services was attracted by the Armenian military, who, according to their official status, had access to this kind of information. The recruits transmitted both information known to them and found out additional information that was of interest to the intelligence officers who contacted them. The data was transmitted using mobile applications.

The National Security Service of Armenia assessed the behavior of the citizens of Armenia involved in the agent network as “treacherous actions against their state”.

The department reports that the identities of the recruited officers were established “as part of large-scale operational actions”. These are the military, who held various positions in the Armed Forces, who had access to documents containing official state secrets. The National Security Service assures that the volume and nature of the transferred information have been clarified, and the transfer of more data has been prevented.

In a statement, the National Security Service of Armenia says that there is all evidence of cooperation with foreign intelligence services “in exchange for paying for a network of agents whose hostile activities were directed against the sovereignty, territorial integrity and external security of Armenia”. Checks were also found confirming the receipt of a fee in foreign currency.

It is reported that during the investigation, more than 30 searches were carried out, official documents were identified and seized, including the original, as well as “objects of significant importance for the criminal case”.


Air temperature to rise by 3-5 degrees in Armenia

Elizabeth Jabejian

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 14:46,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. No precipitation is expected in Armenia in the daytime of February 12, on February 13 and 15-17, the ministry of emergency situations reports.

Air temperature will gradually rise by 3-5 degrees in the daytime of February 12-13.

No precipitation is expected in Yerevan in the daytime of February 12 and on February 13-17.

Retailers to be banned from displaying cigarette substitutes

Elizabeth Jabejian

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 11:45,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government approved new restrictions at the Cabinet meeting that will restrict the display of cigarette substitutes by retailers.

“In 2020, the Government of Armenia made a very serious political decision on the restrictions of tobacco and tobacco substitutes and the provisions are gradually taking effect,” the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

He said the technical regulations for cigarette substitutes must be defined by the Law on Reducing and Preventing the Harmful Health Effects of Tobacco and Substitute Use.

Kerobyan said the regulations are a highly important contribution for the health of Armenian citizens.

The law banning retailers from displaying tobacco products on January 1.