Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

AW: The Armenian Press

Elizabeth Jabejian
 Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian Keeping the Faith, Columns 0

The English word “press” has multiple meanings. It is a machine for imposing the impression of type on paper. It is printed matter as a whole, especially newspapers and periodicals. It consists of all the media and agencies that print, gather and transmit material to inform and educate the public.

The first newspaper was probably Tsing Pao, a court journal published in Peking (now Beijing), which is said to have started around 500 A.D. and continued until 1935. It was first produced from carved blocks instead of type. This method of printing was hundreds of years old in China by the time the paper began.

The first printed newspaper in Europe was introduced after Johann Gutenberg’s invention of printing from movable type around 1440. The first newspaper, Notizic Seritte, was published more than a century later in Venice, Italy in 1556.

Azdarar, the first Armenian language newspaper ever published, 1794 (Wikimedia Commons)

The first Armenian periodical, a monthly called Azdarar, was published in Madras, India on October 16, 1794, by an Armenian priest named Father Haroutune Shmavonian. The appearance of Azdarar generated tremendous interest and enthusiasm and opened the floodgates of the Armenian press. Scores of Armenian dailies, journals, periodicals, monthlies and yearbooks were published in Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia beginning in the 19th century.

Today, more than two centuries since the publication of the first periodical, the Armenian press remains a vibrant and viable reality. From Armenia to the far corners of the Diaspora, practically every Armenian community sustains at least one newspaper or weekly—not to mention many other specialized periodicals and reviews, which contribute to the intellectual needs of Armenians throughout the world.

The Armenian press, along with the major Armenian institutions—the Armenian church, the Armenian school and the Armenian organizations—plays a very important role in the lives of the Armenian people.

The Armenian press is called to keep its readers informed and knowledgeable about events throughout the Armenian world. By keeping its readers informed, it enables them to understand themselves better—their strengths and their weaknesses—and respond to their needs through action.

Like most of the responsible press, the Armenian press has multiple functions. It informs its readers about the news; it educates; it provides guidance; it gives its readers the opportunity to think, analyze and digest information; it provides mental stimulation, broad perspective and improved command of language; it helps build vocabulary and general knowledge. Moreover, the role of the Armenian press is to publish news that deals with Armenians, whether they are positive or negative. News should be given objectively, as much as possible.

The Armenian press is called to keep its readers informed and knowledgeable about events throughout the Armenian world. By keeping its readers informed, it enables them to understand themselves better—their strengths and their weaknesses—and respond to their needs through action.

Furthermore, whether independent, party-owned or partisan, the Armenian press has a responsibility to be impartial and objective. Credibility as a source of news or information is a crucial test for any news media, electronic or print. Accurate and factual reporting of news stories is a categorical imperative of responsible journalism.

Armenian journalists, like all their fellow non-Armenian journalists, share a code of reportorial ethics. They must live by this code based on their duties. These are, briefly stated, to cover the news fairly, thoroughly and accurately; to report it as truthfully as possible; to explain what it means; to protect sources whenever necessary; and to respect confidence if it is freely offered and willingly accepted. However, while they should respect the privacy of others, responsible journalists should share any information that may affect the lives of the public. 

As for its relationship with other news media, the representatives of the Armenian press must maintain strong ties with one another by exchanging news items and opinions. As a member of the family of the larger news media, the Armenian press should maintain a healthy relationship with non-Armenian media. This is not only a good gesture of public relations, but it is also a wise policy to make friends and influence people for the benefit of the Armenian Cause.

In the Armenian Diaspora, the preservation of national identity is of paramount importance. The dissemination of authoritative information by the Armenian press can motivate Armenians to manifest openly the will to survive as Armenians and can help the pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

As a final thought, a question arises in my mind. If the role of the Armenian press is such an important one, why is it that Armenians who invest so generously in the Armenian organizations treat the Armenian press as a “poor Lazarus?”

  •  Bio
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Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian is the Executive Director of the Armenian Evangelical World Council.


"NK was not a red line for the West, but Armenia could be" – Azerbaijani expert

Elizabeth Jabejian
Oct 16 2023

  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Arif Yunusov on the reintegration of Armenians

Azerbaijani conflictologist Arif Yunusov believes that Azerbaijan’s military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19-20 “were not a shock for the West at all, they were just, once again, unpleasantly surprised”. In an interview with Radio Azatutyun (Liberty) he said that the attitude of the Western partners to the Karabakh events was natural. In this case, they were of the opinion that the hostilities were taking place on the territory of Azerbaijan. However, the penetration of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces into the territory of Armenia could be considered a “red line”.

“If on Karabakh we can say that the fighting took place on the territory of Azerbaijan, legally it is the territory of Azerbaijan, then in case it happens, say, around the “Zangezur corridor”, no matter where and what, it will be Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia. Then maybe, I emphasize that I am not very sure, but maybe more effective steps can be taken against Azerbaijan. And actions are a matter of sanctions,” he said.

Arif Yunusov is an expert on the Karabakh conflict and a former political prisoner. The Azerbaijani authorities accused him of spying in favor of Armenians. In 2016, he sought political asylum in the Netherlands and has not resided in Azerbaijan since then.

  • “Iranian Armed Forces will react if Baku seizes corridor in Armenia”. Opinion from Yerevan
  • “NK issue will become a bargaining subject for Baku with Russia and the West”. Opinion
  • “NK issue will become a bargaining subject for Baku with Russia and the West”. Opinion

Yunusov still believes that in case of an attack by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on Armenia, there will not be such a serious reaction as was observed in the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine. And one should not expect that “troops or something more serious” will be sent against Azerbaijan, as in the case of Ukraine against Russia.

“Perhaps, as we see now, the French will start helping Armenia, for example with military equipment or in the field of intelligence. But so far it is more at the level of words,” he clarified.

In the expert’s opinion, at the moment we can count on strengthening of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border through significant expansion of the EU observation mission. In addition, he believes, Aliyev is under hidden pressure so that he “does not continue to serve as a tool in the hands of Putin“.

European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan because of the counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh

“Aliyev cannot openly say that I don’t need Karabakh with Armenians. That’s why they start playing games with the plan of reintegration of Armenians when they are not there. It is unclear who to reintegrate.”

Yunusov says the reintegration program presented by Azerbaijan is intended not for Armenians or its internal audience, but for the West. It is needed, he said, so that the Azerbaijani authorities, when criticism is voiced against them, will say:

“They ran away on their own, on the contrary we even asked them to stay, gave them food. But they ran away. And we want them back. We even have a reintegration plan, we even have a special commission that will deal with socio-economic problems of Karabakh Armenians.”

The expert considers this program a propaganda move. With its help Baku is trying to show the West that it is “doing everything for the return of Armenians”.

But in reality, according to Yunusov, the return of Armenians to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh “is unrealistic without firm security guarantees.

After the exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from NK, the question arose as to whom the Russian peacekeepers stationed there would now protect. Yunusov believes Baku and Moscow are looking for reasons to keep them there:

“And Aliyev said the other day that some Armenian guerrillas are still roaming the forests there, so Russian troops will stay there.”

The Azerbaijani expert says no one knows who these Armenians in the forests are, but they are presented as “some scary people” and claim that for their sake the Russian army should stay in the region.

“Establishing peace in the South Caucasus and successful cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia” – what Garibashvili and Aliyev talked about in Tbilisi

According to Yunusov, the West’s position on the South Caucasus is based on confrontation with Russia, and its task is to push Russia out of the region.

“In Europe, there is a notion of realpolitik. That is, sympathy or dislike is one thing, but real interests are another. And real interests dictate that the main thing now is to solve problems related to Russia, because when we talk about our region, we are talking about Aliyev and Putin.”

The conflictologist believes that in addition to Russia and Ukraine, the list of world priorities includes the Middle East, Iran, and at the moment, Palestine.

https://jam-news.net/arif-yunusov-on-the-reintegration-of-karabakh-armenians/

Azerbaijan’s president emphasises Georgia’s role in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks

Elizabeth Jabejian
Oct 10 2023
By bne IntelliNews October 9, 2023
Azerbaijan is backing a new mediation format led by Georgia to achieve a peace settlement with Armenia, following its conquest of its rebel territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
President Ilham Aliyev, while visiting Tbilisi with a government delegation, emphasised that Georgia's involvement in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan is the most appropriate choice.
 
"If [Armenia] agrees, we would immediately start, with the involvement of relevant agencies, bilateral and trilateral meetings here in Georgia", Aliyev said on Sunday, at a briefing together with Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili.
 
President Aliyev declined a meeting with Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, in Granada, Spain, last week where negotiations involving France, Germany, and the European Council were scheduled for October 5. Aliyev apparently took the move because Turkey was refused permission to be involved, while France – which is close to Armenia – was included. Pashinyan instead held the talks alone with the European mediators.
 
Garibashvili, echoed support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and reiterated Georgia's readiness to contribute to the mediation or friendly format of the peace process. Gharibashvili emphasised the importance of South Caucasus countries deciding their own regional issues. It is not the first time leaders have touched upon regional exclusivity.
 
Earlier, Aliyev during his speech on September 20 following the final Azerbaijani military operation in Karabakh, said that he suggested that "the forces, fraudsters and corrupt politicians who are located far from our region, but pursue their own political agenda and use the Armenian people as a tool, exploit them and sell them, as they say, in a pinch, should give up on us."
 
"Those who sit at the top of the world and make baseless accusations against us should stop us and let the South Caucasus breathe easy," he said.
 
While this statement didn't contain any names, it was clearly aimed against France.
 
In a call with President of the Council of the European Union Charles Michel, Aliyev said that "including Azerbaijan in the quadrilateral statement without the participation of Azerbaijan in Granada was not the right approach."
 
"Due to the known position of France, Azerbaijan did not participate in the meeting in Granada. The head of state emphasised that the provision of weapons by France to Armenia was an approach that was not serving peace, but one intended to ignite a new conflict, and if any new conflict occurred in the region, France would be responsible for causing it," he added, hinting at France's new decision to provide arms to Armenia.
 
The leaders also discussed the development of the Middle Corridor, promoting economic connectivity. Azerbaijan's recent military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the displacement of ethnic Armenians, and ongoing negotiations for a peace treaty were also touched upon.
 
Michel invited Azerbaijan and Armenia to meet under European mediation in Brussels. There is also an ongoing mediation track led by Moscow, the traditional dominant power in the South Caucasus.

https://www.intellinews.com/azerbaijan-s-president-emphasises-georgia-s-role-in-armenian-azerbaijani-peace-talks-295934/?source=armenia

Armenpress: France to supply arms to Armenia

Elizabeth Jabejian

 22:08, 3 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, ARMENPRESS. France is ready to deliver weapons to Armenia to help it ensure its security, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has announced.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan, Colonna said that defense and security issues were among the issues discussed at their meeting.

“I’d like to publicly say that France has agreed to signing a future contract with Armenia enabling deliveries of military equipment to Armenia, in order for Armenia to be able to ensure its security. I can’t disclose further details now,” French FM Catherine Colonna said.

She said that her visit is meant to show that France will be vigilant towards any threat posed to Armenia’s territorial integrity.

“France will be very vigilant towards the threats facing the territorial integrity of a friendly country, Armenia. We’ve spoken with the Armenian Prime Minister, one year ago the French President met with Prime Minister Pashinyan and President [of Azerbaijan] Aliyev in Prague, and we can say that the result of it is the foundation that served to our future efforts, and one of the conclusions was the mutual recognition of territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration. I think this is an important progress that should be maintained and advanced. We stand by your side, together with everyone who shares the sense that this obligation must be respected,” Colonna added.

Pashinyan regrets Granada summit won’t take place, says there was a chance to sign crucial document

Elizabeth Jabejian

 17:24, 4 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has expressed regret that his planned meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Granada, Spain will not take place. Pashinyan said there was a chance to sign a crucial document at that meeting.

“We’ve been confirming our visit to Granada until the very last moment, even today,” Pashinyan said in parliament during question time. “Furthermore, we had a very constructive and optimistic disposition, because we believed that there was a chance to sign a document of crucial significance. We were assessing that likelihood very high up until this morning. It’s the document which the marionette opposition was doing everything to misrepresent as a devastating document. And because they failed, Armenia did not give in to marionette pressures, it expressed a clear, reasonable and constructive position, made its viewpoints clear, and understandably no one could close the airports, and then we saw what happened. It turned out that the planned meeting won’t take place not because of us. For the record, the marionette opposition won’t get its bonuses, because, indeed the issue is solved but it wasn’t solved by their hands,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian PM expressed regret that the meeting has been cancelled. He expressed hope that the concept document which is on the negotiation table will be signed at a convenient time.

“I am ready to sign that agreement and I very much regret that tomorrow I won’t have the occasion to announce that this highly important decision was made,” Pashinyan said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has cancelled his participation in the planned October 5 Granada summit with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, according to Azerbaijani media reports.

According to the reports, Azerbaijan opted out of the meeting because Germany and France rejected Azerbaijan’s request to include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the meeting.

Fwd: The California Courier Online, October 5, 2023

Elizabeth Jabejian

The California
Courier Online, October 5, 2023

 

1-         Biden’s
Inaction on Artsakh

            Disappoints
Armenian-Americans

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         The Republic of Artsakh Will Cease to Exist,

            Nearly All
Armenians Have Been Forcibly Displaced

3-         At Reagan
Library, LA Armenians Protest

            to Raise
Awareness of Artsakh Genocide

4-         Armenian
students protest at USC event featuring Turkish Ambassador to US

 

************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

1-         Biden’s
Inaction on Artsakh

            Disappoints
Armenian-Americans

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

 

There are many justified complaints about Russia’s shameful role in the loss of Artsakh
and inaction in coming to the defense of Armenia’s borders. However, there
is also a lot to complain about the indifference by the international
community, including the United States,
about Azerbaijan’s
aggression against Artsakh and Armenia.

For 30 years, the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, composed of the United
States, France
and Russia,
the mediators in the Artsakh conflict, issued repeated statements about the
unacceptability of the use of force, urging the settlement of the dispute
through peaceful negotiations.

However, contrary to such well-intentioned words, when Azerbaijan repeatedly attacked Artsakh and Armenia with
frequent shootings at the border for three decades, the OSCE Minsk Group simply
issued meaningless statements, urging both sides not to engage in violence. The
OSCE, however, never bothered to point a finger at the guilty party – Azerbaijan—thus
equating the victimizer with the victim.

Such unjust statements encouraged Azerbaijan
to brazenly continue its attacks, culminating in the unleashing of a massive
war against Artsakh in 2020, followed by incursions into the territory of Armenia.
Last month, Azerbaijan
violated the agreement it signed in 2020 to allow Russian peacekeepers to
protect the remnants of Artsakh’s population until 2025. Pres. Ilham Aliyev,
knowing full well that no foreign country would intervene to stop his attacks,
ethnically cleansed the 120,000 inhabitants of Artsakh and drove them out of
their historical homeland.

On Sept. 14, 2023, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State
Yuri Kim testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “We will not
tolerate any military action. We will not tolerate any attack on the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh.” Days later, Azerbaijan
attacked and occupied Artsakh confident that the U.S. government was bluffing.

Naturally, no one expected the United
States or another major power to send troops to defend
Artsakh and Armenia, but
merely urging Azerbaijan
not to block the Lachin Corridor or refrain from the use of force is an
exercise in futility. The international community did not even impose sanctions
on Azerbaijan
because its gas and oil was more valuable than Armenian blood.

To make matters worse, after ignoring Azerbaijan’s repeated
attacks on Artsakh and Armenia since the 2020 war, Samantha Power, the
Administrator of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), finally
arrived in Armenia last week, bringing along a letter from Pres. Joe Biden
which contained a lot of sweet words for Armenians, but once again, no action.

Even more shocking, Power offered the pitiful amount of
$11.5 million in humanitarian aid to the 120,000 destitute Artsakh refugees.
That’s almost $96 for each refugee, deprived of housing, food, medicines and
other basic necessities. This is a shameful amount of money compared to the
USAID’s annual budget of $50 billion. Her visit was too late and accomplished
too little.

Several other countries and international agencies also
pledged assistance to the Artsakh Armenians: France ($7.4 million), Germany
($5.3 million), the European Union ($5.3 million), Sweden ($1.3 million),
Canada ($1.85 million), Denmark ($140,000), United Nations Refugee Agency,
UNHCR (amount unspecified), Japan (amount unspecified), Spain (amount
unspecified). Armenia
committed $25 million, plus $125 for rent and utilities per month for six
months for each refugee. The government of Cyprus
invited the Artsakh refugees to resettle in Cyprus. However, it is not a good
idea to take these displaced Armenians out of Armenia.

In addition, dozens of Armenian organizations throughout the
Diaspora are raising funds to help the Artsakh refugees. There are also many
charitable organizations and businesses in Armenia that are helping the
Artsakh Armenians with funds, supplies or services. Armenia’s Ministry of Finance
opened a bank account to receive donations from the public. There is also an
office set up by the Armenian government to coordinate the distribution of the
offered assistance.

Just in case someone thinks that the pledged assistance is a
lot of money, it is in fact a negligible amount compared to the vast needs of
the refugees for the months and years to come. Ukraine,
on the other hand, has received so far $80 billion from the United States
for its military, financial and humanitarian needs. In addition, 41 other
countries have contributed tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine.

The lack of concrete action by the Biden Administration,
aside from pledging $11.5 million to the Artsakh refugees, has highly
disappointed many Armenian-Americans. It is surprising that Pres. Biden, an
experienced politician and candidate for reelection next year, who has one of
the lowest ratings in the history of the United States for an incumbent
president, has not made more of an effort to win over Armenian-American voters.
Even if Pres. Biden does not care about Armenia and Artsakh, he should have
at least cared about his own self-interest, which is getting votes for his own
re-election.

 

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2-         The Republic of Artsakh Will
Cease to Exist,

            Nearly All
Armenians Have Been Forcibly Displaced

(Combined Sources)—“The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
will cease to exist,” said an order signed by Artsakh President Samvel
Shahramanyan on Thursday, September 28, dissolving all state agencies and
organizations on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The order said that given the “grave military-political
situation and pursuant to ensuring the physical security and essential
interests of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh as a priority, taking into
consideration the agreement reached with Azerbaijan mediated by the Russian
peacekeeping forces command that the free, voluntary and unimpeded passage of
the Nagorno-Karabakh residents with their property and vehicles through Lachin
Corridor will be taken into consideration,” the official Artsakh InfoCenter
reported.

“All ministries and other state agencies and organizations
will be disbanded by January 1, 2024 and the “Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)
Republic will cease to exist,” reads the order.

“The population of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the population
now outside the republic, after this order takes effect, will become acquainted
with the terms of reintegration presented by Azerbaijan with the purpose of
making an individual decision in the future on the opportunity to stay in or
return to Nagorno-Karabakh,” the presidential order said.

Of the population of 120,000 in Artsakh, some 20,000 had
alreadly fled the region after the 2020 War, according to reports.

The number of forcibly displaced persons from Artsakh who
have crossed into Armenia
reached 100,417 as of Monday, October 2 (at the time of The California
Courier’s publication), according to official reports. Of them, 30% are minors
separated from parents. A total of 41,043 vehicles had crossed the Hakari Bridge,
which links Armenia
to Artsakh, since last week.

Unofficial reports say only a handful of people are left in
Artsakh—among them elderly who are unable to leave due to poor health and lack
of assistance; and government officials who will stay in Stepanakert to
facilitate the safety of those citizens who may be in the territory of Artsakh,
but are willing to move to the Republic of Armenia.

The Armenian government has offered accommodation to all
arriving forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the
latest information, 32,200 of the forcibly displaced persons had accepted the
accommodation provided by the Armenian government.Some of the forcibly
displaced persons chose to stay with their relatives or friends in Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh representatives and Azerbaijani authorities
held a third meeting in Yevlakh on September 29, as part of ongoing talks on
the region’s possible “reintegration” into Azerbaijan and the Artsakh
Armenians’ rights and security “within the framework of the Azerbaijani
constitution.”

Artsakh representatives and Azerbaijani officials started
talks on Thursday, September 21, in Yevlakh. The second meeting took place in
Ivanyan on September 23. Nagorno-Karabakh was represented by Davit Melkumyan, a
lawmaker and head of the Artsakh Democratic Party, along with Deputy Secretary
of the Security Council Sergey Martirosyan.

Artsakh was forced to concede to a Russian-brokered
ceasefire— whereby it would disband its armed forces and discuss its
“reintegration” into Azerbaijan—following
a lightning 24-hour military attack by Azerbaijan against Artsakh on
Tuesday, September 19.

Azerbaijan
said on Tuesday, September 19 that six of its citizens had been killed by land
mines in two separate incidents in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and blamed
“illegal Armenian armed groups” for laying the mines—using this incident as the
precursor for its attack against Artsakh that day. At least 200 people were
killed and more than 400 were wounded in Artsakh as a result of the Azerbaijani
attack, according to the latest information released by Nagorno-Karabakh Human
Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan.

Azerbaijan
claims it lost 192 servicemembers during its attack on Artsakh on September 19
and 20, and 511 others were wounded in the attack.

 

************************************************************************************************************************************************
3-         At Reagan Library, LA Armenians
Protest

            to Raise
Awareness of Artsakh Genocide

By Jeremy Childs and

Christian Martinez

 

(Los Angeles
Times)—Close to 100 Armenian Americans and supporters gathered in front of the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday to rally for the thousands of
ethnic Armenians in the contested and besieged region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Organizers said the rally in Simi Valley, held the day before the second
Republican presidential debate at the same location, was intended to shine a
light on the ongoing humanitarian crisis facing the estimated 120,000 Armenians
living in the region. Known to Armenians as Artsakh, the region sits within the
borders of Azerbaijan
but has been historically occupied by ethnic Armenians.

The crowd gathered on Presidential Drive, with many waving
Armenian and American flags. They were led in chants denouncing genocide and
asking for sanctions against Azerbaijan.

Ratcheting up the tension and adding to the conflict’s death
toll, an explosion at a gas station in Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, September
26 left scores of people dead or injured. Many of those killed were among the
thousands of ethnic Armenians trying to flee the region. The cause of the blast
remained unclear late Tuesday.

Joseph Kaskanian, a spokesman for the Armenian National
Committee of America, said the rally was a call for support from both the GOP
presidential candidates and the Biden administration. He said previous requests
for aid had fallen on deaf ears.

“Not only is the Biden administration failing to address any
of this stuff, the Biden administration is complicit in the genocide of
Armenians,” Kaskanian told The Times.

Protesters at the rally carried signs demanding action and
expressing anger at the Biden administration.

“1915 Never Again,” read one sign, in reference to the
Armenian genocide. “Biden supports genocide,” said another.

“We’re here to demand action from the U.S.
government,” said Alexis Tolmajian, a member of the Armenian Youth Federation,
the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation political party
that organized the rally. “We want awareness and some sort of action plan from
the GOP.

“We just need them to get, you know, get the ball rolling,”
she added, “and to start actually talking about what’s happening to stop it
before it’s irreversible.”

Tolmajian said it had been “extremely difficult” to see “no
action” from the Biden administration.

Ralliers were demanding five actions from President Biden
and the GOP candidates: to intervene and stop the attacks in Artsakh; end
military aid to Azerbaijan; send emergency humanitarian airlifts to Artsakh for
those remaining in the region; enact sanctions on Azerbaijan; and remove the
blockade within the Lachin Corridor.

“How do you go about recognizing the first genocide of the
21st century, and then turn around and allow for it to happen again,” said
Nyree Derderian, chairperson of the Armenian Relief Society, referring to
Biden’s formal recognition of the Armenian genocide in 2021.

Derderian said she “would take a pledge” from the GOP
candidates but hoped for action.

“There’s been a lot of pledges over the years,” Derderian
said, “a lot of promises that have all been broken.”

 

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

4-         Armenian
students protest at USC event featuring Turkish Ambassador to US

 

(Combined Sources)—A group of more than 100 Armenian
students, faculty, and members of the Los Angeles Armenian community, including
representatives of the The Armenian National Committee of America – Western
Region (ANCA-WR), gathered at USC to protest the “Türkiye Conference” organized
by USC Annenberg’s Master of Diplomacy program on September 29.

The conference featured Turkey’s
Ambassador, Murat Merçan, and Azerbaijan’s
Consul General, Ramil Gurbanov, in a panel discussion about Turkey’s
foreign policy. Gurbanov’s participation was undisclosed until the event’s
commencement, leaving the Armenian attendees astonished and outraged.

The event took place two days after the USC Undergraduate
Student Government passed a resolution calling on USC to recognize the Azerbaijan
incursion into Artsakh and the resulting humanitarian crisis as a genocide. The
resolution called on President Carol Folt, as well as USC Provosts, to “release
a community message in support of the Armenian student community and [for]
genocide that their nation is facing.”

Members of USC’s Armenian Students’ Association attended the
weekly USG meeting and voiced their concerns that USC has done little to aid
the Armenian student community or to speak out against what they say is the
current genocide within Nagorno-Karabakh. These students shared how their
mental health and academic work have been affected due to these atrocities. “In
collaboration with the Armenian Students’ Association, we wrote a resolution as
a call to action to the administration demanding that they release a social
media statement, specifically Dr. Carol Folt, in support of Armenian students
because of the genocide currently happening in Nagorno-Karabakh back in
Armenia,” said Senator Julianna Melendez, a junior studying international
relations.

Melendez worked alongside the Armenian Students’ Association
on the resolution throughout the last year while running her USG campaign.
“Many Armenian students showed up tonight to show their support for the
resolution, to share how the genocide is affecting them personally and to urge
the rest of the senators to vote ‘yes’ on the resolution.”

On Friday, September 29, Folt issued a statement on
Instagram. “LA has the largest population of Armenians outside of Armenia. Our
hearts go out to the people in Nagorno-Karabakh and those impacted by this
grave humanitarian crisis. USCArmenianStudies continues to educate our
community about the historical context. Many on our campus are hurting and may
be in need of support. USC is here for you with Campus Support and Intervention
(https://campussupport.usc.edu/), as well as Student Health’s Counseling and
Mental Health services (

Numerous comments on the Instagram post further called on
President Folt to cancel the event featuring the two envoys—but the event went
on as planned.

The protest outside Friday’s event began with an Armenian
student standing up from the audience, holding an Armenian flag in the air and
demanding the event be stopped. Police escorted him outside; others soon
joined, chanting “shame on USC” and “1915 happening again,” in reference to the
Armenian Genocide and the recent defeat of the Republic
of Artsakh, a breakaway
Armenian-majority state in the Caucasus, following renewed attacks by Azerbaijan.

Discontent with USC’s decision to host the event had been
brewing for days. On Tuesday, USC’s Armenian Students Association posted a
statement on Instagram that said Mercan “is known for directly upholding Turkey’s policy
of Armenian Genocide denial.”

“Genocidal policy has no place in foreign policy — or on a
college campus,” the ASA wrote.

USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism where
the event was held was closed to the public while the protest was ongoing.
Students wishing to enter required an escort. The building perimeter was
monitored and blockaded by the LAPD and USC’s Department of Public Safety
during Mercan’s visit; video footage shows altercations among the safety
officers and protesters. Several Armenian students were forcibly removed from
the conference once the demonstration began. From the outside, the chants of
“1915 never again it’s happening again” and “genocidal policy has no place in
diplomacy” grew louder, spanning for a duration of over six hours.

The ANCA-WR had joined in written demands by USC ASA,
All-ASA, USC faculty members, the Pan Armenian Council and concerned members of
the Armenian community, urging USC Annenberg to cancel the event. These
requests were made in light of the purveyance of blatant genocidal rhetoric
masked as a discussion of “foreign policy,” which has no place in diplomacy nor
on an esteemed college campus.

“While we bear witness to the forced exodus of 120,000
Armenians from their ancestral homeland spanning thousands of years, after
having endured more than 9 months of illegal blockade by the Government of
Azerbaijan, followed by repeated attacks on civilians with Turkey’s full
support, we condemn in the strongest of terms the Annenberg School’s choice to
remain complicit in Turkey’s efforts to whitewash its reputation as a despotic
and genocidal regime. Rather than ignoring the calls of your students, and the
Armenian-American community of Los Angeles—amongst the largest in the world—we
demand that the USC Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism
immediately cancel Friday’s conference with the Turkish Ambassador, and issue a
statement apologizing to the Armenian-American students and community at large
and condemning the united effort by Turkey and Azerbaijan to carry out a Second
Armenian Genocide,” said the ANCA-WR’s letter sent in advance of the
conference.

USC Annenberg proceeded with the event, noting its
commitment to the “freedom of _expression_” in a written response to the ANCA-WR
from USC President Carol Folt, even though USC Annenberg’s own mission
statement states: “The right to free communication carries with it the
responsibility to respect the dignity of others, and this must be recognized as
irreversible.”

The ANCA-WR said, “By organizing this event, we trust that
the organizers understand the immense contempt that their chosen speaker—and
the regime that he represents—have expressed toward the Armenian People, and
urge that the USC Annenberg School refrain from contributing to the ongoing
violation of the rights and dignities of the indigenous people of Artsakh, and
to the Armenian Nation as a whole.”

ANCA-WR has urged USC Annenberg to issue a statement of
apology for its platforming of the Turkish Ambassador and the Azerbaijani
Consul General. The ANCA-WR further demanded USC Annenberg to publicly
recognize and condemn Turkey
and Azerbaijan for their
role in the Second Armenian Genocide—the ethnic cleansing of the Republic of Artsakh.

In response to protests, the USC Annenberg
School for Communication
and Journalism released a statement: “We recognize and understand that the USC
Armenian Students’ Association has objections to this event. The USC Annenberg
School for Communication
and Journalism believes that the freedom to express one’s views are at the foundation
of what it means to be part of a research university. These freedoms are
outlined within the USC Policy on Free Speech, and apply to all members of our
community.”

They continued: “We sometimes profoundly disagree with
statements of faculty, invited speakers, or other students; such disagreement
and critical analysis occur regularly at our university, and we are committed
to ensuring that our environment encourages and protects robust debate and
inquiry.”.

 

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Almost all Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenians have fled, Armenia says

Elizabeth Jabejian
euronews
Oct 1 2023
By Daniel Bellamy with AP

The exodus came after Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19th and ordered the breakaway region’s militants to disarm.

Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the press secretary to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said that 100,480 had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of around 120,000 before Azerbaijan reclaimed the region in a lightning offensive last week.

A total of 21,076 vehicles had crossed the Hakari Bridge, which links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, since last week, Baghdasaryan said. Some lined up for days because the winding mountain road that is the only route to Armenia became jammed.

The departure of more than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population raises questions about Azerbaijan’s plans for the enclave, which was internationally recognised as part of its territory. The region’s separatist ethnic Armenian government said on Thursday it would dissolve itself by the end of the year after a three-decade bid for independence.

Pashinyan has alleged the ethnic Armenian exodus amounted to “a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.” But Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the characterisation, saying the mass migration by the region’s residents was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”

In a related development, Azerbaijani authorities on Friday arrested the former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, presidential adviser David Babayan, Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Saturday.

Babayan’s arrest follows the Azerbaijani border guard’s detention of the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government, State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, as he tried to cross into Armenia on Wednesday.

The arrests appear to reflect Azerbaijan’s intention to quickly enforce its grip on the region after the military offensive.

During three decades of conflict in the region, Azerbaijan and the separatists backed by Armenia have accused each other of targeted attacks, massacres and other atrocities, leaving people on both sides deeply suspicious and fearful.

While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, most are fleeing because they don’t trust Azerbaijani authorities to treat them humanely or to guarantee them their language, religion and culture.

After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia. Then, during a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the South Caucasus mountains along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed earlier.

In December, Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, accusing the Armenian government or using it for illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces.

Weakened by the blockade and with Armenia’s leadership distancing itself from the conflict, ethnic Armenian forces in the region agreed to lay down arms less than 24 hours after Azerbaijan began its offensive. Talks have begun between officials in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities on “reintegrating” the region into Azerbaijan.

Armenpress: Nagorno-Karabakh exodus: 100,483 forcibly displaced persons arrive to Armenia

Elizabeth Jabejian

 12:25, 1 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The number of forcibly displaced persons who’ve arrived to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh reached 100,483 as of 12:00, October 1, the prime minister’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said at a press briefing.

21,079 vehicles crossed the Hakari Bridge, she said.

45,516 people have so far accepted the accommodation option offered by the government.

The Armenian government offers accommodation to all arriving forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh. Some of the forcibly displaced persons chose to stay with their relatives or friends in Armenia.




ANCA Eastern Region Summer Interns to be Honored at 17th Annual Awards Program

Elizabeth Jabejian
 ANCA-Eastern Region Diaspora, ANCA News 0

BOSTON, Mass.—The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region will recognize the accomplishments of its 2023 ANCA Leo Sarkisian summer interns – Olivia Abajian (NY), Vahagn Boudakian (NY), Tsoline Gevorkian (MA), Emma Lopez (CT), Ruby Topalian (MD) and Nver Saghatelyan (MD) –  at this year’s 17th Annual ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund Awards Program, United for Artsakh, at the Royal Sonesta Boston Hotel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. 

Founded in 1986, the ANCA LSI program is named in memory of the late ANCA Eastern Region community leader Leo Sarkisian. LSI provides students from both the eastern and western U.S. and Canada with an opportunity to participate in a six-week intensive program in Washington, D.C., designed to give them the tools to advance issues of concern to the Armenian-American community on the federal, state and local level. Now in its 36th year, the program has hundreds of alumni worldwide.

During their six-week stay in the nation’s capital, interns participated in various activities carefully planned by the ANCA office in Washington, D.C. In fact, in three days, interns visited 535 offices encouraging members to cosign a letter led by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) to cease all military aid to Azerbaijan – their efforts acquired 54 cosponsors for the letter, setting the course for what the rest of their internship would entail. The remaining weeks would encompass multiple lectures by several key members of Washington’s Armenian-American political elite, who offered the interns their experiences in a variety of fields, encompassing state government, journalism, lobbying, consulting and ambassadorship. 

Interns for the LSI program are selected through a competitive application process, with their acceptance being based on several criteria, including academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and community involvement. Interns are provided with room and board in the ANCA Aramian House, donated by generous sister donors Martha and Sue Aramian and Margo Aramian Regan.

The Eastern Region interns from this year’s internship all shared a collective focus on advancing the Armenian Cause in the political, economic and social realms of society as they brought a wealth of experience from their professional and educational backgrounds. The interns shared a range of passion, encompassing the collective fields of government and politics, international relations, psychology, sociology, political science, international studies, economics, and Middle Eastern and European languages and cultures, all of which form a strong foundation for the next generation of activists and the future of the Armenian-American community. 

“The many talents and accomplishments of our youth, as well as their drive and motivation, make me confident in the future of the ANCA and Hai Tahd. I have the pleasure of recognizing the interns at this year’s awards dinner and hope my words will continue to empower them and encourage our youth to join the tireless fight for justice for Artsakh, Armenia and the Armenian nation,” said Steve Mesrobian, ANCA Eastern Region Board member.

The future of the region – this year’s ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship interns – will be honored at the 17th Annual Awards Program, United for Artsakh at the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Saturday, October 7.

The 2023 ANCA Leo Sarkisian Eastern Region interns recognized at the Awards Program are Olivia Abajian, Vahagn Boudakian, Tsoline Gevorkian, Emma Lopez, Ruby Topalian and Nver Saghatelyan.

Olivia Abajian is a current freshman at the University of Maryland, majoring in government and politics with a concentration in international relations. Abajian is the editor-in-chief of the Terrapin Yearbook and a member of Phi Sigma Sigma. Bringing her Armenian background onto campus, she is also a member of UMD’s Armenian Students Association and an active member of the AYF-YOARF “Hyortik” Chapter at home.

Vahagn Boudakian, who is pursuing a major in political science with a minor in psychology at Brooklyn College CUNY, actively contributed to refugee relief efforts following the 2020 war and contributed to the war efforts. He is hopeful to employ the new skills acquired from the internship to “further the cause of Armenia’s progress.”

Tsoline Gevorkian, a lifelong member of the AYF, currently serves as the treasurer of the Middlesex County West AYF Chapter. At the University of Vermont, she studies psychology and sociology as a rising junior. Gevorkian credits the internship for allowing her to gain more knowledge about American politics and giving her more confidence toward one day hosting her own AYF educational lecture. It was more important – and a source of pride – that she could spend her summer “fighting for our brothers and sisters in Artsakh and for an Azad Angakh Miatsyal Haiastan.”

Emma Lopez, who recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in political science, wore many hats at her local Armenian Students Association, where she served as vice president, secretary and social media manager. At her home parish, St. George Armenian Church, she is an active member of the local ACYOA, where she also regularly volunteers in community events. She looks forward to using her new skills and experiences to enrich her home community. 

Nver Saghatelyan, a student at John Hopkins University, is majoring in international studies and economics. He saw the internship as an opportunity to familiarize himself with the dynamics of American politics and to bring his new lessons back home to Armenia and Artsakh, where he hopes to use these experiences to “challenge the status quo and contribute to peaceful resolutions in contrast to the ongoing tensions and violence.”
Lastly, Ruby Topalian, a rising sophomore at Trinity College Dublin, is pursuing a dual bachelor’s program through Columbia University. At Trinity College Dublin, she studies Middle Eastern and European languages and cultures, especially focusing on Arabic and Italian. At Columbia, she studies political science. According to her, the internship reconnected her to her Armenian heritage, and as an editor on multiple campus publications, she looks forward to leveraging her position to encourage her peers to become educated about Armenian-American issues, hoping that her efforts will create more activists for the Armenian Cause.

Hosted by the ANC of Eastern Massachusetts, the evening will feature a cocktail reception and silent auction beginning at 6 p.m. and a seated dinner and an awards program at 7 p.m. During the dinner presentation, the region will present deserving honorees with awards, including the inaugural ANCA Eastern Region Excellence in Education Award to Houry Boyamian; the inaugural ANCA Eastern Region Advocacy Award to Dr. Michael Rubin; the ANCA Eastern Region Vahan Cardashian Award to lifelong activists Joseph Dagdigian of the ANC of Merrimack Valley and Barkev Kaligian of the ANC of Eastern Massachusetts; and the ANCA Eastern Region Freedom Award, which will be presented to Congresswoman Katherine Clark. 

“While the evening will be appropriately somber given the current situation in Artsakh, we are depending on our community to fully support the ANCA Eastern Region’s fundraiser, which will be dedicated to the people of Artsakh and the work we must do together for the continued existence of Artsakh and Armenia,” said Ara Nazarian, ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund Awards Program committee chair. 

For more information about this year’s Awards Program and to purchase tickets, please visit https://givergy.us/ancaer or email [email protected].

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The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots organization, the ANCA. Working in coordination with the ANCA in Washington, DC, and a network of chapters and supporters throughout the Eastern United States, the ANCA-ER actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.