Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS

CSUN Special Collections Chitjian Endowment Presents Opportunity to Delve Into History of Armenian Diaspora

Emil Lazarian
by Contributor

 

 August 2, 2023

 

in Community, Latest, News, Top Stories

An award and some other memorabilia on display in Sierra Hall. (Photo by Kaley Block).

NORTHRIDGE (CSUN Today)—Authentic Armenian books, medals, personal letters, photos, autobiography manuscripts and translated documents can be found in a special collection at the California State University, Northridge’s University Library.

An array of memorabilia and historical artifacts belonging to the late Armenian immigrant, advocate and educator Sara Chitjian is now accessible to the public.

Prior to her passing in 2021, Chitjian reached out to the university, offering a slew of artifacts collected by her family that documented her parents’ lives in Armenia and their family life in America as part of the Armenian diaspora. 

Chitjian’s father, Hampartzoum “Harry” Chitjian, was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. He dedicated his life to raising awareness about the genocide, the legacy of its survivors and preserving Chitjian family history. In 2001, Chitjian and her father formed the Harry and Ovsanna Chitjian Family Foundation, which was responsible for preserving many of the materials given to the university. 

Sara Chitjian

“The Chitjian Collection must be viewed as a unique part and parcel of the mosaic that is the U.S. in general, and California in particular,” said Vahram Shemmassian, the director of CSUN’s Armenian Studies Program in the Department of Modern & Classical Languages & Literatures. “As such, it enhances our understanding of the differences and commonality of the multicultural, multiethnic society that we live in, thereby making us more tolerant, more appreciative, and more embracing of each other.  We welcome all to share the richness of Armenian history and culture at the micro level, which, in fact, has also a macro scope.”

Ellen Jarosz, head of the library’s Special Collections & Archives, explained that the fragile objects, or items with a higher research value, were selected for preservation and made available to researchers. These items include correspondence between Chitjian family members, photographs, maps, books, articles and teaching materials used by Chitjian and her father. 

“The Chitjian Collection gives our students, our university and the people who visit an opportunity to have a first-hand interaction with materials that most people don’t get the chance to see because they are so unique and rare,” said Jaroz. “People can draw unique and original conclusions, and really take advantage of these things to inform their own view, instead of having somebody tell them what they mean and what’s most important.”

In 2020, Chitjian began the endowment process that resulted in the gift to the library. She also funded the creation of a museum-style room in CSUN’s Sierra Hall dedicated to exhibiting memorabilia that document both her and her father’s legacy. 
“The Chitjian Collection is an in-depth and intimate portrait of endurance, renewal, and legacy as told through a family archive created by their daughter, “Sara” Chitjian,” said Claire V. Gordon, the archivist responsible for sorting and cataloging the university’s newest collection. “The collection grants us an intimate peek into the early lives of the Chitjian family,” 
With the cataloging process now completed, the collection is open and available for public viewing.

With the cataloging process now completed, the collection is open and available for public viewing. CSUN’s Special Collections & Archives, hours can be found on the library website. Special Collections & Archives is located on the second floor of the University Library, which is the heart of the campus located at 181111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 08/02/2023

Emil Lazarian 
                                        Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Karabakh Armenians ‘At Risk Of Imminent Hunger’
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Nagorno-Karabakh - People line up outside a bakery in Stepanakert, July 18, 2023.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s population is increasingly suffering from malnutrition and 
facing the imminent threat of starvation because of Azerbaijan’s blockade of the 
Lachin corridor, an official in Stepanakert said on Wednesday.
Baku aggravated the shortages of food, medicine, fuel and other essential items 
there when it tightened the blockage of Karabakh’s sole land link with Armenia 
on June 15, banning limited amounts of relief supplies carried out by Russian 
peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
An aide to Karabakh premier Gurgen Nersisian warned that the food shortages will 
become even more acute in the days ahead.
“Some food can still be found,” Artak Beglarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service 
from Stepanakert. “People are trying to make sure that they are not totally 
hungry, but the scale of malnutrition is already very large.”
“We can’t say that in a few days’ time people will be dying of hunger, barring 
exceptional cases. But what we can say is that very soon there will be hungry 
people who haven’t eaten for a whole day,” he said.
Over the last few weeks, bread was one of the few staples limited quantities of 
which Karabakh residents could buy in local food stores. But it too all but 
disappeared from shop shelves in recent days, with desperate citizens spending 
many hours trying to buy flour and bake bread at home.
Beglarian explained that Karabakh has run out of its wheat reserves and is now 
switching to grain currently harvested by local farmers.
“The harvesting work is very slow for three or even four main reasons,” he said, 
listing a lack of fuel, the absence of spare parts for tractors and combine 
harvesters, systematic Azerbaijani gunfire targeting such agricultural 
equipment, and last week’s heavy rainfall.
Armenia -- An Armenian convoy of trucks carrying food for Karabakh is stranded 
near an Azerbaijani checkpoint at the beginning of the Lachin corridor, July 27, 
2023.
Echoing a statement by a Karabakh food agency, Beglarian said that the newly 
harvested grain needs to dry up before it can be milled and supplied to 
bakeries. The bread crisis should be alleviated in a couple of days, added the 
official.
Ruzanna Tadevosian, a 27-year-old resident of Stepanakert, was skeptical about 
these assurances. “They always give hopes that do not materialize,” she said of 
the local authorities.
Tadevosian, who breastfeeds her 1-year-old baby, was among several dozen mothers 
who rallied in Stepanakert on Tuesday to protest against the crippling shortages 
and demand stronger government action. They were received by Arayik Harutiunian, 
the Karabakh president.
Tadevosian said Harutiunian told them to “wait for two or three more days.” “The 
president said he has some expectations from the United States and Russia and in 
two or three days he will make a statement,” she said.
In what may have been a related incident, a man was detained in Stepanakert 
early on Wednesday after firing gunshots in the air. Some local residents 
claimed that he demanded food for his children.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan warned that Karabakh’s population is 
“on the brink of starvation” when he addressed on July 20 an emergency meeting 
of the OSCE’s Permanent Council in Vienna. He urged the international community 
to put stronger pressure on Azerbaijan.
The United States, the European Union and Russia have repeatedly called for an 
immediate end to the blockade. Baku has dismissed their appeals, saying that the 
Karabakh Armenians should only be supplied with food and other basic items from 
Azerbaijan.
Another Karabakh Resident Detained By Azerbaijan
        • Susan Badalian
Azerbaijani border guards set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, April 26, 
2023.
Azerbaijani security forces detained a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh after he 
crossed into the Lachin district for unclear reasons on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan’s border guard service said that the 61-year-old man, Rashid 
Beglarian, illegally crossed a local section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Karabakh authorities insisted, however, that Beglarian walked to Lachin from the 
nearby Karabakh village of Mets Shen. They said initially that he lost his way 
“under the influence of alcohol.”
But the Karabakh prosecutor’s office claimed on Wednesday that Beglarian was in 
fact “secretly kidnapped” by Azerbaijani servicemen as he walked towards Armenia 
through the Lachin corridor blocked by Baku. His whereabouts remain unknown, it 
said in a statement.
Beglarian has lived in Khndzristan, another Karabakh village located several 
dozen kilometers east of Mets Shen, since the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war. His 
two sons and the village mayor said on Wednesday that they don’t know why he 
travelled to Mets Shen.
“He didn’t live with us,” one of the sons, Armen Beglarian, told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service. “We too learned [about his detention] from the Internet.”
The authorities in Stepanakert said they promptly asked Russian peacekeepers to 
help secure the man’s release. It is not clear whether the Azerbaijani side is 
ready to free him.
Another Karabakh resident, Vagif Khachatrian, was arrested by Azerbaijani border 
guards on Saturday while being evacuated by the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC) to Armenia for urgent medical treatment.
Khachatrian was taken to Baku to stand trial on charges of killing and deporting 
Karabakh’s ethnic Azerbaijani residents in 1991. Karabakh officials strongly 
deny the accusations. They as well as the Armenian government condemned his 
arrest as a violation of international humanitarian law.
According to officials in Yerevan, the European Court of Human Rights has given 
Baku until August 8 to provide it with information about the 68-year-old man’s 
health and detention conditions.
Khachatrian’s family has expressed serious concern about his safety. His 
Yerevan-based daughter Vera said the ICRC has assured her that Red Cross 
representatives in Baku are seeking permission to visit him again in custody.
Moscow Again Raps Pashinian
Russia - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova gestures during 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's annual news conference in Moscow, 
January 18, 2023.
Russia on Wednesday lambasted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for questioning the 
continued presence of its peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh and claiming that 
Moscow has scaled back its involvement in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks 
because of the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at a July 25 news conference in Yerevan, Pashinian said that the 
European Union and especially the United States have played lately the leading 
role in international efforts to end the Karabakh conflict. He said that because 
of “the events in Ukraine” the Russians cannot invest as much “energy and time” 
in conflict mediation as they did before.
Pashinian also suggested that a “productive” dialogue between the Azerbaijani 
government and Karabakh’s leadership could lead to the withdrawal of the Russian 
peacekeeping contingent from the Armenian-populated region.
The Russian Foreign Ministry bristled at Pashinian’s remarks, saying that they 
are “devoid of any factual basis.” Its spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, argued, in 
particular, that in recent months Moscow has organized “a whole series” of 
high-level Armenian-Azerbaijani talks, including Pashinian’s May 25 meeting with 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We have been and remain fully interested in furthering the process of 
normalizing Armenian-Azerbaijani relations,” she told a news conference. “We are 
doing everything to achieve a lasting peace and stability in the region.”
RUSSIA -- Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C), Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian (R) and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (L) meet in the Kremlin, 
May 25, 2023.
Zakharova also denounced Pashinian’s “incomprehensible” comment on the possible 
end of the Russian military presence in Karabakh.
“Is this a wish?” she said. “I don’t understand Mr. Pashinian. What is he 
talking about?”
“Does the leadership of Armenia think that [the peacekeepers’] activity is not 
necessary and desirable and wants to end it?” Zakharova went on. “They need to 
set the record straight.
“Unfortunately, we can see that often times representatives of Armenia’s 
leadership adopt an equivocal, so to speak, position on a number of key issues. 
We therefore very much want to see no ambiguity on this score because juggling 
with words does not end well.”
“And generally speaking, after the Armenian leadership recognized 
Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory, any complains about Russia not making 
enough efforts look all the more inappropriate,” added Zakharova.
The Armenian government did not immediately react to the criticism highlighting 
growing friction between Armenia and Russia that raises questions about the 
future of their traditionally close relationship. The tensions have been fuelled 
by what Yerevan sees as a lack of Russian support for Armenia in the conflict 
with Azerbaijan. In particular, Pashinian and other Armenian leaders have 
criticized the Russian peacekeepers for not ending Azerbaijan’s crippling 
blockade of the Lachin corridor.
Pashinian’s administration has also angered Moscow with its plans to ratify the 
founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that issued an arrest 
warrant for Putin earlier this year. A senior Russian lawmaker warned late last 
month that the ratification by the Armenian parliament of the so-called Rome 
Statue would cause “significant damage to Russian-Armenian relations.”
Armenian Archbishop Charged Again
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan leads a ceremony in St. Sargis Church, 
Yerevan, September 2, 2014.
A high-ranking Armenian cleric has been charged with fraud and money laundering 
18 months after being cleared of the same accusations brought in 2020.
Law-enforcement authorities claimed at the time that Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan 
had colluded with an Armenian businessman to defraud another entrepreneur.
The businessman, Ashot Sukiasian, was convicted in late 2017 of having 
misappropriated most of a $10.7 million loan which his former business partner, 
Paylak Hayrapetian, borrowed from an Armenian commercial bank in 2012. Sukiasian 
had pledged to invest that money in diamond mining in Sierra Leone. He never did 
that, according to prosecutors.
A district court in Yerevan sentenced Sukiasian to 16 years in prison. However, 
Armenia’s Court of Appeals released him from prison in January 2020.
Sukiasian was arrested in Georgia, extradited to Armenia and prosecuted in 2014 
after Hetq.am discovered that Hayrapetian’s money was transferred to the 
offshore bank accounts of several Cyprus-registered companies. The investigative 
publication published a document purportedly certifying that one of those firms 
is co-owned by Sukiasian, then Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian and Archbishop 
Kchoyan.
Sarkisian and Kchoyan strongly denied having any stakes in the company, saying 
that it was registered in their name in Cyprus without their knowledge. 
Sukiasian likewise claimed to have forged their signatures.
The authorities indicted Kchoyan in April 2020 amid mounting tensions between 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and the Armenian Apostolic Church. The 
archbishop, who heads the church’s largest diocese in Armenia, denied the 
accusations.
The Investigative Committee decided to drop them and close the criminal case in 
early 2022, citing a lack of evidence. Hayrapetian appealed against that 
decision, leading a senior prosecutor to order the investigators this week to 
reopen the case and indict Kchoyan again.
The archbishop’s lawyer, Armine Fanian, on Wednesday described the fresh 
indictment as illegal, saying that the investigators did not come up with new 
incriminating evidence legally required in such cases. Fanian also argued that 
the allegedly defrauded businessman missed a legal deadline for appealing 
against their earlier decision.
Another senior prosecutor, Artyom Ovsian, said, meanwhile, that “large-scale 
investigative measures” are now being taken to find such evidence. The 
investigators are trying to locate and interrogate Tigran Sarkisian, Ovsian 
said, adding that the former prime minister is not in Armenia at the moment.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Russia expresses support to launching Baku-Stepanakert talks

Emil Lazarian

 15:14, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. Moscow supports the process of launching negotiations between Baku and Stepanakert and is working to bring the strongly contradicting approaches of the parties closer to each other, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.

“We support the launch of negotiations between Baku and Stepanakert. This topic is on the agenda of our contacts with stakeholder parties,” Zakharova said at a press briefing.

The foreign ministry spokesperson said that Russian peacekeepers previously helped organize meetings between two delegations and are ready to continue providing necessary support to this process.

“Russia isn’t making any preconditions and is diligently working in the direction of bringing the approaches of the parties closer to each other, which currently seriously differ from one another on the backdrop of the increasing tension in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Zakharova said.

Only 1 day left till the end of accepting applications for the "Neruzh 4.0" program

Emil Lazarian

 15:23, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of High-Tech Industry continues accepting applications for the “Neruzh 4.0” Diaspora Tech Startups Program.

  • To apply for the program, click on the following link and register the data.
  • Application deadline is 3rd of August, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.

As in previous years, this year around 40 teams from all over the world will be invited to Armenia to participate in the 6-day event to be held Dilijan on August 23-28, to get acquainted with the advantages of doing business in Armenia, get an opportunity for cooperation and exclusive individual mentorship.

Within the framework of the event, by the decision of the commission, 3 winning teams at the idea stage will receive 15, 10, 5 million AMD respectively, and 3 winning teams with the product will receive support in the amount of 30, 20, 10 million AMD, respectively.

Teams will be given the opportunity to expand the collaborative network, exchange knowledge and experience, and also get the opportunity to interact with invited teams from leading countries of more than 40 countries.

A startup can participate in the “Neruzh” program if:

  • it has a pre-formed team,
  • the founder of it (or at least 50% of the co-founders)
  1. has/have Armenian origin,
  2. is/are not RA citizens (except for dual citizens),
  3. has/have not lived in RA in the last 12 months or has/have been repatriated in the last 6 months,
  • it is at the idea or product level,
  • it operates in one of the key branches listed on the website,
  • it did not receive a grant from the RA Ministry of High-Tech Industry during the last 24 months prior to the date of submitting the application,
  • the founder (co-founders) wants to establish and register a startup in Armenia and reside here for at least 1 year.

Due to space limitations, only 2 members from each startup will be invited to participate in the program in Dilijan.

The “Neruzh” governmental program was launched in 2018, promoting the repatriation of technological and business talent of the Armenian Diaspora. Last year’s event of the “Neruzh 3.0” program was held on October 21-25, 2022 in Dilijan. 3 teams representing the biotechnology sector were recognized as winners. According to the jury, “Biocentric” took the 1st place, receiving 20 million AMD, “Reactive Science” took the 2nd place, receiving 15 million AMD, and “ATMT” took the 3rd place, receiving 10 million AMD.




Armenia asks ECHR to indicate interim measures against Azerbaijan over arrested Nagorno-Karabakh man

Emil Lazarian

 17:16, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with a request to indicate interim measures against Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Rashid Beglaryan, the Office of the Representative of Armenia for International Legal Matters said in a statement on August 2.

Rashid Beglaryan, a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh, got lost and accidentally crossed into Azeri-controlled territory on Tuesday and was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities.

Turkish Press: Azerbaijan asks international bodies to settle ecological disputes with Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Turkey – Aug 2 2023

09:03 . 2/08/2023 Wednesday
AA

Azerbaijan on Tuesday asked international organizations to settle ecological disputes with Armenia, urging them to press Yerevan to comply with the UN Convention on the Protection of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

In its pleas to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office in a statement stressed the importance of collaboration with the country’s competent authorities in determining environmental damage.

“The appeal mentions the importance of compliance with the norms of the UN Convention on the Protection of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, and the UN Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo), which provide for mandatory compliance with environmental protection requirements, including the norms of proper organization of mining enterprises,” the office said.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered peace agreement.

Despite the ongoing talks on a peace agreement, tensions between the neighboring countries increased in recent months over the Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia access to Karabakh.

https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/azerbaijan-asks-international-bodies-to-settle-ecological-disputes-with-armenia-3668044








Turkey fumes as Disney axes founding father series after Armenian outcry

Emil Lazarian
POLITICO
Aug 2 2023

Atatürk shouldn’t get the ‘Disney treatment,’ Armenian group warns.

Disney decided to pull the show “Atatürk,” a six-part period drama about Turkey’s founding father Mustafa Kemal Atatürk | Hulton Archive/Getty Images
BY GABRIEL GAVIN
AUGUST 2, 2023

Disney’s decision not to air a high-profile series dramatizing the life of Turkey’s founding father has sparked uproar, with top Turkish officials accusing the American network of bowing to pressure from Armenian groups.

Turkish media reported Wednesday that Disney had decided to pull the show “Atatürk,” a six-part period drama series originally billed for broadcast on its Disney+ platform on October 29. Its release was timed to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Ebubekir Şahin, the head of Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council, announced an investigation would be launched into claims that the decision was taken after concerted lobbying from the Armenian diaspora.

“Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic of Türkiye, is our most important social value,” he said.

While Atatürk remains a totemic figure for Turks for founding a modern secular republic in 1923 from the ashes of the Ottoman empire, critics say his new state embraced the perpetrators of a genocide against Armenians committed during World War I and heaped the blame for the massacres on the victims.

Turkey officially maintains that Armenians took up arms against the Ottoman state, sometimes in league with Russia, and that the deaths were a result of war and disease, while also disputing the numbers of dead. Ankara says the killings of Armenians were not systematic, despite them being recognized as genocide by 34 countries including the U.S., as well as the European Parliament. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks were also subject to deportation and death marches.

A spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s governing AK Party called Disney’s move “shameful” and alleged the company had caved in to “the Armenian lobby.”

In a statement issued Wednesday, Disney+ confirmed it would not be airing the series, but said the show had been picked up by its sister company FOX instead. The network said the move was a routine commercial programming decision “in line with our revised content distribution strategy,” and a spokesperson declined to comment on criticism of the series.

Atatürk — whose honorific means “Father of the Turks” — served as a military commander in the Ottoman Empire, overseeing Turkish forces at Gallipoli in World War I, where he defended Istanbul (then Constantinople) against invading British, Australian and New Zealand troops. He was on the frontlines at Gallipoli and not a national leader during some of the most brutal slaughter of Armenians, many of whom were marched to the Syrian desert.

He is also credited with preventing the Allies from carving up the Ottoman empire at the end of the war.

Atatürk’s picture hangs in government offices, restaurants and homes across the country, while statues to him have been erected in public squares in almost every major city. Publicly insulting his memory is punishable by up to three years in prison, and several Turkish citizens have been charged with the crime in recent years.

Both Greek and Armenian activists have opposed the release of the “Atatürk” series, which they say whitewashes his complicity with dark chapters in the histories of their people.

Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, which has led the campaign for the network scrap the show, said giving the “Disney treatment” to Atatürk was a “scary proposition.”

“Anything that looks at Atatürk without putting his genocidal legacy at the very center risks normalizing what he did. If there’s now a national or an international discussion about that legacy, that’s a very welcome thing,” he told POLITICO.

In 2020, Disney came under fire for shooting parts of its live-action film Mulan in China’s Xinjiang region, leading to accusations the company was helping whitewash widespread human rights abuses by Beijing against the region’s Uyghur Muslim population.



British Members of Parliament urge James Cleverly to condemn Azeri atrocities against people of Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Lazarian

 11:05, 1 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS.  British Members of Parliament from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia have written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urging him to break the British Government’s silence on the continuing atrocities being carried out by the Azeri Government against the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus.

Statement by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia on the urgent humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh:

“FCDO needs to take a stand now against the atrocities being committed in Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azerbaijan Government

“Officers of the APPG for Armenia have written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urging him to break the British Government’s silence on the continuing atrocities being carried out by the Azeri Government against the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus.

“The Lachin Corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh was illegally closed by the Azeri Government in December 2022 in direct violation of the November ceasefire [agreement]. Since then virtually all movement and vital supplies have been cut off giving rise to a worsening humanitarian crisis, endangering thousands of lives.

“Food, medicine, fuel everything needed for survival of any population is totally banned entering Nagorno-Karabakh because of the illegal blockade. Subsequently, malnutrition is affecting pregnant women. Over 90% of pregnant women in Artsakh have anaemia due to the man-made disaster caused by the blockade of Lachin Corridor imposed by Azerbaijan.

“Miscarriages have risen 3 times in recent months due to lack of basic food items & medicine for the population.  Despite persistent efforts, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said it is not currently able to bring humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor or through any other routes.

“Numerous other NGOs have raised serious concerns about the unfolding humanitarian crisis and requested governments around the world put pressure on Azerbaijan to end the blockade. Amnesty International  has accused Azerbaijan of failing in its human rights obligations by taking no action to lift the blockade.

“The EU, its European Council President Charles Michel and many European countries have strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s actions and called for the blockade to be lifted immediately especially in light of the rapidly deteriorating conditions recently. The APPG for Armenia is asking the British Foreign Secretary to do the same and to make it clear that there will be consequences for Azerbaijan’s actions if it does not act now.

 

APPG Chairman Tim Loughton said:

 

‘The humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is reaching crisis point. The illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by the Azeri Government has no justification and has been done under the noses of the supposed peace-keeping force. The deliberate denial of vital supplies to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh is the latest attempt at ethnic cleansing by the Aliyev Government and needs to be called out for what it is. The human misery and huge displacement of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh appears to be part of the Azeri game plan to force out the legitimate citizens of this troubled area and is in danger of becoming genocide. We agree with the stance of the French Government and other European nations who have called on Azerbaijan to comply with its international commitments and to implement the provisional measures indicated by the International Court of Justice in its February 22nd order, which are binding. We join them in demanding the restoration of free movement for people, goods and cargo throughout the Lachin corridor, in both directions, and the continuous supply of gas and electricity to the population. This is deeply destabilising in an area which is already under great pressure and could act as a trigger point for further conflict which will have a direct impact on western interests if not checked, yet has given rise to little coverage in the UK. We have therefore today written to the Foreign Secretary to take a similar stance and make the condemnation by the British Government crystal clear, without further delay.’

All Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia




ArtsakhX messenger officially launched for secure and uninterrupted communication in Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Lazarian

 18:32, 1 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. ArtsakhX, a messenger designed specifically for Nagorno-Karabakh to ensure untinterrupted communication in the event of blackouts has been officially launched, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities announced Tuesday.

ArtsakhX is encrypted with NATO-approved military grade End-to-End AES-GSM-256 algorithm.

The app was developed as part of a memorandum signed between the Government of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) and Zangi.

Zangi CEO Vahram Martirosyan announced ArtsakhX in an with ARMENPRESS earlier in July.

Artsakh is Ready for Dialogue with Baku Through International Mediation

Emil Lazarian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 August 1, 2023

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artsakh resident block the road connecting Askeran to Aghdam on Jul. 18 (Facebook photo by Arshak Abrahamyan)


A day after Baku reportedly canceled a planned Western-mediated talk with Artsakh representatives, official Stepanakert reiterated its willingness to hold discussions with Azerbaijan with an “agreed international format.”

The Artsakh Foreign Ministry told Armenpress on Tuesday that it would be “inappropriate” to comment about the talks that were scheduled to take place on Tuesday in Bratislava, Slovakia, because it was Azerbaijan that opted to cancel the meeting.

Official Baku has not provided an explanation for pulling out from the meeting.

“We would like to emphasize that the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have always been open to discussing reasonable proposals aimed at facilitating dialogue between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan,” said the Artsakh Foreign Ministry, adding that Stepanakert, for its part, 
“has consistently put forward initiatives and proposals aimed at arranging meetings between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with the involvement of mediators.”

The foreign ministry said that Artsakh believes that dialogue would be successful only when there is “sincere willingness and good faith of both parties to resolve their differences.”

“There is such willingness on our part,” said the Artsakh foreign ministry. “If the Azerbaijani side also demonstrates the same willingness, this will pave the way for the beginning of the dialogue.”

Official Stepanakert emphasized, as it has done in the past, that dialogue between Artsakh and Azerbaijan “must take place within an agreed international format, supported by an appropriate mandate.”

“This approach will facilitate increased engagement by the international community in the negotiation process, bolster legitimacy and sustainability of the process, and ensure reliable guarantees for the implementation of potential agreements between the parties,” the Artsakh foreign ministry said.

In announcing the cancelation of the Tuesday talks, Tirgan Petrosyan, Artsakh’s anti-crisis task force director said that the Azerbaijani side wants such talks to be held in Baku or another Azerbaijani city, something which is unacceptable to Artsakh’s leadership. Western mediators will visit Yerevan in the coming days to discuss the issue with Karabakh officials, he added without elaborating.