17:35,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The United States military has put 2,000 troops on deployment alert, the Pentagon said Tuesday, in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
''US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin placed the personnel and a range of units "on a heightened state of readiness through a prepare to deploy order," the Pentagon said in a statement, to be able "to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East."
The tragic exodus of the Armenian population from the Nagorno Karabakh region has closed a chapter in the long saga of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The disappearance of this self-proclaimed republic provides the opportunity to bring these bitter hostilities to an end; it takes, nevertheless, plenty of wishful political thinking to believe that a peace treaty could be swiftly negotiated. Mutual animosity is a profound, but not necessarily insurmountable obstacle. The greater problem is that it is hard to expect from Azerbaijan, ruled by the hereditary autocratic regime of President Ilham Aliyev, a magnanimity in victory. Pushing the defeated adversary further yet and maximizing the damage is much more in the nature of this regime, rendering the prevention of a new spasm of armed conflict an urgent task for all stakeholders in peace in the South Caucasus.
The fate of Nagorno Karabakh was predetermined by the outcome of the 44-day long air-land battle in autumn 2020, in which the Armenian forward defense positions were breached, leading to the capture of Shusha, a key stronghold in the rugged theater of operations, by the Azeri forces. In that triumph, Aliyev showed strategic patience and accepted the Russian offer of a ceasefire. Much in the same way he calculated the right moment for starting the offensive operation, he assumed a total victory was inevitable in a matter of a few years, lessening the need to push forward with the military conquest of the whole enclave. The timeframe for the Russian peacekeeping operation was set on five years, but Russia’s aggression against Ukraine made it possible for Azerbaijan to force the closure of the postponed final act of geopolitical drama two years beforehand.
It is futile to look for a direct connection between the wars in Ukraine and in the South Caucasus, but the start of the former, with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014, altered the political context of the latter. The escalation of violent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the start of the 1990s was one of the peripheral ruptures caused by the generally peaceful breakdown of the Soviet Union, and the determination of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to secede from Azerbaijan was perceived by many international observers (who at that time did not qualify as stakeholders) as a case of national self-determination. Russia, which in the early 1990s managed to negotiate and enforce ceasefires in chaotic hostilities in Moldova and Georgia, was seen as a natural external manager for this conflict, and the ceasefire was indeed agreed upon in May 1994, though no peacekeeping force was deployed. Moscow had few doubts selling arms to both parties of the smoldering conflict, but Azerbaijan was able to diversify its military modernization by importing high-tech arms systems from Turkey and Israel. Twenty years later, not only did Russia’s role become dubious due to its grab of Ukrainian lands, but also the occupation by Armenian forces of vast territory in Azerbaijan beyond Nagorno Karabakh was then perceived as crude aggression.
Yerevan remained blind to these changes, and also underestimated the shift in Moscow’s attitude following the 2018 “Velvet Revolution” in Armenia. For President Vladimir Putin, who positions himself as a champion of the counter-revolution cause, every step Armenia took in upholding democratic institutions became a personal challenge warranting punishment. In Baku, on the contrary, both the changed context of the old but never solidly “frozen” conflict and Russia’s altered stance were assessed carefully, so the opportunity to deliver a decisive blow for breaking the seemingly immovable deadlock around Nagorno Karabakh was identified and exploited to the maximum. International mediators, who maintained that a military solution to this entrenched conflict was impossible, were proven wrong.
Moscow was also surprised by the collapse of the habitual and exploitable structure of irreconcilable conflict, and it appears probable that Russia’s assessments of the balance of forces in the General Staff were influenced by Armenian confidence in its impregnable defensive positions. What the Russian military and policy planners had underestimated most of all, prior to the surprise Azerbaijani offensive (that they are still having trouble digesting), was the strength of the security cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as the readiness of the Turkish leadership for proactive engagement with the South Caucasus. The Kremlin presumed that its initiative in terminating the active phase of hostilities in November 2020 and the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping force would restore its dominant role in the region, only to be proven wrong once again. The failure of Russian peacekeepers to deliver humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabakh during the nine month-long blockade since the start of 2023 proved the irrelevance of this operation, and Baku is now in a perfect position to prompt its discontinuation.
Turkey’s role in the South Caucasus has gained new prominence since the start of the war in Ukraine, as Moscow is compelled to go to great lengths in order to uphold its strategic partnership with Ankara. Turkey has played the balancing act very skillfully, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan assumed that his key role in negotiating the “grain deal” in July 2022 would lead to his ascension to the role of mediator. Putin’s decision to cancel that deal in July 2023 was seen in Ankara as a bargaining tool, and it was only at the meeting in Sochi on September 4th that Erdogan discovered that the agreement was beyond rescue. Two weeks later, Azerbaijan delivered the final blow to the rump Nagorno Karabakh, and while Aliyev made his own calculations in terms of timing, conspiracy is typically the prevalent pattern of thinking in the Kremlin, thus making a retribution by Erdoğan likely for Putin’s uncompromising stance.
The forceful elimination of the Nagorno Karabakh autonomy by Azerbaijan was definitely a setback for Russia, but one proposition Moscow is certain about is that the conflict in the South Caucasus is far from over. Many international stakeholders tend to assume that the removal of the long-festering core of the conflict opens opportunities for a peace process, but the Russian leadership believes that its ability to keep Armenia anchored to its security structures, ensured by the continuation of Russia’s military presence on its territory, depends on the unfolding of a new phase of the old conflict. The focal point has shifted to the Zangezur region, where Armenia borders Iran.
The geopolitical issue with this region is that it separates the main territory of Azerbaijan from the Nakhichevan enclave, which has a small (just 17 kilometers long) but crucially important border with Turkey. Baku has long cherished the vision of a transport corridor to this province and managed to insert a point on its implementation into the ceasefire agreement of November 2020. Yerevan had to accept this proposal, hoping that it would ensure survival of the curtailed autonomy for Nagorno Karabakh (which no longer exists), but never agreed on the condition of “extraterritoriality”, which implies ceding control over this as of now hypothetic transport route. Azerbaijan and Turkey could now join efforts to pressure Armenia in the hopes of maximizing gains from its military defeat and political isolation.
A large-scale military offensive by Azerbaijan might seem too ambitious, not least because it would constitute – unlike the establishment of full control over Nagorno Karabakh – an act of aggression and a violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity. Azerbaijan, nevertheless, is not only advancing a discourse on its “historic rights” to Zangezur and the “voluntarist character” of old Soviet borders. It has also executed several incursions into Armenian territory in the course of hostilities, while Armenia has been very cautious not to put any pressure on Nakhichevan, which is a “home ground” for the Aliyev political clan.
Preventing this transformation of conflict from an externally supported secession to an inter-state war over territory is a difficult and urgent task, and Yerevan cannot count on support from Moscow in working on it. Russia will be interested primarily in ensuring its control over the as of now hypothetic “extraterritorial corridor” across the Zangezur region by deploying a grouping of military and border guard forces. In case of a large-scale offensive by Azerbaijan, the Russian 102nd military base in Gyimri would probably remain “neutral”, so that in the post-conflict phase, it would be conveniently positioned to provide “peacekeepers”.
Rushing forward with the new military operation may seem out of Aliyev’s character, as he had carefully prepared every previous strike and waited patiently for the right moment. The stalemate in the trenches of Russo-Ukrainian war does not quite fit into the risk-opportunity calculations, but a possible Ukrainian breakthrough toward Tokmak, for instance, may be recognized as a useful opening. Erdoğan is also attentively monitoring the flow of combat operations, particularly on the maritime Black Sea theater, and will evaluate the response in Moscow to the international conference on promoting peace plans for Ukraine, scheduled to take place in Istanbul in late October 2023.
A new impact that may resonate in the South Caucasus is the war in the Gaza Strip caused by the massive attack by the Hamas terrorists on Israel. This escalation focuses international attention to such extraordinary degree, that Baku may assume its invasion to be barely noticed. Such calculations may be underpinned by the fact that the exodus of Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh has not produced a lasting impression on Western policymaking nor on public opinion. Dissuasion – if applied convincingly and consistently by a broad coalition of external actors (including even Iran) – can work for deterring this escalation. Conflict prevention is a political endeavor that the European Union is supposed to be good at, and its closer engagement with the fledgling democracy in Armenia combined with its cultivation of energy ties with Azerbaijan might make a difference in keeping the geopolitical rivalries in check.
https://www.ifri.org/en/publications/editoriaux-de-lifri/next-surge-conflict-south-caucasus-still-preventable
TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (MNA) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that the subject of the Karabakh conflict is finally closed.
"The issue of the Karabakh conflict has been settled for good. <…> This is a great joy," he said at a meeting with representatives from the Fuzuli District in Karabakh, TASS reported.
Azerbaijan regained full control of its territory of Karabakh last month after conducting an operation.
Authorities in Baku have repeatedly said they will protect the rights and ensure the security of Armenian residents in Karabakh in accordance with Azerbaijan's law.
The EU invited the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia for peace talks in Granada, Spain, on Oct. 5, but Baku declined because France and Germany were opposed to Turkey's participation.
MP/PR
French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu
France will sell solely defensive weapons to Armenia, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu has told a commission in the country’s senate during discussions of the 2024 budget.
Lecornu has not said what type of weapons France intends to sell to Armenia since that issue must be finalized with Yerevan sometime this week, Azatutyun.am reported.
The minister, however, has emphasized that weapons that are being considered for sale are only defensive and not offensive and meant to assist Armenia in defending lives and the security of its territory.
Lecornu told the senators that France already has a working permanent defense mission in Armenia. Its attache, the minster said, is an experienced general and is overseeing “an important effort.”
During a visit to Armenia earlier this month, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Armenia needed to be able to defend itself weeks after Azerbaijani forces invaded Nagorno-Karabakh despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.
She said Paris has agreed to deliver military equipment to Armenia.
After visiting displaced Artsakh residents, including burn patients injured in a Stepanakert fuel depot station explosion, the minister pledged military support.
“I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense. You’ll understand that I can’t go into more detail at the moment,” Colonna said on October 3.
Colonna’s pledge of military support to Armenia has further angered Baku, with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan complaining to European Council President Charles Michel about what he called the “anti-Azerbaijan” posturing by Paris and the EU.
BY KATY SIMONIAN
The Armenian National Committee of America –Western Region will honor the highly esteemed, prolific work of activist and Servicon Systems Chairman, Michael Mahdesian with the Vahan Cardashian Award at the 2023 Awards event, which will be held on Sunday, November 12th at The Omni Hotel in Los Angeles.
Following nearly ten months of Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of Artsakh and its military onslaught which resulted in the forced depopulation of Artsakh, the ANCA-WR Board seriously considered canceling this year’s Awards Gala. However, remembering the inspiring words of Artsakh Foreign Minister and last year’s Freedom Award honoree David Babayan, who is currently unlawfully imprisoned in Baku, the ANCA-WR Board decided that it must not cower in the face of Azeri aggression and that it must forge ahead in a show of unity and resilience against the injustices inflicted on our people, pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds toward humanitarian assistance for Artsakh genocide survivors.
For his unwavering dedication to promoting human rights for the Armenian community and beyond, Michael Mahdesian exemplifies the spirit of organizing collective efforts in the name of speaking truth to power, inspired by the award’s namesake, Vahan Cardashian himself. The fearless spirit of Cardashian is something all Armenians from around the world need now more than ever as the unspeakable horrors of genocide and forced displacement continue to plague the over 100,000 Armenians of Artsakh while Armenia remains under threat by Azerbaijan.
“It is with great pride that the ANCA-WR salutes Michael Mahdesian for his lifetime of brave, impassioned service to the advancement of the Armenian Cause and to humanitarianism at home and abroad. His knowledge and experience in public policy and human rights has inspired generations of activists,” says ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq.
“His fierce commitment to giving a voice to those in need is an example for all Armenians, as we stand in solidarity with people throughout the world who seek democracy and a better life. His impact on the Armenian American community continues to grow, as we embrace a new era of activism through the principles of thoughtful action Michael has lived by throughout his years of public service,” Hovsepian added.
Heralded for his tireless efforts to establish Armenian independence, Cardashian single-handedly lobbied the United States for support in creating an independent Armenian state in the aftermath of World War I and the Armenian Genocide.
As the founder of the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), he assembled a group of respected American scholars and diplomats with broad spheres of influence to elevate the Armenian Cause to the most powerful figures in the US government. In doing so, he created the first Armenian American lobbying group, which served as the predecessor for what would become the modern-day ANCA.
It is fitting and deeply poetic to know that the advocacy Cardashian spearheaded in the early twentieth century to fulfill his vision for a powerful Armenian nation and Diaspora was carried on by Michael Mahdesian, as he helped establish and advise the ANCA and ANCA-WR, beginning a new, prosperous era for the Armenian community in the United States.
Armenians around the world know well the haunting silence of an international community that fails to intervene in preventing injustice and crimes against humanity. It is that deafening silence that first inspired Michael Mahdesian to devote his life to taking action in the service of those without a voice and become an indefatigable advocate for peace.
Born in Los Angeles, he began his collegiate career as a film student at the University of Southern California. After a transformative trip hitchhiking across America and backpacking throughout Europe, Mahdesian turned his focus to public and foreign policy, completing his Master’s degree in Urban Planning and International Economic Development at UCLA.
After completing his education, his entry into public service began in spectacular fashion, when he worked for legendary political activist Tom Hayden’s successful campaign for California State Assembly, serving as his Policy Director and Press Secretary. Mahdesian went on to contribute to the Campaign for Economic Democracy, by winning a contract to train Vista Volunteers in community organization. The grassroots organization led by Hayden and wife Jane Fonda, which helped achieve progressive goals in California, such as protecting renters, unions, and women’s rights throughout the 1970s and 1980s, made a profound impact on the political landscape of California, inspiring generations of activists to take part in causes that initiate, promote and maintain peace and prosperity for all people.
It was also during this era that Mahdesian became a prominent leader in the Armenian American community in Los Angeles, where he helped to establish the ANCA as an effective, political advocacy group. For decades, he has served as a most gracious supporter and advisor to ANCA and ANCA-WR, applying his energy, perspective and years of advocacy to fulfill his commitment to ensuring the Armenian community has a voice within American politics in the local and national arena.
In the early 1980’s, Mahdesian was able to apply his experience with CED and the ANCA to become a top aide, strategist, and fundraiser for the DCCC in Washington DC under the leadership of Congressman Tony Coelho. Here, he not only helped the Democratic Party retain its congressional majority despite the popularity of President Reagan, but also met his future wife, Natalie.
The couple returned to Los Angeles to start a family, and Michael started a Janitorial Supply Company that eventually became the Supply Division of Servicon, his father Richard’s company.
In 1989, after the devastating earthquake in Armenia, Mahdesian took action, organizing an air lift which led the disaster relief efforts out of the United States, helping secure vital aid for the suffering people of Armenia. It is poignant to think that it was his service to the homeland of his ancestors that ultimately led to his future role in President Bill Clinton’s administration.
His extensive experience in the field led President Clinton to appoint him to serve as the Bureau Deputy of USAID in the State Department, where he was tasked with overseeing international humanitarian aid and post-conflict transitions to peace and democracy.
During his tenure in the State Department, he became a high-ranking operational diplomat on the ground during many international crises. He was helpful immediately following the Rwandan Genocide, developed programs on the ground in coordination with the Good Friday Accords in Northern Ireland, led the first US team into the heart of the Congo after the overthrow of Mobutu, as well as administering humanitarian aid to those in need during conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
It is difficult to measure the impact of his humanitarian work, as countless people have been helped by his diplomatic efforts and time in the field.
In 2000 he returned to Servicon as Chairman of the Board, leading the company and custodial industry to new heights. He pioneered Green Cleaning and efforts toward sustainability, worked with lawmakers in Sacramento to root out sexual harassment in the industry as well as crack down on the underground market, which depressed wages and benefits for workers.
In 2001, he was appointed Commissioner on the Planning Commission by Los Angeles Mayor Jimmy Hahn, where he served four years in the position, building better infrastructure throughout the city.
During the pandemic, he founded ServiconCares, a philanthropic foundation that both donates to and partners with groups in Southern California to sustainably improve the communities where Servicon employees reside. He has remained active in progressive politics throughout his entire career, devoting his life to making sure the people of California, the United States, and the world have better opportunities for prosperity and peace.
He recently received one of the state’s highest honors, when in July, the State of California and the California Assembly conferred an official resolution commending him for his career of service to the country, California, humanity, and the Armenian community.
The opening of the resolution states: “Michael Mahdesian, a respected California civic, community, and humanitarian leader, has brought credit and distinction to himself through his many notable achievements and has significantly improved the quality of life for people around the world through his efforts, and it is appropriate at this time to highlight his many accomplishments and extend to him special honors and the highest commendations.”
Upon receiving this recognition, Mahdesian reflected on his father and the lessons he learned in living a life of helping people in need, stating “My father was a first generation American who came of age during the Great Depression. He knew the value of hard work. He also valued treating others with respect and helping elevate the people, community, and industry he so loved. He passed these values along to me. This recognition encourages me that I have carried on his traditions and helped in some small ways to make this world a better place.”
Empathy is one of the greatest hallmarks of the Armenian spirit. The ability to see our shared humanity and extend a hand to people across cultures represents the best of who we are as Armenian Americans. As an advocate for the Armenian community and for all who seek justice, Mahdesian continues to honor Vahan Cardashian’s legacy while building an inspiring legacy of his own as a champion of human rights. Michael Mahdesian has embodied the virtues of public service throughout his life and work, motivating generations of people to raise their voices in the name of promoting, securing and preserving justice, peace, prosperity and a better life for all people.
For more information about Michael Mahdesian’s extraordinary humanitarian efforts in Los Angeles, the US, and around the world, and to purchase tickets for the 2023 ANCA-Western Region Awards event, please click here. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s gala will be donated to support Artsakh Genocide survivors.
The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.
Katy Simonian is a member of the 2023 ANCA-WR Awards event.
The contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a majoritarily Armenian inhabited enclave internationally recognized as a semi-autonomous part of Azerbaijan, is seeing most of its Armenian population flee following the Sept. 19 Azerbaijani assault in the area.
Over 100,000 refugees have fled from Artsakh to Armenia, most of which have had to go without essential supplies for days according to the United Nations refugee agency.
The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh is a separatist ethnic-Armenian enclave within the borders of Azerbaijan. It was occupied by Armenia for decades before Azerbaijan won a fight in 2020 with the aid of the Turkish government and therefore gained the area as territory following the surrender of the Armenian government.
On Sept. 19, Azerbaijan launched a military operation on Nagorno-Karabakh labeled as an “anti-terrorist” campaign by the country’s defense ministry. Following the attack, over 200 people have been killed, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh with no choice but to capitulate due to their being overwhelmed with the Azerbaijan army.
Tensions between the two regions had already been running high due to the nine month blockade that went on beforehand, during which the importation of food was completely prevented.
Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) executive director and Ontarian of Armenian origin Sevag Belian explained that Nagorno-Karabakh was under total blockade before the events of Sept. 19 and that the people barely had any food, medicine, fuel and other basic necessities. “Not only these people were attacked, but ten months prior to that, they were being starved by Azerbaijan, and the media didn’t talk about it until the people were forcibly uprooted and we witnessed one of the worst refugee crises.”
Through the difficulties of her community overseas, Maral, who did not want to disclose her name for safety reasons, a student of Armenian descent at Concordia University expressed her commitment to raising awareness on the issue.”Personally for me, everything I do has to be for this cause right now, I can't look away. I can't distract myself, I can't pretend it's not there. I just can't have normal conversations. I'm not gonna fake anything, I think people should know what's happening.”
Maral shared her pain regarding the bombings from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, that killed over 200 people. “When you feel that heart-to-heart connection to a land and then it’s being bombed, you kinda feel like you're losing someone,” she said, “the first emotion I felt was why am I here in Montreal? Why am I not hurting with my people? I felt guilt and resentment and anger.”
Matthew Doramajian, an engineering student at Concordia, was born in Canada but has grandparents immigrated from western Armenia to Egypt and then Canada in the 1960s. He is also feeling deep sadness and hurt. “I feel my nation is my family so even though I'm so far away, it's like my own family being violated.”
Although he feels this way, Doramajian is nonplussed about such events occurring. “It's almost horrible to say, but it doesn’t surprise me. As bad as it is, there's nothing us Armenians haven't seen before,” he said. “Right now, I witness my brothers and sisters being massacred, just how my parents in the 80s and 90s also saw their brothers and sisters being massacred, just how my grandparents witnessed massacre as well. It's continuous, we feel helpless; it's not a comfortable feeling.”
Belian voiced his disappointment on the reactions happening on a global level. “The fact that 100 years later the Armenian people are once again witnessing the same thing brings a lot of frustration and outrage in us because the international community really didn’t take their responsibility to protect vulnerable populations seriously” he said. He continues,“there's a sense of devastation, there's a sense of haunting memories coming back and also a sense of anger and frustration that this all happened in the 21st century, a modern day genocide.”
Belian delved deeper into his perspective of the situation: “Forcing people to leave their land under pressure, it’s a form of genocide,” he said. “It deprives them of what they hold most dear to their heart, and that is their belonging, their spatial recognition, and their connection to the land that has been their indigenous land for millennia.”
Maral started a journey in activism, standing in protest in front of McGill University. She wore a traditional Armenian dress, a skirt called a taraz, and played Armenian music to bring awareness to the crisis overseas. “It was just this symbolism for pain and suffering. It was human, not just tied to culture, just like the human pain that comes with terrorism. It’s something else when you stand with your people.”
There are doubts by the Armenian community on whether mainstream media is properly covering the conflict. “We were covered by CBC news and anytime I said the word genocide, […] the news cut off the word,” Maral said. “I think it's important for people to know who the aggressor is. The world seems to not want to be upfront about it.”
Belian explained that the media comes in only when an issue reaches a very critical point. “This sudden attention that we're getting is like bringing flowers to someone's funeral,” he said. “After everything is done, after all the damage is done, the media takes interest and starts talking about the misery of the population,” Belian said.
Doramajian believes interventions from international governments are essential to ignite change.
“In politics, it is not the crime that is important, it is who is doing it. If they are a threat, then countries will push for their crimes to be punished. If not, they don’t care,” he said.
https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/ethnic-armenians-face-military-oppression-by-azerbaijan
17:37,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 16, ARMENPRESS. DigiTec23 has become a reality, moving to the Meridian Expo Center for the first time. 120 participating companies, more than 40 speakers presented themselves at this year's technology exhibition, UATE said in a press release.
Many innovations were showcased at this year's technology exhibition.
BANA Angels played a significant role in organizing the event.
UATE extended support to companies forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and provided them with a platform to present at DigiTec. People moved from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia presented themselves under a single pavilion entitled "We are reborn". "Munk" technical school, Bitty organization and BIB Company also participated in the event.
At the 18th "DigiTec" exhibition, entitled "Technologies are everywhere", the problems arisen in Armenia were in the spotlight
"People who see the future of our country also in the technological sector have gathered here. This is an event where our IT community is able to present to the public and partners the news that is being created.
Although "DigiTec" is held for the second time this year, the companies have many new things to show. I sincerely hope that the participants, visitors, Armenian and foreign media will see the potential that Armenia has. We will witness how Armenian companies transform their solutions, as well as offer solutions, both in our and in the global market," said Alexander Yesayan, the president of the UATE.
"DigiTec" has been held for 18 years, having a mission to work in 3 directions: connecting the representatives of the Armenian technological world with each other, introducing technological developments to the society outside of technology and people working in government bodies, to fix Armenian technologies on the map in the international market", said Sargis Karapetyan, the executive director of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises.
The annual reporting conference of the "Technological Future of Armenia" initiative was held at "DigiTec".
The Armenian Code Academy organized professional seminars for forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the "DigiTec" days, two important memorandums were also signed for "Armat" engineering laboratories.
First, a memorandum has been signed between Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Araksia Svajyan, and the executive director of the Union of Advanced Technologies Enterprises (UATE), Sargis Karapetyan.
According to the memorandum, the infrastructures of "Armat" will be used in the schools and will be connected to the general school program.
And another memorandum was signed between Sargis Karapetyan and Artur Sargsyan, executive director of the Union of Advanced Technologies Enterprises (UATE). With the memorandum, Arthur Sargsyan, as a donation, will support the opening of a new "Armat" laboratory in Yerevan's 66 primary school.
"DigiTech-2023" was also visited by representatives of structures, international organizations, and parliamentarians carrying out their diplomatic mission in Armenia.
Robert Khachatryan, Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, the RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, Vice President of the National Assembly Hakob Arshakyan, High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan also attended the event.
Armenia's Narek Manasyan was named European boxing champion
Narek Manasyan, a member of Armenia’s National Boxing team, became the European boxing champion on Monday.
Competing in the 92-kilogram category in the European Boxing Championships, being held in Montenegro, Manasyan captured the title after his opponent, Aziz Asbed Mouhidi of Italy, did not show up to compete, thus forfeiting the match.
Earlier during the completion, Armenia’s Rudolph Kabroyan won a silver medal, while Rafael Honvhanisyan, Ruslan Aslikyan and Paregam Harutyunyan each won bronze medals.
Monday,
31 Armenians Under Arrest After Anti-Government Protests
• Naira Bulghadarian
ARMENIA -- Protesters gather near the government building, after Azerbaijan
launched a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, in Yerevan, September 19,
2023.
Thirty-one participants of recent anti-government protests in Yerevan, many of
them university students, remain in custody on what the Armenian opposition and
human rights activists regard as politically motivated charges.
The largely peaceful protests erupted spontaneously shortly after the
Azerbaijani army went on the offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19,
paving the way for the restoration of Baku’s full control over the
Armenian-populated territory. They demanded that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
resign because of his failure to prevent the fall of Karabakh. Some
demonstrators clashed with security forces outside the main government building
in Yerevan.
Opposition groups swiftly took over and stepped up the daily protests in the
following days in an attempt to topple Pashinian. Their “civil disobedience”
campaign fizzled out later in September.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during the demonstrations. The majority
of them were set free after spending several hours in police custody.
Still, according to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, 48 protesters were
charged with participating in “mass disturbances” and assaulting police
officers. Thirty-one of them are under arrest pending investigation, the
law-enforcement agency said at the weekend.
Armenia - Police detain a man during a protest against Azerbaijan's military
action in the Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan, September 22, 2023.
In an October 9 statement, the main opposition Hayastan bloc again rejected the
accusations and demanded the release of all detainees. Its senior members claim
that the authorities fabricated the criminal case to discourage angry Armenians
from participating in opposition rallies.
“These are all cases of political persecution,” agreed Arsen Babayan, an
opposition-linked lawyer representing three of the detainees. “They are
basically telling people that if they take part in rallies they could be
sentenced to between 4 and 8 years in prison.”
This is why, he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, the authorities are not keeping
the suspects under house arrest.
Zaruhi Hovannisian, a human rights activist, also criticized the detentions. She
said that just like their predecessors, Armenia’s current leaders are using
pre-trial arrest to “suppress suspects, influence their political views and
force them to renounce some actions.”
In Hovannisian’s, words 26 of the arrested protesters are held in Yerevan’s
Nubarashen prison, the largest in Armenia, and most of them are students.
U.S. Denies Warning Of Azeri Attack On Armenia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the media before
leaving Egypt, en route to Jordan, .
The U.S. State Department has denied a media report saying that Secretary of
State Antony Blinken has not ruled out the possibility that Azerbaijan will
invade Armenia in the coming weeks.
The U.S. news website Politico reported on Friday that Blinken made that clear
in an October 3 phone call with several pro-Armenian U.S. lawmakers. It cited
two unnamed “people familiar with the conversation.”
“The reporting in this article is inaccurate and in no way reflects what
Secretary Blinken said to lawmakers,” the State Department spokesman, Matthew
Miller, told Armenia’s Armenpress news agency on Sunday.
“The United States strongly supports Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity. We have stressed that any infringement of that sovereignty and
territorial integrity would bring serious consequences,” Miller said in written
comments.
Tigran Balayan, the Armenian ambassador to the European Union, similarly claimed
on October 8 that Azerbaijani forces could soon try to open an exterritorial
land corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southeastern
Syunik province. He said the West should impose sanctions on Baku to prevent
such an attack.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regularly demands such a corridor. The
Azerbaijani takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh raised more fears in Yerevan that Baku
may act on its implicit threats of military action.
Syunik is the sole Armenian province bordering Iran. Tehran has repeatedly
warned against attempts to strip it of the common border and transport links
with Armenia.
Karabakh’s Death Toll Close To 500
• Ruzanna Stepanian
A photograph taken and released on September 25, 2023 by the Nagorno-Karabakh
Human Rights Ombudsman shows a fire at a fuel depot outside Stepanakert.
More than 220 residents of Nagorno-Karabakh were killed during last month’s
Azerbaijani military offensive and at least as many others died in the
subsequent explosion at a local fuel depot, a Karabakh official said over the
weekend.
Over 200 of them are Karabakh soldiers killed in action on September 19-20,
Hunan Tadevosian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in Yerevan. Two dozen other
victims of the hostilities are Karabakh civilians who died as a result of
Azerbaijani shelling of their communities.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has acknowledged over 200 combat deaths among
its military personnel involved in the operation. Its troops greatly outnumbered
and outgunned Karabakh’s small army that received no military support from
Armenia. Karabakh’s leadership agreed to disband the Defense Army in return for
Baku stopping the assault and allowing the region’s ethnic Armenian population
to flee to Armenia.
The exodus began amid chaotic scenes blamed for the September 25 explosion at
the gasoline depot outside Stepanakert. With fuel in extremely short supply in
Karabakh even before the Azerbaijani attack, hundreds of cars converged on the
facility to fuel up and proceed to Armenia.
Tadevosian said the powerful blast and a fire sparked by it killed at least 220
people and left 50 others missing. About 150 bodies were burned beyond
recognition, he said, adding that DNA tests are being carried out in Yerevan to
identify them.
Hundreds of other Karabakh Armenians were injured by the blast. Tadevosian said
Karabakh authorities that are now exiled in Armenia continue to believe that it
was most likely the result of human negligence, rather than a deliberate attack.
The authorities failed to organize an orderly distribution of the fuel stored in
the depot because of panic caused by fears that Azerbaijani troops could enter
Stepanakert at any moment, he said.
“People were desperate to get out [of Karabakh] as soon as possible and save
their families,” added the spokesman for the Karabakh interior ministry.
Aliyev Visits Depopulated Karabakh
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev raises the state flag in Nagorno-Karabakh
capital city Stepanakert, .
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev visited Nagorno-Karabakh and raised
Azerbaijani flags there on Sunday as Baku completed the takeover of the region
as a result of last month’s military offensive that caused a mass exodus of its
ethnic Armenian population.
Aliyev described the restoration of full Azerbaijani control over Karabakh as a
“historic event” in a televised address to the nation delivered outside the main
government building in Stepanakert.
“We got our lands back, restored our territorial integrity and at the same time
restored our dignity,” he said after hoisting an Azerbaijani flag there.
Aliyev’s visit to Stepanakert and other practically empty Karabakh towns was
clearly timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the start of his
presidency inherited from his late father Heydar. He declared that he has
achieved his “number one objective.”
“This victory will remain forever in our history,” added Aliyev.
The Azerbaijani army launched the large-scale offensive on September 19. After
more than 24 hours of fierce fighting, which left at least 400 soldiers from
both sides dead, Karabakh’s leadership agreed to disband and disarm its armed
forces. The latter were greatly outnumbered and outgunned by advancing
Azerbaijani troops in the absence of any military support from Armenia.
Russia, which has about 2,000 peacekeeping soldiers stationed in Karabakh, did
not try to prevent or stop the assault. The Karabakh Armenians regarded the
peacekeepers as their man security guarantee after the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani
war.
At least 100,000 of them fled to Armenia later in September. According to exiled
Karabakh officials in Yerevan, only several dozen mostly sick, disabled and
elderly Armenians remain in the region.
Armenia’s government says the exodus is the result of “ethnic cleansing”
perpetrated by Azerbaijan. Baku has denied responsibility for the almost
complete depopulation of Karabakh and pledged to protect the rights of local
residents willing to live under Azerbaijani rule.
Armenians Also Evacuated From Israel
• Anush Mkrtchian
Israel - Armenians check in for an evacuation flight to Yerevan at Tel Aviv's
Ben Gurion Airport, .
A first group of 149 people was evacuated from Israel to Armenia on Monday on a
special flight organized by the Armenian government.
The chartered flight landed at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport just over a week
after Hamas launched its surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, reigniting the
conflict in the Middle East.
The evacuees included not only Armenian nationals but also ethnic Armenian
citizens of Israel and other foreign countries.
“I live and work here, it’s my children who live there [in Israel],” one of
them, a middle-aged woman from Yerevan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service at
Zvartnots. “I was always going to come back. I went there for a few days.”
“I worked at a university there on a one-year contract,” said another, younger
woman. “It’s not clear what is going to happen there next. Things may escalate,
get even worse. That is why returning to Armenia is a safer option.”
The Armenian Embassy in Tel Aviv began registering people for the first
repatriation flight last week. The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan indicated later
on Monday that it could arrange more flights if necessary.
“We can also inform that as of now there have been no reports of Armenian
citizens or ethnic Armenians being among victims of the hostilities,” the
ministry said in a statement.
Other countries have also evacuated their citizens from Israel due to the
escalating conflict.
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.
Armenian Church of Our Saviour in Worcester will host its annual fall Armenian Festival, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 21 in the Armenian Church of Our Saviour Cultural Center at 34 Boynton St., Worcester. The event is free to the public.
This year’s festival will provide an exciting experience and vibrant collection of events, according to Father Tadeos Barseghyan, newly-assigned pastor in July. “We look forward to sharing our heritage, faith and culture with the Greater Worcester community,” said Father Barseghyan. “This year’s festivities include various presentations, church tour, musical and video productions, handmade souvenirs from Armenia, and of course, delicious food.”
Jay Kapur, Parish Council Chairman, said the festival for the first time will offer a revised menu of traditional food for eat-in and takeout. There’s variety and affordable a la carte sides, some of them especially geared for families with children, he said. Vegetarian meals, too.
Father Barseghyan’s recipe for authentic Armenian Pork Kebab, marinated with herbs and spices from Armenia, will be featured alongside other specialties, such as grilled Armenian kebab sandwiches; Losh Kebab (Armenian spiced burgers); Lamb, Chicken and Beef Kebabs; Kheyma (Armenian version of steak tartare); Rice Pilaf and Armenian Cabbage Salad.
On the Bake Table: Lahmajun, wood-fired Armenian meat pizza; Manti, Armenian meat dumplings; Jingyalov Hats, Armenian flatbread stuffed with a variety of greens and herbs (arugula, cilantro, parsley, dill, scallions) Unique to the region Artsakh; Sweet Gata, Armenian-layered sweet pastry; Choreg, Armenian sweet rolls (similar to challah); Cheese Boreg, a flaky puff pastry with cheese filling.
Armenian wines (red and white) will be available. Also, Armenian coffee.
The pastor recently spent an evening with church volunteers as they prepared Jay Kapur’s family recipe for Manti. Kapur said he first made the meat dumplings with his grandmother when he was 10. “Many happy memories,” he said. Longtime parishioner Rose Aslanian watched as volunteers prepped food. She couldn’t recall how many years she had been a festival volunteer, saying she probably started helping out in her 20s. Aslanian will soon turn 90.
Festival volunteers provide necessary support and help drive the event’s success, according to Father Barseghyan. Among volunteers to help serve food will be WPI students, members of the Armenian Student Association at the college, he said.
Father Barseghyan shares love of cooking with family and parish, according to Kapur, who said, “Father is a terrific cook.” The priest explained how his parents, who live in Armenia, keep him supplied with commonly used spices to season his cooking. Some spices are only grown in the mountains of Armenia, he said, admitting he’s a home cook who likes spicy food and loves to grill. He and his wife, with their three children, moved from Saint Paul, Minnesota and currently live in Shrewsbury. The family is getting to know their way around Worcester, a city with so much to offer, he said.
A few fun facts that will be shared at the festival: Armenian Church of Our Saviour in Worcester is reported to be the first Armenian church in the Western Hemisphere, dating back to 1891. A presentation of the “Oldest Discoveries in Armenia” includes the archaeology find of the earliest leather shoe (5,500 years old) in an Armenian cave in 2008. The Vayots Dzor region claims to be home to the oldest winery in the world. Evidence of large- scale wine production and the likely domestication of vines was discovered in 2007. The mystery of the “Armenian Stonehedge” also will be part of a video presentation. Visit https://accos.org, or connect on Facebook for more festival information.
“We are proud to be part of the rich ethnic Worcester community,” said Kapur. The fourth Sunday of every month, Armenian Church of Our Saviour’s Outreach Ministry makes and delivers sandwiches to Veterans Inc. on Grove Street in Worcester, he said. The church also will host the Acyoa Juniors New England Fall Retreat, “Overcoming the Pressures of Life Through Our Faith,” on Nov. 11.
Food brings people closer through shared experiences, whether trying new foods or cooking together. The Armenian festival is a well-attended cultural celebration. Father Barseghyan said he plans to share a meal with volunteers when the festival ends. He might be surprised when there are no leftovers!