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

Armenia MP: I’m surprised how our women colleagues at PACE can speak in support of war, violence

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 22 2022
Armenia MP: I’m surprised how our women colleagues at PACE can speak in support of war, violence
16:37, 23.06.2022

Sona Ghazaryan, a member of Armenia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), addressed the PACE plenary session.

“At the beginning of the 20th century the movement for women’s right to vote was spreading worldwide.

I’m very happy to say that Armenia was already having success.

In 1919, the first direct parliamentarian elections were held under the universal suffrage.

Every person over the age of 20 had the right to vote, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religious belief.

Three female deputies were in the parliament.

Among them, was Ms. Berjouhi Barseghian, whose grandchild many of you will recognize as the city mayor of Strasbourg – Jeanne Barseghian [who] was her granddaughter.

Diana Abgar, another Armenian strong woman, took a different path to public life. On Friday 2 July 1920, she was appointed Armenia’s envoy to Japan. Serving until 1921, she ranked as one of the world’s first female ambassadors.

Nowadays, currently in our parliament, women’s representation is higher than ever, but still not enough at 35%.

Highly appreciating the role of women, civil society organizations were actively engaged with them in the law-making process, so that will lead to even more women’s participation in legislative bodies.

Having peace agenda as one of the main agendas for our ruling party, I can reassure you that women MPs are also engaged in the decision-making processes.

The Republic of Armenia has also developed the second national action plan on the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, reaffirming its readiness to continue its work on peace and security.

The program addresses the issues and challenges faced by women displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the devastating war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in the autumn of 2020.

As the result of the aggressive war, more than 91 000 people were forcibly displaced and received asylum in Armenia, 88% of whom were women and children.

The war of aggression started during the Covid-19 pandemic. That is complicating the difficult situation for women and girls.

The program presents the problems of women and girls in crisis, addressing their security component.

The program addresses the issue of forcibly displaced women, the security challenges posed by the new border situation, and their impact on women and girls.

Considering the above-mentioned, I need to be very sincere and to tell you that I’m very much surprised to hear how our women colleagues here at the Parliamentary Assembly and other high-Ievel female officials in the neighboring countries can speak in support of war and violence, finding justifications—this should not be acceptable,” the Armenian MP stated, in particular.

Opinion: Restoring communication links is an important confidence-building measure but the focus on where to start needs to change

Emil Lazarian
June 20 2022
20-JUN-2022
BENYAMIN POGHOSYAN


There is broad consensus in the region and in the international community on the need to restore communications in the South Caucasus and on the possibility of finding mutually accepted solutions for this to be achieved. However the constant focus on the routes passing via the Syunik region and connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan has made the whole process of restoration of communications a bone of contention for both sides, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. The restoration of communications may still play a positive role in the establishment of good neighborly relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by creating conditions from which both societies can benefit. However, if the sides continue this tit-for-tat discussion around the “Zangezur corridor,” blaming each other for violating previous agreements, the restoration of communications issue will only deepen the mistrust between them, he adds. Starting instead with a railway connection between Armenia and Nakhijevan via Yersakh on the other hand, requires only a further 1 km of railroad to be constructed, and will serve as a significant confidence-building measure between Armenia and Azerbaijan and will make it easier for Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree on the modalities for the restoration of other routes. 

Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiations are focused on three main tracks – the restoration of communications, the launch of the border delimitation and demarcation process, and the signing of a bilateral relations agreement or peace agreement. These issues are being discussed in Moscow and Brussels. There is a no common view if the sides should seek to achieve agreement on all issues, discussing them as one package, or whether the main efforts should be directed to the restoration of communications, and the launch of delimitation and demarcation process. a bilateral “peace agreement”, including a common understanding on the status of Nagorno Karabakh appears still far from reach. However, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, the EU, and the US all agree that the restoration of communications is an area where mutually accepted solutions can be found.

The restoration of communication links was included in the November 10, 2020, trilateral statement. According to article 9 of the statement, all regional economic and transport links should be unblocked. Armenia guaranteed the safety of transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to organize the unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles, and goods in both directions, while control over transport communication should be exercised by the Border Guard Service bodies of the Federal Security Service of Russia.

This issue was further discussed during January 2021 Moscow meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, and President Putin. The three countries agreed to establish a trilateral commission chaired by their Deputy Prime Ministers. The commission started its work immediately after the signing of the January 11, 2021 statement. However, the ambiguous wording of the November 10 statement resulted in different interpretations from the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. Azerbaijan argues that the wording “unimpeded movement” means that no Armenian passport or customs control should be implemented in the Syunik region when Azerbaijani citizens and goods pass Syunik to reach Nakhijevan from Armenia. According to the Azerbaijani logic, the routes connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan via Syunik should have the same legal modalities as the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh and which has been solely under the control of Russian peacekeepers since November 2020 without any Azerbaijani passport or customs control. The comparison with the Lachin corridor brought about in circulation by the Azerbaijani side the term “Zangezur corridor.” Meanwhile, Azerbaijan never discusses the possibility of implementing no passport or customs control for Armenian citizens and goods that may pass Nakhijevan to reach Iran or pass through mainland Azerbaijan to reach Russia.

The Armenian side strongly rejects the term “Zangezur corridor,” claiming that it will establish an extra-territorial route on the territory of Armenia. Armenia argues that in the November 10, 2020, statement, the term corridor was used only once – describing the Lachin corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh. Thus, all attempts to equal the routes via Syunik with the highway passing via Lachin violate the November 10, 2020 statement. Since December 2021 EU has fostered its efforts to reach a solution in this area. The restoration of communications was among the main issues discussed during December 2021, April, and May 2022 meetings held in Brussels. However, despite optimistic statements after the meetings, no breakthrough has happened. The trilateral Armenia – Azerbaijan – Russia commission held a meeting on June 3, 2022, after a 6-month  pause, but no breakthrough was registered in that meeting either.

Azerbaijan has already started the construction of a railway and highway from Horadiz to the Armenia – Azerbaijan border, and according to several estimates, it may reach Armenia – Azerbaijan border in the Summer of 2023. However, Armenia has not launched the construction of a 44 km railroad in the Syunik region along the Araks River. According to the Armenian government, it will take two years and cost approximately 200 million USD, but Armenia will start the construction only after clarifying all legal modalities concerning the functionality of routes. Given the current stalemate on legal issues, even in the best-case scenario, the railroad in the Syunik region will be ready by the end of 2024.

Focusing solely on the routes passing via the Syunik region and connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan has made the whole process of restoration of communications a bone of contention for both sides, creating negative feelings among the expert community and society in general. Nevertheless, the wider objective of restoration of communications may still play a positive role in the establishment of good neighborly relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by creating conditions from which both societies can benefit. However, if the sides continue this tit-for-tat discussion around the “Zangezur corridor,” blaming each other for violating previous agreements, the restoration of communications issue will only deepen the mistrust between them. It will make any long-term regional stability even less likely.

One of the ways to overcome this vicious circle is to concentrate efforts on areas where the restoration of communications needs much less time and money, and is less contentious. The railway connection between Armenia and Nakhijevan is one such area. Currently, there is only a missing link of up to one km of a railroad to connect the Armenian village of Yeraskh in the Ararat region with the Nakhijevan border, while Yeraskh has a working railway connection with Yerevan. The restoration of a 1 km railroad requires only a few million USD investment and may be finished within two months. The launch of the Yerevan – Nakhijevan railway via Yeraskh, in parallel with the opening of the Armenia-Turkey (Gyumri-Kars) railway, will open several international routes. Nakhijevan will have a railroad connection with Turkey via Gyumri-Kars railway and with Georgian Black Sea ports via Yerevan-Tbilisi-Poti/Batumi railroad. Iran will have a railway connection with Turkey via Nakhijevan-Yeraskh-Gyumri-Kars line, with Russia via Nakhijevan-Yeraskh-Yerevan-Gyumri-Tbilisi-Baku line, and with the Georgian Black Sea ports via Nakhijevan-Yeraskh-Yerevan-Tbilisi-Poti/Batumi railway. It will effectively launch the Persian Gulf-Black Sea transport corridor, connecting the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas with the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi.

In that scenario, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and Turkey may sign an intergovernmental agreement fixing simplified transit procedures for the passage of goods, facilitating the trade along these railways. Launching these routes will serve as a significant confidence-building measure between Armenia and Azerbaijan and contribute to regional stability and economic connectivity. The success of this project will make it easier for Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree on the modalities for the restoration of other routes, including Azerbaijan-Nakhijevan via Syunik.

CivilNet: Armenia’s top judicial official formally dismissed

Emil Lazarian
CIVILNET.AM

23 Jun, 2022 10:06

  • Ruben Vardazaryan, Armenia’s former top judicial official, was formally dismissed from his post after he published a recording that appears to show his successor pressuring him to resign.
  • Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan called for a “realistic” approach to Karabakh negotiations in a wide-ranging interview with public television.
  • U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Kristina Kvien to be the next ambassador to Armenia.
  • The Armenian government approved a cooperation agreement with USAID worth $120 million.
  • CivilNet sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Anthony Barsamian, the head of the Armenian Assembly of America.

Opposition announces rally in Yerevan on Friday evening

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia –


The Armenian opposition will hold a rally in Yerevan’s central France Square on Friday evening.

“Dear compatriots, we are again gathering at France Square at 7:30pm,” opposition leader and deputy parliament speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan wrote on Facebook.

“Join your brothers and sisters in the struggle!” he said.

Saghatelyan announced a change of tactics in the opposition movement aimed at toppling Nikol Pashinyan on June 14, saying they will hold rallies in Yerevan on a weekly basis.


Armenian MP: Right of self-determination is simply a right to live for Nagorno-Karabakh people

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia –


Armenian MP Hayk Mamijanyan from the opposition Pativ Unem (With Honor) faction on Friday addressed a debate on fighting vaccine-preventable diseases through quality services and anti-vaccine myth-busting held as part of the PACE summer session. His full statement is provided below.

“Thank you, honourable Chair, ladies and gentlemen,

We all know that there was a Stone Age, a Golden Era, etc. I do think that now we are living in the “Rubber Era” of European values. They bend, they fold, at the pleasure of politicians and yesterday’s discussion regarding the UK government’s reaction to the decision of ECHR proves that.

Here are some more effects: the European Parliament voted four documents urging the importance of the immediate return of POWs’ inadmissible social terror, i.e. leaving the people of Artsakh without gas supply in terms of severe winter, pointing the aggressor of a 40-day war and it had no consequences for the COE member State.

Dear lady, you were calling my motherland, the historic Azerbaijani territory. One of your colleagues in Milli Majilis was already preparing the right for Azerbaijani for a new aggression regarding the corridor. And Mister Mr Rafael Huseynov, we are not revanchists. We are patriots. More than that, no one speaks about the fact that a COE member State occupied the internationally recognised sovereign territory of Armenia and just refuses to leave.

There are some other facts regarding the internal politics of my country. For example, less than one month ago, police brutally beat and used stun grenades on the peaceful protesters on the doorsteps of the EU Embassy in Yerevan. And I am not speaking figuratively, I am speaking literally, on the doorstep of the EU Embassy in Yerevan.

Journalists and oppositional MPs were not allowed to attend an event regarding the freedom of speech. No, you heard it correctly: journalists were not allowed to attend an event regarding freedom of speech and the EU officials back then in my country were attending that event.

Hate speech was so much accumulated by the government in my country that people were killed and the motivation was really political – extremely political. There was a tape that went viral when two people, the ex-president and the current president of the highest judicial body, discussed how they are going to fabricate cases against the opposition leaders.

So, the reason for these disasters are populists and dictators and the first one changed into dictators very fast. And this is a pandemic and we have to fight it tooth and nail, just while we were fighting Covid-19.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I was told that values are rock solid. I refuse to believe that Europe has set a blind eye on democracy and human rights. I refuse to believe that Europe has forgotten the right of self-determination which is simply a right to live for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Europe used to be a flagman of Christian democratic values, even if you decided to abandon that flag, we are going to wave it proudly because it is our cross to bear.

Thank you.”

Forecast: By 2023, Pashinyan will have serious problems with holding power

Emil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Armenia – June 23 2022



David Stepanyan

ArmInfo.The essence of the recent statements of  Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the settlement of the Artsakh conflict leads to the attempt to justify  his own current policy by sharing the responsibility with Levon  Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. A similar opinion  was expressed to ArmInfo by head of the Armenian Constructive Party,  political scientist Andrias Ghukasyan.

“Thus, he is trying to demonstrate that no matter who was in his  place today, the result would be the same. I personally assess such  argumentation as primitive. The fact is that Pashinyan personally  feels that he has lost in the struggle for the self-determination of  Artsakh. At the same time, many of his statements from the rostrum of  the Parliament really correspond to political realities, with the  exception, perhaps, of his conclusions on the principles of Madrid,”  he noted.

Assessing the Madrid principles as, in fact, a program for the  secession of Artsakh from Azerbaijan, the political scientist  stressed that it was Nikol Pashinyan who rejected this program. And  today he is trying not only to completely shift the blame for the  defeat on the former authorities, but also to argue that the  principles did not correspond to the interests of Armenia and  Artsakh, and that is why he rejected them in 2019.

At the same time, according to Ghukasyan, having rejected the  principles-brainchild of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Pashinyan,  as the new leader of Armenia, did not put forward any concept of a  settlement of his own. And without putting forward an alternative,  without taking a single step towards the formation of an agenda for  the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh, today he is  only reading morals from the rostrum of the parliament.

“As for the peace agenda that Pashinyan is trying to lead the country  towards, then, arguing about the need to consolidate society around  this agenda, Pashinyan means only consolidation around himself. There  is nothing new here. By 2023, Pashinyan will have serious problems  with holding power connected solely with external factors and  reasons, including the fact that the failure of the Russian  Federation in a number of areas will inevitably affect its satellite  Armenia. In this light, society remains his only chance to stay in  power. Thus, he hopes to prove to the international community that  he, let’s say, is not a good person, but the people are consolidated  around him. Accordingly, he can continue to fulfill their wishes  now,” Ghukasyan summed up. 



Human Rights Defender criticizes int’l community for its inadequate…response to facts of torture and ill-treatment of Armenian servicemen during 44-day war

Emil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Armenia –


Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. Armenian Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan criticized the international community’s for its disproportionate and inadequate response to the facts of  torture and ill-treatment of Armenian servicemen and civilians during  and after the 44-day war in Nagorno- Karabakh in the fall of 2020.

Thus, the Office of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of  Armenia reports, in part, “On June 22, Human Rights Defender of the  Republic of Armenia, Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan made a video statement  during the interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur on summary  executions held within the framework of the 50th regular session of  the UN Human Rights Council (June 13 – July 8 ).

During the dialogue, in her statement the Defender highly appreciated  the work of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or  arbitrary executions stressing the need for further strengthening the  mandate and allocating more resources.

The Defender reflected on the response to torture, extrajudicial and  summary executions of Armenian civilian captives and PoW during and  after the 2020 hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh, which has been  inadequate and insufficient to say the least creating preconditions  for extrajudicial and arbitrary executions in other ongoing  conflicts.

Summing-up the Speech, as a guarantee of effective implementation of  the mandate the Defender stressed the imperative of visiting the  regions and territories more by Special Rapporteur emphasizing the  need for better understanding on the ground.

Highlighting the role of national human rights institutions as a  valuable partner to the Special Rapporteur, Defender Grigoryan  expressed her willingness for partnership.”  

Russian FM speak of some progress in activities of tripartite group on the opening of communications

Emil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Armenia –


Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.There is some progress in the activities of the tripartite working group on the opening of communications in the South Caucasus, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov stated  at his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. 

“As for regional issues, we are ready to do everything possible to  facilitate the implementation of the three documents signed by the  three leaders in November 2020, January and November 2021. According  to our assessment, there is some progress in the activities of the  tripartite working group on the opening of communications. We are  discussing the issues to be agreed with the Armenian side. It seems  to me that a general idea is being formed on how to solve the problem  of organizing this work so that there are no artificial obstacles to  the movement of cars with maximum comfort. Russia will help in this  until the results are achieved. I do hope that this will happen soon.  We are also ready to provide consulting services on the work of two  commissions established for the delimitation and demarcation of  borders in Azerbaijan and Armenia in accordance with other  agreements. There are specific proposals on this. I would be glad to  discuss them with you.

“You mentioned the normalization of relations, the peace agreement  and provisions of the future agreement submitted by you. By the way,  we have heard that the Armenian side, Prime Minister Pashinyan, is  ready to hold talks on this issue. We are ready to help here with the  consent of Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Mr Lavrov said.  

Armenian, Belarusian Prosecutors General meet in Minsk

Emil Lazarian

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 10:50,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan met with Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved in Minsk, advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia Gor Abrahamyan said.

During the meeting Artur Davtyan thanked for the warm welcome and congratulated his Belarusian counterpart on the 100th anniversary of the Prosecution system of Belarus. He informed that the Prosecution of Armenia will mark its 104th anniversary soon.

Artur Davtyan highly valued the level and results of the cooperation between the Offices of Prosecutors General of Armenia and Belarus, adding that the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between the two Offices in Minsk in 2005 continues contributing to this.

In his turn Andrei Shved expressed confidence that the session of the Coordination Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS states in Minsk will strengthen the partnership between the member states in countering crime in the CIS zone, will contribute to more effectively resisting the challenges emerging in the fields of security, human rights.

The sides discussed the opportunities of taking additional steps to develop the potential of the prosecutions of the two countries, as well as other issues of mutual interest.