Author: Emil Lazarian

 15:52,

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said today that Azerbaijan is holding in captivity 38 persons, 3 of whom are civilians.

“Armenian prisoners of war and civilians are still illegally held in Azerbaijan. And Armenia continues raising the issue of the immediate return of Armenian POWs, hostages and other persons held in Azerbaijan at different international formats. Azerbaijan is still holding 38 persons – POW, hostage and persons held in another status. 3 out of 38 are civilians. It’s worth noting that 2 out of these 38 have been captured before the November 9″, the FM said at the session of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs.

The issue has been included to the agenda of the PACE autumn session on 2021 April 19, as well as the decision on applying ECHR interim measures in Azerbaijan is still in force.

On May 20, 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release and return of Armenian captives.

The FM also recalled the 2021 December 7 decisions of the UN’s International Court of Justice, where through the use of urgent measures the Court obliged Azerbaijan to prevent inciting racial hatred and discrimination targeting ethnic Armenians, to take necessary measures to prevent and punish the acts of vandalism and desecration directed against the Armenian cultural heritage.

The minister said the statement of the Azerbaijani culture minister that a commission must be set up to deal with the “restoration of Aghvan cultural monuments” makes urgent sending a UNESCO mission to Nagorno Karabakh. And the Armenian side is now holding negotiations on this direction.

 16:48,

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the European Commission’s Team Europe initiative, Portugal handed over the first batch of Pfizer vaccines to Armenia.

200,070 doses of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 were delivered. Another batch consisting of an equal amount of doses will be delivered in early April.

“We are grateful to Poland for its coordinating role and we are very happy that this process is entirely EU funded,” EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin said.

She added that the EU is ready to provide more, but this requires the Armenian government to officially make such request.

First Deputy Minister of Healthcare Lena Nanushyan thanked the partners for supporting Armenia in these difficult times not only with providing vaccines but also with technical support.

Saudi Arabia denies reports of US Secretary of State visit in near future

 10:37,

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia denied the media reports according to which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is going to visit the Kingdom in the near future, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reports.

Earlier some media outlets reported citing the US, Israeli and Palestine sources that Blinken plans to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel in late March.

Armenia premieres its entry song and the official music video for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

 19:16,

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, ARMENPRESS. Rosa Linn, Armenia’s representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, has just released her entry song “Snap”, together with the official music video.

Rosa says this song is a journey into her inner world, a personal story everyone can relate to: “I think we’ve all been at a snapping point, where it felt like there’s no way out and that the entire world is just crumbling down around you. You start questioning everything, including yourself. I have been there. And what I realized was that I had the strength to shape my reality – it just took getting out of my own way and finding inner-peace. It’s all about self-love and accepting that you are enough. Writing “Snap” was a form of therapy for me and I hope that it can be that for others who are also going through hard times.”

“Snap” was written by Rosa Linn, Larzz Principato, Courtney Harrell, Allie Crystal, Tamar Mardirossian Kaprelian. Lyrics by Rosa Linn, Larzz Principato, Courtney Harrell, Allie Crystal, Tamar Mardirossian Kaprelian, Jeremy Dusoulet 

Channel One’s music producer Anushik Ter-Ghukasyan says minor adjustments have been made to the initial version of the song composed by Rosa. “Snap” is honest, uplifting and very emotional. That’s because Rosa wrote the song herself and she’s telling her own story. When it comes to production, I am very happy that this year we have an extraordinary team working on “Snap” – from Yerevan all the way to LA.”

The song was produced by Alex Salibian, Ethan Schneiderman, Larzz Principato, Ben Samama, Lilith Navasardyan (Armenia). Mixing and mastering was done by Grammy winner Tony Maseratti, who collaborated with Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Sia, Selena Gomez, Sher, Lady Gaga and other world-famous artists.

 “Snap” is a vulnerable, honest, well-crafted pop song,” says Nvak co-founder Tamar Kaprelian. “It will hopefully bring new attention to this up-and-coming generation of Armenian singers, songwriters, and producers.”

 The music video was directed by Aramayis Hayrapetyan. “Once I heard “Snap”, I kept thinking that I had to show the artist’s emotions as comprehensibly and correctly as possible. Not leaving the artist in the background was an important precondition for me. We made the video for the purpose of giving the viewers a chance to travel to another, extraordinary reality through artistic and visual solutions,” says Hayrapetyan.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 17. The Azerbaijani State Committee on Religious Associations has made a statement protesting against the biased resolution of the European Parliament adopted on March 10, 2022, Trend reports via the committee.

According to the statement, the resolution was prepared under the influence of the Armenian lobby, doesn’t reflect reality, and contains false Armenian statements.

The statement noted that the resolution nothing mentions the true situation connected with the fate of Azerbaijani historical and religious monuments.

So, during the period of Armenian occupation in the territories of Azerbaijan, 65 out of 67 mosques were destroyed (the Aghdam Juma mosque was partially preserved due to the fact that it was used by Armenian armed forces for military purposes, and the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha, after the so-called repair, was presented as a “Persian” mosque ).

The resolution also mentions nothing about the ethnic cleansing and genocide against Azerbaijanis by Armenia, the Armenization of Azerbaijani toponyms, the destruction, along with hundreds of historical and cultural monuments, mosques and other shrines, the desecration of religious values, the facts of the Gregorianization or destruction of Albanian churches, in general, about the vandalism against the religious and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan.

Besides, nearly 900 cemeteries were completely destroyed, tombstones were broken, and graves were excavated with the desecration of the remains. Azerbaijani citizens were deprived of the opportunity to visit the graves of their loved ones for 30 years.

The committee’s statement once again highlighted the fact that during the 2020 second Karabakh war, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces didn’t conduct any military operations against civilians, as well as religious facilities, which was repeatedly confirmed by foreign journalists.

“Following the second Karabakh war, the Azerbaijani government announced its intention to restore all religious monuments destroyed by the Armenian Armed Forces in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation during the war, and this process is already being carried out as part of the socio-economic development of these territories on the basis of the “Great Return” program,” the statement said.

Besides, according to the committee’s statement, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that the protection of historical and religious monuments in the territory of Azerbaijan, including the liberated lands, is the responsibility of the Azerbaijani state.

The statement further said that the ongoing restoration of two churches, along with mosques, in Shusha, is a clear indicator of Azerbaijan’s respectful attitude towards other cultures and religions.

“Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, doesn’t discriminate against historical and cultural heritage on religious and ethnic grounds and is committed to its obligations under international conventions, including the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in Time of Armed Conflict,” the statement emphasized. “However, the Armenian side violates, along with this Convention, the requirements of the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”, the European Convention of 1992 “On the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage” and other international documents.”

The statement also reminded that following the video meeting held on February 4, 2022, with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan, the President of France as the chairmanship of this country in the EU, President of the Council of the EU and the Prime Minister of Armenia, an agreement was reached to send a UNESCO mission to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

According to the statement, the above agreement is a confirmation of the need to study the state of the cultural heritage belonging to the Azerbaijani people on the territory of Armenia.

In conclusion, the committee’s statement expressed regret that the resolution of the European Parliament didn’t mention all the facts.

5.9 magnitude earthquake rocks southern Iran

 09:23, 17 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake rocked southern Iran on Thursday, TASS reports citing the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).

The quake’s epicenter was located at a depth of ten kilometers some 166 kilometers northwest of the city of Bandar Abbas with a population of around 352,000.

There have been no reports about casualties and damages.