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

Restrictions against journalists are regressive and concerning – Ashot Melikyan

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 22 2021

“The third quarter of 2021 brought serious challenges for the media which had to operate in extremely difficult conditions, especially due to number of restrictions adopted by the legislative body,” Ashot Melikyan, the Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of _expression_ (CPFE), told at a press conference, presenting the findings of the Quarterly report of CPFE on “Situation with Freedom of _expression_ and Violations of Rights of Journalists and Media in Armenia.”  

In Melikyan’s words, most of the restrictions were adopted through legislative initiatives and adoption of various normative acts which obstructed the free operation of the media. 

“We consider those restrictions and legislative initiatives regressive and concerning, which further worsen the situations,” stressed Melikyan. The CPFE Chairman specifically referred to the decision of the National Assembly leadership on the freedom of movement of accredited journalists inside the parliament building. 

“That was an unprecedented decision in the history of that representative body. We record that the decision significantly limits the opportunity of reporters to take interviews and comments from NA deputies and cover the work of the NA Standing Committees. Another concerning issue was the reporters and cameramen accredited to the pArliament were not notified about expected changes and they were informed about it on the same they when the decision was published,” said Melikyan. 

Another notorious incident, per Melikyan, was the arbitrary decision of the Speaker of the Parliament to cease the live broadcast of the parliament session when a brawl started among lawmakers during the  sitting in August. Following the Speaker’s instruction to stop the broadcast, the security officers ordered reporters to leave their designated area, obstructing their activity. 

Melikyan also condemned the physical violence and other pressures against reporters by security officers during the incident. 

Melikyan commented on the legislative changes tripling the maximum penalties for online insult and defamation to 3 and 6 million Armenian drams (approximately $5,700 and $11,400), respectively. In his words, the bill was adopted without taking into account the views the civil society and media organizations that expressed serious concerns about it. 

“In the past 9 months, 13 cases of physical violence against reporters, 83 cases of various pressures against media outlets or individual reporters and 67 violations of the right to receive and disseminate information have been recorded in Armenia. Meanwhile, 48 lawsuits have been filed against media outlets and reporters since the beginning of year most of which submitted former and acting officials which is a high and concerning figure,” Melikyan summed up. 

Ombudsman releases evidence of Azerbaijani military’s reinforcement in Armenia in response to Defense Ministry’s denial

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 22 2021

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan has released evidence of increased Azerbaijani activity in Gegharkunik Province in response to the denial of the Defense Ministry.

In a statement on Monday, the ombudsman stated the Azerbaijani troops, that have invaded Gegharkunik, are actively strengthening their positions, conducting other engineering works. Tatoyan stated that they have built large shelters, stocked up on firewood and concreted the roads leading to their positions. In addition, they continue to build new roads, and the number of troops and weapons at their positions has increased, he said.

In response, the Defense Ministry said there were a number of inaccuracies in the statement of the human rights defender, as well as allegations that did not correspond to reality. In particular, it called the claims about the construction of shelters, firewood stockpiles and new roads “clearly exaggerated”.

In a statement late on Thursday, Tatoyan said that after his public post a campaign to discredit the human rights defender launched, adding the secretary of the Security Council also joined it.

He explained that the reason for the ombudsman’s October 18 statement was that the actions of Azerbaijani forces grossly violate the rights of Armenian civilians. The ombudsman’s office continues to receive complaints from border residents. Moreover, he stated, such violations are usually followed by criminal actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen, including those of a terrorist nature, which target civilians and the Armenian military.

“Both this and any other statement of the ombudsman are based on reliable data collected during fact-finding activities,” Tatoyan said, adding the mentioned statement is based on the facts that the ombudsman’s office has consistently collected as a result of the daily monitoring and report studies of recent months.

He stressed that if the ombudsman makes a public statement, he has enough evidence and reliable sources, and not just one, but several.

“We urge the officials of the ministry not to make such ill-advised formulations i when responding to the statements of the human rights defender,” Tatoyan wrote.

He underlined that by denying his statements, the Ministry Defense officials are generating an international Azerbaijani campaign questioning the credibility of the work carried out by the ombudsman.

Tatoyan stated that various Azerbaijani sources have already taken the statement of the Armenian Defense Ministry as a basis and applied to various instances, questioning the reports and statements of the human rights defender.

“Therefore, it should be borne in mind that the ombudsman submits reports and makes statements, even if they may cause political discontent, but at the same time they become a valuable source in protecting the rights of Armenian citizens, which is used in international instances, such as the UN International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights,” Tatoyan noted.

He stressed that throughout the post-war period, the Defense Ministry could somehow support the ombudsman’s call to create a demilitarized zone around Armenia’s borders. He noted that this was dictated by the need to protect the lives of civilians and Armenian soldiers from the criminal actions of Azerbaijan.

“The human rights defender has always supported the Armenian armed forces through his public and non-public activities and will continue to act on this principle in the future,” Tatoyan said.

He also urged the newly appointed Gegharkunik governor to carefully study the principles of the ombudsman’s activities, the results of his work and the situation on the ground not to question the accuracy of the defender’s statements or reports in the future.

Opposition MP: Ombudsman’s statements are in Armenia’s interest, but they might not be pleasant for authorities

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Oct 22 2021
Opposition MP: Ombudsman’s statements are in Armenia’s interest, but they might not be pleasant for authorities
23:46, 22.10.2021

Every faction of the National Assembly of Armenia can nominate its candidate for the position of Human Rights Defender. This is what deputy of the opposition “Armenia” faction of the National Assembly Aram Vardevanyan said during a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am today.

Yesterday Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan declared that Tatoyan [Human Rights Defender of Armenia] acted as a counterrevolutionary and that there are only a few months left until the end of his term of office.

According to Vardevanyan, state officials started putting this into circulation when Tatoyan was talking about the fact that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are committing a crime by being located on the borders of Armenia.

“Instead of supporting the Human Rights Defender and reaffirming his positions, the government officials started criticizing him and even questioned the reliability. This is embarrassing. This again shows that the statements of the incumbent authorities and the statements of Azerbaijan and Turkey are very interestingly combined. Since last night, Azerbaijani presses have been stating that the Human Rights Defender should be criticized and make references to Armenia’s government officials for substantiating the criticism,” he said.

 Vardevanyan noted that Tatoyan is carrying out a fact-finding mission, and the facts are used as arguments on different international platforms.

“The facts are exclusively in the interests of Armenia. A fact that is in the interests of Armenia might not be pleasant for the incumbent authorities, but that’s a different story,” he added.

Biden encircling while engaging Putin

Emil Lazarian 
Asia Times
By MK Bhadrakumar 
[US suggests new expanded arc of containment against Russian
'aggression' amid hints of another Biden-Putin meeting before year
end]
Moscow butted the grand old trans-Atlantic alliance in the chest on
Monday with the Foreign Ministry announcing that it will suspend the
NATO military liaison mission with effect from November 1 and recall
the accreditation of its staff in response to the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization’s decision to withdraw the accreditation of eight
Russian diplomats.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov curtly added, “If NATO has some urgent
matters, it may contact our ambassador in Belgium.” Sparring has begun
for the next NATO summit in Madrid on June 29-30, 2022.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a recent visit to
Madrid that the summit will adopt NATO’s next strategic concept,
“which will reflect the new security environment” and the
trans-Atlantic alliance’s 2030 agenda that aims to deal with a “more
unpredictable and dangerous world” of “increasingly aggressive”
Russian behavior, China “flexing its economic might to intimidate
others,” and instability in the Middle East, North Africa, and the
Sahel.
NATO plans to shake off the gloom over the defeat in Afghanistan by
marching on. NATO-Russia conversations had dried up already much
before that sobering moment. The 1977 NATO-Russia Founding Act has
been moribund since 2014, when relations between Moscow and the West
landed in a deep freeze.
But in such situations, there is always a tipping point. Most
certainly, the regional tour by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to
Georgia, Ukraine and Romania en route to the NATO ministerial meeting
in Brussels (October 21-22) came to be that.
Austin’s remarks suggested that an encirclement of Russia in a new arc
that includes Transcaucasia is in the cards. “Russian aggression” was
his constant refrain.
On the last leg of his tour in Romania, Austin claimed, “The security
and stability of the Black Sea are in the US’s national interest and
critical for the security of NATO’s eastern flank.”
The Pentagon said Austin’s tour is a way to “reassure allies and
partners of America’s commitment to their sovereignty in the face of
Russian aggression.”
The power dynamic is shifting.
On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu alleged that the
US military “has stepped up work with the full support of its NATO
allies to modernize tactical nuclear weapons and their storage sites
in Europe.”
He noted that “a cause for special concern is the engagement of pilots
from the bloc’s non-nuclear member states in the drills to practice
employing tactical nuclear weapons. We regard this as a direct
violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
To be sure, Russia will make countermoves. Shoigu made the above
remarks while the chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed
Forces, General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, was on a high-profile
four-day visit to Russia.
Shoigu told Bagheri that Russia is ready to maintain “dynamic and
versatile” military cooperation with Iran, and proposed Syria-style
cooperation in Afghanistan and “on the territory of neighboring
states.”
After a tour of the Russian Navy’s headquarters in St Petersburg and
military facilities in Kronshtadt after talks with Shoigu and with the
chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, Bagheri voiced
satisfaction that “the conclusion of arms agreements and their
implementation in the near future will considerably deepen our
relationships.”
The US strategy of encircling Russia has been very consistent since
the Bill Clinton presidency when NATO expansion began. Recently
declassified Western archival materials confirm Moscow’s claim that
then-US secretary of state James Baker and German chancellor Helmut
Kohl had assured Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev verbally that NATO
would not expand “one inch” to the east in a post-Cold War setting.
By 2003, president George W Bush unilaterally withdrew the US from the
ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty, which was a cornerstone of global
security, anchored on the complex security matrix of gaining strategic
advantage by de-energizing the nuclear potential of a probable
opponent.
President Barack Obama followed up with planning missile-shield
deployments in Romania and Poland, just outside Russia’s Western
Military District. Obama resigned from his promise in 2012 to
then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that after winning a second
term, he would reach a consensus with Moscow on missile defense
deployment.
Obama’s successor Donald Trump thereafter withdrew the US from the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty banning
intermediate-range missiles.
Surveying this debris of broken promises, the paradox of the US-Russia
relationship is that while President Joe Biden is content with
selective engagement of Russia and is in search of “predictability,”
President Vladimir Putin regards the US policy as highly predictable
in its potential toxicity but is pleased nonetheless that the
engagement is constructive enough.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are probably on the same page
here. Interestingly, Putin spoke at some length recently on China. At
the Russian Energy Week International Forum last week, Putin said, “As
far as I understand the Chinese philosophy, including state-building
and governance, it does not include the use of force.
“I believe China does not need to use force. China is an enormous and
powerful economy. It has become the world’s No 1 economy in terms of
purchasing power parity, leaving the United States behind. China is
capable of achieving its national goals by building up this capacity,
and I see no threats here.” Putin was referring to Taiwan.
As for South China Sea, Putin said wherever “mixed interests are at
play … every country in that region should be given a chance to
resolve all arising controversial issues without the intervention of
non-regional powers in a calm manner relying on the fundamental norms
of international law and by way of negotiations. I believe the
potential is there, and it is far from being fully tapped.”
There are similarities in the Russian and Chinese strategies – and,
possibly, coordination too. Thus the new mantra in the White House is
“responsible competition.” Biden needs to focus on his domestic
agenda, which is decisive in clinching a second term for his
presidency in 2024.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov disclosed on Wednesday that US Under
Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, who visited
Moscow recently, discussed “various options and certain understandings
were reached” on another Putin-Biden meeting.
Asked whether another Putin-Biden meeting was possible this year,
Peskov noted that “it is realistic in one format or another,” and
added that Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and Nuland reached some
understanding “in terms of the prospects for further dialogue at the
highest level in the near future.”
*
M K Bhadrakumar is a former Indian diplomat.

Ambassador presents Armenian POW issue to UK MPs

Emil Lazarian

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 10:33,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Varuzhan Nersesyan met with Catherine West and James Murray, members of the Labor Party of the House of Commons and the UK-Armenia All-party parliamentary group, the Embassy of Armenia in the UK said in a statement on social media.

During the meeting, the Ambassador first thanked the MPs for their constant support to Armenia and Artsakh, especially during the 2020 war, and for voicing and supporting Armenia’s approaches in the UK Parliament. The Ambassador presented in detail the latest regional developments, Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggressive actions against Armenia, and the possibilities of resuming the negotiation process.

Varuzhan Nersesyan attached special importance to the issue of repatriation of POWs, who are kept in Azerbaijani prisons contrary to all international humanitarian norms. The Ambassador also presented the need to preserve the Armenian historical and cultural heritage of Artsakh, emphasizing the importance of expressing a clear position of international partners in this issue.

The parties also discussed the Turkish factor and the negative regional impact, which was vividly reflected in Turkey’s direct involvement in last year’s war in Artsakh.

The Ambassador and the members of the UK House of Commons highlighted the development of the Armenian-British relations, emphasizing the role of parliamentary diplomacy in that process and the activation of ties between the parliaments of the two countries, the organization of mutual visits and cooperation on various issues.

Armenia, Commonwealth of Dominica to sign visa waiver

Emil Lazarian

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 17:11,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia approved during the Cabinet meeting the signing of a visa waiver with the government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, a move expected to develop and strengthen the relations.

The agreement on lifting visa requirements will “contribute to the development of relations through encouraging mutual-visits of official delegations and citizens, tourism and increasing promotion.”

The Armenian government said it is working to sign visa waivers with other countries of the region as well, since as of this moment it has such agreements only with three Central and South American countries – Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian FM and EU Special Representative discuss issues of regional security and stability

Emil Lazarian

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 18:31,

YEREVAN, 21 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan on October 21 received Special Representative of the EU for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar discussed issues related to Armenia-European Union partnership emphasizing the importance of promotion of further efficient cooperation. The sides exchanged thoughts also about the works of forthcoming summit of Eastern Partnership.

The interlocutors discussed in detail the issues of regional security and stability.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the peaceful settlement process of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the five-party meeting that took place in New York, emphasized the importance of restart of peaceful negotiations. Both sides emphasized the necessity of lasting and comprehensive settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Ararat Mirzoyan mentioned that despite many calls of the international community, Azerbaijan continues to keep hostage Armenian prisoners of war and civilian persons and emphasized the necessity of their immediate repatriation.

CivilNet: Deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia meet in Moscow

Emil Lazarian
CIVILNET.AM

21 Oct, 2021 10:10

The deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met in Moscow on October 20 to discuss the unblocking of communications infrastructure. 

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s US affiliate raises $1 million for the Armenian community in Lebanon. 

Around $3.5 million has been spent thus far on hotel costs to house displaced people in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

ARF youth launch pan-Armenian resistance

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 21 2021

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnaktsutyun) youth organizations have launched a pan-Armenian resistance movement which as they said  will bring about the long-awaited revolution of our national values and priorities through consistent work and struggle. In a released press statement, the initators insist the resistance is launched considering the dangers posed to the statehood of Armenia, as well as the imperative duty of preventing the loss of Syunik and additional losses to Artsakh.

According to it, the pan-national resistance movement will focuses on 5 key fronts: spread and amplify the struggle against the Turkish and Azerbaijani aggressors, convey to the world powers that their policies cannot be implemented at the expense of the interests of the Armenian people, using impactful and abrupt measures, reject the divisive and destructive policies of the Armenian government, combat the expulsion of Armenians of Artsakh, the attempts of Turkey and Azerbaijan to isolate Artsakh from Armenia and the Diaspora, and the emigration of the population of Syunik, unite and organize Armenian youth with the goal of creating a strong network of resistance.

The Youth organisations call on all to join the resistance movement. “We do not have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines. Now is the time for a national awakening and to change the trajectory of the national downfall into a national uprising,” the call read. 

Earthquake recorded 15km northeast of Bavra village in northern Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 21 2021

An earthquake of 2.3 magnitude was registered in Armenia’s Shirak province on Thursday at about 13:17 (GMT 09:17), National Service for Seismic Protection reported. The geographical coordinates of the epicenter were northern latitude 41.15⁰ and eastern longitude 43.98⁰. The quake was recorded 15km northeast of Bavra village on the Armenian-Georgian border. The epicenter of the earthquake was on the depth of 10 kilometers.

According to the source, the earthquake was felt in Metsavan and Dzoramut villages Armenia’s Lori province with 2-3 points.