Author: Emil Lazarian

The Armenian security services have detained two journalists known for their pro-Kremlin views, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported on Friday, citing Armenia’s Investigative Committee .

Ashot Gevorkyan, a columnist for the pro-Kremlin Sputnik Armenia news agency, and the pro-Moscow blogger Mikael Badalyan, both Armenian citizens, were detained Wednesday evening in the city of Goris on suspicion of illegal arms trafficking.

The Investigative Committee statement revealed that police searches of the pair’s apartments and cars had recovered “an AK assault rifle, live ammunition rounds, grenades, grenade detonators, pistols, bayonet knives” as well as “hemp plants”.

A lawyer representing the pair claimed that the weapons didn’t belong to them and were the property of a “third person”.

Five other people were also reportedly detained, though their names have not been disclosed.

Badalyan was arrested in July in connection to disinformation being spread about terrorist attacks being prepared in Yerevan, Sputnik Armenia reported. He was subsequently released on bail.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the journalists’ detention a “provocation” and suggested it was aimed at sowing “hatred, fear, and distrust”.

https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/09/08/pro-kremlin-journalists-detained-in-armenia-on-suspicion-of-illegal-arms-trafficking-en-news

Russia on Friday summoned the Armenian ambassador to protest grievances including comments made by the speaker of the Armenian parliament about Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement also criticised what it said were a number of "unfriendly moves" by Armenia, including planned joint exercises with the U.S. and humanitarian aid shipments to Ukraine.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/2586724-russia-protests-to-armenia-over-comments-by-speaker-of-armenian-parliament

Kim Kardashian is making a public plea to President Biden, calling on him and other world leaders to “stop the Armenian genocide.”

In an opinion piece published Friday in Rolling Stone, the Hulu reality TV star and Eric Esrailian, a physician and producer, write to Biden, “We are Armenian. We are the descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors, and we do not want to be talking about the recognition or commemoration of yet another genocide in the future.”

The pair described neighboring Azerbaijan’s government as using “starvation as a weapon against the Armenian population” by blockading “the only lifeline between the indigenous Christian Armenians of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh) and the rest of the world.”

“Regional peace should not involve sacrificing the sovereignty of the Armenians in Artsakh, but regardless of what anyone believes about our opinion, it is clear that this ruthless blockade has crossed all red lines of human rights and humanitarian law,” the two wrote in their public letter.

“Blocking human rights groups, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the hateful rhetoric accompanying the blockade are signs of genocidal intent,” wrote Esrailian and Kardashian, who’s of Armenian descent on her late father’s side.

Supporters of “this starvation,” Kardashian and Esrailian said, “use coordinated social media campaigns to pretend that a blockade is not taking place. This dystopian propaganda may be absurd to those with knowledge, but the defenders of these human rights abuses are trying to confuse people given everything else happening in the world.”

The two called on Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials to “take a stand immediately.”

“Through economic sanctions, cutting off foreign aid to Azerbaijan, boycotting international events in Azerbaijan (such as concerts and sporting events like soccer and Formula 1), and through proceedings in international courts, we can collectively achieve results, but this process has been too slow and time is running out,” they said.

“They must pressure Azerbaijan to open the corridor without preconditions.”

It’s not the first time that Kardashian has appealed to the White House about Armenia. In 2015, the 42-year-old criminal justice advocate urged then-President Obama to use the word “genocide” to describe the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915. Five years later, in 2020, she pushed then-President Trump to do more to support Armenia during a period of intense fighting with Azerbaijan.

In her letter with Esrailian, Kardashian vowed to use her voice to “amplify the truth.”

“We are just two people. We have been working behind the scenes to support our Armenian brothers and sisters, but this diplomatic approach has not yielded meaningful results,” they said.

“This crisis will clearly not be remedied by individuals, but we will continue to do what we can to use whatever influence we have.”

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4194610-kim-kardashian-calls-on-biden-to-stop-the-next-armenian-genocide/

In her latest appeal to the government — after successfully getting Donald Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Johnson — she’s trying to get the US to use its immense power to ensure there will never be a repeat of the Armenian Genocide.

As followers of history should know, the Armenian people suffered a massacre at the hands of their neighbors in the Ottoman Empire, in present-day Turkey, early in the 20th century. According to a new open letter penned by the Kardashians star and Dr. Eric Esrailian for Rolling Stone, Armenians all over the world are worried it could happen again.

In the piece released on Friday, the reality TV star warns that a land dispute and border blockade occurring with Armenia’s other neighbor, Azerbaijan, could soon lead to more strife and bloodshed.

The blockade centers on the breakaway region of Artsakh. There, per Kim’s letter, “indigenous Christian Armenians” are hemmed in by Azerbaijan and its 99% Muslim population on all sides. These Artsakh residents are being forced to go through checkpoints when going out of their region to Armenia and elsewhere. Plus, with the war between Russia and Ukraine, many countries in that region of West Asia and beyond are relying on Azerbaijan for oil. That economic push is worrying Armenians, as the Azerbaijanis may push the Christian Armenian population out of the region entirely — or worse.

The open letter from the SKIMS founder notes that one ceasefire agreement reached after a 2020 conflict has thus far not been upheld. Further, they demand Biden and other government officials — both in the United States and around the world — cut off foreign aid to Azerbaijan and boycott international events that are scheduled in that country.

Kim and Dr. Esrailian write:

“The collective silence or inaction by individuals, governments, and governmental organizations like the United Nations and European Union has perpetuated the crisis. Every passing day puts more lives in danger. American taxpayer dollars are now facilitating and enabling this behavior by providing foreign aid to an oil-rich nation. Through economic sanctions, cutting off foreign aid to Azerbaijan, boycotting international events in Azerbaijan (such as concerts and sporting events like soccer and Formula 1), and through proceedings in international courts, we can collectively achieve results, but this process has been too slow and time is running out. As citizens, we are appealing to leaders such as President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and their colleagues to take a stand immediately. They must pressure Azerbaijan to open the corridor without preconditions.”

Kim and the doctor go on to note they would continue to sound an alarm until action is taken:

“We are just two people. We have been working behind the scenes to support our Armenian brothers and sisters, but this diplomatic approach has not yielded meaningful results. This crisis will clearly not be remedied by individuals, but we will continue to do what we can to use whatever influence we have. We are not politicians or government leaders, and despite our own diplomatic efforts, this humanitarian crisis has persisted with no clear end in sight — except for the potential for ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population. We will continue to use our voices to amplify the truth.”

And they conclude by begging for help so the people of Artsakh may “live in peace” free from fear of genocide:

“The people in Artsakh want to live in peace. Now is the time for true leadership. We need for those who have a meaningful role in these affairs to immediately demand that the Lachin Corridor is opened to stop another genocide. We want to draw more attention to the crisis and appeal to those in our own government who truly care about humanity to intervene. The United States has the ability to mobilize a response. Leaders who are effective and help our people will be remembered for their heroism. Even if well-meaning, the ones who are inert and ineffective will be remembered for allowing a genocide to take place under their watch. The choice is theirs.”

The entire open letter dives into far greater detail about the situation ongoing in Artsakh. You can read the full thing HERE.

[Image via Nicky Nelson/MEGA/WENN]

The pathway to a peace deal in the South Caucasus has been long and fraught with challenges. Emotions run high within the nexus of Armenian-Azeri relations, with painful memories and distress on both sides. But from inside this torn relationship, one can see the openings (however small) and the opportunities (however faint) for creating a turnaround in the regional dynamics.

Establishing a stable, sustainable peace is certainly the order of the day. It would save lives and prevent tremendous suffering. It would also bring significant upsides for the future of both countries: a geo-economic peace dividend that boosts the South Caucasus and its surrounding regions. Peaceful regional integration would create new, flourishing transit routes and supply chains that connect Asia to Europe, promoting the resilience of the global economy. And it would unlock tremendous value from both countries, as well as neighbouring Georgia, accelerating the development of their respective strengths.

Instead, for the moment, the conflict drags on, affecting a number of countries and communities. It also raises the risk of a violent confrontation along the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Iran border, where a possible military escalation over control of Armenia’s southern region of Syunik could draw Tehran in, seeing as it lines northern Iran.

For more than three decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan have wrestled over the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region with a majority Armenian population that was assigned within Soviet Azerbaijan by the USSR in the 1920s.

The contested region Nagorno-Karabakh

A 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia shifted the issue in favour of Baku, which had long been seeking to reclaim control of the region as a matter of national sovereignty. But that left an open question as to how the relationship between Azeri authorities and Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh would progress.

Fortunately, Baku and Yerevan began to take steps towards peace. The US, EU and Russia have all tried to move the initiative forward, hosting talks in different cities between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. But the comprehensive deal they began to pursue now risks being derailed.

A dispute over the Lachin Corridor, the main road into Nagorno-Karabakh, has cut off vital supplies to an estimated 120,000 Armenians for more than eight months. Civilians, including about 30,000 children, are desperate for fresh food, fuel and medical goods. The International Committee of the Red Cross, among other leading voices, has described a dire lack of basic necessities, while UN experts warn that vulnerable populations are at risk of going hungry.

A humanitarian intervention urgently needs to be found, one that would stop the immediate suffering and prevent malnutrition levels that could very soon turn deadly. The solution could be a multinational aid delivery, co-ordinated with both Baku and Yerevan. There could be humanitarian air cargo flights to Ganja or cargo drone deliveries into Stepanakert and remote villages of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Creative solutions can be found once a principled compromise is reached – there simply needs to be a well-balanced diplomatic intervention that will give both sides a face-saving way to climb down from the current impasse.

The region needs a fresh approach to peacebuilding, with out-of-the-box ideas. Countries in the Global South could be crucial for providing a platform, with a climate of goodwill and understanding of both sides.

Diplomatic assistance from a trusted partner in the Arab and Muslim world would be a powerful positive force.

Azerbaijan has warm ties with countries in the Mena region, anchored in its membership in the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. Armenians have a history of close friendship and integration with the Islamic world, encapsulated by a decree of the Prophet Mohammed in 626 AD that put the Armenian people and their church under his patronage and protection. Today, the Matenadaran museum in Yerevan houses a prestigious collection of Islamic manuscripts, including a copy of the Prophet’s Covenant with the Christians of the World.

The values of Islam – foremost, peace, compassion and care for humanity – create a unique diplomatic climate for potential reconciliation. They create a level of comfort and a safe space for both sides to be meaningfully heard. In that spirit, diplomats can help Armenia and Azerbaijan deescalate the current crisis, first by finding a point of compromise over urgent humanitarian needs. That will subsequently create the time and space required to find greater common ground.

“There are no real, fundamentally insurmountable problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Laurence Broers, an Associate Fellow with Chatham House focused on the South Caucasus. “With determination, intelligence and a sensible view you can overcome all of the obstacles.”

To achieve peace and stability, the two sides need to trust each other, with a facilitator that can help build that trust. Both sides will have to come to terms with their shared history. There is much to forgive and multitudes of grief that need to be transcended. An authentic, compassionate platform for dialogue could help Armenians and Azerbaijanis reconnect with their shared humanity.

“In the past, Armenians and Azerbaijanis had social norms of how to live together … they experienced happy and sad moments together,” Ahmad Alili, the director of a think tank in Baku, told me. They need to get together and talk.

Both sides have experienced the burden of war and share a will to live in safety and prosperity. If they can find the way to a peaceful co-existence, it will be transformative for the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. And it will set history in the positive direction we all want to see.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2023/09/07/nagorno-karabakh-pashinyan-baku-yerevan/