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 fears Azerbaijan plans to commit collective punishment in NK, calls on civilized world to intervene

Emil Lazarian

 21:16,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Armenia called out the Azerbaijani authorities on Monday for derailing the ongoing peace efforts after three residents of Nagorno-Karabakh were kidnapped by Azeri border guards in the Lachin Corridor.

In a statement, the foreign ministry warned that Azerbaijan could be planning to subject the entire people of Nagorno-Karabakh to collective punishment.

“Today, on August 28, Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies in the illegally installed checkpoint in Lachin Corridor kidnapped residents of Nagorno-Karabakh Alen Sargsyan, Vahe Hovsepyan and Levon Grigoryan. The transport was agreed upon in advance and was being carried out with Russian peacekeeping escort, who were to control the uninterrupted connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through Lachin Corridor in accordance with clause 6 of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement. The abovementioned persons were being transported to the Republic of Armenia to continue their studies. This step by Azerbaijan, which was preceded by the kidnapping of 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan on July 29, who was being transported to the Republic of Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross for urgent medical treatment, constitutes a gross violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, the binding decisions of the UN International Court of Justice and is an explicit disregard for the unequivocal and targeted calls by the international community, including the members of the UN Security Council. These incidents, which happened under various fake pretexts, bring about substantiated fears that Azerbaijan is overtly planning to subject to collective punishment the entire people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who in the 1990s and in 2020 was forced to withstand large-scale aggressions unleashed by Azerbaijan and defend its right to live peacefully in its own homeland. The policy of mass deprivation of all fundamental rights of the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh regardless of age, gender or health condition, subjecting them to starvation, blocking supplies of medications, essential products, gas and electricity, terrorizing the entire people through targeting civilians with snipers and kidnappings and blocking the Lachin Corridor showcases the Azerbaijani leadership’s true intentions, i.e., to avoid dialogue with Nagorno-Karabakh at all cost and instead continue its policy of ethnic cleansing. Instead of supporting the steps aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region the Azerbaijani side is explicitly investing its entire efforts in the direction of derailing them. Preventing the ongoing mass crime, with the use of every available instrument is the direct obligation of all actors having influence on the situation and overall, the civilized world,” the foreign ministry said.

Armenpress: Prince Michael of Liechtenstein expresses readiness to personally lead humanitarian airlift to Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Lazarian

 21:46,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS.  Prince Michael of Liechtenstein and other humanitarian leaders have expressed readiness to lead a humanitarian airlift to Nagorno-Karabakh amid the Azeri blockade.

Switzerland’s Impact Investing Solutions said Monday that Prince Michael of Liechtenstein, expressed readiness to “lead a humanitarian airlift to besieged Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and to be on the board that will fly to the region, bringing much-needed food and medication arranged by the Aznavour Foundation.”

“We from Impact Investing Solutions from Switzerland, who is partnering in facilitating this humanitarian mission, together with H.S.H. Prince Michael, other world leaders, current and former heads of state are also ready to lead necessary airlifts to Nagorno-Karabakh, where 120,000 people, including 30,000 children, have been deprived of food and medication for more than 8 months already,” Impact Investing Solutions said in a statement.

A call to organize a humanitarian airlift to Nagorno-Karabakh was first made in December 2022 by a group of global humanitarian leaders, including Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Bernard Kouchner, former French Foreign Minister and former Minister of Health, Paul Polman, climate and equalities campaigner; former CEO of Unilever; Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland; Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico and many more human rights defenders and peace activists.

“An international humanitarian airlift is being organized, delivering food and other essentials to the local population and evacuating those whose life is endangered to safety. Among these are several patients of the Republican Medical Centre Stepanakert in grave conditions requiring urgent medical care that cannot be adequately provided because of the blockade. In the meantime, while the road remains blocked, the humanitarian airlift should help the local population to survive and sustain. There already is an operational airport in Stepanakert, which can be used for this purpose. This will not require any additional efforts on the side of the international community except for those necessary to maintain the airlift and ensure its safety. Currently, there is a call to World Food Programme (WFP) and the Red Cross to organize the flight in the nearest days, and H.S.H. Prince Michael of Liechtenstein is ready to lead the first humanitarian mission.”

“Let's rally together to bring aid and relief to Nagorno-Karabakh,” the organization added.

South Korean Foreign Minister briefed on humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azeri blockade

Emil Lazarian

 16:17,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS. On August 28, in Slovenia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Park Jin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

The interlocutors discussed the possibilities of expanding the bilateral agenda and deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest, expressing readiness to take steps towards more effective use of the existing potential, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

The sectors of trade, economy, science, education, culture, as well as areas of innovation and high technologies, were indicated as promising directions for cooperation. In this context, the importance of expansion of effective cooperation with the Korea International Cooperation Agency was emphasized.

During the meeting, the issues on regional security were touched upon.

Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the details of the deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan's 8-month-long illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, drawing attention to the severe challenges unfolded for particularly vulnerable groups – children, women, the elderly and people with chronic diseases, in conditions of the acute shortage of food, medicine and essential goods.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia highlighted that by its actions Azerbaijan not only is grossly violating the fundamental norms of international humanitarian law and human rights, but also is showing clear disrespect to the Orders of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6, by keeping the Lachin corridor blocked.

Reaffirming the commitment of Armenia to the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that the official Baku’s pattern of behavior is hindering the efforts of Armenia and the international community in this direction.

Young Lebanese Armenians Fight To Preserve Their Historic Identity

Emil Lazarian
The Media Line
Aug 27 2023
ANDREA LÓPEZ-TOMÀS
08/27/2023

Survivors of the 1915-1916 Armenian genocide settled in Beirut and have grown into a community of 156,000. Their young people are working to preserve the unique dialect of their historical homeland, Western Armenia, now part of Turkey

Multicultural Lebanon has many communities, especially in the capital, Beirut.

Wanderers who cross the city’s northeastern bridges enter a different world. Signs change from Arabic to Armenian, and the Armenian flag flies alongside the Lebanese one in front of government buildings. Gold jewelry stores line the streets, many named after cities in what was once Western Armenia, the Armenians’ historical home, now part of eastern Turkey.

A century ago, survivors of the 1915-1916 Armenian genocide arrived in Beirut with little but their trauma. They were initially quarantined for 40 days in the northeastern Karantina neighborhood, next to the port, before being permitted to establish homes along the nearby Beirut River.

The center of the Armenian diaspora is the northeastern Beirut suburb of Bourj Hammoud, Armenian-Lebanese analyst Yeghia Tashjian told The Media Line. This remains true even though more ethnic Armenians live in Glendale, California, than in Lebanon.

According to Minority Rights Group International, 156,000 people of Armenian Christian origin live in Lebanon today, roughly 3% of the country’s population.

Lebanon was the first Middle Eastern country, and the first in the Arab League, to recognize the Armenian genocide, which took place in the last years of the Ottoman Empire.

In the Armenian genocide, Ottoman forces killed an estimated 660,000 to 1.2 million Armenians, either directly in massacres or by forced marches into the desert. Up to 200,000 Armenian women and children were also forcibly converted to Islam and placed in Muslim households. The attacks ended more than 2,000 years of Armenian civilization in what was then Western Armenia, now Eastern Anatolia in Turkey. Over 30 countries have recognized the events as genocide.

In 2000, the Lebanese parliament voted to commemorate the genocide’s anniversary, and since then, the country has honored Armenia’s victims each year on April 24.

Young Lebanese Armenians now meet regularly at the Zavarian Student Association, in the center of Bourj Hammoud. The association is named after pre-genocide Armenian political leader and co-founder of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Simon Zavarian, who together with eight other scholars established a student association at the American University of Beirut in 1904.

A bust of Armenian political leader and co-founder of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Simon Zavarian, at the Zavarian Student Association, Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, July 11, 2023. (Andrea López-Tomàs/The Media Line)

“In Lebanon, we don’t feel 100% Lebanese, but in Armenia, we don’t feel Armenian,” said a group member identified only as Zaven.

Zaven and his friends are concerned with preserving the Western Armenian language.

“We are losing it because only the diaspora uses this form of Armenian,” he said, adding that those living in what is now Armenia speak the Eastern Armenian dialect.

“The Armenian community is very institutionalized,” said another member, Tahjian. “Schools, cultural and political centers are very important” in helping Lebanese Armenians remain attached to their national identity, he said.

Beirut is home to the first and only Armenian university outside Armenia. Haigazian University was established in the 1950s by the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East and by the Armenian Missionary Association of America.

Though we are Christians, others see us as a bridge between Muslims and Christians in Lebanon

“The churches played an important role in building Western Armenian identity here in Lebanon, and this has continued,” Tahjian said.

“Though we are Christians, others see us as a bridge between Muslims and Christians in Lebanon.”

Lebanon’s Armenian community remained largely neutral during the Lebanon civil war of 1975 to 1990, focusing on protecting Armenian homes and neighborhoods and not fighting others.

Lebanon’s Armenian community has six guaranteed seats in the Lebanese parliament and one ministerial position in government. Five of those six seats are allocated to the Armenian Orthodox community and one to Armenian Catholics.

Armenians in Lebanon have been deeply impacted by the country’s current economic crisis, with its falling currency, soaring inflation, and high unemployment, all of which have led to a thriving black market.

“The financial crisis, corruption, and sometimes discrimination against Armenians has pushed many to detach themselves” from the country, Tashjian said.

Although no official data exists, Lebanese Armenians in Bourj Hammoud say many Armenians have left the country.

However, the Zavarian Student Association youngsters do not want to leave. Despite the lack of electricity, widespread poverty, and political dysfunction, Lebanon is their home.

Meeting room of the Zavarian Student Association, Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, July 11, 2023. (Andrea López-Tomàs/The Media Line)

“We would have to learn a new language [if we moved to Armenia], and we would feel very far away from what we have always known,” Zaven said.

A Christian community starves. Will those responsible trick Biden?

Emil Lazarian
Aug 20 2023
OPINION
by Michael Rubin
 August 20, 2023 02:00 PM

Armenia became the world’s first Christian state around 300 AD when St. Gregory converted the king at the time to Christianity. A core province of the kingdom was Artsakh, now better known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region home to a millennia-old Armenian Christian community.

Almost 1,700 years after Gregory’s death, Artsakh’s Armenian community now faces extinction.

With his own economy in trouble, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has turned to the usual toolkit of failing dictators, first fanning the flames of nationalism and racism, followed by military adventurism. In September 2020, this came to a head when Azerbaijan, with direct Turkish military support, attacked the self-governing but unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. Thousands died and Artsakh lost half its territory. Azerbaijan, which says Nagorno-Karabakh belongs solely to it despite the wishes of the territory's population for self-determination, demands the remaining portion of Artsakh submits to its rule.

Nevertheless, Aliyev agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Russia that guaranteed safe, unimpeded transit between Armenia and Artsakh’s 120,000-person Armenian community through the so-called Lachin corridor.

In December 2022, Aliyev began a series of stunts to squeeze Artsakh into submission. “Environmental activists” blocked the road to protest Armenian mining effluent. This was hypocritical, given Azerbaijan’s hydrocarbon pollution. The charges were nonsense. Heightening the irony was the fact that Azerbaijan lacks independent civil society; analysts later identified the protesters as known Azeri secret service officers.

Azerbaijan next constructed an illicit checkpoint and refused most traffic, even turning away the International Committee of the Red Cross. While Azerbaijan claims Armenia was smuggling weapons and landmines into Artsakh, neither the peacekeepers nor international observers confirm this. The noose now tightens. Azerbaijan has cut its gas pipelines and even internet. Artsakh cannot access food or medicine. Azerbaijani snipers shoot at farmers in Artsakh to prevent cultivation. Artsakh’s Christian community starves.

Aliyev wants the territory, but he wants it empty. While Azerbaijan says it is religiously tolerant, this is an exaggeration: It wants minorities, but only as museum exhibits. This is the case with the Jewish community, three-quarters of whom have fled since Azerbaijan’s independence. Aliyev trots out those who remain to recite his talking points. Armenia’s Jewish community, in contrast, is free and now growing.

In order to shift blame from looming starvation, the Azerbaijani government now says it will allow food shipments to Nagorno-Karabakh through Aghdam, an Azeri town with no links to Armenia proper.

If President Joe Biden’s team sees this as a productive compromise, it is foolish. To trust Azerbaijan to feed a population it deliberately starves is akin to trusting World War II-era Germans to feed the Warsaw ghetto.

Aliyev treats food and supplies as weapons of subjugation. Rather than negotiate diplomatically over Nagorno-Karabakh’s fate, Aliyev seeks to use deliberate starvation to compel acceptance of his demands. Christians know that if they compromise today, Aliyev will only repeat the process tomorrow, perhaps demanding the closure of Armenian churches, monasteries, or schools as in Turkey.

Also at issue is the sanctity of agreements. Aliyev signed an agreement to a free corridor between Armenia and Artsakh through Lachin. Should Biden let him revise that unilaterally, he kills rather than encourages diplomacy by demonstrating to that Aliyev’s signature is meaningless.

Nor is there any practical reason to accept Aliyev’s redirection of aid. Prior to Azerbaijan’s blockade, Artsakh was functional economically. The answer to its problems, therefore, is to end the embargo. If Aliyev then wants to open other trade routes into Artsakh and Armenia, even better. After all, the decades-long Azerbaijani and Turkish blockade of Armenia is an impediment to peace.

Rather than compromise with Aliyev’s new proposals, Biden should stand firm, deploying sanctions. He can stop military sales to Azerbaijan by imposing Section 907 sanctions. Nor is there any waiver to the Humanitarian Aid Corridors Act, which penalizes any country interfering with the provision of U.S. assistance. USAID convoys should be at Lachin now, ready to roll, American diplomats and congressional staff there to witness it.

With the latest genocide finding, Biden might even support an international indictment for Aliyev. "Never Again" must mean something.

Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/a-christian-community-starves-will-those-responsible-trick-biden

Armenpress: Azerbaijani cross-border shooting targets Armenian outposts near village in Syunik

Emil Lazarian

 09:45, 21 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military opened cross-border gunfire Monday morning at Armenian military outposts near the village of Khnatsakh in Syunik Province, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said in a statement.

“On August 21, at around 06:10 a.m., Azerbaijani armed forces units fired from fire arms towards the Armenian combat outposts in the vicinity of Khnatsakh,” the Ministry of Defense said.

Portugal’s Foreign Minister briefed on Nagorno-Karabakh humanitarian crisis

Emil Lazarian

 20:06, 21 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. On August 21, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a phone conversation with João Gomes Cravinho, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Portugal.

In continuation of the previous discussions held within the framework of his official visit to Lisbon in July, Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the details of the hourly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, the foreign ministry said in a readout. 

Ararat Mirzoyan particularly highlighted the extremely difficult conditions for vulnerable groups, including children, women and elderly people, as well as the acute shortage of food and medicine.

Touching upon the recent discussion of the UN Security Council on August 16, the urgency of reopening the Lachin corridor was emphasized, in accordance with the Orders of the International Court of Justice and implementing the relevant calls, made including by the EU. Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that otherwise, the situation would be close to turning into a real humanitarian disaster.

The bilateral agenda of relations between Armenia and Portugal, as well as issues of Armenia-EU cooperation, particularly the activities of the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia were touched upon.

Armenia submits observations on Azerbaijan’s objections in ICJ case

Emil Lazarian

 20:20, 21 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. Today, the Representative of the Republic of Armenia on International Legal Matters Yeghishe Kirakosyan submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) the Written Statement of Observations and Submissions on Preliminary Objections of Azerbaijan with respect to the Memorial of Armenia in the case concerning Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan).

Armenpress: Armenian serviceman killed in Azeri cross-border shooting

Emil Lazarian

 23:08, 21 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian serviceman was killed Monday when Azerbaijani troops opened cross-border gunfire, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“On August 21, at around 3:30 p.m., the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire against the Armenian combat outposts nearby Akhpradzor, in the wake of which a serviceman of the N military unit of the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Defence Vanik Aram Ghazaryan was fatally wounded. The Ministry of Defence extends its deepest condolences to the next of kin, relatives, and co-servicemembers of V. Ghazaryan,” the ministry said.

Asbarez: Teachable Moments: My Sanctuary Amid the Eagles’ Nest

Emil Lazarian
by Contributor

 

 August 21, 2023

 

in Columns, Commentary, Latest, Op-Ed, Top Stories

The first day of the 2023-24 academic year at Rose and Alex Pilibos


BY SAREEN KASPARIAN

Sareen Kasparian

It’s official: I’m now an eagle! If you’ve spent any time on Alexandria Street in Hollywood as a student, alumnus, or parent, you understand the profound significance of this declaration. For those who might not be acquainted with the emblematic eagle, allow me to introduce you to Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School, fondly known as the home of the Eagles.

I became a part of the Pilibos family late in my academic journey. It was just last year that I witnessed firsthand the vibrant spirit and dedication to academic excellence that defines Pilibos, as my brother joined as a freshman. In a matter of weeks, it became clear to me that Pilibos was where I truly belonged. Observing my brother’s remarkable growth both academically and socially, all within the embrace of a nurturing Armenian community, solidified my desire to be a part of this enriching environment as well.

On Thursday, August 17, 2023, the curtains rose on the inaugural day of the 2023-2024 academic year. A surge of school spirit reverberated throughout campus, from the vibrant courtyard to the echoing corridors of lockers, culminating in the grand opening ceremony within the gymnasium. The hue of blue enveloped us, adorning the brick walls with a serene sky-like tint. Blue banners, meticulously strewn across the campus, danced in the breeze, a testament to the unity that colors our shared journey. Emanating strength were the school’s core values, etched boldly: Excellence, Integrity, Heritage, Community, and Unity. Yet, this year, a new current coursed through Pilibos, as a fresh theme took center stage—purpose.

As we crossed the threshold into the gymnasium for the commencement ceremony, we were greeted by the resounding words, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”

With warmth and authority, Mrs. Maral Tavitian, the School Principal, welcomed her assembly of students, addressing the significance of this year’s thematic focal point. She was unequivocal in clarifying that the purpose she sought to instill transcended the confines of mere careers or goals. Rather, this purpose must propel us towards self-improvement and a greater sense of purpose. Continuing her address, she emphasized how this guiding purpose held even more weight in the present, urging us to raise our voices for our brothers and sisters in Artsakh. She inspired us to discover purpose in aiding others, pressing us to embrace even the tiniest gestures and to freely give love and joy to our loved ones.

The ceremony culminated in a truly heartwarming tradition: each senior took the hand of a first grader and led them out of the gymnasium, guiding them to their respective classrooms. I proudly held the delicate hand of my young student, his shy smile a reflection of the new bond we were forming. In that tender moment, an overwhelming feeling washed over me—I had found my place, my sanctuary amidst the Eagles’ nest.

Sareen Kasparian is currently a senior at Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School and a member of the Pasadena Nigol Touman chapter of the Armenian Youth Federation. Teachable Moments is a knowledge exchange, a column dedicated to sharing generational insight as we intertwine experience and reasoning with modern day problems and solutions.