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

"Baku intends to allow only the exit of people from Nagorno-Karabakh" – Pashinyan

Emil Lazarian
Aug 24 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenians leaving NK along the Lachin corridor

“We have received reliable information that Baku is developing a plan to open the Lachin corridor in one direction, i.e. to allow people to leave Nagorno-Karabakh but not to allow entry,” the Armenian Prime Minister said at a government session.

Nikol Pashinyan said that “as a result of illegal blocking of the corridor, 5 thousand people are still waiting for an opportunity to return to NK, another 30,000 became refugees as a result of the 44-day war.” According to him, they cannot return home “due to the non-implementation of the 7th point of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020.” According to this paragraph of the document on the cessation of hostilities, they were supposed to return to NK under the control of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

On August 21, with the assistance of Russian peacekeepers, 41 people, Karabakhi Armenians and Russian citizens, were able to travel to Armenia through the Lachin corridor. This was the first travel authorization since June 14. It was reported that among them were students enrolled in Armenian and foreign universities.

The day before, Azerbaijani media reported that another 100 people received permission to travel to Armenia through the “Lachin” checkpoint. According to the “Turan” news agency, these were “ethnic Armenians who have Russian citizenship, as well as holders of Russian passports”.

  • Internal political situation in the unrecognized NKR. Forecast from Yerevan: what to expect
  • “The future belongs to Armenia more than Azerbaijan” – Armenian analyst
  • “The future belongs to Armenia more than Azerbaijan” – Armenian analyst

Talking about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan said that the situation remains tense. According to him, there is only one change in Baku’s position: with the assistance of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers, some movement has started along the Lachin corridor. Those “in need of medical treatment and other citizens” were able to leave for Armenia. It was in this context that the Prime Minister talked about movement along the corridor in one direction only.

“Illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan continues. About 400 tons of humanitarian cargoes sent to Nagorno-Karabakh by the Armenian government, the private sector [a private Armenian company] and France continue to wait at the entrance of the Lachin corridor.”

The Lachin corridor has been blocked since December 12, 2022, and since June 15, 2023, Azerbaijan has not allowed any humanitarian aid, food, medicine and basic necessities from Armenia.

The Armenian government has sent trucks with humanitarian aid. They have been waiting for almost a month for permission to pass into the territory of unrecognized NKR near the Armenian village of Kornidzor. France has also joined this initiative. However, Baku does not allow the aid to be delivered and says it is ready to ensure deliveries through its territory via Aghdam.

NK Armenians categorically rejected this possibility as soon as this proposal was made. Earlier, the Armenian media reported that the president of the unrecognized republic had discussed the issue with the parliament and talked about “pressure being put on the local authorities” regarding this issue. What decision was eventually made has not been revealed.

Judging by the document leaked to the media, Armenian experts came to the conclusion that the Russian Foreign Minister “describes a scenario for ensuring the rights of NK Armenians as a national minority within Azerbaijan”

Pashinyan emphasized that many residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, who found themselves in Armenia as a result of the blockade, as well as those who “became refugees as a result of the second Karabakh war in 2020,” cannot return to their homeland. According to official information, there are about 30,000 such people.

He raised the issue of implementation of the 7th point of the trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. It provides for the return of “displaced persons and refugees to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas under the control of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.”

According to the Prime Minister, this means that “not only the Armenians of Martakert, Hadrut, a number of villages of Martuni, but also Getashen, Martunashen, Shahumian and other districts should be able to return to their homes in dignity and safety”. And the failure to fulfill this provision proves that “the main goal of Azerbaijan is to expel Armenians from NK through ethnic cleansing, whether by starvation, exhaustion, military operation or other means”.

A group of local residents held a protest in front of the military base of Russian peacekeepers stationed in NK. They said that “all deaths will remain on Putin’s conscience”

The Prime Minister also raised the issue of ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh and noted that Armenia’s position on this issue has not changed. Namely, these issues should be resolved through dialog between Baku and the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of an international mechanism.

At the same time, Pashinyan said that “Baku is constantly torpedoing the dialog with Stepanakert in various ways, trying to shift the responsibility to Nagorno-Karabakh”.

The Armenian Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to the peace agenda. Regarding the possible signing of an agreement with Azerbaijan, he said:

“I have to inform that we have handed over to the Azerbaijani side our new proposals on the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

Tens of Thousands of Armenian Christians Persecuted in Nagorno Karabakh

Emil Lazarian
Aug 24 2023

NRB | | Advocacy

As the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh grapples with an enduring military blockade, 120,000 Armenian Christians have been left bereft of vital necessities with the threat of genocide to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities hanging in the balance.

Nestled within the Muslim nation of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, stands as a predominantly Armenian enclave in the South Caucasus. Essential provisions like food, medicine, and fuel were traditionally transported via truck from the Armenian capital, Yerevan. This journey required a rugged five-hour drive through the mountainous and scenic Lachin corridor, the sole route linking inhabitants of the region to the rest of the world. Since December 2022, the Lachin Corridor has been deliberately obstructed by the Azerbaijan dictatorship, and on July 26, the flow of humanitarian aid was completely halted, with 19 trucks and 400 tons of resources confined at a checkpoint.

The repercussions of this blockade have led to acute shortages of vital resources as well as electricity and water outages, rendering life unsustainable for the affected population.

“This project of ethnic/religious cleansing has not come out of the blue. It represents the latest wave of a centuries-long genocide process,” said Dr. John Eibner, president of Christian Solidarity International, a Christian human rights organization promoting religious liberty and human dignity. “Will we turn a blind eye to the destruction of yet another Christian community at the hands of an aggressive Islamic power? Or will we stand in spiritual, material, and political solidarity with this persecuted part of the Body of Christ?”

On June 21, former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback called for a bi-partisan Nagorno-Karabakh human rights act as a witness in a Congressional hearing on “Safeguarding the People of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

For nearly eight months, the Christians of Nagorno-Karabakh have endured this blockade orchestrated by the Azerbaijani regime, led by Azerbaijani’s president Ilham Aliyev. This humanitarian crisis is born from political tensions and efforts to drive ethnic and religious groups from their ancestral homeland. The Armenian Christian heritage traces back to the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, who introduced the Gospel leading to Armenia’s distinction as the first nation to officially embrace Christianity as the state religion in 301 A.D.

Because of its Christian identity, Armenia has faced relentless persecution and oppression throughout its history. Today, the existential threat posed by Azerbaijan and its ally, Turkey, looms large, and the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has captured the attention of global Christian leaders, including key religious freedom advocates in the United States. Amb. Sam Brownback and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) have drawn attention to the issue in Washington, while Christian broadcasters Billy Hallowell, Kevin McCullough, and others have helped to educate the U.S. audience on the crisis.

Please join fellow believers in praying for the imperiled Christians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and learn more about the ongoing crisis here.

Azeri leader snubs Belgium’s Foreign Minister for ‘pro-Armenian’ statements – report

Emil Lazarian

 11:49,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has refused to meet with visiting Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib because of what Azeri news media described as the latter’s “pro-Armenian” statements made earlier in Yerevan.

Lahbib is visiting Baku August 24.

The Azeri APA news agency reported that President Aliyev usually meets visiting foreign ministers but he has snubbed Lahbib over her “pro-Armenian position."

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said during her visit to Armenia that Azerbaijan must open the Lachin Corridor and ensure the rights and security of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Canada deepens engagement with Armenia as it ponders lifting embargo on Turkey

Emil Lazarian
EurasiaNet
Aug 24 2023
Fin DePencier Aug 24, 2023

Canada is raising its diplomatic profile in the Caucasus, as domestic and foreign policy considerations are pushing Ottawa into the thick of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly is expected to attend the opening of a Canadian embassy in Yerevan in September. Canada is also set to become the first third-party state to join the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA), under which unarmed observers monitor conditions along Armenia’s side of the frontier with Azerbaijan. The mission strives to “contribute to human security in conflict-affected areas in Armenia,” as well as foster better Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Canada’s observers will be drawn from the ranks of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a source with direct knowledge of the arrangement told Eurasianet. 

Canada’s interest in South Caucasus security appears connected to an ongoing diplomatic tussle with Turkey. Canadian officials announced their decision to join the EU monitoring mission just days after NATO’s annual summit in Lithuania, where Ottawa reportedly reopened talks with Turkey about the export of Canadian defense technology. Canada canceled military export permits to Turkey in 2021, after receiving “credible evidence” that Turkey transferred Canadian-made technology to Azerbaijan that was then used to great effect in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. “This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey,” said former Canadian foreign minister Marc Garneau. 

In exchange for supporting Sweden’s NATO bid, Turkey is demanding that its NATO allies, Canada included, drop embargoes on defense technology. A Reuters report cited an unnamed Turkish official as saying it was unacceptable for NATO allies to impose export restrictions on each other. 

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, drones played a major role in helping Azerbaijan recapture large swathes of territory. Amidst the fighting, Armenian forces shot down a Turkish-made TB2 Bayraktar drone, which was equipped with what Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said was an “ultramodern optical unit that was produced in Canada.” The component was indeed the MX-15D targeting system, made by Canadian defense manufacturer L3 Harris Wescam. “It’s the brains of the system,” Chris Kilford, Canada’s former military attaché to Turkey, told Eurasianet. 

Without sufficient air defenses, the Armenian military suffered heavy losses from attacks by Azerbaijan’s fleet of TB2s. And it was this Canadian component that was critical to the drones’ effectiveness. 

“I think what will happen is that the embargo will be lifted, but it will come with certain export controls,” Kilford said. Canada is hoping, it appears, that by joining the EU border monitoring mission in Armenia, it can hedge against any potential political fallout of lifting the embargo. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government doesn’t want to create complications for NATO by maintaining the embargo, but neither does it want to alienate a small, but influential domestic constituency, the country’s Armenian diaspora community.

“The government here might be weighing up the domestic damage that could be done by lifting the embargo,” Kilford said, referring to the potential for vocal diaspora opposition. Canada’s next federal election won’t take place until 2025, but the popularity of Trudeau’s Liberal Party is sagging, and the government already faces an uphill struggle to retain power. 

Joly already seems to be vigorously courting diaspora support. On August 20, she met with representatives of a diaspora organization, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), during which they presented policy recommendations to ease hardships faced by Armenians in Karabakh. Joly also spoke at an annual festival of diaspora Armenians, held in Montreal from August 18-20, saying that Canada would play an active role in troubleshooting Karabakh-related issues. “It is important for Canada to play a very important role in the region,” Joly said in a video distributed via the @301arm channel on the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Armenians are facing a real threat in Artsakh.” Joly’s use of the term Artsakh, which is the Armenian word for the contested enclave, certainly pleased her Montreal audience, but its use in diplomatic dealings would be sure to alienate Azerbaijan.

While Kilford believes the embargo will ultimately be lifted, Canada could still block Turkey from importing the targeting pods from L3 Harris Wescam. Yet, even if Canada does so, the Turkish defense industry appears close to producing a suitable replacement. After Canada initially canceled its permits, Turkey developed its own targeting system for TB2s called CATS, made by Turkish defense manufacturer Aselsan. “I’ve visited many of Turkey’s arms manufacturers over the years. If they have to rely on their own CATS systems, it will become better and better,” Kilford said. 

The main reason for Canada’s increased engagement with Armenia, Kilford says, is to exert a greater degree of influence over future developments, including the possible normalization of relations between Armenia and its Turkic neighbors. 

While the EU monitoring mission has faced criticism over its inability to deter sporadic fighting along the border, it is still useful “in the margins,” said analyst Eric Hacopian. The patrols increase the potential political cost Azerbaijan could pay for conducting potential military operations on Armenian territory, he added.

Fin DePencier is a Canadian freelance journalist and photographer based in Yerevan.

https://eurasianet.org/canada-deepens-engagement-with-armenia-as-it-ponders-lifting-embargo-on-turkey

WATCH: Schiff calls on Biden administration to cut off aid to Azerbaijan, bring an end to blockade of Lachin Corridor

Emil Lazarian

 18:15,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. Congressman Adam Schiff has called on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to cut off military aid to Azerbaijan and make sure to bring an end to the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor which has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe.

In a video message posted on X, Schiff said that the situation requires a UNSC resolution to end the violation of international law.

“I am desperately worried that another genocide may be taking place against the Armenian people. The [Biden] administration needs to act,” he said.

[see video]

Asbarez: Portantino Introduces Resolution Urging Azerbaijan to End Inhumane Blockade of Artsakh

Emil Lazarian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Latest, News, Top Stories

Senator Anthony Portantino offering remarks at the senate floor on Apr. 24 during the commemoration of the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

SACRAMENTO—Senator Anthony J. Portantino introduced Senate Joint Resolution 9, which calls on Azerbaijan to end its inhumane blockade of Artsakh and ensure the free and adequate flow of food, medicine, and humanitarian goods through the Lachin corridor.

“The situation in Artsakh is dire and deeply troubling,” said Portantino. “As a genocide is unfolding before our eyes, we must act. The people of Artsakh cannot afford to wait another day without strong United States and international action to bring an end to this devastating humanitarian crisis. It is critical that we move beyond words, demand the re-opening of the Lachin Corridor, and cut off military aid to Azerbaijan. I strongly condemn Azerbaijan’s violent and genocidal campaign against the Armenian people of Artsakh, who have been left without food, medical supplies and the right to free movement.”

In September 2020, Azerbaijan launched a war of territorial expansion against the Armenians of Artsakh that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of over 70 percent of Artsakh territory. Azerbaijan perpetrated widely documented human rights abuses, including the unlawful targeting of schools, homes, hospitals, and churches with prohibited weapons. For more than eight months, 120,000 people have been under the blockade and for the last two months, in total isolation from food, water, medical supplies, fuel, electricity, and other basic needs.

Recently, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court warned that Azerbaijan is preparing genocide against ethnic Armenian in the Artsakh region and called for the United Nations Security Council to bring the matter before the international tribunal.

In 2014, the California State Legislature adopted AJR 32, which supported the Republic of Artsakh as a free and independent nation. Earlier this year, Senator Portantino led efforts to submit a letter to the White House urging President Biden to take action against Azerbaijan by immediately ending military assistance and requesting that emergency humanitarian aid be delivered to the people of Artsakh. Unfortunately, concrete steps against Azerbaijan have yet to be taken and California needs to continue to have its voice heard in Washington.

Senator Portantino has visited Armenia and Artsakh on a number of occasions. In 2021, he became the first state or federal official to visit Artsakh after the 44-day war. He continues to chair the Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia, and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art, and Cultural Exchange, which was first established in 2017 at the request of Senator Portantino to expand business opportunities through trade, economic development, cultural awareness, and education between California, Armenia, and Artsakh. California has the largest population of Armenian Americans in the country, with the 25th Senate District having the largest concentration.

Who will become the mayor of Yerevan? Election campaign in the capital of Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Aug 23 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Election campaign for the Yerevan Council of Elders

The election campaign has started in Yerevan, in which 14 political forces – 13 parties and one bloc – are participating. They are competing for seats in the Council of Elders, which actually fulfills the role of the capital’s parliament.

If we take into account that almost half of the country’s residents live in Yerevan, the result of these elections will actually reveal which political force is favored in Armenia as a whole. The results of these elections will also determine who will become the mayor of the capital.

The mayor can become the first number of the electoral list of the political force participating in the elections – a bloc or a party, which gets 40 or more percent of the mandates in the Council of Elders. If none of the participants in the election succeeds in achieving such a result, the parties elected to the Council may form a coalition and decide who will be elected mayor.

The election campaign will last until September 15. Elections will be held on September 17.

According to the results of a poll conducted by MPG (Marketing Professional Group), a sociological organization representing GALLUP International in Armenia, there is no clear leader yet. But among those polled, Tigran Avinian, who was nominated for the post of mayor by the ruling Civil Contract party, got the most votes at 9.3%. He is a former deputy prime minister of Armenia and now serves as deputy mayor of Yerevan.

  • Internal political situation in the unrecognized NKR. Forecast from Yerevan: what to expect
  • “A curious proposal on Karabakh”: a document attributed to Lavrov
  • Man dies of starvation in unrecognized NKR, blockade continues

Most of the candidates for mayor are unknown to ordinary residents of Yerevan. But there are some former high-ranking officials among them:

  • Tigran Avinian, a member of the ruling Civil Pact party and former deputy prime minister,
  • Hayk Marutyan, former mayor of Yerevan, who heads the list of the National Progress party,
  • Mane Tandilyan, candidate of the “Country for Life” party, former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, as well as of the unrecognized NKR.

Most of the political forces running in the elections met with Yerevan residents on the first day of the campaign and presented their programs. Some chose to start the campaign with marches and rallies.

Former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan has returned to the stage in a one-man show which opponents say is a run-up to the mayoral race

Aram Navasardyan, head of the Armenian representative office of GALLUP International, said that the poll was conducted by telephone from July 27 to August 5. He said the majority of respondents do not believe in fair and honest elections:

“Only 16.1% of respondents unequivocally believe in holding fair elections, 28.9% responded that they are rather inclined to trust the results of elections, 19.9% are more inclined not to trust them, 32.1% unequivocally do not believe in fair elections, 3.3% found it difficult to answer the question.”

33.4% of respondents found it difficult to answer the question for whom they will vote in the upcoming elections. 11% stated that they are not going to vote for any of the participants, 19.2% do not intend to participate in the elections at all, 5.7% refused to participate in the poll.

While 9.3% of respondents expressed their readiness to vote for Tigran Avinian, nominated by the ruling party, 3.7% expressed their readiness to vote for former Mayor Hayk Marutyan.

2.8% are ready to vote for the “Armenia” bloc, 2.2% for the “Country for Life” party, and 2% for the “Enlightened Armenia” party.

According to the results of the poll, it was found out what problems the residents of Yerevan are more concerned about:

  • garbage disposal – 33.4%,
  • work of public transportation – 29%,
  • poor condition of roads and traffic jams – 10.5%,
  • environmental problems – 7%.

Under the previous, “pre-revolutionary” government, a part of the park in the very center of the capital was leased until 2040, and no one can now prohibit the owner of the territory

Political technologist Vigen Hakobyan believes that the Armenian authorities will do everything to win these elections, as they understand that Yerevan is the political center of the country, the most oppositional city, where ratings and spheres of influence are formed.

In his opinion, this victory is vital for the current government headed by Nikol Pashinyan:

“With this victory, they will try to regain their lost legitimacy, because they came to the previous elections [snap parliamentary elections] with other slogans, particularly on the Artsakh issue. But after they were elected again, they actually surrendered Artsakh [to Azerbaijan]”.

However, the expert believes that it will not be easy to achieve victory in Yerevan with the current rating of the current government. At the same time, he pointed out that after the appointment of his candidate, Tigran Avinian, as deputy mayor, “administrative resources were also used”.

As for the other participants of the elections, everyone has his own goal and objectives. Some claim just to be on the political field, there are forces that really seek to win, and there are “spoiler parties.”

“Their goal is to promote one or another of the parties that spawned them. They will try not only to level votes in favor of their competitors, but also to do on the propaganda wave what the “mother party” considers beneath its dignity. That is, black PR in relation to a particular competitor”.

According to the Hakobyan’s assessment, these elections cannot be considered purely municipal in their content and character, as “Yerevan is the political brain and heart of Armenia, political trends are formed here”.

He believes that those forces, which will present “a hybrid of political and urban programs,” will be able to succeed.

According to Hakobyan, “National Progress” led by former mayor Hayk Marutyan and “Country for Life” with mayoral candidate Mane Tandilyan have chances to become part of some coalition in the future.

“As for the “Country for Life” party, in my opinion, the process will be influenced by the extent to which the de facto leader of this party Ruben Vardanyan [former state minister of the unrecognized NKR, big businessman], who actually heads the opposition in Artsakh, will directly position himself as its leader. If he does, it will strengthen the party’s position.”

https://jam-news.net/election-campaign-for-the-yerevan-council-of-elders/

Novena for deliverance of the Armenian people

Emil Lazarian
Aug 23 2023

  • Aug 23rd, 2023 (Updated Aug 24th, 2023)

One year after the beginning of the conflict in between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Bishop Mikael Antoine Mouradian of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy in the USA is starting a novena for the deliverance of the Armenian people.

While diplomacy between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains at an impasse, all Catholics are invited to unite their prayers for nine days in order Pray for the Armenian Christians who are being persecuted and that a solution may be found to help them.

Azerbaijan is currently blocking 120 000 Armenian Christians from receiving any help and is pushing them from their homes in Artsakh.

An initiative of Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg, USA and Canada, this international novena begins on August 25, 2023. It invites people to pray to the Armenian saints and to fast for the end of persecution and a just peace.

The novena invokes intercession of the Virgin Mary and St Gregory of Narek to help the Armenian people and help find a resolution to this nightmare for them.

We invite people to repeat this novena as many times as they can and to fast and to pray for their Armenian Brothers and Sisters in Christ. As the situation in Armenia is very difficult, and people there are afraid if a repetition of the genocide of 1915-1917, all prayer is more than welcome.

As the Church prayed for Peter when he was in prison, pray for the Armenians imprisoned and persecuted in their homeland.

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/47858








“SOS Artsakh!”

Emil Lazarian
 ARF Eastern US Central Committee Diaspora 2

A march and protest will be held Friday, Sept. 1 during the 89th AYF-YOARF Olympics weekend in Washington, D.C. The protest will kick off demonstrations around the world led by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) to demand justice for Artsakh on the occasion of its Sept. 2 independence anniversary.

Protesters will assemble at the Olympics Renaissance Hotel Headquarters at 1 p.m. and march at 1:30 p.m. to Lafayette Park, just north of the White House. The protest starts at 2 p.m. 

Signs and flags will be provided for the march and protest, where demands will be directed to U.S. government officials, urging them to act now to end Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade of Artsakh’s 120,000 men, women and children; airlift humanitarian aid immediately; stop military aid to Azerbaijan; sanction the reckless Aliyev regime for its unpunished war crimes; and champion Artsakh’s self-determination rights.

“Olympics weekend always brings our community together to celebrate the AYF and its accomplishments, which include the AYF’s tireless Hai Tahd work,” said ARF Eastern Region Central Committee chair Ani Tchaghlasian and AYF-YOARF Eastern Region Central Executive chair Nareg Mkrtschjan. “We know that every effort will be made by those attending Olympics weekend to be at the ‘SOS Artsakh!’ protest to support our brothers and sisters in Artsakh.”

Additional details and updates can be found on the AYF-YOARF Eastern Region’s Facebook and Instagram pages and will be available in next week’s Armenian Weekly.

  •  Bio
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The ARF Eastern Region Central Committee’s headquarters is the Hairenik Building in Watertown, Mass. The ARF Eastern Region’s media and bookstore are also housed in this building, as are various other important Armenian community organizations. The ARF Eastern Region holds a convention annually and calls various consultative meetings and conferences throughout the year.


U.S. denies claims on pressuring UNSC members not to sign resolution on Nagorno- Karabakh

Emil Lazarian

 13:50,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS. The United States has denied claims that it is pressuring UNSC member countries not to sign a resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh humanitarian crisis following the emergency meeting on August 16.

In written comments in response to an ARMENPRESS inquiry, the United States Embassy in Armenia said that the United States has ‘not seen a draft resolution, and claims that the U.S. is pressuring member countries not to sign a resolution are completely false.’

ARMENPRESS: Does your country plan to submit a draft resolution following the UN Security Council urgent meeting of August 16 regarding the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh?

United States Embassy: At the United Nations Security Council meeting last Wednesday on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, led by our Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the Council discussed key issues related to the current humanitarian situation.

We have not seen a draft resolution, and claims that the U.S. is pressuring member countries not to sign a resolution are completely false.

As noted in our statement at the UNSC session, we remain deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in NK and we’re encouraging the Azerbaijani government to open the Lachin Corridor to humanitarian, commercial and private traffic expeditiously.