Author: Emma Nadirian

Will Azerbaijan accept ethnic Armenians’ ‘right to return’ to Nagorno-Karabakh ‘homeland’?

Emma Nadirian
France 24
Oct 3 2023
The last bus carrying ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh left the region Monday, completing a grueling weeklong exodus of over 100,000 people — more than 80% of its residents — after Azerbaijan reclaimed the area in a lightning military operation. The bus that entered Armenia carried 15 passengers with serious illnesses and mobility problems, said Gegham Stepanyan, a human rights ombudsman for the former breakaway region that Azerbaijan calls Karabakh. He called for information about any other residents who want to leave but have had trouble doing so. In a 24-hour campaign that began Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the region's undermanned and outgunned Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate. The separatist government then agreed to disband itself by the end of the year, but Azerbaijani authorities are already in charge of the region. For more on the Armenian exodus amid Azerbaijan's move to reaffirm full control of Nagorno-Karabakh, FRANCE 24's Genie Godula is joined by Olesya Vartanyan, International Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for the South Caucasus region.

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U.S. calls for long-term, independent monitoring mission in Nagorno-Karabakh

Emma Nadirian

 11:08, 4 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. A longer-term, independent, international monitoring mission should be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh to provide transparency and reassurances that the rights and securities of ethnic Armenians will be protected, U.S. State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel has said.

“The United States is going to continue to play a role in engaging with Azerbaijani and Armenian leadership at the highest levels to pursue a dignified and durable peace,” Patel said at a press briefing.  “And you’ve also seen us, over the course of this past week and beyond, reiterate our call for a longer-term, independent, international monitoring mission in Nagorno-Karabakh to provide transparency and reassurances that the rights and securities of ethnic Armenians will be protected, particularly for those who may wish to return, and for the protection of cultural heritage sites, which all of course is in line with Azerbaijan’s public statements and their international obligations as well,” he added.

The State Department spokesperson was also asked to comment on Armenia joining the Rome Statute of the ICC.

“Well, we respect Armenia’s sovereignty and independence, and we’ll leave it to Armenia’s Government to comment on its legislative processes, of course. We respect the right of every country to join the ICC and have been encouraged by many states, including Armenia, that have undertaken commitments to promote justice, accountability for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity,” Patel said.

Asked to comment on a UN team’s report claiming they did not see any damage to civilian infrastructure during a visit to NK, Patel said: “So we certainly appreciate those comments from the UN spokesperson. But that does not change the United States’ point of view on this. As I just said to Alex, we continue to believe, even in the light of the UN visit, that there is a strong desire and a need for a longer-term, independent international monitoring mission in Nagorno-Karabakh. We think that that will provide transparency; we think that it will provide the appropriate reassurances for the various rights and securities that we continue to be deeply concerned about.”

On October 3, a senior Armenian diplomat strongly criticized the UN team, saying that it was “discrediting the UN as an institution.”

Japan extends USD 2 million emergency grant aid for forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh

Emma Nadirian

 10:30, 6 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. On October 6, the Government of Japan decided to extend Emergency Grant Aid amounting to a total of USD 2 million for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The funds will be provided through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“Based on the fact that more than 100,000 persons have been displaced due to Azerbaijan’s military activities on September 19, the Government of Japan will implement Emergency Grant Aid of USD 2 million through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in areas such as Non-Food Items, health, protection and water. In close coordination with these international organizations, the Government of Japan will continue to provide support for and stand by the displaced persons,” the Japanese foreign ministry said.

Azerbaijan takes control of Nagorno-Karabakh: “The complete destruction of an ancient Christian culture”

Emma Nadirian
Oct 6 2023

JONATÁN SORIANO , EVANGELICAL FOCUS


The dissolution of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic will take place on 1 January 2024, after the takeover of the territory by Azerbaijan.

This has led to the displacement of about 100,000 Armenians living in the region (including 29,000 children), most of them of Christian background, to Armenia, leaving behind their homes and possessions, to seek refuge.

According to the United Nations mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, “between 50 and 1,000 Armenians remain in the region”. No material damage or traces of violence against the civilian population, the UN added.

On the other hand, the Armenian government, which some accuse of handing over the territory to Azerbaijan, stated that “the flow of people has mostly stopped and only officials and a limited number of the population remain in the territory”.

The final takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan comes barely a year after the latest escalation of violence in the conflict, which led to the Azeri army taking final control of the region.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian assured that “if the [Russian] peacekeepers have proposed a peace agreement, it means that they fully accept the responsibility to ensure the security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and provide them with the conditions and rights to live safely on their lands and in their homes”.

From Baku, President Ilham Aliyev expressed his surprise at the Armenian executive's reaction and pointed out that “they have shown unexpected political competence".

 

The territory of Nagorno-Karabakh had come under Armenian control, like the self-proclaimed largely Armenian-populated Artsakh Republic, after clashes with Azerbaijan between 1988 to 1994.

A new episode of violence in October 2020 reignited the conflict, until both sides signed a peace agreement favourable to Baku, which regained control of much of the territory.

At least 6,500 people were killed in that new escalation of violence.

However, peace lasted until September 2022, when Armenia accused Azerbaijan of shelling towns near its border, such as Goris and Vardenis, while the Azeris accused the Armenians of “subversive acts”.

The new confrontations ended months later with a clear military victory for Azerbaijan, which secured control of the region.

The Azeri government has now raised the pressure to the point of forcing the dissolution of the political entity that had been formed to govern the Armenian-controlled territory.

According to the head of the Evangelical Peace and Reconciliation Network (PRN), Johannes Reimer, “the conflict in Ukraine is occupying all our attention and Azerbaijan is delivering the badly needed gas”. This leads to “this window of opportunity president Aliev uses, to solve the ancient problem of the Armenian enclave in his country once for ever”, Reimer adds.

The small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh has become a major player in world geopolitics. “Azerbaijan is needed for gas delivery and Turkey uses the Armenian union with Russia as an argument”, Reimer told Spanish news website Protestante Digital.

 

Earlier, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) had expressed concern at the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council over the blockade of humanitarian aid in the territory.

“We call on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately lift the blockade and to allow for unimpeded access to food, medicine and fuel”, said Wissam al-Saliby, representative of the WEA at the UN in Geneva.

In addition to the socio-political content of the conflict, which argues that one of the causes is that Nagorno-Karabakh was a region populated mostly by Armenians on Azerbaijani territory, Reimer also sees a religious component to the conflict.

Armenia is a traditionally Christian nation bordering other Muslim-majority countries, such as Turkey and Azerbaijan itself.

One of the tragic historical episodes that has gained diplomatic prominence lately is the genocide of Christian Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

“We see the complete destruction of an ancient Christian culture”, stresses Reimer.

For the head of the PRN, “this is an ethno-political conflict in the first place, but deeply interwoven with religious issues. Yes, Christians [Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh] are being persecuted”.

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/23847/azerbaijan-takes-control-of-nagorno-karabakh-the-complete-destruction-of-an-ancient-christian-culture


AW: Armenian Americans Rally at the Reagan Library

Emma Nadirian
 Madeline Bogdjalian Diaspora 2

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—On the eve of the second GOP presidential debate, the Armenian Youth Federation Western US led a rally outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, calling on Republican presidential candidates to express their commitment to addressing Azerbaijan’s genocide of 120,000 Christian Armenians in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and urging the Biden administration to end its complicity in that crime.

Rally participants came together to ask GOP leaders to demand the following actions from the Biden administration:

1) Directly intervening to stop the Artsakh genocide
2) Immediately ending all U.S. military aid to genocidal Azerbaijan
3) Launching an emergency U.S. humanitarian airlift to Artsakh
4) Enforcing U.S. and U.N. sanctions on Azerbaijan
5) Opening the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor for secure and unobstructed travel between Armenia and Artsakh

The protest was covered widely both on the local, national and international levels, including Fox11 News, ABC7, the Guardian, Politico, and the Los Angeles Times.

Lar Tabakian, a member of the Armenian Youth Federation’s Pasadena “Nigol-Touman” Chapter, opened the rally by pointing out that President Biden has “failed his constituents” by sitting idly by as ethnic cleansing occurs in Artsakh, where the indigenous Armenian population has been “sent into a mass exodus, forcibly removed from their homes, from the land where their brave sons were buried.”

Tabakian argued that, by sending military aid to Azerbaijan, the Biden administration is complicit in Azerbaijan’s genocide in Artsakh, and now the 120,000 Christian Armenians are being forced out of their ancestral homeland.

She echoed the Armenian American community’s demands of the Biden administration to stop aiding Azerbaijan and to “enforce Sec. 907, sanction Azerbaijan, open the Berdzor Corridor and provide humanitarian airlifts to the people of Artsakh, who have suffered shelling, gas explosions and malnutrition.” The civilian population of Artsakh needs humanitarian aid now more than ever, and “empty words from the Biden administration” are not enough.

Tabakian commented on USAID Administrator Samantha Power’s visit to Armenia this week, where she announced an $11 million dollar humanitarian aid package for displaced Artsakh Armenians. Noting that assistance comes to less than $100 a person, Tabakian responded “the Armenian people around the world will not accept this as a solution. The Armenian people demand action!”

As protestors chanted “shame on Biden,” Arek Santikian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation gave powerful remarks calling on “all of the Republican candidates to expose Biden’s role in allowing another genocide to occur on his watch. […] his inability to sanction a terrorist country, Azerbaijan […] and his willingness to aid and abet Muslim extremists in the Caucasus.”

The Biden administration has failed Armenians by continuing to send “weapons and money to an oil dictatorship like Azerbaijan while they use those same weapons to starve, torture and murder innocent civilians in Artsakh,” said Santikian.  “With a single call, President Biden could have sanctioned Azerbaijan for carrying out starvation and mass deportation,” but he didn’t and “made it clear that he has no intention of doing so.”

Santikian emphasized, “countless government officials of this Democratic administration have been deeply concerned for years, but their concerns mean nothing without action.”

He characterized Samantha Power’s visit to Armenia as nothing more than a “publicity stunt.” Referencing her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, A Problem from Hell, which documented America’s shortcomings in responding to genocides, including the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, Santikian noted when asked about the current Artsakh crisis, she “couldn’t even acknowledge that starvation, blockade, mass deportation and murder constitute ethnic cleansing.”

Speaking on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of America, Joseph Kaskanian called upon “the Republican presidential candidates, as they prepare for their debate, to take a stand.” Kaskanian emphasized how critical it is that the “United States take action because we have a moral obligation to act. We cannot claim to champion human rights and democracy while turning a blind eye to genocide. We cannot preach about freedom and justice while allowing dictators to act with impunity.”

Kaskanian argued that the Biden administration has failed Armenians by not vowing to protect democracy and human rights in Artsakh. “How can we, as a nation that prides itself on being a beacon of hope and justice, stand by and watch? How can we allow our tax dollars to support a regime that is actively committing genocide? It is a stain on our conscience, a betrayal of our values.”

Nyree Derderian, chairperson of the Central Executive Board of the Armenian Relief Society, classified the actions of the Biden administration as “unforgivable” and “passive.” She stated that Armenians “must rouse the global community and leaders to stop selectively ignoring their suffering…we must exert every effort to aid our fellow compatriots in Artsakh. They have made substantial sacrifices for the Armenian people and the nation, and we now must make sacrifices for their well-being and prosperity.” Derderian affirmed that the Armenian Relief Society is on the “frontlines” and committed to providing aid. “We are in Kornidzor, we are in Goris, we are in Syunik, we are in Yerevan—wherever the 120,000 Armenians of Artsakh require aid, be it food, shelter or medical attention,” concluded Derderian.

AYF protesters held signs displaying “120,000 Reasons,” to show their support for the 120,000 Reasons coalition, which advocates for the 120,000 innocent Christian Armenians trapped within the Armenian territory of Artsakh due to the Azerbaijani blockade. The coalition targeted the GOP debate with a powerful 30-second ad, which aired on Fox Business Network and Fox News during the debate and on MSNBC and CNN during their post-debate coverage.

  •  Bio
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Madeline Bogdjalian is an undergraduate student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, pursuing a degree in political science with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. Madeline’s academic interests include law and policy. She is a fall 2023 Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Intern in the ANCA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters, a staff writer for the College Street Journal at Holy Cross, a member of the Moot Court team, as well as the treasurer of the Worcester “Aram” AYF Chapter.


AW: “We will forever rise”

Emma Nadirian
 Sune Hamparian Youth Opinion, Opinion, Diaspora 0

“We can never trust and must never allow genocidal Azerbaijan to rule over the free people of Artsakh.” – AYF D.C. “Ani” Chapter member Sune Hamparian offering powerful remarks at the White House protest for Artsakh

Remarks offered at White House protest on September 20, 2023, demanding the Biden administration take immediate action to stop Azerbaijan’s Artsakh Genocide.

I will, today, speak through my tears.

Tears for Artsakh’s mothers and children. Her saints and soldiers. Her holy churches and sacred lands. 

We have, each of us, seen the devastation visited upon Artsakh—the genocidal destruction, the thousands killed, the anguish of mothers unable to feed their families, the grief of children left without parents. 

We have felt in our own hearts the fear of families hiding in bunkers, felt our world shake as bombs shattered lives, families with deep roots in Artsakh’s rich soil.

We are gathered here today to scream at the world, to demand the global community stop turning a blind eye, to ask: Where is your morality? Where is your humanity, your sympathy? Where is your heart?

We cry to the heavens but know our work remains here on earth, for our fight is far from over.

We remain in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Artsakh—in faith with the generations that came before us; in tribute to those who fell in this struggle; in service to those generations that will follow.

It is in this spirit that we will show the world that we will forever rise and never be silenced. Relentless when knocked down. Defiant when pushed around.

We dust ourselves off, stand up straight, roll up our sleeves and get to work, to show ourselves and all the world that America is better than it treated Artsakh—better than abandoning 120,000 Armenians; better than both-siding Azerbaijan’s one-sided genocide; better than arming and abetting a corrupt and cruel oil-rich dictator.

Artsakh’s fate is not yet written, and America’s role is far from over.

Through long years of hard struggle, we lifted America from the depths of Armenian Genocide denial, broke the longest-lasting foreign gag rule in American history.

We must now do the same for Artsakh, putting America on the right side of self-determination, of genocide prevention, of human rights.

That starts with America honoring our signature on the U.N. Genocide Convention, recognizing that we can never trust and must never allow genocidal Azerbaijan to rule over the free people of Artsakh.

On this and all our policy priorities, we stand united, here at the White House, in the halls of Congress, at the United Nations and all across the world. 

With renewed resolve, we close our protest today ready for another day, a better day for Artsakh and all Armenians.

  •  Bio
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Sune Hamparian is a junior member of the AYF DC “Sevan” Chapter. She’s been a member of the AYF for over six years and was recently elected to serve as chair. Sune is in the eleventh grade and spends her summers in Armenia with her family. She enjoys volunteering at the ANCA and learning about the world of politics.


USAID chief visits Goris, Syunik

Emma Nadirian

 13:38,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. USAID Administrator Samantha Power has arrived in Syunik as part of her Armenia trip.

In Goris, she was welcomed by Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasyan.

Goris is now receiving thousands of forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Vehicles are lined up several kilometers along the Lachin Corridor.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power and U.S. State Department Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim arrived in Armenia on September 25 to affirm U.S. support for Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and democracy and to address humanitarian needs stemming from the recent violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.

[see video]

Turkish nationalists call for stripping citizenship of scholars who warned of Azeri genocidal policy in Nagorno-Karabakh

Emma Nadirian

 09:55,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Turkish nationalists are calling for stripping citizenship of the 123 Turkish scholars who issued a statement  last week warning about Azerbaijan’s genocidal policy in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Federation of Eurasian Turkic Associations chairman Ismail Cengiz labeled the Turkish scholars ‘Armenian-loving mankurts,’ according to Once Vatan news outlet.

“The 123 Armenian-loving mankurts must immediately be stripped of citizenship,” Cengiz said in a statement cited by Once Vatan. He said that after doing so the scholars must be sent to Armenia.

In the statement provided to ARMENPRESS on September 22 , the Turkish scholars said that the Azerbaijani regime, which has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh for nine months, launched military operations in front of the whole world during the UN General Assembly.

“Azerbaijan carried out this attack with explicit support from Turkey and Israel, while the whole world was silently watching what was happening. There is a clear danger of ethnic cleansing and genocide,” the Turkish scholars said in the statement, emphasizing that former ICC chief prosecutor M. Ocampo’s warnings are turning into reality one by one.




US steps up efforts to resolve decadeslong dispute between Armenia, Azerbaijan

Emma Nadirian
Al Arabiya, UAE
Sept 13 2023


Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English


Washington is stepping up its efforts to solve the looming humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan simmer.

US officials have been working around the clock to find a sustainable solution to a blockade imposed by Azerbaijan against some 120,000 residents in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Officials from the Biden administration have repeatedly voiced their concern about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions inside Nagorno-Karabakh, comprising an Armenian population that broke off from Azerbaijan decades ago. The region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

However, the Lachin Corridor, a land link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia used for transporting medicine, food and other necessities, has been blocked by Baku.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) last month urged Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin Corridor and “uphold its international obligations to respect and protect human rights, including the right to food, health, education and life.”

Despite Washington’s call for immediate reopening of the corridor, the impasse continues, with Baku insisting on other routes from Azerbaijan to transport goods into the region to unblock the Lachin Corridor.

Traditionally, residents of Nagorno-Karabakh are opposed to assistance from other routes, a senior State Department official said. US officials clarified that they were not getting involved in the kind of deal the two sides might arrive upon or its modalities.

“We are doing everything we can to try to facilitate any kind of a deal because our goal is to get humanization assistance in,” the senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his team have been personally engaged in the deliberations as they look for a breakthrough.

Senior Adviser for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono is in constant discussions with all sides to try and resolve the humanitarian situation and this long-standing conflict, the State Department said. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Joshua Huck has also been heavily involved in the mediation.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez has said the Biden administration should sanction Azerbaijan for human rights abuses.

This week, he slammed the Aliyev government again. “The Aliyev government in Azerbaijan is carrying out a campaign of heinous atrocities. Now is the time to step up and protect this vulnerable population,” Menendez said during remarks on the Senate Floor.

The State Department officials remained tightlipped when asked if they had threatened Baku with sanctions over its refusal to reopen the Lachin Corridor.

State Department officials rejected that the US risked normalizing Azerbaijan’s use of starvation as a negotiation tool. “I think the Azerbaijanis would say there’s no forced famine whatsoever; they would say, ‘Look, trucks are sitting right outside of Nagorno-Karabakh ready to provide food.’”

They also said there were no confirmed cases of starvation in Nagorno-Karabakh despite former International Criminal Court (ICC) chief Luis Moreno Ocampo describing the situation as there being “reasonable basis” to believe that genocide was being committed against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a sign of a potential easing of tensions, a Russian Red Cross truck delivered aid to Stepanakert on Tuesday, making it the first time in 35 years that aid from Azerbaijan was allowed in.

US officials believe there is an opportunity for Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle their dispute and normalize ties but acknowledge the obstacles to a settlement.

“But it’s bigger than that; this is something that can stabilize the region and normalize relations in the region,” a second senior State Department official said. “We are all in on this. This is a priority for the administration and Secretary [Blinken].”

The first State Department official pointed to the potential economic benefits of the region for the US and the European Union and to break the cycle of instability. “This is not just us wishing it; both sides want it, and we’re hearing this from the actual governments involved.”

According to US officials, three rounds of talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have taken place in Washington, and both sides are prepared to return for further discussions.

Armenian parliament says NATO membership ‘technically, politically’ impossible

Emma Nadirian
 TASS 
Russia – Sept 7 2023
Sargis Khandanyan also criticized the Collective Security Treaty Organization which, according to him, has “abandoned Armenia”

YEREVAN, September 7. /TASS/. There is no way Armenia can join NATO, owing to “technical and political reasons,” Sargis Khandanyan, Head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party, said.

“Armenia is open to cooperation with other countries in the security and defense spheres. As for Armenia’s NATO membership, I don’t see how it is possible for technical and political reasons, and the Armenian government has never talked about wanting to be a member,” he said at a briefing.

At the same time, Khandanyan criticized the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which, according to him, has “abandoned Armenia.” The lawmaker also said that Yerevan has “many questions” for Moscow.

On September 4, Gunther Fehlinger, chair of the European Committee for NATO Enlargement, called on Armenia to join the alliance. Later that day, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan said that his country cooperated with NATO in various formats and that it was ready to continue this process.

On September 6, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko called Fehlinger’s remarks about Armenia needing to join NATO a “grand fantasy.” According to him, Moscow proceeds from the reality that Armenia is a member of the CSTO and intends to “further strengthen military and political cooperation” with its ally.

Earlier, the Armenian Defense Ministry announced that joint military exercises between Armenia and the US entitled Eagle Partner 2023 will be held on the territory of Armenia on September 11-20. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow has expressed its concern to Yerevan over the decision to hold exercises with the US. The diplomat pointed out that Armenia, as a member of the CSTO, “in the spirit of alliance and partnership, should stick to conducting exercises with those who are members of this alliance.”