Residents of Artsakh’s Aghavno village in Berdzor (Lachin) have been told to evacuate by August 25
Since it was announced last week that the residents of the Aghavno and the adjacent Nerkin Sus villages in Artsakh’s Berdzor (Lachin) region have until August 25 to leave their homes, Artsakh authorities have begun the process of compiling list of residents in the area to determine whether they will relocate to other areas in Artsakh or move to Armenia.
Artsakh Territorial Administration Minister Hayk Khanumyan told Armenpress on Tuesday that some 100 families live in the area in question.
“In the coming days, the mayors will submit the lists and subsequently the issue of providing apartments to those families who are moving within Artsakh will be solved,” Khanumyan said.
“Families who want to move to Armenia will receive certificates for buying apartment, and before that they will receive compensation for rent. According to preliminary reports, around 25 to 30 percent of the affected population has expressed willingness to move [elsewhere] in Artsakh,” added Khanumyan.
The Artsakh minister said that logistics of moving the residents are being coordinated with various international organization with the assistance of the Artsakh government.
“We are now negotiating with our partners in order to receive assistance in the organizing issue. Technical details are being discussed,” Khanumyan told Armenpress, adding that there are no problems pertaining to the evacuation. He said they can manage to organize the evacuation by August 25.
He told Armenpress that Artsakh’s Culture Ministry is currently working to move important cultural and historical artifacts from the area.
Residents of Berdzor on Monday had observed Artsakh National Security Secretary Viraly Balassanyan touring the area, accompanied by Azerbaijani officials and members of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.
Berdzor residents told Aravot.am that Balassanyan was pointing to houses and other residences in the areas that are to be handed over to Azerbaijan after August 25.
Satig Asatryan, a Berdzor resident, told Aravot.am that residents were gathered at the village center when they observed Balasanyan, accompanied by what she called “Azerbaijani generals” approach the area.
According to Asatryan, Balasanyan was attempting to assure the Azerbaijani contingent that residences were not damaged or set on fire, as was the case when other areas that went under Azerbaijani control were.
According to Asatryan, a woman approached Balassanyan and admonished him, reportedly telling him that “it’s not enough that you have sold our lands and now you are ordering us to not damage any properties? What have you sold us along with Lachin?” Asatryan told Aravot.am that Balassanyan was taken aback and immediately drove off.
Aravot.am attempted to corroborate the story with Balassanyan’s office, however, the publication has not received a response.
The rumored government order to resident to not damage property was also brought up by Armenpress when speaking to Khanumyan, the Artsakh minister.
He cited examples from the harried days of the post November 9, 2020 agreement, when residents of some villages set their homes on fire only to find that the village was not going to be under Azerbaijani control. Khanumyan explained that in those instances, the government was forced to allocate funds to rebuild the damaged property.
Khanumyan also cited the example of the Aghanus village, which was surrendered to Azerbaijan a year and a half ago. He announced that the village will be taken out of Azerbaijani control and returned to Armenians, adding, however, that structures there have been burnt by the residents who were forced to evacuate. He explained that if the houses were left intact in Aghanus, residents could easily move back there, instead “there are only burnt structures and ruins.”
Khanumyan explained that Aghavno is located near the rerouted road connecting Artsakh to Armenia that is supposed to form a new corridor.
“If everything were to proceed in our favor, I wouldn’t want to see burnt ruins upon returning to Aghavno. Therefore, I am strongly against burning anything, looting or destroying,” Khanumyan told Armenpress.
The minister provided specifics of the new road, explaining that it will begin the Tasy Verst village and pass through Mets Shen, Hin Shen and Kashatagh region’s Aghanus village to reach the border with Armenia.
“The 11-kilometer section of the road to Kornidzor is not built yet. Until then, we will temporarily pass through a four-kilometer track section which is connected to the current highway, right above Aghavno,” Khanumyan said, adding that the alternative road will function as a corridor.
According to him, the road from the border of Armenia to Kornidzor is planned to be built in around 250 days.
He explained that the Russian peacekeeping contingent will be deployed along the five-kilometer stretch of the new road to ensure safe passage of vehicles.
Speaking about new infrastructures, namely the construction of communication and power lines supplying Artsakh along the alternative road, Khanumyan said the projects are already underway and will soon be completed.
13:05, 8 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS. 1849 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed over the past week, bringing the total cumulative number of confirmed cases to 428,648, the Armenian healthcare ministry reported.
It said that 4115 tests were conducted in the reporting period.
2 people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the death toll to 8,637.
1352 people recovered in the past week, bringing the total number of recoveries to 416,161.
11:08, 4 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Cabinet members observed a minute of silence during the August 4 Cabinet meeting in memory of the fallen troops in Artsakh of the latest Azerbaijani attack.
“As you know, the situation has recently escalated in and around Nagorno Karabakh. 19 servicemen from the Artsakh Defense Army were wounded and 2 others were killed. I propose a minute of silence to honor the memory of those killed,” PM Pashinyan said.
PM Pashinyan also wished speedy recovery to those wounded.
On August 3, two Artsakh soldiers were killed and 19 others were wounded when Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire and launched an attack on Artsakh military positions. The Azerbaijani military used mortars, grenade-launchers, combat UAVs in attacking a permanent deployment location of an Artsakh military base.
“Speaking about Armenia’s obligations, Azerbaijan says that Armenia is committed to ensuring the connection between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. We are ready to ensure that connection every day, it is Azerbaijan that does not take advantage of the opportunities we provide. Even today, we say: come and cross Armenia’s border, go to Nakhichevan in accordance with the procedure established by Armenia’s legislation.
Since last year we have set Armenian customs and border guard points and told Azerbaijan that at any time they can cross these points in accordance with the established procedure and connect with Nakhichevan,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
Referring to the construction of new roads, the prime minister said that according to the trilateral statement, it should be done with the consent of the parties:
“We say that we consider discussing the route of these roads only after the legal procedures are fixed and launched. I officially state that today Azerbaijan can cross Armenia’s border from several check-points and organize traffic to Nakhichevan. Gazakh is the most western region of Azerbaijan, let them come, cross, go to Nakhichevan. We guarantee the safety of this traffic in accordance with the procedure established by Armenia’s legislation. We have customs services not only in the Gazakh-Ijevan section but also in the Gazakh-Berd, Vardenis, Sisian, Yeraskh sections. We have customs service in Goris section for quite a long time, and during this period Azerbaijan has not even tried to use it. It never happened that they wanted to cross it, and we did not allow. But I repeat: this should happen in accordance with the procedure established by Armenia’s legislation.”
Referring to the point of the statement, according to which free movement should be ensured, Nikol Pashinyan said:
19:00, 5 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss regional security issues in Sochi, ARMENPRESS reports President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said before the start of the negotiations.
“Of course, we will also talk about the issues that we have been dealing with for a long time, I mean the regional security issues, first of all I mean the Syrian crisis, where Turkey and Russia have made a great contribution to the settlement of the situation, and that topic too, of course, will not escape our attention,” Putin said.
Earlier, the spokesman of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said that the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, among other issues, is on the agenda of Putin-Erdoğan meeting.
Corruption remains an obstacle to US investment in Armenia, US State Department said on the investment climate in Armenia for 2022.
“Corruption remains an obstacle to U.S. investment in Armenia, particularly as it relates to critical areas such as the justice system and concerns related to the rule of law, enforcement of existing legislation and regulations, and equal treatment. Investors claim that the health, education, military, corrections, and law enforcement sectors lack transparency in procurement and have in the past used selective enforcement to elicit bribes,” the statement said.
“Judges who specialize in civil cases are still widely perceived by the public to be corrupt and under the influence of former authorities. The effectiveness and independence of newly formed anti-corruption institutions remains to be seen. Some individuals have voiced concerns around whether certain judicial representatives and law enforcement leaders have been selected objectively. The potential for politically motivated, outside influence on these anti-corruption institutions, as well as law enforcement bodies and prosecutorial services, also remains a concern,” the statement added.
A view from Yoros Castle, located at the northern end of the Bosporus, Istanbul, Turkey, July 28, 2022. (Photo by İrem Yaşar)
The Bosporus is one of the busiest and narrowest waterways in the world. It is one of two important straits connecting the countries located north of the Black Sea to Mediterranean countries for centuries. With its unique. beauty, magical atmosphere and special location at the meeting point between Asia and Europe, the Bosporus has been important in terms of security as well as the commercial, economic and social life of the city throughout history.
For this reason, historical buildings can be seen dotted on either side of the Bosporus as a precaution against attacks. The most famous of them are Anadolu Hisarı, commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt, and Rumeli Hisarı, commissioned by his grandson Sultan Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror.
Built between 1393 and 1394 as part of Sultan Bayezid I’s preparations for a siege on the then-Byzantine city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), the fortress of Anadolu Hisarı is situated at the narrowest point of the Bosporus. After Sultan Bayezid I’s plans to conquer Constantinople came to an end with his defeat in the Battle of Ankara, Sultan Mehmed II assumed the mission. Reinforcing the fortress and adding further extensions, Mehmed II ordered the construction of a sister structure to Anadolu Hisarı across the other side of the Bosporus to be named Rumeli Hisarı. Working together in 1453 to halt maritime traffic, the fortresses helped the Ottomans to achieve their aim of making the city their capital.
However, Istanbul already housed structures that made the Bosporus easily controllable even before the Ottoman period. One of them was Yoros Castle, which is located in the Anadolu Kavağı neighborhood at the northern end of the Bosporus in the Beykoz district of Istanbul and dates back to the Eastern Roman period.
In its long history, Istanbul featured stories of many evliyas or Muslim mystics. Today, people still visit the tombs of these religious figures in different districts of the city and commemorate their souls through prayer.
Among these religious figures, the tombs of Joshua (Yuşa in Turkish) in Beykoz, Yahya Efendi in Beşiktaş, Telli Baba in Sarıyer and Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi in Üsküdar are located at the entrance and exit of the Bosporus. These four tombs are believed to provide spiritual protection to the Bosporus and sailors traversing it in addition to the physical protection provided by various forts and structures.
It is said that when the Prophet Moses received a revelation from God that there was someone named Khidr who was more knowledgeable than him, he was tasked with meeting that person at the junction of two seas. Setting off for the meeting, Moses departs, bringing Joshua with him. However, when they get to the Bosporus, Joshua dies. After his death, he is buried on the highest hill with a view of both the Bosporus and Black Sea. Rumor has it that it was Yahya Efendi who discovered Joshua’s grave after Joshua revealed its location to him in a dream.
Yahya Efendi goes to this hill, located in today’s Beykoz with a commanding view of the Bosporus from the Asian shore, and meets a shepherd there. He asks the shepherd whether something extraordinary happened in the area, to which the shepherd responds that there is a spot on the hill where his sheep never graze. With this information, Yahya Efendi tracks down the grave and surrounds it with walls.
The hill is called Joshua’s Hill today and it houses a shrine containing a mosque and a tomb dedicated to Joshua. Locals believe the tomb is sacred and visit it to be healed from their illnesses. The mosque was commissioned by Grand Vizier Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pasha in 1755 with an adjacent shrine. It was restored during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz in 1863.
To the north of the hill lies Yoros Castle. Whereas the tomb of Joshua serves as a spiritual protector of the Bosporus, Yoros Castle was also built with the aim of controlling the entrance to the strait. The name of the castle, which is also known as Anadolukavağı Castle or the Genoese Castle, is said to be rooted in the word “hieron,” meaning sacred place in Greek. However, it may be more accurate to say that the name Yoros comes from “oros,” meaning mountain.
Despite what many think, Yoros Castle is not a Genoese structure. An inscription in Greek carved in the bricks in one of the towers of the castle implies that it is an Eastern Roman building. The castle passed into the hands of the Turks at the beginning of the 14th century. However, in 1348, the castle was captured by the Genoese, who were dominating the Black Sea trade route. At the end of the 14th century, it was taken by the Ottomans again, completely dominating the Anatolian side of the Bosporus.
Sultan Bayezid II, who repaired coastal forts in almost every part of the Ottman Empire or commissioned new parts, repaired Yoros Castle as well. He also had a place of worship, the Yoros Castle Masjid, built into it while the castle’s warden, Mehmet Agha, commissioned a bath. Armenian writer Ğugas İnciciyan, also known as Ghukas Inchichean, once reported that there was a 25-home Turkish neighborhood in Yoros Castle at the end of the 18th century.
From east to west, Yoros Castle lies parallel to the Black Sea with a length of 500 meters (1,640 feet) today, treating visitors to an idyllic view of the strait and the ancient atmosphere of its ruins.
Friday,
Armenian Opposition To Continue Boycotting Parliament
Armenia - Opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelian addresses a rally in Yerevan,
.
Armenia’s two main opposition forces indicated on Friday that they will continue
to boycott sessions of the National Assembly despite government threats to strip
them of their parliament seats.
One of their leaders, Ishkhan Saghatelian, dismissed the threats as “blackmail”
when he addressed supporters demonstrating in Yerevan against Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian.
“Once again I must repeat what I’ve been saying for the last three months: if
the opposition returns to the parliament it will do so only go with its own
agenda formed by the people in this square,” said Saghatelian. “That agenda is
clear: Nikol’s departure and our efforts to counter threats to Armenia and
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and address vital issues facing them.”
“The clique controlling the National Assembly cannot draw us into its treasonous
conspiracies with threats to strip us of our [parliament mandates,]” he told the
crowd.
The 35 members of the 107-seat parliament representing the opposition Hayastan
and Pativ Unem alliances began the boycott in April in advance of their daily
demonstrations demanding Pashinian’s resignation. They failed to force him to
step down before deciding in mid-June to scale back the protests sparked by
Pashinian’s apparent readiness to make major concessions to Azerbaijan.
Saghatelian admitted that many opposition supporters are now “disheartened” by
the failure to achieve regime change. But he said the opposition movement has
succeeded in at least delaying a “new capitulation agreement” with Baku.
“We need to regroup, mobilize our forces, wage a prolonged struggle and chase
victory … There is still no alternative to our fight in the streets,” declared
the opposition leader.
Saghatelian also said that the opposition is unlikely to hold further rallies in
August and plans instead to spend the next month reinforcing its regional
chapters and organizing a “pan-Armenian” conference in Yerevan.
Armenian Central Bank Accused Of Forcing Out Oppositionist’s Brother
• Artak Khulian
Armenia -- A statue symbolizing the national currency, the dram, outside the
Central Bank building in Yerevan.
An opposition figure prosecuted on what he sees as politically motivated charges
said on Friday that his brother holding a senior position in Armenia’s Central
Bank was forced out because of his political activities.
Ara Chalabian has headed the bank’s Department of Corporate Services and
Development for the last two years. He announced on Thursday that he is “no
longer working at the Central Bank” but gave no reasons for his exit.
Armenian news websites claimed earlier this month that the bank chairman, Martin
Galstian, has told Chalabian to resign, citing an order from Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian. An article subsequently posted on Hetq.am cited the brothers’
father as saying in a recent private conversation that Galstian told Chalabian
that he himself will have to resign if the latter refuses to quit.
Chalabian’s indicted brother Avetik, who leads a small opposition party,
effectively added his voice to these allegations when he spoke to journalists
during his ongoing trial in Yerevan.
“They demanded that he quit,” he said. “When this criminal case passes its peak
we will talk about that [in greater detail] because that demand was absolutely
illegal. There are no grounds for forcing my brother out from his job.”
Armenia - Avetik Chalabian stands trial in Yerevan, July 26, 2022.
“While being a senior employee of the Central Bank he always maintained complete
political neutrality and had nothing to do with my political activities,” added
Avetik Chalabian.
The Central Bank again did not confirm or deny the alleged government pressure
exerted on Ara Chalabian. Nor did it explain why he lost his job, saying that it
cannot comment without his consent.
Pashinian’s office has likewise declined to comment on the allegations that the
prime minister ordered the Central Bank governor to get rid of the
oppositionist’s brother.
Avetik Chalabian was arrested on May 13 on charges of trying to pay university
students to participate in daily anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan. He
rejects the charges as government retribution for his active participation in
the protests aimed at forcing Pashinian to resign.
The 49-year-old was released from custody on Wednesday one day after the start
of his trial.
Armenia Set To Start Work On New Corridor To Karabakh
• Susan Badalian
Armenia - A road sign at the entrance to the village of Kornidzor, June 7, 2022.
Armenia is due to start building next month the Armenian section of a new
highway that will replace the existing corridor connecting it with
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The five-kilometer-wide Lachin corridor became Karabakh’s sole overland link to
Armenia following the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. Armenian forces pulled out of
the rest of the wider Lachin district under the terms of the Russian-brokered
ceasefire that stopped the six-week hostilities.
The truce accord calls for the construction by 2024 of a new Armenia-Karabakh
highway that will bypass the town of Lachin and two Armenian-populated villages
located within the current corridor protected by Russian peacekeeping troops.
Azerbaijani and Turkish construction firms have been rapidly building a
32-kilomer-long highway that will link up to new road sections in Armenia and
Karabakh.
Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures said on
Friday that work on the Armenian section will start in August.
In late June, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s cabinet allocated funding for a
geodetic survey and map design needed for the road’s construction. A group of
surveyors and other construction specialists were afterwards spotted near
Kornidzor, an Armenian village close to the Lachin district.
“Surveyors came and took measurements in an area through which [the road] will
pass,” Lusine Karamian, an official from the village administration, told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“According to our information, the road will pass through fields adjacent to
Kornidzor, said Karamian.
Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, sought to allay concerns about the
loss of the current Lachin corridor and its security implications when he
addressed local legislators in June. He stressed that the route of the bypass
road built by Azerbaijan was approved by Karabakh’s leadership.
For many residents of Armenian and Karabakh villages located along the planned
new corridor, those security concerns outweigh its potential economic impact on
their communities. As one of them put it, “If you can tell me what will happen
tomorrow, I will tell you whether or not the [new] road will be good for us.”
Former Yerevan Mayor May Face Criminal Charges
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian speaks to journalists, February 15, 2019.
An Armenian government agency has asked prosecutors to investigate its
allegations of serious financial irregularities committed by Yerevan’s municipal
administration during former Mayor Hayk Marutian’s tenure.
Marutian was ousted by the city council last December after falling out with
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Just days after his removal, the State Oversight
Service (SOS), which is headed by a staunch Pashinian loyalist, began auditing
the municipality’s financial operations.
The SOS claimed late on Thursday to have found evidence of various “violations”
worth a combined 8.5 billion drams ($20 million). It said the bulk of the
alleged financial damage to the state resulted from a miscalculation of
Yerevan’s property and land tax base.
The SOS said nothing about Marutian’s involvement in the alleged irregularities.
Nor did it clarify whether it believes the ex-mayor or other Yerevan officials
personally benefited from them.
The government agency sent the findings of its inspection to Armenia’s Office of
the Prosecutor-General. The law-enforcement agency will now look into them and
decide whether they warrant a formal criminal investigation.
Marutian did not react to the allegations as of Friday afternoon. There was also
no reaction from Yerevan’s current mayor, Hrachya Sargsian. The latter served as
a deputy mayor during Marutian’s tenure.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and his My Step bloc's mayoral
candidate Hayk Marutian attend an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 20
September 2018.
Marutian, who used to be a close political ally of Pashinian, commented
scathingly on July 1 after several pro-government websites alleged that the
mayor’s office embezzled or misused otherwise as much as $40 million on his
watch. He suggested that the allegations are aimed at discouraging him from
participating in the next municipal elections.
“Guys -- and also girls -- I have made no decision yet on participating or not
participating in the next Yerevan elections. You can breathe a sigh of relief
and calm down,” the ex-mayor wrote on Facebook.
Marutian himself accused Pashinian’s administration of corruption on December 22
as Yerevan’s Council of Elders deposed him in a vote of no confidence initiated
by its pro-government majority.
He claimed that during his three-year tenure he routinely received phone calls
from unnamed “various officials” asking for construction permits, land
allocations, tax advantages and other privileges for “people close to them.” He
did not name any of them, saying only that he rejected all such requests.
Marutian, 45, is a former TV comedian who actively participated in the “velvet
revolution” that brought Pashinian to power in May 2018. Pashinian chose the
popular entertainer to lead his bloc’s list of candidates in the last municipal
elections held in September 2018
Relations between the two men deteriorated after the 2020 war over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Marutian increasingly distanced himself from the prime
minister’s political team and pointedly declined to support it during snap
parliamentary elections held in June 2021.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
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The Czech Republic supports Charles Michel’s mediation. Foreign Minister Lipavský‘s answer to ARMENPRESS
21:01,
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. The Czech Republic strictly respects international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions and expects the same from other countries, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský said during the press conference following the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, answering the question of ARMENPRESS about what the Czech Republic is doing, as a country that promotes human rights and humanitarian values, to facilitate the return of 38 Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan so far.
Lipavský also added that the Czech Republic supports the mediation efforts of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, aimed at the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
“At any multilateral or bilateral meeting, we emphasize that international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions must be respected. The Czech Republic strictly respects them and expects the same from other countries. Speaking in particular about the problem you mentioned, the Czech Republic supports the [President of the European Council] Charles Michel’s mediation aimed at the settlement of the conflict, and I think he plays a very important role,” the Czech Foreign Minister told ARMENPRESS.
ARMENPRESS also reminded that following the 44-day war that took place in 2020, many international structures have called and adopted resolutions for the immediate return of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages kept in Azerbaijan to their homeland, including the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament, which adopted a similar resolution in February, 2021.