Author: Hagop Kamalian

Azerbaijani president, Blinken discuss opening roads for cargo delivery to Karabakh

Hagop Kamalian
 TASS 
Russia – Sept 6 2023
The President of Azerbaijan said that after the opening of the Agdam-Khankendi road, the Lachin-Khankendi road can also be opened “with the application of the rules of the customs and border regime of Azerbaijan”

BAKU, September 6. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed opening roads so that cargo could be delivered to Karabakh during a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the press service of the Azerbaijani President reported.

According to it, the conversation took place on the initiative of the US side on September 1. “During the telephone conversation, views on issues related to the opening of the Aghdam-Khankendi and Lachin-Khankendi roads were exchanged. President Aliyev emphasized that the notorious separatist regime Armenia has created and supported in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan deliberately prevents the opening of Aghdam-Khankendi road as well as creates artificial obstacles for its use. <...> Azerbaijan’s President noted that this denial to use Aghdam-Khankendi road is political manipulation, and the statements about the humanitarian or food crisis in this territory are deliberate lies,” the report says.

The Azerbaijani president also said that after opening Aghdam-Khankendi road, Lachin-Khankendi road can also be opened “with the application of the rules of customs and border control regime of Azerbaijan”. Aliyev also emphasized that Armenia’s delivery of cargoes to the Lachin border checkpoint, which it claims have humanitarian purpose, without coordination with the Azerbaijani side “is interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and disrespect for its territorial integrity and sovereignty.” “The Azerbaijani president noted that such a policy severely harms the negotiations on the peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan,” the report states.

According to the press service, Blinken announced that he would continue efforts aimed at signing a peace treaty and normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He emphasized that the US has been keeping in direct contact with Baku and the Karabakh Armenians.

According to the Armenian side, the Lachin corridor, which is the only land route from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, was blocked by a group of Azerbaijanis on December 12, 2022. Baku then officially established a checkpoint on the border with Armenia near the Hakari Bridge. The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly declared its readiness to provide the Armenian population of the region with everything they need via the Aghdam-Khankendi highway.

New military service option for women launched

Hagop Kamalian

 11:53,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of Armenia announced on August 29 that applications are open to women who want to join the military for the new service option.

In June, parliament approved a bill enabling women aged 18-27 to voluntarily join the military for a 6-month service.

The recruits will serve in the training military bases.

Servicemembers will receive a 1,000,000 AMD remuneration upon completion of the 6-month service. After completing the term, recruits will have the voluntary option of renewing their contract for another 5 years under the Homeland Defender contract service option.

Armenpress: Real Sociedad manager praises newcomer Arsen Zakharyan after first match

Hagop Kamalian

 11:42,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, ARMENPRESS. Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil praised newcomer Arsen Zakharyan after his first performance for the Spanish La Liga club against Las Palmas which ended in a draw.

“Honestly he surprised me,” Alguacil told reporters. “Not in terms of the level but how he’s adapted to the team,” the head coach added, praising the Russian-Armenian footballer. He said Zakharyan will become a great player in the future.

Russian national team midfielder Arsen Zakharyan, 20, joined Real Sociedad on August 19. He signed a contract with the club until the end of the 2028–29 season. Zakharyan played for FC Dynamo Moscow for three years before that.

Family Rescue Fund Supports Armenian Community

Hagop Kamalian
Aug 14 2023
ByKennedy Zak
August 14, 2023

Since its founding in 2014, Family Rescue Fund — a Glendale-based nonprofit — has worked to support the Armenian community in both Armenia and in the United States through health, social and educational programs as well as supporting veterans from the Artsakh war.
Naz Atikian, president and founder of FRF, began the organization after returning to Armenia since immigrating to the United States in 1985. While Atikian had gone back to Armenia many times, her 2014 trip impacted her greatly.
“When you go into the city [in Armenia], it is so beautiful. Everything is so nice,” she told the News-Press. “You don’t even think for one minute how many poor people we have living in Armenia in villages.”
The organization began with the goal of providing under-resourced Armenian families with the bare essentials: housing, clothing, etc., but expanded its mission as more opportunities for assistance presented themselves, said FRF’s former treasurer of the board, Arminé Chaparyan.
“With each transition in needs, Family Rescue Fund has been phenomenal like a chameleon in transitioning our role and trying to cater to the population that needs our help at that time,” Chaparyan told the News-Press in reference to the organization’s efforts to support soldiers during and after the Artsakh war in 2020.
Partnering with the Zinvori Tun Rehabilitation Center in Armenia, FRF provided the funds for the establishment of the first center dedicated to treating soldiers with severe craniocerebral injuries, which was completed in 2022. Additionally, FRF helped renovate 12 rooms in the center’s surgical unit, as well as houses and apartments of soldiers who returned from war with a disability that required their home be adapted to their new condition. FRF also sponsors dance classes at the center for military veterans as a form of art therapy to promote mental health.
Jacqueline Tomasian, vice president of FRF, emphasized the importance of the organization’s ties to both the U.S. and Armenia. In addition to its work with the Zun Tun Rehabilitation Center, FRF has donated $50,000 to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in Little Armenia. The organization also donates money to Armenian schools in California to allow for the implementation of programs and projects to encourage students to embrace their Armenian heritage.
“We are citizens of this country, so we are American and at the same time, we never forget our heritage in Armenia,” Tomasian told the News-Press. “Our responsibility is to help in America with the all the organization we can do, and also go back home and do whatever we can do there. It’s a combination.”
Tomasian, who recently returned from a mission trip to Armenia, discussed the importance of getting young people involved in the organization’s outreach efforts, adding that many college students from UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley gain valuable experience from these trips. She recalled her son saying he learned more in 10 days working with FRF than he did in a whole semester at UCLA.
FRF prides itself on being 100% volunteer based, meaning no one gets a paycheck, said Atikian. The organization’s mission to provide relief and resources to Armenian families and veterans is enough to attract both members and donors, said Chaparyan.
“We’ve been able to attract a very strong, steady working group of individuals, whether you’re on the board or on a committee, it’s a working group because it’s boots on the ground,” Chaparyan said. “Everyone’s expected to roll up their sleeves and be a part of all the initiatives.”
Family Rescue Fund has 17 board members, 12 volunteers on a committee and 14 youth members.
Dee Chorlian, Atikian’s sister and FRF board member, boasted that the organization is made up of professional, savvy women.
“We’re all ladies by the way,” she told the News-Press. “We used to have some guys, but I think the woman power was too strong.”
The community trusts FRF because its transparent nature allows donors to choose which program their money is going to and actually see the results, she added.
FRF relies on donations as well as funds and materials generated by their various fundraising events, such as winter coat drives, annual galas with silent auctions, holiday events and the opportunity to adopt a child in Armenia for the holiday to provide toys and support. Brands such as Versace and Vista Alegre have donated items to be auctioned at FRF events, said Chorlian. The organization’s November 2022 gala raised more than $200,000 alone.
Atikian expressed her gratitude for how much the organization has been able to accomplish over the years.
“The thing is, we do so much. Sometimes when you want to talk about it, it’s so much that people don’t believe you can establish something like that,” she said. “But we do it somehow. God gives us the strength and God gives us people who are willing to donate, and we do it.”

First published in the August 12 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.


Asbarez: Artsakh Calls on International Rights Groups to Take Action Beyond Words

Hagop Kamalian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 August 9, 2023

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan on Wednesday called on influential international rights groups, which have already voiced concern about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Artsakh to take more succinct action to prevent a genocide.

“Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, Global Center for Responsibility to Protect, International Committee of the Red Cross, special rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council, Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide, International Association of Genocide Scholars and a number of other human rights activists expressed their position during this period,” said Stepanayan.

“The statements of all humanitarian and human rights organizations unanimously demand the authorities of Azerbaijan to stop blocking the Lachin corridor, ensure the free and unhindered transportation of people, goods and vehicles along the corridor, and put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh,” added the rights defender.

“The Azerbaijani authorities scornfully and brazenly respond to the statements of all the organizations and blatantly show disrespect for everyone as if everyone is lying, only they are right,” Stepanyan explained. “Azerbaijan’s behavior once again demonstrates the simple truth that Azerbaijan has neither the will nor the desire to fulfill the obligations it has assumed at the international level. Furthermore, it openly and in front of all these structures, it continues to pursue a policy of genocide against the people of Artsakh.”

“The assessments of the international human rights organizations should not remain on paper. These addressed statements must become the basis for the positions of various states and international structures on saving the people of Artsakh from starvation, ethnic cleansing and genocide. That is why these structures were created to prevent mass atrocities and violations of human rights,” emphasized Stepanyan.

“The human rights activists have expressed their stance; it is the turn of the political decision-makers in the international arena to prove that they will not allow the criminal authorities of Azerbaijan to question the authority of the international human rights and humanitarian organizations,” urged the rights advocate.

“Otherwise, the indifference shown and disregard for authoritative opinion will lead to irreversible human consequences in which international actors will be directly responsible for complicity,” Stepanyan said.

Armenia: Government must put an end to online harassment of journalists

Hagop Kamalian
International Federation of Journalists
July 31 2023

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join its affiliate in Armenia, the Union of Armenian journalists (UAJ), in condemning the campaign of insults and harassment launched by government supporters on social networks and in certain online media following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s press conference in Yerevan on 25 July, in a climate of tension following the events in Karabakh. We call on the Armenian authorities to publicly denounce these threats and to prosecute and punish the perpetrators.

Credit: Union of Armenian Journalists (UAJ).

Among others, journalists Ani Gevorgyan and Hripsime Jebejyan have been the target of death threats and threats of physical violence. The journalists’ union condemned a concerted and deliberate attack by activists close to the government and by some public officials. UAJ also accused the Prime Minister of having encouraged this online hate campaign. The union has referred the matter to the human rights defender of Armenia, Anahit Manasyan.

“Journalists work under conditions of real terror,” said UAJ President Satik Seyranyan. “They are really in danger”. The EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez called on the Armenian authorities to publicly denounce these threats and to identify, prosecute and punish the perpetrators, especially if they are official representatives of the public authorities.

The IFJ Deputy General Secretary Tim Dawson declared: “Harassment on social media seriously affects journalists’ mental health and their ability to do their jobs. Armenian government ministers should condemn these attacks and work to allow reporters the freedom to carry out their work”.

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries


https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/armenia-government-must-put-an-end-to-online-harassment-of-journalists

Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs to meet in Moscow

Hagop Kamalian

 18:04,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian side agreed to the proposal of a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan in Moscow, Ani Badalyan, spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, told ARMENPRESS.

“The Armenian side agreed to the proposal of a meeting at the level of foreign ministers in Moscow,” said the spokesperson.

The ministry will inform about other details.

A few days ago, the Russian side reaffirmed its willingness to organize a tripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow to discuss ways of implementing the agreements, including the topic of the agreeing on a peace treaty.




Erdogan’s foul play: Turkey is teaming up with Azerbaijan to punish Armenia

Hagop Kamalian
By Sam Brownback and Michael Rubin – – Monday,

OPINION:

As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins his third decade in power, he has solidified his place as Turkey’s second-most consequential leader after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the republic a century ago.

With the opposition disempowered if not in disarray, Mr. Erdogan now seeks to fulfill his lifelong ambition: the complete and permanent reversal of Ataturk’s legacy of modern reforms.

American and European officials who believe, with the election in the rearview mirror, that they can return to business as usual with Turkey are dangerously mistaken. The issues that concern Mr. Erdogan most are neither interest rates at home nor Swedish NATO accession abroad, but rather laying the groundwork for the renewal of an Islamic state if not formal caliphate.

Just as Russian President Vladimir Putin considers the downfall of the Soviet Union the 20th century’s greatest “geopolitical catastrophe,” Mr. Erdogan believes it was the Ottoman Empire’s collapse.

None of this is idle speculation. Mr. Erdogan has said exactly what he wants.

He has described himself as the “imam of Istanbul” and as “servant of Sharia.” He declared that his goal is “to raise a religious generation.” He has described Turkish forces invading Syria as the “Army of Muhammad.” The reconversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque did not occur in isolation.

The latest foul play by Mr. Erdogan involves Armenia, the world’s oldest Christian nation. As Mr. Erdogan seeks to extend the reach of the Turkic and Islamic world from Turkey’s border with Greece and Bulgaria to China, Armenia, a country just slightly larger than Maryland, stands in his way.

Today, Mr. Erdogan believes he has found his moment to reverse this geopolitical inconvenience. The Turks tried more than a century ago, wiping away more than a million Armenians in a genocide Adolf Hitler cited as an inspiration for the Holocaust.

Armenians say it was no coincidence that Turkey’s chief ally, Azerbaijan, used Turkish-piloted, U.S.-provided F-16s while operating alongside Turkish special forces to launch a surprise attack in September 2020 on the Armenian-populated enclave Nagorno-Karabakh.

The attack came on the 100th anniversary of the Ottoman invasion of newly independent Armenia.

That the two countries act in conjunction is no surprise. Both leaders often describe their relationship as “one nation, two states.” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev today is to Mr. Erdogan what Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is to Mr. Putin. Mr. Aliyev is essentially Mr. Erdogan’s Mini-Me.

Today, Russia plays a cynical game. Traditionally, it guaranteed Armenia’s security. But in 2018, Armenia committed what Mr. Putin considers an unforgivable sin: choosing democracy. Today, Mr. Putin sides with Messrs. Erdogan and Aliyev to punish Armenia’s transgression.

The situation now comes to a head. As the Biden administration seeks to negotiate peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mr. Aliyev demands the 120,000 Christians of Nagorno-Karabakh become sacrificial lambs.

Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor that allows the free flow of aid and people in and out of the Christian enclave. Russia had been the guarantor, but now it looks away.

Messrs. Erdogan and Aliyev are sophisticated. Genocide occurs best in the dark, so he bans journalists and diplomats from Nagorno-Karabakh, so that his propaganda need not confront truth.

After the Holocaust, the world said, “Never again.” Fifty years later, after the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica despite supposed international protection, diplomats swore again, “Never again.”

Today, Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional capital, Stepanakert, is becoming the new Srebrenica. The region’s Christians need action, not empty rhetoric.

The Biden administration seeks to broker peace, but lasting peace rests on values. If democracy will triumph and Nagorno-Karabakh Christians are to survive on land they have lived on for millenniums, the West needs more than words.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jul/17/erdogans-foul-play-turkey-is-teaming-up-with-azerb/

Fortunately, Congress already has the necessary policy arrows in its quiver.

Rather than look the other way or waive Section 907 restrictions on providing Azerbaijan military equipment it uses against Armenians, it is time to stop subsidizing slaughter. Azerbaijan’s promises to help Ukraine are as irrelevant as they are cynical.

Like Turkey, Azerbaijan plays both sides of the issue and today serves as a hub for Russian gas exports.

The Safeguarding Humanitarian Corridors Act has no waiver. If Azerbaijan blocks U.S. humanitarian assistance, it must face severe sanctions. Azerbaijan is also ripe for Magnitsky Act sanctions, including those that enable corruption or bless human rights violations.

To act against Azerbaijan but ignore Turkey is akin to treating the symptom but ignoring the disease. It is time to declare Mr. Erdogan’s ambition as incompatible with Western democracy and cooperation. If Lachin remains closed, Turkish steel and aluminum should face American tariffs.

The U.S. presence at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base should not be a “get out of jail free” card for Mr. Erdogan. Alternatives exist in Romania and Greece. It is time to pull the plug on Incirlik.

Most importantly, the United States must focus on the forest and not the trees. Religious freedom and democracy are not chits to negotiate away to win an agreement that will not last a month.

Standing on principle is not diplomatic inconvenience; sometimes, it is the wisest diplomacy of all.

• Sam Brownback is a former U.S. senator, governor, and ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom. Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.


AW: National Funeral Service to be held for Prof. Richard Hovannisian

Hagop Kamalian
 Guest Contributor Obituaries 0

Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, a paragon of enlightenment and learning from one century into another, passed away on July 10, 2023, at UCLA Hospital, on the same university campus where he taught for 60 years.

The community wake will take place on Wednesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. at Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church, located at 900 W. Lincoln Ave., Montebello, CA 90640.

The national funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 22 at 11 a.m. at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, located at 2226 Ventura Ave., Fresno, CA 93721.

Prof. Hovannisian is survived by:

Son, Raffi and Armenouhi Hovannisian, children and grandson
Son, Armen and Elizabeth Hovannisian, children and granddaughter
Daughter, Ani and Armenio Kevorkian and children
Son, Garo and Arsineh Hovannisian and children
Sister-in-law, Nazik Kotcholosian Messerlian and family
Brothers John, Ralph and Vernon Hovannisian families (Fresno-Visalia)
In-laws, Takouhi Khatchikian family
Zabel Aranosian family
Seda Artounians family
Zohrab Kevorkian family

And all relatives, friends, colleagues and students.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Orran (Center for Underprivileged Children in Armenia), c/o 2217 Observatory Ave., Los Angeles CA 90027 or the Richard G. Hovannisian Scholarship Fund/Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School, c/o 101 Groverton Place, Los Angeles, CA 90077.

“It’s time to sound the alarm”: NK Armenians start an indefinite nationwide movement

Hagop Kamalian
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Perpetual nationwide movement in NK

From 9 am in the capital of the unrecognized NKR, the first rally of an indefinite nationwide movement began. Its purpose is to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis that arose in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the blockade. Since December last year, the Azerbaijanis have blocked the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting NK to the outside world and Armenia. Since June 15, the import of even humanitarian goods has been banned.

On the eve of the beginning of an indefinite struggle for their rights, the State Minister of the unrecognized republic Gurgen Nersisyan invited the entire population to join the action, as it is an opportunity to “bring all the actors to their senses.”

“What are you waiting for? Do you want us to have the bodies of people who died of hunger and cold every day on this square in order to react? During the action, Nersisyan addressed this question to the international community, Russia and Armenia.

After the rally on Vozrozhdeniye Square, the rally participants went to the representative office of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the headquarters where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is stationed.

The demand was presented to the ICRC: “To transfer objective information about the current situation to international structures, without succumbing to the pressure of the Azerbaijani Armenian people that started the genocide.”

The demand to “unblock Artsakh and put an end to the humanitarian catastrophe” was made to Russian peacekeepers. The protesters intend to set up tents in front of the headquarters of the RCC and wait for the decision of the commander.

  • “Baku has no motivation to make concessions”: expectations of the meeting in Brussels
  • “Yerevan strengthens security ties with the US” – Secretary of the Security Council
  • “Armenia’s withdrawal from the CSTO will bring Ukraine’s victory closer” – Armenian political scientist

Since June 15, Azerbaijan has stopped allowing even humanitarian cargo to enter the region, which it previously allowed to transport in a small amount. This happened after an unsuccessful attempt to hoist the Azerbaijani flag on the Khakari bridge.

At the rally, it was announced that people are surviving on internal resources, but they are not inexhaustible.

According to MK Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan, the blockade has reached a critical point and the lives of 120,000 people are in serious danger:

“Our people are under a real and undeniable threat of malnutrition, starvation, ethnic cleansing, openly carried out by Azerbaijan, forced enslavement and genocide.”

Speakers said that every day the situation is becoming more critical:

  • Azerbaijan cut off the supply of gas and electricity from Armenia,
  • communities, one by one, are deprived of the possibility of supplying drinking water to residents,
  • in the villages people have become “captives”, the only connection with the capital is telephone calls,
  • intercommunal transport flights are stopped,
  • children are not fed in kindergartens,
  • Hospital patients are given small portions of food.

“In a few days they won’t be able to go to the call of an ambulance, it will be impossible to provide people with even the most basic medicines and any medical assistance,” someone at the rally announced.

Baku accuses the Red Cross of transporting “smuggled goods”: mobile phones, cigarettes and gasoline. Criminal case initiated, BCP “Lachin” closed until the end of the investigation

The rally participants chanted appeals to the international community: “Open the road to life”, “No to the blockade of Artsakh”, “Prevent the impending catastrophe”. They brought posters with them to the action. “International recognition of Artsakh is a guarantee of regional peace and stability,” was written on one of them. On the other was the inscription “Azerbaijan took hostage 120,000 Armenians.”

Appeals were made in English and Russian to prevent ethnic cleansing and genocide of Armenians in NK.

Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan stressed that the time has come to sound the alarm. He called on

  • Russian peacekeepers: “Fulfill your obligations to ensure peace, a prosperous life, as you promised our people at the highest level”;
  • compatriots living in Armenia: “Stand up for the defense of Artsakh, do not leave the inhabitants of Artsakh alone”;
  • Armenians living outside of Armenia: “Prevent a new genocide of the Armenian people, make the world, at least this time, take responsibility for the fate of the Armenians. Everywhere they said: “We will never allow genocide again.” Make them stick to their own statements.”

The former defense minister of the unrecognized NKR, Samvel Babayan, said that it was necessary “to start a direct dialogue with Baku, establish trust, and then discuss other problems.” Commentary on Babayan’s statements

According to the Ombudsman, such statements have been made in recent months by various international actors.

“But while fears and concerns are being expressed in words, 120,000 people are being subjected to inhuman hardships. It is one thing to talk about human rights in beautiful and luxurious halls, it is another thing to prove the protection of these rights by practical steps. It is time to stop talking and start taking urgent and concrete actions to prevent the tragedy in Artsakh.”

On June 15, Azerbaijan banned not only the movement of people, including patients in need of specialized medical care, but also the import of humanitarian goods.

The Ombudsman also touched upon the status of the region and the right to self-determination:

“Artsakh has earned the right to self-determination. The high price paid in all the Artsakh wars, the suffering for 7 months of blockade are shocking facts confirming that we cannot live as part of Azerbaijan.

Let everyone who still has illusions about this answer the question: was it possible to imagine the life of the Jews in Nazi Germany? Yes, Azerbaijan is the same Nazi country, whose society is completely saturated with hatred and enmity towards the Armenians.”

https://jam-news.net/perpetual-nationwide-movement-in-nk/