Author: Hovhannisian John

Russian Defense Ministry: 168 explosive devices defused in Karabakh in past day

Hovhannisian John
TASS, Russia
Nov 27 2020
Apart from that, the Russian peacekeepers are helping peaceful life to get back on track and are also overseeing the return of refugees

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Russian peacekeepers have found and destroyed 168 explosive devices in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Friday.

“In the past 24 hours, 168 explosive devices were found. They were taken to a specially equipped training ground and destroyed,” the Defense Ministry said adding that two power transmission lines and four cell towers had been cleared up from mines.

Apart from that, the Russian peacekeepers are helping peaceful life to get back on track and are also overseeing the return of refugees.

“In the past 24 hours, 1,777 people returned to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia,” the Defense Ministry said, underscoring that a total of 18,968 refugees had come back since November 14.

Apart from that, the ministry said that military doctors are being deployed to the region.

“A complex assessment has been carried out into the operation of Nagorno-Karabakh’s medical institutions in conditions of COVID-19 epidemic requirements,” the ministry added.

The Defense Minister pointed out that the ceasefire holds along the entire contact line.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian peacekeeping contingent is based on the 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Central Military District. Russian observation posts are deployed along the contact line and to the Lachin corridor, which links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The Stepanakert-based command of the peacekeeping operation monitors the situation round-the-clock.


Armenia, Artsakh Ombudsmen complete 4th report on Azerbaijani atrocities against Armenian captives

Hovhannisian John

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 17:57,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Ombudsmen of Armenia and Artsakh Arman Tatoyan and Artak Beglaryan have finished the 4th closed report on atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against captured ethnic Armenians and corpses in the period from November 4 to 18, Ombudsman Tatoyan said on Facebook.

“We have finished the 4th closed report on atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against captured ethnic Armenians and corpses. It is the 4th report covering only torture and cruelty and refers to the period from November 4-18. We have already started preparation of the 5th report.

This report provides concrete evidence of all atrocities and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces. All these were committed only because people were ethnic Armenians. These are the result of the Azerbaijani state supported policy of hate speech in Azerbaijan.

The report contains evidence and analysis confirming the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide through terroristic methods in Artsakh.

P.S. We do not publish the content of the report given the severity of atrocities and torture committed by Azerbaijan. It will be submitted to international bodies, as well as to relevant state bodies of Armenia”, the Ombudsman of Armenia said.

Pashinyan sees need for continuation of activity of OSCE MG Co-Chairmanship

Hovhannisian John

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 16:36,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sees need for continuation of the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

“This is one of the key issues of the agenda. We are in contact with the President of France on this topic, we also discuss that situation and possibility with the Russian President. In my view, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship’s activity should continue”, the PM said during a Q&A session in the Parliament.

He said the activity of the Co-Chairmanship format should continue in order for all issues to be solved properly.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

CivilNet: Armenian Opposition Leader Released Despite Coup Charges

Hovhannisian John
CIVILNET.AM

04:10

Artur Vanetsyan, Armenia’s former National Security Service (NSS) director and current leader of the Fatherland (Hayrenik) opposition party, was released from custody on Sunday despite being charged with plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and overthrow Armenia’s government.

Vanetsyan and three other opposition members were arrested on Saturday. All four have been charged, but they reject the accusation as politically motivated.

Vanetysna’s Fatherland party is one of 17 Armenian opposition groups that have launched protests against Armenia’s prime minister for capitulating to Azerbaijan. The opposition parties demand Pashinyan’s resignation. The prime minister dismisses the accusations and says he signed the end of war agreement with Azerbaijan and Russia to stop further territorial losses and to save the lives of thousands of soldiers.

Nonetheless, the opposition has pledged to continue demonstrations in Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

NSS says they have found large amounts of weapons in a property belonging to Ashot Minasyan, one of the arrested. He is the commander of a volunteer military group that took part in the war. NSS on Sunday also publicized what it says is a wiretapped phone conversation between Minasyan and the two other suspects, Vahram Baghdasaryan and Ashot Avagyan, in which they discuss ways to assassinate Prime Minister Pashinyan and seize power.

Baghdasaryan is a member of former ruling Republican Party that was overthrown during the 2018 “Velvet Revolution”, and Avagyan is affiliated with the oppositional Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Ethnic Armenians set fire to their homes rather than hand them to Azerbaijan

Hovhannisian John
EuroNews
Nov 14 2020
By Anelise Borges  & Euronews  •  last updated: 14/11/2020 – 11:03

A resident in the town of Karvachar watches his home burn after setting it on fire   –   Copyright  Euronews

He set fire to it himself after learning that it now lies in a region ceded to Azerbaijan in a ceasefire brokered by Russia to end recent hostilities with Armenia.

“I don’t want to leave something for terrorists – who killed my brothers and sisters and who stole my home from me,” Vahe told Euronews.

Other ethnic-Armenian residents in the town did the same thing, taking what belongings they could manage then setting fire to their own homes rather than hand them over to Azerbaijan.

On November 9, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to cease armed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh the following day.

As part of the settlement, Azerbaijan gained control over several territories that include the town of Karvachar.

A 13th-century monastery, sacred for Armenians, is also to be handed over as part of the deal.

  • Armenian PM defends Nagorno-Karabakh truce amid protests in Yerevan
  • Russia and Turkey to jointly monitor Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire

For residents of the region, destruction and loss are things they are too familiar with. It was the site of a bloody war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the 1990s.

At the time, Armenians expelled Azeris from land they claimed as theirs, embarking on a cycle of violence that had continued ever since.

Hayrapet Margaryan, a resident of the Armenian capital Yerevan, is a veteran of the violence in the 90s.

For him, the accord may have stopped the war, but will not be enough to bring about peace.

“For peace, we need to have justice,” Hayrapet told Euronews. “We live in the 21st century and as Europe talks about justice, honesty and humanism all the time, we also need it here. Only with justice, will people be able to live in peace.”

Watch Anelise Borges’ report in the video player above.


Gagik Tsarukyan detained by National Security Service

Hovhannisian John

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 12:56,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan, the head of the Prosperous Armenia Party, is being detained by the National Security Service.

Prosperous Armenia Party lawmaker Iveta Tonoyan told reporters in central Yerevan during a rally that Tsarukyan is being taken to the NSS headquarters. “We don’t know the charges, we don’t know why he is being taken there,” she said.

Dozens of protesters are detained amid an anti-government rally in central Yerevan.

The rally is organized by 17 political parties demanding the resignation of the Pashinyan administration over the conditions of the Karabakh armistice.

“Dear citizens, during the active martial law in Armenia, organizing or participating in rallies and strikes is banned,” police said, demanding the demonstrators to stop the rally and disperse.

The parties who called for the rally include the Republican Party of Armenia, Prosperous Armenia Party, the ARF, Fatherland, National Security, Freedom, National Agenda, National Democratic Union, National Consent, Alliance Progressive Centrists, Democratic Alternative, Yerkir Tsirani, Solidarity, Democratic Liberal Union of Armenia, Christian-Democratic Union, One Armenia, and Constitutional Rights Union.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Another Azeri drone shot down

Hovhannisian John

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 12:11, 9 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Another Azeri unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by the Artsakh military early Monday morning, Armenian Ministry of Defense representative Lt. Colonel Artsrun Hovhannisyan said.

The Azeri military has lost a total of 265 UAVs since September 27.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Russia sees threat of formation of a terrorist enclave in South Caucasus

Hovhannisian John

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 18:41, 5 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The deployment of international terrorists from the Middle East to Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone seriously disturbs Russia, since such developments is pregnant with the threat of formation of terrorist enclave in South Caucasus, ARMENPRESS reports official representative of the MFA Russia Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on November 5.

‘’According to information we receive, at this moment members of international terrorist organizations whose hands are in full blood, are being transported from the Middle East to Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. I am talking about mercenaries with a radical disposition who bear jihadist ideology. All these cannot leave us unconcerned, since such developments is pregnant with the threat of formation of terrorist enclave, this time already in South Caucasus”, Zakharova said.

She added that Russia made an announcement about this immediately after receiving relevant data.

UN Rights Chief Warns of Possible War Crimes In Karabakh

Hovhannisian John

November 2,  2020



U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of possible war crimes in the the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

Michelle Bachelet on Monday expressed alarm at continuing indiscriminate attacks in populated areas in and around the border region, in contravention of international humanitarian law, despite a recent agreement by the two sides.

“Since the conflict reignited in September with the terrible consequences we are now seeing, there have been repeated calls, including by myself, for the parties to take all feasible steps to avoid, or at the very least minimize, the loss of civilian life and damage to civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals – as well as to distinguish civilians from combatants, and civilian objects from military objectives,” she said.

“International humanitarian law cannot be clearer. Attacks carried out in violation of the principle of distinction or the principle of proportionality may amount to war crimes, and the parties to the conflict are obliged to effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate such violations and to prosecute those alleged to have committed them.”

The High Commissioner also expressed serious concern over videos which appear to show war crimes being committed.

Although she said fake images have been circulated on social media, in-depth investigations by media organizations have uncovered “compelling and deeply disturbing information” surrounding videos what appeared to show Azerbaijani troops summarily executing two captured Armenians in military uniforms.
The willful killing of protected persons represents a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, the international treaty which established the standards for humanitarian treatment during war time.

Bachelet explained that while such an incident would constitute a war crime, only a competent court can determine and rule on this.

With the fighting taking place amid rising cases of COVID-19, the UN rights chief underscored the direct threat to public health, adding that “the fighting is also strikingly in opposition to the UN Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire amid the pandemic.”

Bachelet reiterated her call for all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, abiding by the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution, and avoiding the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

“As the loss of life continues and the suffering of civilians deepens, I appeal again for an immediate halt in the fighting and urge all parties to abide by a humanitarian ceasefire and engage in negotiations to find a peaceful and durable solution to this conflict that has wrought so much destruction in the region,” she said.

Armenian forces confidently carry out their task on front line – Tonoyan meets with US Ambassador

Hovhannisian John

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 18:22,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Davit Tonoyan received Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Lynne Tracy.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MoD Armenia, the U.S. Ambassador expressed concerns over the non-compliance with the ceasefire agreements and hoped that the diplomatic efforts will give result.

At the request of the Ambassador, the Defense Minister of Armenia presented the process of the military operations and the situation on the front line, specially emphasizing the fact of the involvement of foreign servicemen and mercenaries in the operations.

Davit Tonoyan noted that under the light of the absence of the ceasefire, the Armenian forces continue to carry out their tasks with confidence. He underlined the ceasefire can be possible to achieve only in case of applying verification mechanisms on the ground.