Armenian boxer Hovhannes Bachkov made it to the semi-final of the European Boxing Championship under way in Yerevan.
The Armenian beat Petr Novak of Czech Republic in the quarterfinals of the 63.5 kg event.
Bachkov has thus secured at least a bronze medal. In the semi-final he will face the winner of the Richard Kavac (Hungary)-Ahmad Shdivin (Israel) pair.
ArmInfo.As a pan-European civil society grassroots organization the EAFJD and its committees, representing a significant part of the European citizens of Armenian origin, express their profound discontent with the recent statement of the President of the European Council Charles Michel following the trilateral meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on 22 May, 2022, reads a statement by the Hay Dat Europe office.
Mediating for peace is necessary and welcome. Nevertheless, it is essential to ensure that peace is negotiated based on justice and not by cornering the side that has been a victim of vicious aggression of the tandem of two authoritarian regimes, such as Azerbaijan and Turkey which i.a. deployed jihadist fighters against the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh. It is unacceptable for an EU leader to mediate for peace by sacrificing the fundamental rights and needs of the oppressed side.
Unfortunately, the recent statement of president Michel disregards key principles of EU’s documented approach towards the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and overall endorses the Azerbaijani stance on the conflict resolution in some crucial aspects.
Deviating from the EU’s decade-long approach as well as that of all the relevant international documents, Charles Michel uses the vague wording “Karabakh” instead of “Nagorno Karabakh” which is a political entity with a defined territory. Thus, the President of the European Council repeats the narrative of the Azerbaijani President, insinuating that Nagorno Karabakh as an entity does not exist and is genocidal in its essence.
In March 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution by overwhelming majority on the ongoing destruction of the Armenian religious and cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh, acknowledging that “the erasure of the Armenian cultural heritage is part of a wider pattern of a systematic, state-level policy of Armenophobia, historical revisionism and hatred towards Armenians promoted by the Azerbaijani authorities”. Using the term Karabakh is clearly a part of the ongoing Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh and is genocidal in its essence.
We herewith remind Mr. Charles Michel that in his capacity as the President of the European Council he should base the mediation on the following facts and aspects:
The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the EU and Armenia (CEPA), which entered into force in March 2021, “recognizes the need to achieve that settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the basis of the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, including the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, as one of the three Basic principles.”
Any direct control of Baku over the Nagorno Karabakh inevitably means ethnic cleansing of its millennia- old native Armenian population. Hence the question of the status of Nagorno Karabakh which must reflects the democratic _expression_ of will of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh is primordial in ensuring the long-term, sustainable security of the population and guarantee their right to live in their homeland.
Unblocking transportation/communication links must be carried out in full respect of sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia. Any potential risk of creating a new ground for conflict must be excluded.
Border delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be a consequence of the use of force and must not be carried out hastily without taking into consideration all the details of its consequences.
Azerbaijan must immediately stop its state policy of Armenophobia in all its manifestations
Following inter alia by the European Parliament as well as that of a number of parliaments of the EU Member states, Azerbaijan must immediately and unconditionally release all the Armenian prisoners of war and captives.
The EAFJD also expects from the Armenian Government to insist on all the above-mentioned aspects during the negotiations.
European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy
According to the statement by President of the European Council Charles Michel following his meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, “the leaders agreed on the need to proceed with unblocking the transport links. They agreed on the principles governing transit between western Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, and between different parts of Armenia via Azerbaijan, as well as international transport through communications infrastructure of both countries. Notably they agreed on principles of border administration, security, land fees but also customs in the context of international transport. The Deputy Prime Ministers will take this work forward in the coming days.”
The statement does not contain a single word about Nagorno-Karabakh’s status. In his statement, Mr Michel used the term “Karabakh” instead of “Nagorno-Karabakh”. The statement does not mention either the trilateral agreements between the Armenian, Azerbaijan and Russian leaders or other settlement principles.
Moreover, after Mr Michel issued his statement, Google maps showed the Armenian settlements and government agencies in Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijani names.
Wednesday,
Karabakh Leaders Slam EU’s Michel
Nagorno-Karabakh - The main government building in Stepanakert, 8Jul2011.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership has accused European Council President Charles
Michel of undermining the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination after
the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani summit hosted by him in Brussels.
Michel said early on Monday that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to “advance discussions” on a
comprehensive peace treaty between their countries. He said he told them that it
is “necessary that the rights and security of the ethnic Armenian population in
Karabakh be addressed.”
Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, on Wednesday described Michel’s
remarks are “extremely unacceptable.” He said they are at odds with the “demands
and aspirations of the Armenians of Artsakh (Karabakh)” based on their right to
self-determination.
Four of the five political groups represented in the Karabakh parliament,
including Harutiunian’s party, also denounced Michel in a joint statement
released late on Tuesday. They said the European Union’s top official
effectively portrayed Karabakh’s population as an ethnic minority not eligible
for independent statehood.
Pashinian downplayed Michel’s remark on Wednesday, saying that the EU leader
simply chose wording which he thought will satisfy both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Just how accurate it was is a subject of different discussion,” the prime
minister told the Armenian parliament.
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel meets with Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian ahead of an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Brussels,
May 22, 2022.
Harutiunian revealed that he met with Pashinian early this week to discuss the
results of Sunday’s summit. He said Pashinian assured him that he will not sign
any peace deals with Baku without consulting with the Karabakh leadership.
Pashinian caused uproar in Armenia and Karabakh after his previous meeting with
Aliyev held in Brussels on April 6. He declared that the international community
is pressing Armenia to scale back its demands on Karabakh’s status and recognize
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
He signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such concessions, fuelling more
opposition allegations that he has agreed to Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.
The authorities in Stepanakert also deplored that statement.
Faced with daily anti-government protests in Yerevan, Pashinian and other
Armenian officials have said in recent weeks that the question of Karabakh’s
status must be on the agenda of planned talks on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
accord. But they have not publicly clarified whether Yerevan will insist on the
principle of self-determination of peoples.
Armenian Opposition Keeps Up Protests
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - Opposition supporters demonstrate outside the presidential palace in
Yerevan, .
The Armenian opposition on Wednesday blocked more government buildings in
Yerevan and pledged to continue its daily street protests aimed at toppling
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Pashinian said, meanwhile, that the “civil disobedience” campaign launched by
the country’s leading opposition forces on May 1 has failed to attract public
support.
“This is not against the authorities anymore, this is against the public,” he
said of the protests involving blockages of major streets and government
buildings.
“They [the opposition forces] have the following logic: ‘You don’t join us, so
you should spend more time in traffic jams, we will cause you more
inconvenience,’” he added during the Armenian government’s question-and-answer
session in the parliament.
Pashinian addressed the National Assembly hours after opposition leaders and
their supporters blocked the entrances to the presidential palace and the
adjacent building of Armenia’s Security Council for nearly three hours. Riot
police pushed back back some of the protesters who tried to scale a fence
surrounding the palace.
President Vahagn Khachaturian, who was installed by the government-controlled
parliament earlier this year, was not in the building. He is currently attending
the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Armenia - Opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelian appeals to protesters outside
the presidential palace in Yerevan, .
The opposition launched the campaign after Pashinian indicated last month his
readiness to “lower the bar” on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh acceptable to
Armenia.” Opposition leaders say the premier is prepared to help Azerbaijan
regain full control over Karabakh.
“We have at least managed to thwart a timetable through which the authorities
planned to surrender the country,” one of them, Ishkhan Saghatelian, told
reporters on Wednesday.
Saghatelian said he remains confident that the opposition will succeed in
forcing Pashinian to step down. It will “keep up the tempo and step up the
pressure” on the government, he said.
Later in the day, a larger number of opposition supporters rallied in Yerevan’s
southern Shengavit district before marching to the city center where the
opposition set up a tent camp on May 1.
Envoy Inspects Russian Troops In Strategic Armenian Region
Armenian - Russian border guards stationed in Syunik province are inspected by
Russian Ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin, .
Russia’s ambassador to Armenia, Sergei Kopyrkin, inspected on Tuesday Russian
troops stationed in Syunik at the start of his latest visit to the Armenian
province bordering Iran and Azerbaijan.
According to the Russian Embassy in Yerevan, Kopyrkin visited two Russian
military outposts at local sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and spoke
with Russian border guards serving there about their “day-to-day combat and
training activities”.
The commander of the border guards deployed in the strategically important area
briefed him on “the operational situation developing in this section of the
Armenian border,” the embassy said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The statement said that at the entrance to Syunik’s administrative center Kapan
Kopyrkin was greeted by unnamed officials from the municipal administration. It
said they thanked Russia for its contribution to the region’s security and
economic development.
Moscow deployed soldiers and border guards to Syunik during and after the 2020
war in Nagorno-Karabakh to help the Armenian military defend the province
against possible Azerbaijani attacks.
Armenia - Russian Ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin meets with Russian military
personnel in Syunik, .
Armenia and Azerbaijan are to reopen their border to commercial and passenger
traffic under the terms of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped their
six-week war in November 2020. The deal specifically commits Yerevan to opening
rail and road links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly claimed that it calls for an
exterritorial land corridor that would pass through Syunik. Armenian leaders
deny this, saying that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo cannot be exempt from
Armenian border controls.
Iran has likewise stated that Armenia must have full control and sovereignty
over all roads passing through its territory. Tehran underscored its interest in
Syunik when it announced last December its decision to open an Iranian consulate
in Kapan.
The U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, Lynne Tracy, also visited Syunik on Tuesday.
According to the provincial administration, she discussed with Syunik Governor
Robert Ghukasian ways of supporting the region through socioeconomic and
educational projects.
Armenian Parliament Approves Another ‘Curb On Press Freedom’
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia - Deputies from the ruling Civil Contract party attend a session of
parliament, Yerevan, February 9, 2022.
Ignoring strong objections from press freedom groups, pro-government lawmakers
pushed through Armenia’s parliament on Wednesday a bill that empowered state
bodies to withdraw the accreditation of journalists.
An Armenian law on mass media has until now not allowed the parliament, the
prime minister’s office and other government agencies to revoke such
accreditations typically valid for one year.
Under amendments to the law drafted by two deputies from Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, the authorities will now be able to strip
reporters of their press credentials if they are deemed to have violated
“working rules” of relevant bodies twice within a year.
The amendments prompted strong criticism from many journalists and media experts
when they were first circulated in April. Critics believe that the authorities
want to bar “undesirable” journalists from covering parliament sessions, cabinet
meetings and other major events.
“Today they may not like the behavior of journalists, tomorrow they may not like
the way journalists are dressed, and afterwards they may not like press coverage
and criticism of their work,” Ashot Melikian of the Yerevan-based Committee to
Protect Freedom of Speech said after the parliament controlled by the ruling
party approved the amendments in the first reading.
Speaking during a parliament debate on Tuesday, Civil Contract’s Artur
Hovannisian, a co-author of the legislation, again denied that it constitutes a
new restriction on press freedom in Armenia. He argued that media outlets will
be able to quickly replace their reporters stripped of accreditation.
The pro-government lawmaker said earlier that the amendments are primarily
directed at parliamentary correspondents. He claimed that they have frequently
insulted and even “threatened” members of the National Assembly.
Pashinian’s political team had already been denounced by Armenian media
associations as well as Western watchdogs such as Freedom House and Amnesty
International for tripling maximum legal fines for “slander” and making it a
crime to insult state officials.
Dozens of government critics have been prosecuted for offending Pashinian and
other officials since the corresponding amendments to the Armenian Criminal Code
took effect last September.
Pashinian’s party was also widely criticized for seriously restricting last
summer journalists’ freedom of movements inside the parliament building in
Yerevan.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
15:44,
YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. On May 21, 2022 in the frame of the project “The story of an exhibit” the visitors of the first memorial musical museum of Armenia were represented two unique exhibits: the model of the Araratian Patriarchal Diocese residence with the audio guide in three languages and the Manifesto of the Emperor Alexander II with a video entitled “Spendiarovs – hereditary honorary citizens of the Russian Empire” in two languages.
Following the tradition of the Museum Night, the visitors tasted the “Cocoa according the recipe of Spendiaryan.”
In the frame of the all European event the second project of the House-museum was the “Meeting at the balcony of the composer.” The guests of the project were the pianist, RA Honored artist Hayk Melikyan and producer Alexander Plato Hakobyan. They shared their experience and career advices with the young musicians – scholarship recipients of the “Music For the Future Foundation” in the warm and friendly atmosphere.
Every year an evening open-air concert takes place at the Alexander Spendiaryan House-museum yard in the frame of the “European Night of Museums.” This year was no exception.
The participants of the event were the vocal soloists and folk ensembles – the students of the Yerevan Music School named after M. Mirzoyan, State Musical Pedagogical College after A. Babajanyan, State College of Culture and Arts named after C. Aznavour and Komitas State Conservatory Chair of Jazz/Pop music. The concert was dedicated to the 120th birth anniversary of Artemi Ayvazyan – the founder of the Armenian Jazz music and the student of Alexander Spendiaryan. The program included Armenian folk music and favorite Jazz-pop compositions by the Armenian composers. During the concert the directors of the House-museum and the College of Culture – Marine Otaryan and Vrej Kirakosyan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two institutions.
Several opposition deputies meet with Armenian police chief Vahe Ghazaryan.
Parliament Vice Speaker, representative of the ARF Supreme Council Ishkhan Saghatelyan said at the police building that the Resistance movement has no problems with the police, their problem is Nikol Pashinyan, whose main support is the police.
“You must serve the Republic of Armenia, not this madman,” Saghatelyan said.
Saghatelyan presented the demands of the Resistance movement. The first is to suspend the activities of the police and hold them criminally liable for the use of violence against protesters and deputies these days.
The second is to find out who gave instructions and guarantees to police officers who acted illegally.
The third demand is addressed to the chief of police. Members of the Resistance movement demand that the chief of police condemn the barbaric actions committed these days. The last requirement is a meeting with the chief of police.
11:24, 18 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. The French city of Montpellier renamed a town park Armenia Park (Parc d’Armenie) in celebration of the Armenian-French friendship.
Montpellier Mayor Michaël Delafosse and the Armenian Ambassador to France Hasmik Tolmajian inaugurated the park near the Montpellier City Hall.
Ambassador Tolmajian praised the initiative and described it as an homage to the strong friendship between Armenia and Montpellier, which began from the Middle Ages when active contacts were established between the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the historic French province of Languedoc. In this context the ambassador also mentioned the solemn reception of the Armenian King Levon V in Montpellier.
In her remarks the ambassador also thanked the Montpellier Mayor and the City Council for the adoption of a resolution recognizing the independence of the Republic of Artsakh after the 2020 war, for the protection of the people of Artsakh and their rights.
She also noted the active work of the Armenian community of Montpellier.
The Ambassador underscored the important contribution of Professor Gérard Dédéyan of the Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III in strengthening cooperation between Armenia and the city of Montpellier in the past decades.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Brussels on a working visit.
The Prime Minister will have a private talk with the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
The trilateral meeting of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is is also expected today.
Catholicos Aram I departs for Egypt to attend general assembly of Middle East Council of Churches
10:43,
YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, departed for Cairo, Egypt, on May6 16 to participate in the general assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches, His Holiness Aram I said in a statement on social media.
Catholicos Aram I will participate in the general assembly as an honorary guest.
All churches of the Middle East will attend the assembly with their delegations.
The delegation led by Catholicos Aram I consists of 5 people.
17:12,
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Armenia could take place in between October-December of 2022 and the trip will be a state visit, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.
Speaking at a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tajikistan, the Armenian FM said that now the details and exact timeframes of the visit are being clarified.
“The planning of President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s state visit is on our agenda. There is an understanding that it will take place in the second half of this year, in the period of October-December. The timeframes are still being clarified, of course,” Mirzoyan said as quoted by RIA Novosti.
Earlier in April, Putin Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan’s invitation to visit Armenia in 2022.