Author: Hovik Karapetian

Op-ed: Azerbaijan may conduct a counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh [Azeri Opinion]

Hovik Karapetian

Feb 8 2022


Azerbaijan may carry out counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh

Baku again once again cited the non-implementation of one of the conditions of the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020. According to one of the clauses of the document, the Armenian armed forces must leave the part of Karabakh, where the Russian peacekeeping forces are temporarily stationed. Political observer Agshin Kerimov believes that in order to fulfill this condition, Azerbaijan can conduct a counter-terrorist operation.

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The other day, the Azerbaijani media published a video in which, allegedly, the Armenian armed forces stationed in that part of Karabakh, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, are digging trenches. They carry out these works under the guise of the Russian peacekeepers. The video was filmed near the Agdam region, which returned under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the second Karabakh war.

It is noted that the Azerbaijani side protested about the incident and demanded that the peacekeeping forces stop similar illegal actions.

According to Azerbaijani political observer Agshin Karimov, such incidents leave official Baku no other way but to make the Armenian armed forces withdraw from Karabakh by force.

“In fact, nothing is being done to implement the conditions of the 4th paragraph of the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020.

According to that clause, the Russian peacekeeping forces were to be deployed in Karabakh in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces.

But more than a year has passed, and not only do we not see the withdrawal of illegal armed forces from the zone of responsibility of the peacekeepers, on the contrary, they are building up their forces.

I think this is happening for two reasons:

  • The Armenian armed forces in Karabakh do not obey the will of the Armenian leadership. And this state of affairs plays into the hands of Yerevan;
  • The illegal Armenian armed forces in Karabakh are under the patronage of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Regardless of the reason that led to this state of affairs, Azerbaijan’s patience is not unlimited, and, at some point, Baku may resort to the use of military force.

The Russian peacekeepers themselves claim that the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Karabakh is not their responsibility. This condition is stipulated by the tripartite statement, but the peacekeeping contingent is not authorized to implement it.

This factor also indicates that the 4th paragraph of the document, which put an end to the second Karabakh war, can be implemented directly by the Azerbaijani side. It will be impossible for illegal Armenian armed formations to resist the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

I think that in the future it is impossible to exclude the need to conduct a counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh”, Kerimov said.

The Patriarch of the Armenians in Turkey visited Ecumenical Patriarch in Phanar

Hovik Karapetian
Feb 9 2022
Feb 09, 2022 | 10:23

 

in Carousel Front Page, Ecumenical Patriarchate


The Ecumenical Patriarch welcomed yesterday, Tuesday, February 8, 2022, with cordiality the Patriarch of the Armenians in Turkey Mr. Sahak Maşalyan and his honorable entourage.

The Armenian Patriarch also expressed his wishes to the Ecumenical Patriarch for the new Year, as until today this has not been possible, since the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Armenian Patriarch, fell ill with the COVID-19.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Ecumenical Patriarch received the young men and women of Greek Diaspora attending higher education, to whom he awarded scholarships to enhance their studies, as well as His paternal wishes and His Patriarchal blessing for a fruitful academic career.

The short ceremony was attended by the Metropolitans Athenagoras of Kydonia, Hierarchical Head of the Bosporus Region and Forty Churches Andreas, Hierarchically Head of the Large Community of Stavrodromi George Papaliaris, President of the Association for the Support of Greek Community Foundations, with members of the Board and other Community members.

Abdullah Ocalan: Symbol of 100 years of Kurdish resistance

Hovik Karapetian 
Green Left
John Tully
February 6, 2022
Since his kidnapping by Turkish military intelligence in Nairobi in
1999, Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan has
endured almost 23 years of imprisonment. For much of that time he has
been confined on Imrali island, in the Sea of Marmara, without any
contact with family or friends.
His jailers hoped that by slamming shut the prison doors, the world
would forget about Ocalan’s existence. But for millions of Kurds and
their supporters around the world, Ocalan is a living symbol of
resistance to a century of oppression by the Turkish state.
According to the Turkish government, Ocalan is a terrorist. The
Australian government agrees, listing the PKK as a terrorist
organisation.
The listing was originally made in 2005 by the John Howard Coalition
government after a visit by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the autocratic
Turkish leader. It has been periodically renewed since then, including
by Labor governments. The listing was made for purely opportunistic
political reasons. Government justifications simply do not add up.
The PKK is not and never was a threat to the security of Australia,
nor that of any other outside of the Turkish state. Several European
courts, including the highest Belgian court, have ruled that the PKK
cannot be treated as a terrorist organisation. Instead, it is a party
to an armed conflict with the Turkish state.
Under Ocalan’s leadership, the PKK launched an armed struggle against
the Turkish state in 1984. It has since declared several unilateral
ceasefires and, in 2013, Ocalan was permitted to join peace talks. He
continues to advocate for a peaceful solution to an intractable
conflict.
Originally formed as an orthodox Marxist-Leninist party with the aim
of creating an independent Kurdish state, the PKK has since taken a
different approach under Ocalan’s intellectual guidance. Ocalan argues
that given the ethnic plurality of Turkey and the Middle East, the
solution to the century-long oppression of the Kurds and other
non-Turkish populations lies in what he calls “democratic
confederalism” — autonomy with full rights for all peoples.
This shift did not, however, cause the Turkish government to back away
from its determination to maintain Turkey as the ethnically pure
political-cultural organism envisaged by Kemal Ataturk at the time of
the inception of Turkish Republic in 1923. Ever since, the Kurdish
people have endured cultural and, at times, physical genocide.
In recent times, the Erdogan government has stepped up repression both
inside and outside the boundaries of the Turkish state. Thousands of
Kurds have been arrested and many killed, especially members of the
pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party. Cities in heavily Kurdish areas
have been bombed.
The Turkish military has also invaded and occupied the mainly Kurdish
regions of Rojava in northeast Syria, ethically cleansing towns and
cities and collaborating with Islamist terrorists, including ISIS. The
Kurdish-speaking Yazidis over the border in Iraq have also been
targeted by Turkish troops.
Yet world governments and much of the media continue to avert their
eyes from Turkey’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Kurds have a well known saying that they have no friends but the
mountains. But they do have many friends around the world, including
in trade unions, left-wing and green parties, and other organisations
of civil society: people who have seen the injustice heaped on the
Kurdish people and are determined to help end it.
Key to fighting such oppression is to demand governments take the PKK
off the terror list and call for the immediate release of Ocalan, so
that he can lead the struggle for peace with justice for the Kurdish
people in Turkey and neighbouring states.
Prison has not broken Ocalan, nor stopped his brain from working. In
his prison cell, he has written a stream of original books and
articles dealing with many aspects of Kurdish freedom and broader
human emancipation.
Central to this is his insistence that “a society can never be free
without women’s liberation”. His watchword is that “you must believe
before everything else that the revolution must come, that there is no
other choice”.
*
[John Tully is a historian and activist with Australians For Kurdistan.]

Police detain drivers protesting in Yerevan’s Republic Square

Hovik Karapetian
panorama.am
Armenia – Jan 31 2022

SOCIETY 13:17 31/01/2022 ARMENIA

Armenian police detained a group of drivers protesting against the increase in car insurance premiums in Yerevan on Monday.

The drivers were detained after blocking traffic in the central Republic Square.

Also, their cars were removed from the square with the use of tow trucks.

The rise in car insurance costs will take effect in Armenia starting from February 7. 

About 200 monuments discovered in Karabakh in 2021

Hovik Karapetian
  News.am  
Armenia – Jan 25 2022
(PHOTOS)
10:50, 25.01.2022

The State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has summed up 2021, assessing it as a difficult year for the Service.

As a result of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020, about 2,000 monuments have remained in the occupied territories.

In 2021, work was carried out to preserve, popularize, and study historical and architectural immovable monuments, historical environment, and other cultural treasures, as well as to monitor and collect information on the condition of monuments in the Azerbaijani-occupied territories.

During the reporting year, about 200 monuments were discovered in the Martakert and Askeran regions—including cross-stones, tombstones and church-chapels, some of which containing inscriptions and others containing important information.

Negotiations the best way to finding solutions: Armenian President talks to Sky News Arabia

Hovik Karapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 21 2022
, 14:47

 1 minute read

There is no better way of finding solutions in a conflict situation rather than talking, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

“But unfortunately in real life, when Armenia and Azerbaijan had a talking platform and opportunity – the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship – we didn’t succeed and ended up with a war, the worst case scenario,” the President said.

He noted that thousands of young lives were lost, while talking, diplomacy, negotiations could have solved the issue without these young people losing their lives.

The President hopes the ongoing negotiations will lead to sustainable, pragmatic peace, but adds that “it’s difficult.”

As for Armenia’s relations with Turkey, President Sarkissian reiterated there is no way other than talking. He adds, however, that signing any agreement with Turkey is difficult without the support of the Diaspora, which was mostly created as a result of the Armenian Genocide.

“Armenia is a small state, but a much bigger nation. There are as many Armenians living in the US and Russia as in Armenia,” the President said.

“I hope that one day Armenia and Turkey will succeed, but in order to succeed, we cannot ignore the historic facts. To succeed we need to be pragmatic to achieve sustainable relations,” President Sarkissian noted.

Turkish press: ‘Ankara, Baku thwart threats, cooperate in region effectively’

Hovik Karapetian
 ANKARA JAN 16, 2022 – 12:50 PM GMT+3

Azerbaijani and Turkish flags hang side by side on the Kayseri castle, Kayseri, Turkey. (Shutterstock Photo)

Turkey and Azerbaijan have been influential in thwarting threats and have been cooperating in a wide range of areas thanks to their historical and brotherly ties, Baku’s envoy to Turkey Rashad Mammadov said Saturday.

Speaking at the Ankara-based Strategic Thinking Institute (SDE), a think tank, Mammadov underlined that the Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood constitutes a model.

Mammadov recalled that even though Azerbaijan remained as part of the Soviet Union for 70 years, “we still did not lose our identity, customs, traditions, values and relations.”

Expressing that his country’s relations with Turkey are more than just normal interstate relations, Mammadov mentioned the projects that Azerbaijan has accomplished together with Turkey, and shared as examples the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway project.

Pointing to the importance of Turkey in realizing these projects, Mammadov indicated that these not only serve the needs of Baku and Ankara but everyone.

“There will be no Azerbaijan without Turkey, and Turkey will be weak without Azerbaijan,” he said.

Noting that Azerbaijan has invested $19.5 billion in the energy sector alone in Turkey, Mammadov said, “Who sees the benefits of the defense industry of Turkey’s Defense Ministry? We see it. The Azerbaijani army was founded on the Turkish model.”

Referring to the importance of the Organization of Turkic States, Mammadov said that this organization is “natural” and that the citizens of these states want this organization.

The two countries on Friday marked the 30th anniversary of the resumption of relations between Ankara and Baku. “Today, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the reestablishment of our diplomatic relations with friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

“After three decades, today, there is a much stronger Turkey and much stronger Azerbaijan, whose fraternity and close cooperation is also the assurance for peace and stability in their common region,” it added.

Relations reached new highs with the signing of the Shusha Declaration last year, which was ratified to enhance cooperation and promote stability in the region in the wake of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Shusha Declaration focuses on defense cooperation, promoting stability and prosperity in the region, and establishing new transportation routes.

The declaration affirms joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats. It also pledges joint efforts for the restructuring and modernization of their armed forces.

It came after clashes erupted in September 2020 between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan when the Armenian Army launched attacks on Azerbaijani civilians and forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. Turkey staunchly supported Azerbaijan in its fight.

During the 44-day conflict, which ended in a truce on Nov. 10, 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages in Nagorno-Karabakh from a nearly three-decade occupation.

The two countries also closely cooperate within the scope of the Organization of Turkic States as well as in establishing the 3+3 Caucasus Platform, which envisages further integration and cooperation in the region.

Ankara has made frequent calls for a six-nation platform comprised of Turkey, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, saying it would be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus.

Turkey believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation among the states and people of the South Caucasus region.

Russia similarly hailed efforts with Turkey in easing tensions in the South Caucasus that were mainly rooted in tensions between Baku and Yerevan.

Russia on Friday said its initiatives with Turkey helped improve the situation in the South Caucasus and solve the region’s prevailing political problems

Moscow has always supported a proposed 3+3 format, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“We immediately saw a very good unifying potential in this initiative and immediately … we advocated that our Georgian neighbors should also be involved in this process, proceeding from the fact that the more opportunities for communication, the better for solving the remaining problems,” said Lavrov, speaking at an annual press conference evaluating the foreign policy developments of the past year.

Georgia did not attend the first 3+3 meeting in Moscow and announced that it will also not participate in the next round expected to be held in Turkey.

Underlining that this format would help develop the entire region, Lavrov said: “We support these efforts, we actively participate in them, they contribute to the normalization of the situation in the South Caucasus and help create conditions for the remaining political problems to be solved much more actively and fruitfully through, among other things, economic cooperation between the three countries of the South Caucasus and their three large neighbors – Russia, Turkey and Iran.”

All the necessary steps are being taken to return the shepherd who appeared on the Azerbaijani side – MoD

Hovik Karapetian

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 20:05,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. The resident of Tegh community of Syunik region took the s flock to a pasture and appeared on the Azerbaijani side, ARMENPRESS reports the information about this was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Armenia in a conversation with .

 The Defense Ministry assured that all necessary steps are being taken to return the shepherd.

Sports: European Figure Skating Championships: Armenia’s Slavik Hayrapetyan qualifies for free skating

Hovik Karapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 12 2022

Armenian figure skater Slavik Hayrapetyan was placed 19th in the short program of the men’s competition at the European Championships 2022 under way in Tallinn.

The result means he advances to the free skating on Friday. The Armenian will perform 6th on January 14.

Ice dance pair Tina Garabedian-Simon Senecal also participate in the championship.

Turkey demands banning Netflix because of Armenia map in its historical borders

Hovik Karapetian
 NEWS.am 
Armenia – Jan 10 2022

18:01, JANUARY 10

In a multi-part film about the events of World War II, Armenia was shown in its historical borders, including the territory of modern Turkey, ermenihaber.am reported.

The first to draw attention to this fact was the Turkish Maritime and Global Strategy Center (Türk DEGS), which considered this fact an assault on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Turkey.

The issue was also touched by the pro-government newspaper “Yeni Akit”, which refers to the opinion of many unhappy Turkish citizens, demanding that the Supreme Council of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (RTÜK) to take action and impose the most severe sanctions on Netflix.