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Author: Jagharian Tania

Turkey sends Syrian mercenaries of Nagorno Karabakh war to fight Russian forces in Ukraine – RIA

Jagharian Tania

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 17:31, 9 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. Turkey has sent the Syrian militants who stayed in Nagorno Karabakh after fighting for Azerbaijan against Armenian forces in the 2020 war into Ukraine to fight against Russia, RIA Novosti reported citing a source from the Syrian opposition.

“Turkey sent more than 2000 militants from Syria to Nagorno Karabakh to participate in the combat operations against Armenia in 2020, and the majority of these militants stayed there after the military operations ended. Turkey again sent some of these militants from Syria and other countries from Karabakh into Ukraine to participate in the conflict from the Ukrainian side,” the source told RIA Novosti.

According to the source, the militants were signed up into the foreign legion of the Ukrainian military.

Turkey recruited and sent foreign mercenaries – over 2500 – to fight for Azerbaijan against Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war. Despite Ankara denying this, the Armenian authorities have presented numerous evidence proving the participation of the Syrian mercenaries from the Azeri side in the Artsakh war. 

The Russian foreign intelligence service had also gathered information on Sultan Murad mercenaries’ participation in the Karabakh war.

The President of France Emmanuel Macron also said that his intelligence agencies have information that Turkey is sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan to fight against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh.

Earlier in 2021, the Armenian authorities said that the investigation has revealed that Azerbaijan pre-planned the war back in June 2020 and recruited more than 2000 Syrian mercenaries and deployed them via Turkey. Azeri authorities transferred payments namely to the Suleyman Shah and Sultan Murad terror groups.

Audio recordings of the Sultan Murad fighters in Nagorno Karabakh were intercepted during the war.

Two Syrian mercenaries captured by the Armenian forces were subsequently sentenced to life in prison. 

According to various reports, around 1000 Syrian mercenaries who survived the war did not leave Nagorno Karabakh.




Ombudsman: Recent cases confirm Azerbaijan’s indisputable intention to commit ethnic cleansing in Artsakh

Jagharian Tania
panorama.am
Armenia – March 8 2022


Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan on Monday issued a statement on the recent Azerbaijani provocations. Below is his full statement.

“In recent days, the Azerbaijani military-affiliated information sources have been spreading false rumors about the violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian side in various parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact. In this way, Azerbaijan wants to justify the criminal encroachments on the civilian population, and at the same time, prepare the ground for subsequent actions and provocations.

On March 6, the Azerbaijani side fired at the Khramort community of the Askeran region with different caliber firearms. Today, on March 7, at around 5:00 pm, a grenade launcher was used in the same area, the projectiles exploded near the village cemetery. There are no casualties among the civilians.

In parallel with the described operations, the Azerbaijani propaganda machine is engaged in slandering and discrediting the Russian peacekeeping forces, especially the command staff, which ensure the security of the civilian population in Artsakh.

The Azerbaijani criminal actions against the physical and psychological integrity of the people of Artsakh are systemic and directed, organized with the knowledge of the Azerbaijani authorities and by their order.

All the registered cases once again prove the direct and indisputable intention of the Azerbaijani side to disrupt the normal life of the peaceful population of the Artsakh Republic and to commit ethnic cleansing in Artsakh.”


Azerbaijani press: Baku: Use of "Nagorno-Karabakh" term by Russian MoD unacceptable

Jagharian Tania
7 March 2022 19:12 (UTC+04:00)
621

By Vafa Ismayilova

Baku has described as unacceptable the use of the term “Nagorno-Karabakh” in the Russian Defence Ministry statement in the context of humanitarian aid sent to Ukraine.

“There is no administrative and territorial unit called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Russian Federation has repeatedly declared its support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and inviolability of the borders of Azerbaijan in high-level statements. Moreover, this position was confirmed in the relevant documents signed between the two countries,” the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in a statement on March 7.

The statement stressed that contrary to Russia’s official position, “there were cases of appeals to the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan with this name” in the Russian Defence Ministry’s official statements.

“Such statements may damage Azerbaijani-Russian relations and lead to an aggravation of the situation along the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping forces are temporarily stationed,” the ministry said.

It urged the Russian Defence Ministry “to stop the practice of referring to the sovereign territories of our country under the name of administrative and territorial units that do not exist in the Republic of Azerbaijan”.

About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the trilateral cease-fire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on November 10, 2020. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw all its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s.

The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region which along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years.

On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement was set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.

On November 26, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed a statement and agreed on a number of issues, including the demarcation and delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by late 2021, some points related to humanitarian issues and the issue of unblocking of transport corridors which applies to the railway and to automobile communications.

On December 14, 2021, during the Brussels meeting, organized between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders at the initiative of European Council President Charles Michel, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to the conditions agreed in the Sochi meeting.

Both sides agreed to establish a temporary working group on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The issue of demining the liberated territories of Azerbaijan was also brought up on the agenda, and the European Union’s readiness to provide technical assistance to Azerbaijan in this regard was underlined at the meeting.

The people of Nagorno Karabakh should not be discriminated against. The speech of Armenian FM at UN HRC

Jagharian Tania

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 18:31,

YEREVAN, 28 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. On February 28, the High-level Segment of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council was held in Geneva, chaired by the Vice-President of the UN Human Rights Council, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva Andranik Hovhannisyan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia. During the session, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan delivered remarks, in which he particularly noted;

“Distinguished colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a particular pleasure for me to greet you, Mr. Vice-President, as you chair this session of the Council. I would also like to congratulate all members of the Bureau under the able leadership of Federico Villegas, the President of the Council. 

The Human Rights Council is one of the key achievements of multilateral diplomacy as it provides an indispensable platform for sustaining and promoting dialogue on human rights irrespective of various international and regional crises. This Council has been envisaged to stand for all and everyone in all times. It is the inherent dignity of human beings that we have at stake here. With so many existing and evolving crises all over the world, the human rights of people in the situation of conflicts should be of particular focus of the Human Rights Council and its special procedures. 

It is with these vision and objectives that Armenia has entered the third year of its fully-fledged membership of the Council. I believe that we have been able to prove ourselves as a trustworthy and reliable partner in reacting to and addressing the outlying thematic issues and critical country situations. We are determined to continue our contribution in a most constructive and positive manner. 

In this context I am glad to announce that Armenia intends to table anew the draft resolution on the Prevention of genocide at this session of the Council. That is a subject that Armenia has been championing for many years. Our team in Geneva is going to organize a transparent process of consultations with all interested States and other stakeholders. 

After the difficulties and political crisis after the 44-day war launched by Azerbaijan snap-parliamentary elections were held, where people of Armenia reconfirmed their commitments and devotion to the values of democracy and human rights. The international observers of the snap parliamentary elections assessed that they passed in compliance with the human rights commitments and democratic standards. Most recently in this year’s Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit Armenia was ranked as a leader of the region based on such findings as electoral process and pluralism, functioning of the government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties.

Mr. Vice-President,

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Armenia’s membership to the United Nations. I hereby reiterate my nation’s unwavering commitment to multilateralism with the United Nations at its core, and our full adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. 

It was no coincidence that the opening line of the United Nations Charter referred to “We the peoples” as the source of its legitimacy. People and their rights must be placed at the forefront and center of everything done by the United Nations as a whole. The right to self-determination has been one of the main purposes of the United Nations and use of force against this right can trigger an entire chain of human rights violations including mass atrocities and ethnic cleansing. This is something we observe during and after the war initiated by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.

The UN and its bodies have been bestowed with a universal mandate to enjoy unconditional, unimpeded, unhindered access to the people in need, wherever they are and in all circumstances. We call upon the international community to assume responsibility for ensuring unconditional access to the whole territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The UN Special Procedure Mandate Holders issued several communications to Azerbaijan raising questions with regard to the use of mercenaries, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, destruction of religious and cultural heritage in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan declined to give a proper response and in fact failed to answer to the last communications at all, in a sheer defiance to the UN Human rights machinery. 

The impunity leads to new violations. Apart from Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan continues its policy of human rights abuses now on the borderline areas of the Republic of Armenia, wherein the civilian population suffers from constant provocative actions of armed forces of Azerbaijan. This aggressive policy is accompanied by the overt violations of international humanitarian law. After 16 months of ceasefire in place Azerbaijan continues to hold 38 Armenian prisoners of war, including civilians, while the fate of hundreds of missing persons and dozen cases of enforced disappearances remain unclarified.

Mr. Vice-President,

The plight of people to whom the UN does not have access should not be forgotten. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh should not be discriminated because of their origin, language, religion, political or other opinion, national origin or other status. We strive to achieve the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the Armenians to their ancestral homes in all parts of Nagorno-Karabakh 

The provisional measures put forward by the International Court of Justice on December 7, 2021 which instructs Azerbaijan to cease racist and discriminatory policies against Armenians including destruction and vandalism of the Armenian cultural heritage should be unconditionally implemented. These measures come to prove the Anti-Armenian policies of Azerbaijan including its bellicose rhetoric, depriving the people of their means of subsistence, constantly terrorizing Armenian population and threatening with new use of force. 

Only by urgently addressing these issues will we be able to ensure stability, peace, justice and protection of universal human rights in our region. 

I thank you.”

Asbarez: Bishop Torkom Donoyan Reaffirms Prelacy’s Strong Support of ABMDR

Jagharian Tania
by Contributor

 

 February 21, 2022

 

in Community, Latest, News, Top Stories

Bishop Torkom Donoyan with the ABMDR delegation, at the Western Prelacy. Photo courtesy of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry

On June 5, prayers for ABMDR patients and families will be offered at all Western Prelacy churches.

LOS ANGELES—Western Prelate Bishop Torkom Donoyan reaffirmed the Western Prelacy’s continued support of the life-saving mission of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Bishop Donoyan conveyed his support during a meeting with a delegation of ABMDR representatives, which took place on February 11 at the Western Prelacy, in La Crescenta, California. The meeting was attended by ABMDR Board members including Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of the organization.

Bishop Donoyan commended ABMDR’s work in Armenia and across the diaspora, particularly in light of the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. On their part, the ABMDR delegation members thanked Bishop Donoyan for energetically helping advance the ABMDR mission, including making the Prelacy Hall available for ABMDR’s annual activity-planning retreat.

Bishop Donoyan informed the ABMDR delegation that, as in previous years, prayers for ABMDR patients and families will be offered at all Western Prelacy churches on June 5. Bishop Donoyan said he will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and speak about ABMDR’s activities during his sermon that day, at Holy Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church, in Encino, California. Following the church service, ABMDR representatives will be on hand to answer questions by attendees and provide information on how to join ABMDR as potential bone marrow donors.

Following the meeting with the Prelate, Dr. Jordan said, “We are deeply grateful to Bishop Donoyan for helping raise awareness of the ABMDR mission, in Armenian communities throughout the Western United States, and for his very active support of all our outreach and recruitment efforts.”

Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 32,000 donors in 44 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 38 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit the website.

Over 750 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Armenia

Jagharian Tania

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 11:06, 22 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. 753 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Armenia in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 416,510, the Ministry of Healthcare reported.

16 people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the total death toll to 8354.

5588 tests were conducted on February 21.

2075 people recovered (total 394,155).

As of February 22, the number of active cases stands at 12,408.

Editorial: Armenia’s Independence and Sovereignty Are of Paramount Importance

Jagharian Tania
by Editor

 

 February 25, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Editorial, Featured Main, Latest, Op-Ed, Top Stories

A military post along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border

The recent acceleration of processes around the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, coupled with the momentum in opening transport links with Azerbaijan and the delimitation and demarcation process pose significant threats to Armenia’s sovereignty and independence.

Armenia’s government seems to be embracing these processes that have been forced upon it as a result of the defeat suffered in the 2020 war. What we are not hearing from Yerevan, however, is any guarantees that Armenia’s sovereignty will not take a hit as these discussions move forward.

The Turkey-Armenia normalization process is fraught with dangers. Yerevan has voiced its desire to open borders with Turkey and establish diplomatic relations with Ankara, without holding that country accountable for its direct interference and aggression during the 2020 war. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government also do not seem to have a blueprint in place that will guide Armenia’s economic, strategic and security interests aside from their stated commitment and much-touted policy of “peace in the region.”

As Azerbaijan continues to threaten Armenia and Artsakh—including calling for the arrests and prosecution of current and former leaders and the appropriation of Armenian cultural heritage—Yerevan is signaling its readiness to engage in the opening of transportation routes and border demarcation processes.

Despite Moscow’s assurances, one may consider that by signing an “allied cooperation” agreement earlier this week, Putin was giving Aliyev the keys to Artsakh in return for Baku’s support for Russia’s military actions in the Ukraine—Azerbaijan’s long-time ally.

Other factors and machinations at play, which have received wider attention recently, as regional developments—the crisis in Kazakhstan earlier this year, and the more current developing situation unfolding in Ukraine—are certain to impact Armenia.

One such scheme is the Russia-Belarus Union State, which has gained momentum in the past the past several weeks, especially following the intervention by the Collective Security Treaty Organization—the CSTO—in Kazakhstan, which was approved by Pashinyan as the group’s current president. The Union State envisions the economic, security and defense integration in the hopes of forming what is being dubbed a “supranational” entity.

Earlier this month, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said during an interview that “Armenia has nowhere [else] to go,” but to join this integrated group. “Do you think anyone needs them?” While Yerevan’s reaction was tempered, Lukashenko’s remarks certainly angered the people.

This didn’t deter former president and current leader of the opposition Armenia Alliance Robert Kocharian to advocate, once again, for Armenia to join a Russia-led integrated alliance. During a press conference last week, Kocharian said that given what he thought was a pro-Turkey and Azerbaijan posturing by Yerevan, Armenia’s integration in a Russia-led union would be preferable.

Kocharian is pro-Russian. He demonstrated that during his presidency and certainly has advocated more Russian involvement/intervention in Armenia. But as someone who is leading the main opposition force in parliament, his constant advocacy for Armenia’s integration into any foreign-led alliance seems to signal that he has given up on the viability of Armenia’s independence.

Despite Armenia’s losses in the war or its current predicament, the main responsibility of the political forces actively involved in Armenia’s daily policy making must be the protection of the country’s sovereignty.

Armenia’s and Artsakh’s independence were hard won. In preserving the concept of Armenia’s independence and in establishing Artsakh’s sovereignty, thousands gave their lives for the right to a homeland and the principle of a freedoms that we are seeing tested across the world.

Independence and our homeland’s sovereignty cannot be squandered or negotiated away for expediency. They are of paramount importance and must be protected, defended and preserved at all cost.

Armenian Minister of Defense departs for Russia

Jagharian Tania

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 10:12,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. A delegation led by Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan departed for Russia on February 24, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

It added that during the visit Minister Papikyan will have meetings with his Russian counterpart Minister Sergey Shoygu and other government officials.

Armenian Justice Minister discusses legal, political and economic issues with Iran’s Vice President

Jagharian Tania

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 14:39,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Justice Minister of Armenia Karen Andreasyan and his delegation met with Vice President of Iran for Legal Affairs Mohammad Dehghan in Tehran, the ministry said in a press release.

The sides discussed the Armenian-Iranian cooperation in legal and economic areas.

The full protection of rights of Iranian nationals convicted in Armenia was emphasized during the minister’s visit.

Completing the construction of the Iran-Armenia 400 kW power transmission line, organizing the 6th meeting of experts for approving the positions of the two countries over the Persian Gulf-Black Sea multilateral deal, and many other issues were discussed.

Both sides agreed to make more efforts to develop the Armenian-Iranian relations.

Iran, Armenia explore ways to strengthen security co-op

Jagharian Tania
TEHRAN TIMES
Feb 22 2022
  1. Society
– 17:7

TEHRAN – Iranian deputy police chief Qasem Rezaei and his Armenian counterpart Aram Hovhannisyan on Tuesday discussed strengthening police interactions to guarantee the security of the two countries.

During a meeting held in Tehran, Rezaei expressed hope to enhance cooperation with Armenian police officials in various areas, announcing readiness to hold joint specialized meetings with the aim of expanding relations, IRNA reported.

Noting that the Iranian police has valuable and unique experiences in various police fields, he added that “I hope that holding such bilateral meetings, especially in border cities, will be a practical beginning to move in the direction of cooperation development.”

Today, Iran’s police services are global, and due to the sacrifices of police forces in the fight against drug trafficking, the transit of drugs to other parts of the world, especially European countries, is prevented and the discovery of more than a thousand tons of narcotics per year is evidence to this claim, he further highlighted.

Hovhannisyan also for his part said that I bow my head in respect to all the courage and sacrifice of the Iranian police officers in the fight against drug traffickers, as evidenced by the number of martyrs who have lost their lives in this way.

The main purpose of this meeting is to develop cooperation and improve the situation in various fields, especially in dealing with and combating drug traffickers, he stated, expressing preparedness to take action in this regard.

Today, we witnessed the high capabilities of the Iranian police in various fields of science, skills, tactics, specialized equipment, and I hope that by improving police interactions between the two countries, we can benefit from the highly specialized knowledge of Iran in strengthening the Armenian police, he concluded.

Iran holds world record for narcotics confiscation 

Iran holds the record for narcotics confiscation in the world, Eskandar Momeni, the director of headquarters for the fight against narcotics, said in December 2021.

However, great achievements in the field of countermeasures have been gained, and the United Nations has officially announced that 90 percent of opium, 70 percent of morphine, and 20 percent of world heroin have been discovered by Iran.

Last year, about 1,200 tons of drugs were discovered, which was the highest rate of discovery in the world,” he explained.

According to figures released by the United Nations in 2000, Afghanistan produced about 200 tons of narcotics, but in 2018, it has grown to 9,500 tons.

In other words, the production of narcotics has increased fifty times, which has doubled the need for prevention efforts, he highlighted.

Despite the conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the imposition of harsh sanctions against the country, fortunately, with the efforts of anti-narcotics police in 2020, drug detection increased by 41 percent.

After the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), 3,800 were martyred, 12,000 were wounded and disabled in the fight against drug trafficking.

The UNODC has praised Iran’s efforts to fight against narcotics trafficking on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The organization also officially announced that the world’s first place in the discovery of opium, heroin, and morphine belongs to Iran.

According to UNODC, Iran remains one of the major transit routes for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to European countries and has had a leading role at the global level in drug-control campaigns.

UNODC World Drug Report 2020 estimates that in 2018, 91 percent of world opium, 48 percent of the world morphine, and 26 percent of the world heroin were seized by Iran.

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