Wednesday,
Armenia Mourns Victims Of Yerevan Market Explosion As Search For Survivors
Continues
Armenia’s national flag on a government building in Yerevan flying at half-staff
with a black ribbon as the country observes a two-day mourning for victims of
the August14 market explosion.
Armenia is mourning the victims of the Surmalu market explosion in Yerevan in
which at least16 people died and more than six dozen others were injured on
August 14, as rescue works continue to search for missing people.
The government has declared August 17 and 18 days of national mourning for the
victims.
Floral tributes near the scene of the August 14 explosion at the Surmalu market
in Yerevan.
National flags at government buildings have been lowered to half-staff as people
brought floral tributes to the scene of the tragedy.
The cause of the blast is still being investigated.
Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Artush Grigorian said on August 17 that
workers were focusing all their efforts on finding any survivors under the
debris.
Of the 16 bodies so far recovered, 15 have been identified. Two people are
considered missing, but ministry officials believe that the unidentified person
found dead might be one of them.
Emergency Situations Minister Armen Pambukhchian said earlier that authorities
“practically ruled out” terrorism as a cause of the incident.
A blast and subsequent fire at Surmalu sent a towering cloud of smoke over the
Armenian capital on August 14, videos shared on social media showed.
The explosion was in an area where fireworks and other pyrotechnics are stored.
Russia Decries ‘False Accusations’ In Armenian Media Over Yerevan Market Blast
• Nane Sahakian
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) receives Russian Ambassador to
Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin in Yerevan, May 27, 2022.
The Russian embassy in Armenia has sent a note to the South Caucasus country’s
Foreign Ministry over what it described as “false accusations” related to the
recent explosion and fire at a Yerevan market in which at least 16 people were
killed and dozens others were injured.
“We are outraged by the cynical fake reports in the local media, containing
blasphemous and false accusations against Russian structures in connection with
the August 14 tragedy at the Surmalu shopping center,” the embassy said in a
statement released on Wednesday.
“We consider this as a direct provocation by the political forces behind such
insinuations aimed at undermining Russian-Armenian allied relations. We expect
the Armenian authorities to take steps aimed at preventing such unfriendly
manifestations, including necessary public comments,” it added, without naming
any political party or group or referring to any particular media report.
The Russian embassy stressed that through the Russian-Armenian Humanitarian
Response Center “the Russian side has been involved in the work on the
elimination of the consequences of the tragedy from the very first minute.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry or other officials have not yet publicly responded
to the note sent the Russian embassy.
Vahan Hunanian, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service that “if there is a comment on the statement of the Russian
embassy, it will be published, and journalists will get to know about it.”
Although the Russian embassy did not name any political party or group in
Armenia that made accusations against Russia over the Surmalu explosion, it may
have referred to the extra-parliamentary National Democratic Axis (NDA) party,
whose senior member Hayk Martirosian in one of his interviews claimed that there
were suspicions that the explosion was actually a terrorist act.
A supporter of the NDA in a Facebook post also claimed, referring to Armenia’s
current position in the processes over Nagorno-Karabakh, that “the Russians will
blow up half of Armenia with fireworks until it capitulates.”
Garegin Chukaszian, a representative of the Sasna Tsrer group who is also a
member of the NDA board, however, said that he would not believe that the
Russian embassy meant their political force unless there was a specification
from a state-run Russian news agency.
Garegin Chukaszian
“It wasn’t a direct accusation, because if you make a direct accusation you have
to prove it. But if the hat fits, well, let them wear it,” he said.
On August 16, the NDA issued a statement not directly concerning the Surmalu
incident. In that statement the party said that “false alerts about bombs
planted in state and public facilities pursue a clear goal of sowing panic and
creating chaos.” The NDA went on to say that it believed that the actions were
“being guided and managed from one center, the colonizer, whose goal is to
create panic ahead of a new concession.”
Chukaszian confirmed that Sasna Tsrer and the NDA believe that foreign forces
are behind these actions that he claimed are aimed at diverting public attention
from upcoming “ethnic cleansings” against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Sasna Tsrer representative referred to fact that Armenian residents of two
villages situated along the Lachin corridor, which links the region to Armenia
and is controlled by Russian peacekeepers deployed in the area under the terms
of a Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, have
been told to leave their homes until the end of the month. The villages are to
be handed over to Azerbaijan as part of the ceasefire agreement.
August 17 and 18 are declared days of national mourning for the victims of the
Surmalu market explosion in Armenia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the world leaders who responded to
the news of the deadly explosion and fire at the Yerevan market by sending his
condolences to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Pashinian Ally Advocates Ban On Sale Of Fireworks In Armenia
Armenia - Tigran Avinian, a member of the Civil Contract party board. Yerevan,
.
A senior member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political party has spoken
in favor of banning the sale of fireworks in Armenia three days after a major
explosion and fire at a fireworks warehouse in a popular market has killed 16
people in Yerevan.
“That tough decision must be made,” said former deputy prime minister Tigran
Avinian on Wednesday, speaking to reporters near the site of the tragedy in
which dozens of other people were injured on August 14.
Avinian, whom Pashinian’s Civil Contract party plans to nominate as a mayoral
candidate in next year’s municipal elections in Yerevan, said that he believed
that the use of fireworks in Armenia must be limited to official events
organized by state or local government bodies.
“This [tragic incident] is an occasion for us to think about making changes in
our culture of celebrating our birthdays, holding baptism and wedding parties
when it comes to the use of fireworks,” Avinian said.
Armenian Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchian said late on
Tuesday that according to preliminary information up to four tons of explosive
materials were stored within the premises of the Surmalu market, which is
located within just two kilometers from the center of Yerevan.
Earlier the minister said that ignition and fire in a small area likely had
caused a powerful explosion in the fireworks warehouse that triggered a massive
blaze in the sprawling market. While it is still unclear what exactly caused the
explosion, Pambukhchian said Armenia’s authorities “practically ruled out”
terrorism.
A partially collapsed three-storey building of a fireworks warehouse at the
Surmalu market in Yerevan. .
It took firefighters more than two days to contain the fire. As of Wednesday
morning, rescuers were still looking for one missing person inside a three-story
building of the warehouse that had partially collapsed as a result of the
explosion and fire.
Armenia declared two days of national mourning on August 17-18 for the victims
of the explosion.
Avinian, who came to the scene of the tragedy today to lay flowers there in
memory of the victims, reminded that the issue of limiting the use of fireworks
in Armenia was already discussed by the government in 2021. He said that the
issue is likely to be raised in the parliament when lawmakers reconvene after
their summer recess in September.
“I hope that for our society, for our city this was some sobering moment,”
Avinian said, acknowledging that a possible ban on the private use of fireworks
will also concern a large business sector that he said will also need to be
“listened to.”
In a Facebook post on August 16 Avinian also stressed that the sale of fireworks
and firecrackers should be banned in Armenia. Earlier, on the day after the
explosion, pro-government lawmaker Arsen Torosian, who served as Armenia’s
health minister in 2018-2021, also made a similar post on Facebook.
Reposted 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.
Author: Kalantarian Kevo
Iran responds to EU proposal on nuclear deal – IRNA
10:28,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. Iran delivered its response to the latest draft of the potential deal in Vienna which was proposed by the European Union, calling for flexibility from the United States’ side to achieve a final deal to resume implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), IRNA news agency reports.
Iran responded to the latest draft deal proposed by the EU early on Tuesday. What is perceived from the comments made by the Iranian negotiating team suggests that the disagreement is over three issues, two of which have been orally accepted by the US, but Iran insists on including them in the text.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council convened yesterday evening, discussing the issue in detail. The council made a decision on Iran’s stance on the EU’s proposed draft and the final response was delivered.
Mohammad Marandi, an aide to Iran’s negotiating team, said in a tweet that the outstanding issues could be solved and a possible deal is even closer.
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said Washington would do so and deliver its response to the EU. However, he noted that the US was ready to implement the JCPOA if Iran did the same.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said yesterday that Iran has shown enough flexibility and the US knows this and that it was the US’ turn to show flexibility this time.
Media reports say that the EU has received Iran’s response, but they have yet to make an official statement.
Iranologist: To overcome the current situation, Armenia have to coordinate its efforts with Tehran and Moscow
ARMINFO
Armenia – Aug 8 2022
David Stepanyan
ArmInfo. The Armenian leadership needs to significantly intensify existing contacts with Iran, bearing in mind the fact that the Baku regime is constantly trying to get closer to the latter, primarily because of Aliyev’s desire to neutralize the challenges and threats emanating from Iran. Vardan Voskanyan, Head of the Chair of Iranian Studies at YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
“Against such a background, Armenia’s inactivity cannot be justified by anything, including the current crisis of state institutions in our country. The reasons for the crisis are understandable, but it is also clear that these reasons will sooner or later go away along with the authorities that initiated them. In this light, it is very important that its successors realize the need to restore and strengthen the country,” he said.
In this vein, returning to the policy of Azerbaijan, the Iranian specialist noted the obviousness of its preparation for war, rather than peace. According to his estimates, even today Aliyev is using any opportunity for a war, the final goal of which is the de-Armenization and absorption of Artsakh and the ripping off territorial pieces from Armenia. And thjis implies the immediate restoration of Armenia’s security system. Meanwhile, it is precisely the military-political relations with Iran that are part of it. A clear confirmation of this is Tehran’s repeated confirmations of the territorial integrity of Armenia. According to Voskanyan, all programs, actions and steps of Armenia should be based on the state of war in which the country is. From the fact that there is no end to the pressures and creeping aggression of the neighboring dictatorial state and will not be seen, at least until a worthy rebuff from the Armenian side. It is necessary to start forging at least now, if this has not been done a long time ago.
“We understand that Russia still occupies a dominant position in the South Caucasus. Accordingly, the need to deepen Armenia’s relations with Iran dictates to our leadership to put aside the provincial nimbleness and to form a trilateral platform for cooperation between Armenia, Iran and the Russian Federation. In other words, it is Armenia that, in turn, can become a place for the deepening of relations between the Russian Federation and Iran, taking into account and trying to compare and harmonize the interests of Tehran and Moscow, rather than trying to play on their contradictions,” the Iranologist summed up.
Praying for the peace of souls of the blast victims: Catholicos Karekin II
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 15 2022
It is with deep pain that we follow the tragic consequences of the explosion at Surmalu shopping center, said His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
“We pray from the bottom of our hearts for the peace of the souls of the victims, we ask for comfort and consolation of the Holy Spirit for their families and relatives. We also pray for the speedy recovery of all the injured, wishing them God’s care and support,” the Catholicos said.
“May the Almighty God help and protect our country and people,” he added.
Three people were killed and over 60 were injured as a powerful explosion hit Surmalu market in Yerevan. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 19 people are missing.
Newspaper: Investments made in Artsakh’s Aghavno village despite knowing that residents should leave it
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 11 2022
10:01, 11.08.2022
YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: Residents of 3 Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] Republic settlements—Aghavno, Berdzor, and Sus communities—must vacate their native dwellings by August 25.
The rationale is that after the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020—which was signed between RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, RF [(Russian Federation)] President Vladimir Putin, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev—when Russian peacekeepers were deployed on the Artsakh-Azerbaijani border, it was already clear that these territories will also be handed over [to Azerbaijan]. That is, it became known about [Armenians] leaving these territories still about two years ago, but during this time, a large number of investments were made, a school, a kindergarten were rebuilt in Aghavno [village]. According to Zhoghovurd daily’s information, we are talking about an investment of about 300 thousand US dollars from non-state funds.
In a conversation with Zhoghovurd daily, Aghavno village head Andranik Chavushyan confirmed our information that various investments were made in the village during this period, but he did not mention the exact amount.
It turns out that even knowing that the residents should leave Aghavno, investments were made there, whereas instead those funds could have been directed to the improvement of other cities in Artsakh—not playing with people’s emotions in vain.
Camp Javakhk: The best decision I’ve ever made
Pascale Baghdisar at Camp Javakhk 2022
I decided to sign up with Birthright Armenia in December. A few emails and some paperwork later, I arrived in Armenia on April 30. I volunteered in Yerevan for one month and two months in Gyumri. While I was still volunteering in Gyumri, I heard about Camp Javakhk through other Birthright Armenia participants. I signed up as soon as I heard about it, not knowing much about Camp Javakhk other than the FAQ posted on their website. Was this an impulsive decision? Definitely. But, it was honestly the best decision I’ve ever made.
I returned to Yerevan to meet the other camp counselors and embark on this crazy and unexpected journey with them. One night out and a long bus ride later, we finally reached Tbilisi. I still had no idea of the journey I was embarking on, but I knew I was in good company. Another bus ride later, we finally made it to Akhalkalak, our last destination.
Pascale Baghdisar leading the youth of Camp Javakhk 2022
I have nothing but positive things to say about Akhalkalak. I think the people here are incredibly warm and inviting. People greet us in the streets and offer us their help all the time. I think Akhalkalak is a very welcoming city, unlike Montreal, where I am from. It is also common to see kids playing in the streets at all hours of the day and even at night.
I have been a scouts leader for five years now, and I have volunteered in a day camp in Gyumri for a month; but honestly nothing could have prepared me for Camp Javakhk. There is just something special about the kids here. They are genuinely happy to be there and even happier that they get to meet us. I loved playing, singing and dancing with them. I have so many fond memories of them: a very intense dodgeball game, a second Vartavar and a soccer match where the kids told me I should not play with them because I was “worth at least two players.”
Camp Javakhk staff 2022
I was in Akhalkalak for only a week, but it is a week I will always remember fondly. I think that Camp Javakhk is all about what energy you put into it, and the kids always reciprocate it. I hope I left as much of an impact on these kids as they had on me. This is not a goodbye; this is a see you again, Camp Javakhk!
Camp Javakhk staff 2022
AW: Hand In Hand repairs mobile dental vehicle to reach rural residents of Artsakh
STEPANAKERT—Hand In Hand is dedicated to delivering free dental services to the people of Artsakh. Our clinics are located in Stepanakert, Martuni, Martakert, Karmir Shuka and Yerevan and are run by a team of 23 full-time local staff totally dedicated to the service of the Artsakh population. In total, the clinics see more than 11,000 visits on average every year for free.
A casualty of the 2020 Artsakh war was one of two mobile clinics lost in the occupied territory. This winter, Hand In Hand finished a $9,000 renovation of the remaining mobile vehicle making access to the rural villagers possible again this spring once the snow and ice melted off the alpine roads. It will run March/April through October/November, weather permitting.
Hand In Hand mobile clinic
The vehicle allows for village children and some displaced adults to get checked by a dentist for preventive care instead of letting dental problems continue. Hand In Hand offers comprehensive care, including complete exams, cleaning, x-rays, fillings, extractions, sealants and space maintainers.
The mobile clinic provides therapeutic, minor surgical and oral cavity disease prevention services to the population villages of Artsakh. The vehicle has full facilities for comprehensive dental treatment, including a chair, light, handpiece delivery unit, compressor, suction and digital x-rays, computer and dental software and sterilization equipment and supplies.
In addition to providing care, our staff also shares knowledge about nutrition as well as oral hygiene instruction in each village, which will serve people for their entire lives.
Presently, the mobile clinic is being stationed in Stepanakert, outside of our office, to care for the displaced children.
Hand In Hand’s vision is for all the children and people of Artsakh to have strong oral health that will save them pain, money, poor health and set them up for confidence and well-being throughout their lives.
All services provided by Hand In Hand are made possible by the generous support of donors, making them absolutely free to the people of Artsakh.
Three soldiers killed in renewed Nagorno-Karabakh fighting
Al-Jazeera – Qatar
Aug 4 2022
Deadly clashes between Azeri and Armenian troops draw immediate calls for de-escalation from world powers as tensions simmer in wake of 2020 war.
At least three soldiers have been killed by a fresh outbreak of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting international calls for an immediate de-escalation.
Two Armenian servicemen died and 14 others were wounded when Azerbaijani troops fired grenade launchers and used attack drones, in alleged violation of a ceasefire deal that halted a 2020 war, the army of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic said on Wednesday.
The Azeri defence ministry, for its part, accused Armenia of having grossly violated the truce agreement by committing an act of sabotage that killed one of its soldiers.
It said Karabakh troops had targeted positions in the Lachin corridor, a strip of land that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia through Azerbaijan and which is under the supervision of Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region in the wake of the conflict two years ago.
“As a result, those fighting for the illegal Armenian armed formations were killed and injured,” the ministry said in a statement, demanding all Armenian troops pull out of the area and promising “crushing” countermeasures if necessary.
Baku said its forces had also beaten back an Armenian attempt to capture a hill in an area controlled by the Russian peacekeepers.
The Azerbaijani army later said it conducted an operation dubbed “Revenge” in response and took control of several strategic heights in the region.
In response, Armenia’s foreign ministry said Azerbaijan had violated the ceasefire by launching an attack in areas controlled by the peacekeepers. In a statement, it said Yerevan wanted the international community “to undertake measures towards halting the aggressive behaviour and actions of Azerbaijan”.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-old dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.
The 2020 conflict, which killed more than 6,500 people in a little over six weeks, saw Azerbaijan successfully win back swaths of territory that had been controlled by the separatists. The war ended after Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, brokered a peace deal in November of that year and deployed almost 2,000 peacekeepers to the region.
But both sides have since accused each other of regular breaches of the agreement.
Matthew Bryza, the former US ambassador to Azerbaijan, said there had been “increasing tension” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in recent months linked to the failure to broker a peace treaty following the 2020 ceasefire deal.
“There’s a lot of frustration – there’s frustration in Baku because it feels as if it is trying to move forwards on signing a peace treaty, which both sides have agreed to do,” Bryza told Al Jazeera from Istanbul.
“But Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who also sincerely seems to want to sign the peace treaty, is being blocked by his own domestic political opponents, who periodically have staged big street protests and claim that he essentially committed treason by agreeing to a ceasefire in November 2020,” he added.
“So there are all sorts of forces beneath the surface on both sides that want to keep the pot stirred even as the national leaders want to get to a peace treaty.”
The latest bout of fighting drew an immediate international response, with the European Union calling for an end to hostilities and urging both sides to respect the ceasefire deal, a plea echoed by the Polish chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The United States also called for “immediate steps to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation”.
“The United States is deeply concerned by and closely following reports of intensive fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, including casualties and the loss of life,” Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, said.
Meanwhile, Russia said the situation in the areas controlled by its peacekeepers was getting more tense and reported at least one violation of the ceasefire by Azeri forces.
“The command of the Russian peacekeeping force, with representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia, are taking measures to stabilise the situation,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
In July, Azerbaijan began the process of returning its people to land recaptured from Armenian separatists in what Baku calls “The Great Return”.
The oil-rich country has pledged to repopulate the retaken territories. President Ilham Aliyev had for years promised to recapture lands lost in the 1990s and the first returns marked a symbolic moment for Azerbaijan.
Stepanakert states Baku’s demand to use highway bypassing Lachin Corridor
Caucasian Knot
Aug 3 2022
Stepanakert states Baku’s demand to use highway bypassing Lachin Corridor
Azerbaijan has demanded from Nagorno-Karabakh authorities to organize traffic along the new route bypassing the Lachin Corridor, the president of the unrecognized republic has stated.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 29, the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure announced that in August the construction of a road bypassing the Lachin Corridor and linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia would begin.
According to the agreement signed by Aliev, Pashinyan and Putin, Armenia transferred the territory of the Lachin District to Azerbaijan. In June 2022, the Azerbaijan State Highway Agency reported that the construction of the 32-kilometre-long Azerbaijani section of the road continues at an accelerated pace and is scheduled to be completed this year. The transfer of Lachin (the Armenian name is Berdzor) under Azerbaijan’s control was delayed due to the absence of an alternative road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. After the launch of this road, Lachin will be transferred to Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani experts explained in July.
On August 2, Araik Arutyunyan, the Nagorno-Karabakh President, convened an expanded sitting of the Security Council with the participation of MPs of the National Assembly, at which it was announced that Azerbaijan had demanded, via the Russian peacemaking contingent, “to organize traffic along the new route in the near future.”
The demand of the Azerbaijani party means that “Azerbaijan will promptly set up a checkpoint in the highway section running to Berdzor, Akhavno and Sus,” Tigran Abraamyan, a military expert and a former adviser to the ex-president of Nagorno-Karabakh, has suggested.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 3, 2022 at 10:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
See earlier reports:
Baku analysts assess prospects for return of Lachin under Azerbaijan’s control, Forced migrants from Nagorno-Karabakh call for easier allocation of housing in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities announce terms for resettling refugees.
Author: Alvard Grigoryan Source: CK correspondent
Source:
© Caucasian Knot
Karabakh Defense Army provides information on situation on line of contact
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 6 2022
10:46, 06.08.2022
The operational situation on the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan on the night of August 5-6 and as of 09:00 in the morning, despite some tension, remained relatively stable.
The press service of the Karabakh Defense Army told Armenian News-NEWS.am that in some sections of the line of contact, the Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire by using firearms of various calibers. There are no losses from the Armenian side.
Through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping forces, work continues to prevent a further escalation of tension and stabilize the situation.