Author: Karapet Navasardian

Opinion Call what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh by its proper name

Karapet Navasardian
Washington Post
Sept 22 2023

By Luis Moreno Ocampo



Luis Moreno Ocampo was the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He was also a national prosecutor in Argentina in the 1985 case against the military junta.


In 2021, President Biden recognized the 1915 removal of Armenians from their lands in Anatolia, in today’s Turkey, as genocide. The United States had been silent on the issue for more than a century, and its silence had grievous consequences.

Today, Armenians need global leaders, including Biden, to stop a new genocide — one that started this past winter and is now evolving into a more brutal phase.

On Tuesday, after a months-long blockade and military buildup along the border of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s military launched an attack. Within a day, Azerbaijani forces quickly overwhelmed local defenses, killing more than 200 people, including civilians. In short order, a shaky cease-fire was announced.


In return for stopping the bombing, Azerbaijan demanded the surrender of Nagorno-Karabakh’s top leaders and the disarmament of all the armed forces of the Karabakh authorities.

As Azerbaijan’s victory became more apparent, scores of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian civilians gathered around the airport in Stepanakert (the enclave’s biggest city) looking to flee their ancestral lands.

They have every right to fear the next steps Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev might take. Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. On Feb. 22, the International Court of Justice, after hearing arguments from both sides, ruled that the blockade produced a “real and imminent risk” to the “health and life” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.


Rather than comply with the court’s binding order to end the blockade, Azerbaijan security forces doubled down in June, sealing off the enclave entirely, preventing even the transfer of food, medical supplies and other essentials. Since then, Aliyev has repeatedly ignored calls from the U.N. secretary-general and the U.S. secretary of state to comply with the court’s ruling. He correctly understood that Azerbaijan would bear no serious costs from the international community for its actions.

Azerbaijan’s defiance is ominous. In international law, the Genocide Convention of 1948 makes it clear that one way to commit the crime is by “deliberately inflicting on [a] group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part” (Article II c). By blocking the Lachin Corridor, Aliyev turned Nagorno-Karabakh into a vast concentration camp for 120,000 Armenians. This week’s military intervention added killing (Article II a) and causing serious bodily and mental harm (Article II b) to the ledger.

What happens next? Because Nagorno-Karabakh authorities surrendered, the international community has urged Aliyev to guarantee the full rights of his Armenian citizens in the enclave. Aliyev’s government has said it is not committing ethnic cleansing and assured the world that “reintegration” will bring prosperity to the region.

But this rhetoric rings hollow given what has already been done. And Azerbaijan’s ambitions extend beyond Nagorno-Karabakh. Since 2010, Aliyev has regularly talked about Armenia itself as “Western Azerbaijan,” echoing long-standing Azerbaijani claims that Armenia as a whole is an illegitimate state. As recently as December, he said that “present-day Armenia is our land.”

The world must call the crime by its proper name. Resistance to using the term “genocide” has been a long-standing problem in international affairs. In April 1994, most U.N. Security Council members refused to label the mass killings in Rwanda as genocide. Little has changed in 30 years.

The last time the U.N. Security Council discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev’s blockade was repeatedly called a “humanitarian situation,” and continued negotiations were proposed. One is reminded of the heroic intervention by the Czech ambassador, Karel Kovanda, during the U.N. debates on Rwanda: When most leaders backed negotiating a truce, he likened the idea to “persuading Hitler to reach a ceasefire with the Jews.”


Today, as always, geopolitics explain the world’s reticence. Azerbaijan is an ally with the West against Iran; it provides energy to Europe and it spends millions on sophisticated Israeli weapons. But such exigencies must not get in the way of the world’s responsibility to stop what is happening before its very eyes: the Armenian genocide of 2023.

Biden did the right thing in 2021. Today, he needs to help prevent history from repeating itself.

Former ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo calls on Biden to help prevent new Armenian genocide

Karapet Navasardian

 12:50,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Former ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, in an Op-Ed published by the Washington Post, has warned that Azerbaijan’s ambitions extend beyond Nagorno-Karabakh and the world has the responsibility to stop what is happening before its very eyes: the Armenian genocide of 2023.

Below is the full Op-Ed published by the Washington Post.

"In 2021, President Biden recognized the 1915 removal of Armenians from their lands in Anatolia, in today’s Turkey, as genocide. The United States had been silent on the issue for more than a century, and its silence had grievous consequences.

"Today, Armenians need global leaders, including Biden, to stop a new genocide — one that started this past winter and is now evolving into a more brutal phase.

"On Tuesday, after a months-long blockade and military buildup along the border of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s military launched an attack. Within a day, Azerbaijani forces quickly overwhelmed local defenses, killing more than 200 people, including civilians. In short order, a shaky cease-fire was announced.

"In return for stopping the bombing, Azerbaijan demanded the surrender of Nagorno-Karabakh’s top leaders and the disarmament of all the armed forces of the Karabakh authorities.

"As Azerbaijan’s victory became more apparent, scores of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian civilians gathered around the airport in Stepanakert (the enclave’s biggest city) looking to flee their ancestral lands.

"They have every right to fear the next steps Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev might take. Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. On Feb. 22, the International Court of Justice, after hearing arguments from both sides, ruled that the blockade produced a “real and imminent risk” to the “health and life” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.

"Rather than comply with the court’s binding order to end the blockade, Azerbaijan security forces doubled down in June, sealing off the enclave entirely, preventing even the transfer of food, medical supplies and other essentials. Since then, Aliyev has repeatedly ignored calls from the U.N. secretary-general and the U.S. secretary of state to comply with the court’s ruling. He correctly understood that Azerbaijan would bear no serious costs from the international community for its actions.

"Azerbaijan’s defiance is ominous. In international law, the Genocide Convention of 1948 makes it clear that one way to commit the crime is by “deliberately inflicting on [a] group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part” (Article II c). By blocking the Lachin Corridor, Aliyev turned Nagorno-Karabakh into a vast concentration camp for 120,000 Armenians. This week’s military intervention added killing (Article II a) and causing serious bodily and mental harm (Article II b) to the ledger.

"What happens next? Because Nagorno-Karabakh authorities surrendered, the international community has urged Aliyev to guarantee the full rights of his Armenian citizens in the enclave. Aliyev’s government has said it is not committing ethnic cleansing and assured the world that “reintegration” will bring prosperity to the region.

"But this rhetoric rings hollow given what has already been done. And Azerbaijan’s ambitions extend beyond Nagorno-Karabakh. Since 2010, Aliyev has regularly talked about Armenia itself as “Western Azerbaijan,” echoing long-standing Azerbaijani claims that Armenia as a whole is an illegitimate state. As recently as December, he said that “present-day Armenia is our land.”

"The world must call the crime by its proper name. Resistance to using the term “genocide” has been a long-standing problem in international affairs. In April 1994, most U.N. Security Council members refused to label the mass killings in Rwanda as genocide. Little has changed in 30 years.

"The last time the U.N. Security Council discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev’s blockade was repeatedly called a “humanitarian situation,” and continued negotiations were proposed. One is reminded of the heroic intervention by the Czech ambassador, Karel Kovanda, during the U.N. debates on Rwanda: When most leaders backed negotiating a truce, he likened the idea to “persuading Hitler to reach a ceasefire with the Jews.”

"Today, as always, geopolitics explain the world’s reticence. Azerbaijan is an ally with the West against Iran; it provides energy to Europe and it spends millions on sophisticated Israeli weapons. But such exigencies must not get in the way of the world’s responsibility to stop what is happening before its very eyes: the Armenian genocide of 2023.

"Biden did the right thing in 2021. Today, he needs to help prevent history from repeating itself."

AW: Congressional Hearing: President Biden complicit in Azerbaijan’s genocide against Artsakh

Karapet Navasardian
September 7, 2023 ANCA ANCA News 0

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo called out U.S. President Joe Biden’s complicity in Azerbaijan’s ongoing genocide against Artsakh’s 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenians, in powerful remarks delivered before a congressional hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC), reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“President Biden or Secretary Blinken can officially tell Mr. Aliyev to remove tomorrow, unconditionally, the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, or we consider you responsible for genocide. […] And, of course, that will trigger a lot of consequences,” stated Ocampo, speaking in a packed Rayburn House Office Building hearing room.

Ocampo pushed back against arguments that Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations may be hampered by the proper characterization of genocide to describe Azerbaijan’s over 260-day blockade of Artsakh. “The negotiation is between a genocider and his victims. You cannot ask for a negotiation between Hitler and the people in Auschwitz. It’s not a negotiation. You have to stop Auschwitz and then discuss negotiation. And that, I think, is the secret here,” stated Ocampo. The former ICC prosecutor went on to note that “knowing that President Aliyev is using genocide and trying to deny the genocide, the U.S. assistance to deny the genocide could be considered complicity.”

Former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo described Azerbaijan’s 260+ day Artsakh blockade as a “an ongoing genocide. It’s happening now,” in powerful remarks delivered at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing, titled “Nagorno Karabakh: Update”

ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian echoed Ocampo, underscoring, “Today’s hearing put President Biden on public notice that he is – according to the spirit and the letter of the Genocide Convention – complicit in Azerbaijan’s genocide against the 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenians of Artsakh – citizens of an at-risk democracy blockaded by an oil-rich dictatorship.”

Rep. Chris Smith: “This horrible crime, this crime of genocide, was planned, tested and imposed by the government of Azerbaijan.”

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) – a longtime champion of human rights around the world and leading voice in the decades-long effort to secure U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide – was outspoken in his characterization of Azerbaijan’s genocide in Artsakh.

“There are 120,000 ethnic Armenians who have been sealed off from food and medicine and are being starved to death by the government of Azerbaijan. […] This horrible crime, this crime of genocide, was planned, tested and imposed by the government of Azerbaijan; that is to say, by President Aliyev who rules Azerbaijan with an iron fist as a dictator,” stated Chairman Smith in his opening remarks of the hearing.

He went to slam Biden administration officials for not responding to repeated invitations to participate in today’s hearing. “This hearing has two empty chairs. Two. Those of the U.S. Department of State and USAID. I requested that they both provide a witness for this hearing. Despite repeated requests by phone and email, neither responded. Not even a response. Since 1995, I have chaired hundreds of hearings with State Department or USAID witnesses. This is a unique case of absolute nonresponse,” stated Chairman Smith.

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chair Chris Smith (R-NJ) called Artsakh’s integration into Azerbaijan a “death sentence” during the September 6 emergency hearing

“It speaks volumes about the bankruptcy of the Biden-Harris administration’s genocide-aligned policies on Artsakh that they refused Chairman Smith’s repeated requests to send even a single U.S. State Department or USAID witness to today’s hearing,” noted the ANCA’s Hamparian.

Chairman Smith highlighted the Biden administration’s failure to adequately respond to Azerbaijan’s escalating aggression and blockade against Artsakh.  “Requests in bland bureaucratic language do not count, not when people are being subjected to genocide,” stated Rep. Smith. “Today, the State Department issued a readout of Secretary Blinken’s September 1 call with President Aliyev, where [they expressed] ‘concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, reiterated our call to reopen, underscored the need for a dialogue and compromise.’ This is completely inadequate, and I believe it is insulting. One side is committing genocide against the other, and the State Department expresses concern urging the victim to dialogue and to compromise.”

David Phillips: “By being silent, by not acting, the Biden administration is making a statement that it values Azeri oil and gas more than it does the lives of Armenians in Artsakh”

David L. Phillips, the director of Columbia University’s Artsakh Atrocities Project and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, offered powerful testimony citing atrocities committed by Azerbaijani government officials against Armenians in the Republics of Artsakh and Armenia and calling for concrete U.S. sanctions against both Azerbaijan and its top leadership.

“Azerbaijan does not have a diversified economy. It relies on oil and gas resources. The levels of corruption by the Aliyev family are well documented. Freezing accounts and financial resources of officials and corrupt leadership responsible would be more effective in Azerbaijan than it would be elsewhere,” argued Phillips. “If the situation is not dramatically reversed soon, the U.S. and its allies should give the Armenians the means to defend themselves and exercise of the duty to prevent genocide, lest history repeat itself.”

Phillips went on to criticize the international community for not imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan sooner. “The international community failed to sanction individuals who committed crimes after the wars in 2016 and 2020. Its message of failure sent a communication to the government of Azerbaijan that it can act with impunity and escape repercussions for its crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide,” stated Phillips. “This signals Azerbaijan, as well as other regimes around the world, that they can escape consequences for violating international humanitarian law and committing crimes against humanity.”

Columbia University director of the Artsakh Atrocities Project David L. Phillips argued that the international community’s failure to sanction Azerbaijan sent the clear message that they can act with impunity

The September 6 emergency hearing on Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) followed the June 22 hearing hosted by TLHRC co-chairs Chris Smith (R-NJ) and James McGovern (D-MA), which included remarks by Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chairs Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ). Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) also submitted a written statement for the record. Titled “Safeguarding the people of Nagorno Karabakh,” the hearing included testimony by former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Michael Rubin and Columbia University’s Phillips.

The ANCA streamed the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing live on its social media channels. The complete video is available on the Commission’s website.

The ANCA has launched a national call-in campaign asking Senators to place a hold on all of President Biden’s State Department nominees until he takes decisive action to stop Azerbaijan’s genocide against Artsakh. To learn more and take action, visit www.anca.org/hold.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


Artsakh parliament nominates new president

Karapet Navasardian
September 6, 2023 Hoory Minoyan News 1

A session of the Artsakh parliament (Artsakh Republic National Assembly, August 7)

The latest bloodshed in Armenia comes amidst a major political and military shake-up in Artsakh.

Following weeks of swirling speculation about his political future, Arayik Harutyunyan handed in his resignation on September 1, stating that the ongoing blockade suggests there must be a change in Artsakh’s political approach. “In order to achieve that, we must change the main actors in Artsakh, starting with me,” said Harutyunyan.

Prior to his resignation, Harutyunyan endorsed the resignations of State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan and Advisor to the State Minister Artak Beglaryan. Following Nersisyan’s resignation, Samvel Shahramanyan, the Secretary of the Security Council, was appointed as the new State Minister of Artsakh.

Opposition factions ARF, “Ardarutyun” and NDP of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh nominated newly appointed State Minister Samvel Shahramanyan for the position of president. The National Assembly will carry out the election of the president on September 9.

These political changes in Artsakh come amid military escalations along Armenia’s border.

On the morning of September 1, the Azerbaijan armed forces opened fire from different caliber small arms against Armenian combat positions in the vicinity of the Armenian village of Sotk in the Gegharkunik province. The Ministry of Defense of Armenia said that the Azerbaijani armed forces also used mortars in the same direction. Armenian authorities say that Azerbaijan disseminates misinformation that Armenia has launched provocations to lay the foundation for an escalation. 

“The Azerbaijani propaganda is disseminating disinformation that the Armenian Armed Forces are concentrating a large number of weapons, military equipment and personnel in Sotk.

By disseminating such false information, the Azerbaijani side creates an informational basis to continue yet another provocation that began this morning in the direction of Sotk,” the Armenian MoD said. 

Armenia’s biggest gold mine is located in Sotk, where all operations have been suspended indefinitely due to shelling by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Seven hundred people who work at the mine have been placed on unpaid leave. 

Around noon the same day, the Azerbaijani armed forces also fired towards the Armenian outposts near Norabak, also in Gegharkunik.

As a result of the Azerbaijani provocation, the Armenian side had three deaths – soldiers Andranik Arshak Antonyan, Arsen Aleksandr Mkrtichyan and Vachagan Saro Vardanyan – and two injuries.

On the night of September 2, the Azerbaijani side opened fire on the Kapan airport in the Syunik province. Three shots were fired, two of which hit the outer walls of the airport’s arrivals hall and control room and damaged furniture. There were no casualties as a result of the shooting. The Syunik Regional Investigation Department has opened a criminal case on the grounds of attempted murder.

Firing on the Syunik airport began on August 18, a day after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took the first flight from Yerevan to Kapan and announced the commencement of regular flights to and from Kapan. In the early hours of the day of the PM’s arrival, an unidentified Azerbaijani vehicle approached the airport and fired three shots, causing damage to an airport window and the roof structure.

On September 3, at around 1:40 a.m., Azerbaijani armed forces units fired from firearms towards the Armenian combat outposts near Kutakan in Gegharkunik. 

On the eve of September 5, units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire on Armenian positions located in Kut, Gegharkunik.

As provocations continue on the border and on social media with the spread of misinformation, Armenians in over 20 countries commemorated the 32nd anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh, reaffirming their commitment to a free and independent Artsakh. 

32 years ago, the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh exercised their right to national autonomy, enshrined in the “Regulation Governing Questions Concerning the Secession of a Union Republic from the USSR,” to decide their legal status independently in the case of a Soviet Republic’s secession from the USSR. 

On December 10, 1991, a few days prior to the official collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum was held where an overwhelming majority of the population (99.98-percent) of Artsakh voted in favor of full independence from Soviet Azerbaijan. 

32 years later, the anniversary of Artsakh’s independence became the foundation for pan-Armenian mobilization. In more than two dozen countries – Armenia, Artsakh and across the Diaspora – Armenians gathered in large numbers, protested and presented their demands: to end Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh and closure of the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor. 

On the brink of possible continued escalations, Armenians across the globe turned the celebration of Artsakh’s Independence Day into an occasion for protest, rejected the dissolution procedure of the Artsakh issue and conveyed the assurance of their solidarity to the people of Artsakh.




AW: Life-long ANC of Eastern Massachusetts Activist Barkev Kaligian to receive Cardashian Award at Gala

Karapet Navasardian
September 5, 2023 ANCA-Eastern Region ANCA News 0

BOSTON–Lifelong Hai Tahd and ANC of Eastern Massachusetts activist Unger Barkev Kaligian will be honored by the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) with the ANCA Eastern Region Vahan Cardashian Award at the 17th Annual ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund’s Gala on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at the Royal Sonesta Boston Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Kaligian will be joined by hundreds of supporters and activists as he is presented with the Vahan Cardashian Award at the awards ceremony, which includes a cocktail reception, silent auction and seated dinner. Kaligian will be joined by another lifelong Hai Tahd activist Joseph Dagdgian from the ANC of Merrimack Valley, who will also be presented with the Vahan Cardashian Award. 

The ANCA Eastern Region Vahan Cardashian Award is given to ANCA-ER activist(s) who demonstrate long-standing commitment, leadership and success on behalf of the Armenian cause. The award is named in honor of the founder of the precursor to the ANCA, Vahan Cardashian, who founded the Armenian Committee for the Independence of Armenia in 1919.

“It brings me great pleasure to honor Unger Kaligian with this award. As a lifelong activist, he is an embodiment of the sacrifices that one must make to wholeheartedly serve the Armenian nation and an example to activists throughout the region. His contributions to the Armenian cause and its people inspire all of us. We are beyond grateful and excited to celebrate him and other deserving activists next month,” said Ani Zargarian, gala committee member.

A native of Boston, Kaligian was one of the founding members of the ARF Roupen Gomidehutune in Boston, where he also served on several AYF Central Executives in the 1950s. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1956, he worked as a civil engineer for 38 years with the federal government, in which he mostly served the National Park Service. It was at AYF Camp Haiastan where he would meet his future wife Seta in 1960. They married the same year in California and would raise four sons, Dikran, Zohrab, Aram and Garin.

Keeping the Armenian nation at heart, Kaligian would serve his community by participating in a broad range of local and regional community organizations. For nearly three decades, he served on the Board of Directors for AYF Camp Haiastan and contributed to its development as a mainstay of Armenian community life in the Eastern United States. During this period, he also sang in the choir at St. Stephen’s Armenian Church for over 50 years and was a member of the ARS Javo Chapter. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the Armenian Cultural & Educational Center in Watertown for 20 years.

However, Kaligian’s greatest passion was reserved for promoting Hai Tahd. He would be found in the front row of lectures conducted by denialists and by representatives of Turkey and Azerbaijan, prepared with a tape recorder to disprove false statements and to be a voice for honesty and transparency. Whether at Harvard, Tufts Fletcher School, the World Affairs Council or any other venue, Kaligian was determined to break the silence and confront the speakers and the moderators with the truth. He has also been a prolific letter writer, addressing U.S. policy in letters to executive branch officials and members of Congress, pointing out the pernicious influence of Turkey.

Activism was a cornerstone of the Kaligian family, as Seta Kaligian served for several years on the Central Executive of the Armenian Relief Society and with the Armenian National Education Council. Their sons would also become Camp Haiastan counselors, AYF Central Executive members, frequent AYF Junior Seminar lecturers and chairmen of local ANCs and Gomidehs. Barkev and Seta are blessed with 11 grandchildren who continue to hold the family mantle.

“Lifelong activists such as Unger Barkev are a rarity and a blessing to the region as a whole. The Vahan Cardashian Award is deserved by such individuals, who are always prepared to serve their nation – through the AYF, ARF and the ANCA Eastern Region,” said Zargarian.

Kaligian will be joined by hundreds of supporters, activists and community leaders celebrating other deserving individuals at the gala who will be awarded the ANCA Eastern Region Freedom Award, the ANCA Eastern Region Advocacy Award, and the inaugural Excellence in Education Award, to name a few. 

Tickets for the gala, which include a cocktail reception, silent auction, and seated dinner, can be purchased at www.givergy.us/ancaer.

For more information about this year’s gala, visit www.givergy.us/ancaer or contact [email protected]

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The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots organization, the ANCA. Working in coordination with the ANCA in Washington, DC, and a network of chapters and supporters throughout the Eastern United States, the ANCA-ER actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


No alternative to Lachin corridor: Armenia MFA

Karapet Navasardian
MEHR News Agency, Iran
Sept 4 2023

TEHRAN, Sep. 04 (MNA) – The Lachin corridor was agreed upon as a link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and has no alternative, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia said.

The RFE/RL Armenian Service asked the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether Azerbaijan made the opening of the Aghdam road to Nagorno-Karabakh a precondition for Baku to reopen the Lachin corridor, News Armenia reported. 

Armenia responded that the Lachin corridor should be reopened, and as for other possible communications, this matter should be resolved within the framework of the international mechanism of the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue.

"Armenia's position on this matter has not changed, and the work with our international partners continues, aimed at Azerbaijan’s implementation of the relevant decisions of the International Court of Justice and the lifting of the illegal blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, including by implementing the relevant mechanisms of the UN and the UN Security Council," the Armenian ministery added.

One of the most challenging remaining issues between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia is the Lachin corridor, which Azerbaijan has blocked or subjected to strict inspections. This important route connects the Karabakh region to Armenia.

SKH/PR

Baku says Armenian sabotage group tried to infiltrate Azerbaijani territory, Yerevan refutes claim

Karapet Navasardian
IRAN FRONT PAGE
Aug 16 2023
ByIFP Media Wire

An attempt by an Armenian sabotage and reconnaissance group to infiltrate into Azerbaijan has been foiled and one of its members was detained, the Azeri defense ministry announced.

“On August 16 at about 11:15 a.m. (10:15 Moscow time a.m.), a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces, taking advantage of the gaps between the combat positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the direction of the Istisu settlement of the Kalbajar district, tried to infiltrate into the territory of Azerbaijan in order to carry out sabotage and terrorist operations. <…> With the support of firearms, the provocation of the Armenian military was stopped. As a result, Azerbaijani servicemen detained a wounded member of the sabotage group,” the statement said.

According to the defense ministry, other members of the Armenian group were “forced to retreat.”

“At present, the data on the detained member of the group are being clarified,” the Defense Ministry added.

The Armenian Defense Ministry has branded as misinformation a statement by the defense ministry of Azerbaijan on a sabotage attempt by Armenia’s armed forces in the eastern sector of the border between the two countries.

"The statement issued by the MoD of Azerbaijan as if the units of the RA Armed Forces fired against the Azerbaijani combat outposts located in the eastern part of the border on August 15, at around 6:05 p.m., is another disinformation,” its statement said.

The military agency reiterated that, according to preliminary data, one of the reserve servicemen who participated in a training mission had left his combat position. “A possible version and all the circumstances of the reservist appearing on the Azerbaijani side are being investigated,” the ministry added.

Nagorno-Karabakh: ‘Disastrous’ blockade chokes essential supplies

Karapet Navasardian
India – Aug 16 2023
TbilisiEdited By: Manas Joshi

Internationally, Karabakh is recognised as a part of Azerbaijan. However, the population of 120,000 is predominantly ethnic Armenian. The enclave has one remaining land link to Armenia, the Lachin corridor, which is policed by Russian peacekeepers, was first disrupted in December


Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have said that Azerbaijani blockade of the breakaway region is choking supplies of food, medicines and other essential supplies. The blockade has dragged on in its ninth month. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is slated to discuss the blockade on Wednesday (August 16). A former International Criminal Court prosecutor this month said this month that blockade may amount to a "genocide" of the local Armenian population. Azerbaijan's lawyers have said that these claims are unsubstantiated and inaccurate. 


Internationally, Karabakh is recognised as a part of Azerbaijan. However, the population of 120,000 is predominantly ethnic Armenian. The enclave has one remaining land link to Armenia, the Lachin corridor, which is policed by Russian peacekeepers, was first disrupted in December.

Reuters quoted Karabakh residents who said that basic foodstuffs, fuel and medicine were not only in short supply but were almost exhausted.

"It's been a very long time since I've eaten any dairy produce, or eggs," said Nina Shahverdyan, a 23-year-old English teacher quoted by Reuters. 

"It's been disastrous because we don't have gas. We have electricity blackouts." 

After the blockade, Karabakh's population has tightened its belt and has preferred to eat what can be produced locally.

The residents said even food produced within Karabakh itself is delivered only sporadically to Stepanakert, the region's capital, as farmers lack fuel to bring their products to market.

The crisis is also being taken as an indication that Russia struggling to project its influence in post-Soviet states especially after start of the Ukraine war.

Karabakh was claimed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia after the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, and broke away from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s. 

In 2020, there was another conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia post which Azerbaijan retook territory in and around the enclave. The war ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire.

The agreement required Russia to ensure that road transport between Armenia and Karabakh remained open.

Since the ceasefire, road links between Armenia and Karabakh hinged on the Lachin corridor, which was blockaded in December by Azerbaijani civilians identifying themselves as ecological activists, while Russian peacekeepers did not intervene. In April, Azerbaijani border guards installed a checkpoint on the route, tightening the blockade.

(With inputs from agencies)

Deadly car crash raises criticism over Armenia’s road safety

Karapet Navasardian
Aug 14 2023
 

ByAni Avetisyan
Two vehicles after the collision. Photo: Investigative Committee of Armenia

A car crash on the Yerevan–Gyumri highway has left 11 people dead, raising concerns and criticism about Armenia’s road safety.

The head-on collision of a minibus and a lorry on the highway early on Monday morning led to the death of the minibus driver and ten of his passengers. The lorry driver and five other minibus passengers were hospitalised in Yerevan and Gyumri.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into the accident, with preliminary reports suggesting that the lorry had driven into the opposite lane.

Traffic collisions are a major issue in Armenia, with accidents often leading to death or severe injuries. Citing a World Bank report, RFE/RL reported that about 11 out of 100,000 people die in traffic collisions every year, and that traffic-related death rates have been on the rise in the last 10 years.

Monday’s fatal collision triggered criticism in Armenia about the government’s commitment to reforming road safety regulations and strategies.

Hayk Marutyan, a former mayor of Yerevan currently in the running for another term at City Hall, blamed the accident on ‘shoddy road construction and a lack of control over vehicle maintenance’.

‘I think it's time to realise that good asphalt does not equal good roads’, wrote Marutyan on Facebook.

Daniel Ioannisyan, head of the Union of Informed Citizens, has also said that the Yerevan–Gyumri highway does not have dividing markers, despite being under construction ‘for over ten years’.

Ioannisyan singled out Interior Minister Vahe Ghazaryan and Territorial Administration Minister Gnel Sanosyan for ‘not understanding how to reduce the mortality rate (of traffic collisions)’.

‘Does Gnel Sanosyan not have anything to say about the sad state of road safety infrastructure? Does Vahe Ghazaryan not have anything to say about the lack of road safety policy?’


Genocide scholars call for immediate UN intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh

Karapet Navasardian

 19:43,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prominent genocide scholars have submitted an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and Member States of the UN Security Council regarding the potential for genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Below is the full letter:

H.E. António Guterres
UN Secretary-General,

Mr. Volker Türk
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu
Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide,

UN Security Council Member States

9 August 2023

We, the undersigned scholars and experts on genocide, are writing to you with an overwhelming sense of urgency and concern about the potential for genocide in the Republic of Artsakh (also known as the Nagorno Karabakh Republic). As scholars deeply engaged in the study of genocide, we bear witness to the horrors of history, rigorously analyze past and present atrocities, working to prevent new genocides from occurring. Presently, we find ourselves profoundly concerned by the emergence of unmistakable warning signs of genocide in Artsakh. The most significant risk factor is the unlawful blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which serves as the vital link connecting Artsakh to Armenia.

Since December 2022, the Lachin Corridor, the sole lifeline connecting the Artsakh population to the outside world, has been unlawfully blockaded by Azerbaijani authorities. This distressing situation reached a critical juncture on June 15, 2023, when Azerbaijan sealed off this vital road, subjecting the Republic of Artsakh and its 120,000 residents to a dire state of siege. For the past two months, Artsakh has been forcibly deprived of its ability to access essential supplies such as food, medicine, and other critical goods. Even humanitarian relief efforts conducted by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been obstructed, exacerbating an already grave humanitarian crisis.

The escalating humanitarian crisis has prompted the ICRC, the sole international organization with a presence on the ground, to issue a grave alert. In a public statement released on July 25 (https://www.icrc.org/en/document/azerbaijan-armenia-sides-must-reach-humanitarian-consensus-to-ease-suffering), the ICRC unequivocally documented that“The civilian population is now facing a lack of life-saving medication and essentials like hygiene products and baby formula. Fruits, vegetables, and bread are increasingly scarce and costly, while some other food items such as dairy products, sunflower oil, cereal, fish, and chicken are not available.”

Furthermore, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect has issued an alarming atrocity alert for Nagorno Karabakh(https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-358/), highlighting the persistent risk of enduring mass atrocity crimes.

Considering the aforementioned circumstances and drawing upon additional pertinent information provided by various impartial organizations, human rights organisations, and other relevant stakeholders, we, as experts in the field of genocide studies, hold the view that compelling indicators exist that in the absence of prompt and resolute action, a genocide targeting the ethnic Armenian population of Artsakh is a looming possibility. The prevention of genocide and safeguarding vulnerable populations stand as fundamental obligations of the global community, as underscored by the United Nations Charter and the Genocide Convention of 1948, along with subsequent pledges undertaken by international actors. Guided by these principles, we strongly urge member states and UN bodies to promptly and resolutely step forward, exercising their responsibility to forestall any additional loss of innocent lives and preclude the occurrence of large-scale atrocities.

Specifically, we call upon the United Nations to activate its early warning mechanism, as stipulated within its mandates, to expeditiously address the tangible and imminent threat of genocide in Artsakh. We urge a concerted international effort to bring this grave situation to the attention of the UN Security Council. The Security Council should take decisive action to avert the progression of genocide by urgently removing the blockade on the Lachin Corridor, thereby reinstating unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along this life-supporting corridor in both directions. Security Council action should also support of the Provisional Measures order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 22 February 2023 (reaffirmed 6 July 2023), which ordered Azerbaijan to ‘take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions’. A Provisional Measures order is binding, and Azerbaijan remains in breach of its international law obligations by not complying with the ICJ’s order. Furthermore, we urge that the UN establish and send a fact-finding mission to Artsakh for a thorough analysis of data, on-site reporting, and engagement with local communities and organizations to identify and eliminate the consequences of the ongoing crime.

The prevention of genocide requires a collective effort, a unified resolve, and unwavering commitment from the international community. We urge the United Nations and its bodies to prioritize the prevention of genocide in Artsakh and take decisive action to protect the lives and dignity of thousands of innocent people.

Time is of the essence. We urge you to act swiftly and decisively, guided by the principles of the United Nations and the mandate to protect humanity from the scourge of genocide.

Respectfully signed,

Melanie O'Brien, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Western Australia; and President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars

Henry C. Theriault, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Worcester State University, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2017-2021)

Andrew Woolford, Professor, Head of Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Manitoba, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2015-2017)

Israel Charny, Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2005-2007)

Armen Marsoobian, Professor of Philosophy, Southern Connecticut State University, Past First Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2019-23)

Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Chair of Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College, Past First Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2015-17)

Hervé Georgelin, Assistant Professor, Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies, National and Capodistrian University of Athens

Dr. Vasileios Meichanetsidis, Greek Genocide scholar