Author: Liana Toganian

Asbarez: Moscow Says Pashinyan Misrepresented Karabakh Peace Plan Proposals

Liana Toganian

January 14,  2020



Russian OSCE Minsk Group co-chair Igor Popov

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has misrepresented proposals to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh jointly made by Russia, the United States and France, according to a senior Russian diplomat.

Igor Popov, the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, has specifically denied Pashinyan’s claims that the three mediating powers pressured the Armenian side to give seven districts around Karabakh back to Azerbaijan and offered it nothing in return.

Pashinyan repeatedly criticized their peace proposals during and after the recent war with Azerbaijan. He dismissed critics’ arguments that he could have prevented the disastrous war by accepting the proposals based on the so-called Madrid Principles of a Karabakh settlement, which were first put forward by the U.S., Russian and French mediators in 2007.

In a January 4 article, Pashinyan claimed that the most recent version of the peace plan drafted by Russia and backed by the two other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group amounted to a proposed “surrender of lands” to Azerbaijan “in return for nothing.” He said it left open the key question of Karabakh’s status.

Popov bluntly denied that in written comments posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on Wednesday. He argued that under the Minsk Group plan Karabakh’s population would be able to determine the disputed territory’s internationally recognized status in a future legally binding referendum.

Popov also stressed that the plan tied Armenian withdrawal from two of the seven districts, Lachin and Kelbajar, to the determination of Karabakh’s status.

“Therefore, the claims that Russia proposed [the Armenians] to return the seven districts ‘for nothing,’ forget about the status and calm down do not correspond to reality,” he said.
“Neither the Armenian nor the Azerbaijani side rejected these proposals, even though a full agreement [between the two sides] was never reached. But the bottom line is that negotiations were held on a regular basis up until 2018 when Yerevan came up with new approaches,” Popov added in another jibe at Armenia’s current leadership.

Pashinyan and his office declined on Thursday to comment on Popov’s extraordinary remarks.
Foreign Minister Ara Aivazyan acknowledged in that regard that Moscow has never neglected the issue of Karabakh’s status. “I definitely agree with Mr. Popov in that Artsakh’s status has been and remains the most important aspect of the conflict’s resolution,” he told reporters.

Asked about the clear contradiction between Pashinyan’s and Popov’s statements, Aivazyan said: “I don’t comment on the prime minister’s statements and other comments which are often taken out of context.”

Three block-modular camps constructed in Artsakh for Russian peacekeepers

Liana Toganian

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YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Three block-modular camps have been constructed in Artsakh for the Russian peacekeepers.

The camps are stationed in Stepanakert, Getavan and Karakend, the Russian defense ministry reports.

Nearly 400 Russian peacekeeping troops have already been deployed to the block-modular camps.

Currently, works are underway for building 5 more such camps envisaged for the accommodation of over 540 servicemen.

The complete set of block-modular camp includes residential units, a gym, an officer’s house, a bathhouse, a first-aid post, a dryer, a clothing cleaning room, a leisure room, a headquarters and an office, a storage room, a canteen, a kitchen, a grocery store, sanitary modules, a room for storing weapons, engineering equipment.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Kebab chef slammed for hosting BBQ in 19th-century Armenian church in Turkey

Liana Toganian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 15 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

A kebab chef was criticized for hosting a barbecue in an ancient church in southeastern Turkey. The 19th-century structure has been abandoned after treasure hunters ransacked it, locals reported.

A kebab chef in southeast Turkey enraged eyewitnesses after he hosted a barbecue inside of an abandoned church in southeast Turkey’s Şanlıurfa district on Jan. 14, Duvar English reports.

Dating back to the 19th century and located about 10 kilometers from the nearest settlement, the Germuş Armenian Church has become a spot for squatters since its abandonment, one local noted.

“Treasure hunters destroyed this place. Now, people come here to drink, or grill kebabs,” Dağyanı Neighborhood resident Übeyit İnci said, urging the state to swiftly restore the ancient structure.

Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy Garo Paylan also slammed the chef’s abuse of the ruins in a tweet. 

“I don’t know what to say, shame!” Paylan said. 

One local responded to Paylan’s tweet with more photos of the structure, adding that they’ve been trying to rally public support to save the church to no avail, and that it has essentially been left to rot. 

Ancient churches across Turkey have been condemned to similar fates as minority populations dwindle across the country after the foundation of the republic in 1923. 

Ex-ambassador: Nikol Pashinyan personally ‘coordinates anti-Russian sentiments’ in Armenia

Liana Toganian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 14 2021
 
 
“Russia’s official denial of Nikol’s lie is yet another blow to the international standing of Armenia,” former Armenian Ambassador to the Holy See Mikayel Minasyan said on Telegram, referring to Wednesday’s interview of former Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov in the wake of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s article on the origins of the 44-day war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
 
“Azerbaijan, in turn, continued to declare that no status of Nagorno-Karabakh outside of Azerbaijan could be discussed, and after the appearance of the Russian proposals, Azerbaijan toughened its position: no status of Nagorno-Karabakh can be discussed at this stage,” Pashinyan said in the article.
 
Igor Popov stated in the interview that Russia has never said the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement must be confined to the return of seven districts of the region to Azerbaijan without taking care of its status.
 
“Claims to the effect Russia called for returning seven districts ‘in exchange for nothing’ and forgetting about its status have nothing to do with the reality,” the diplomat said.
 
Mikayel Minasyan believes the premier had to blame someone for failing to receive positive outcomes from the January 11 trilateral talks in Moscow.
 
“According to the plan, now Russia is to blame for everything. Nikol, who personally coordinates anti-Russian sentiments in Armenia, has set two goals. First, he seeks to replace anti-Nicholism with Russophobia, making Russia the main culprit.
 
“Second, he is clearing the way for geopolitical maneuvers, which threatens to become a final disaster for Armenians and Armenia,” he said.
 
 

Asbarez: ‘No One Can Go to Karabakh without Baku’s Consent,’ Says Aliyev

Liana Toganian

January 8,  2020



Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev

A recent visit by Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ara Aivazyan to Artsakh, where he met with his counterpart, the newly appointed David Babayan, has angered Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who, once again, threatened the security of Armenia and Artsakh and declared that “no one can go to Karabakh with Baku’s consent,” reported the Turan news agency.

“Let the lessons of the war not be forgotten. These visits must end,” said Aliyev on Thursday, referring to Aivazyan’s trip to Artsakh. “We warn you that an end must be put to these provocations, otherwise Armenia will regret it.”

“All this must be put to an end, and no foreigner can enter there without our permission—no organization except for the Red Cross. This is our internationally recognized territory. Who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia to travel there? This time we issue a warning. Next time our response will be very tough,” Aliyev said.

He also criticized the activities of the Russian peacekeepers who, he said, have allowed foreigners to enter Karabakh. “We set before the peacekeepers the task of not allowing foreigners into the region without our permission, but a delegation from the French parliament went there. After that, the French ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and he was handed a note,” Aliyev explained.

The Azerbaijani leader lashed out at Russian peacekeepers and accused them overstepping.

“In the statement of November 10, their [the peacekeepers] functions are outlined, and there is no mention of humanitarian activities. But we turned a blind eye to this. We understood that it is winter now, and steps and measures are needed to recover. We agreed to this out of humane considerations, and the Armenians should appreciate this. We also allowed the goods to be delivered to Karabakh by rail, via Barda, and not by air via Lachin,” Aliyev claimed.

Turkish press: ‘Turkey’s military power changes concept of war’

Liana Toganian
Guc Gonel and Kenan Irtak   |08.01.2021

ISTANBUL 

Turkey’s military facilities and technologies have the potential to change the concept of war and conflict in the world, the country’s parliament speaker said in Istanbul on Friday.

Speaking at a symposium on South Caucasus and the Karabakh conflict, Mustafa Sentop said the potential of Turkey’s military facilities and technology was partially demonstrated in Syria and Libya, and more recently “very clearly” in Azerbaijan during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27 last year, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.

Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 armed drones purchased by Baku played a significant role in Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh.

Although the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been settled with the Moscow-brokered cease-fire, he said, the conflicts in the South Caucasus, around Turkey and across the world have not ended yet.

Sentop recalled that top Turkish officials paid a visit to Azerbaijan during the war and expressed their support to the brotherly country.

Historical, legal Azerbaijani land

The Turkish speaker underlined that the Nagorno-Karabakh area has always been considered a historical Azerbaijani territory.

No matter how far we go into history, he said, Nagorno-Karabakh was under Azerbaijani rule, both after the Iran-Russia agreement, in the beginning of the 19th century, and in the Constitution adopted in the Soviet Union period.

“In the Soviet period, there was no tendency, practice or legal regulation that Nagorno-Karabakh would have an administration outside the lands of Azerbaijan. In this respect, when we look back, we see that Nagorno-Karabakh is a land belonging to Azerbaijan historically,” he said.

He went on to say that the same situation and justification was also actual from the legal perspective as four UN Security Council resolutions refer to Armenia as an invader in Azerbaijani territory.

“The negotiations, which have always been on the table for 30 years, have not come to a conclusion,” he said, adding that the result was achieved when “finally the power of Azerbaijan” was shown.

“I would like to express that the steps that solve problems and contribute to world peace are very valuable. Turkey with its diplomatic interventions in many regions has clearly shown that it was in such a way,” Sentop said.

Conspiracy theories in Armenia have put NGO work in danger

Liana Toganian
Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Jan 2 2021
 
 
 
Hostility towards the West after the Nagorno-Karabakh war has taken a toll on Armenian nonprofit organisations.
 
Satenik Baghdasaryan
President of For Equal Rights
 
2 Jan 2021
 
 

Two weeks after the war in Nagorno-Karabakh started, the phone rang at “Article 3” Human Rights Club founded by our NGO For Equal Rights. I picked up and heard a panicked voice on the other end. It was Elya, an internally-displaced woman from Nagorno-Karabakh, who had just hitchhiked from the war zone to the Armenian capital Yerevan with her grandmother, 4-year-old son, and a newborn. They had made it, but they had nowhere to go.

When I met them in central Yerevan, it turned out the situation was worse than I thought. Elya had had a C-section just four days before they left. With the war escalating and their departure imminent, it had seemed better to give birth then than to face the chance of going into labour while on the road.

She needed to look after her family, but because of her operation and the rough trip to Yerevan, she could barely walk let alone climb stairs. We posted on social media that we were looking for a ground floor apartment for them and managed to find one.

The next day Elya called to tell us she had two more children – a 10-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter – who had left for Yerevan with a relative but she had no idea where they were. We began calling contacts across the city to see if anyone had any information on the children and, fortunately, we found them. They were successfully reunited with their mother in their new temporary home.

This was the situation in Armenia during the war, where NGOs like ours have supported thousands of people like Elya. A conservative estimate places the number of people who have fled to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh at 90,000 out of a total prewar population of 150,000. The distinct accents and inflections of Nagorno-Karabakh can now be heard across Armenia.

As the new borders under the November 9 ceasefire agreement are drawn, some are able to return, while others are looking at their new lives as displaced people. These people need to be provided for so they can live in dignity and have hope for the future. After a war that seemed to register as a little more than a blip for much of the world, the international community needs to step up and show these people they will not be forgotten.

With the onset of winter, many of the displaced have found themselves in a precarious situation. As temperatures drop and COVID-19 infection rates skyrocket, there are thousands of people in need of warm clothes, medication, and housing.

For political reasons, the Armenian government has not declared them to be refugees or internally displaced people (IDPs) – an important classification that would allow international organisations to help at a time when the Armenian state has very limited resources.

Because of the growing gap between need and government capacity, our NGO and other Armenian civil society actors have had to step in. We may have been human rights educators, but now we have become housing coordinators, shelter managers, clothing and medicine distributors, and family reunification workers. This is on top of our efforts to fundraise for medical supplies and spread awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic.

But even though the need for help from civil society organisations has grown, political pressure on us has increased exponentially. Many Armenians blamed the embarrassing defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh on the silence and inaction of the West. Because some Armenian NGOs have ties to Western organisations, they are being slandered and dragged into swirling conspiracy theories. Some have been threatened, others attacked.

I worry about the impact these conspiracy theories will have on our team and our work, trying to helping people like Elya. These smear campaigns against the nongovernmental sector are dangerous and they disrupt the work of organisations like ours when they are needed the most.

Elya and her family will eventually be able to go back. Their home remains in Armenian-controlled territory, and although it was damaged in the fighting, it can be repaired. But for many others, the uncertainty will be lasting.

Thousands are facing challenges with finding housing and making ends meet. They are also struggling with psychological trauma from the war and the loss of their homes and with ensuring their children get an education.

Rehabilitating this newly displaced population will take a lot of effort and resources and it cannot be done without national and international actors playing their parts. And this process will be that much harder if Armenian civil society is not given liberty and guaranteed safety to do its work.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Satenik Baghdasaryan
President of For Equal Rights
Satenik Baghdasaryan is the president of the non-governmental organization For Equal Rights in Yerevan, Armenia.

 
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Turkish Press: Armenia must accept field realities in Karabakh: Ankara

Liana Toganian
Hurriyet, Turkey
Dec 29 2020

Turkey on Dec. 28 denounced a recent cease-fire violation and attack on Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians by Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

“The attacks carried out in Upper Karabakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] against the Azerbaijani armed forces by the Armenian elements, who refused to lay down their arms and withdraw, are a clear violation of the cease-fire regime established by the Trilateral Declaration dated Nov. 9, 2020,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

The Armenian elements – a detachment of six remnants of the Armenian armed forces – violated the cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday and martyred an Azerbaijani soldier in the direction of Aghdam (Akaku) village in the Khojavend region, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Monday.

“Military and civilian casualties and injuries occurred as a result of the attacks of Armenian armed elements, which took place earlier on Nov. 26, Dec. 8 and Dec.11, and the latest one on Dec. 27. As the signatory of the Trilateral Declaration, the primary responsibility for the withdrawal of all armed Armenian elements and compliance with the cease-fire regime lies in Armenia,” Aksoy said.

He stressed that the Azerbaijani side gave the “necessary response” by using its right of self-defense against the “provocations” of the Armenian armed elements.

“In order to be a stakeholder of the lasting peace that is trying to be established in the region, Armenia must accept the realities in the field and fulfill the commitments it has undertaken with the Trilateral Declaration,” he added.

Aksoy also wished Allah’s mercy upon the “Azerbaijani brothers” who lost their lives in the attacks, a speedy recovery to the wounded, and extended condolences to all Azerbaijani people.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on Twitter that as a result of the actions taken, all six members of the illegal Armenian armed group were “annihilated” and also warned against “firm measures” by the Azerbaijani army if such an incident happens again.

Liberation of Karabakh

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade-long occupation.

The two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.

However, the Armenian army violated the cease-fire on Dec. 13 and martyred three Azerbaijani soldiers in Khojavend’s Sur village and a soldier and a civilian near the town of Hadrut, according to the Defense Ministry.

The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.

Turkey to turn renovated Armenian church into art centre

Liana Toganian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 1 2021

Turkey has decided to turn the recently renovated Holy Trinity Armenian Church in the south-central Konya province into a cultural centre, the Armenian weekly newspaper Agos reported.

The 19th-century building, which has been closed to worship and visitors even after restoration project ended in 2017, will be re-opened as the World Masters of Humour Art House at an unannounced date, Agos said.

The project was carried out by the Aksehir municipality and the Konya Plain Project Regional Development Administration (KOP), at a total cost of 3.5 million Turkish liras ($475,000), it said.

The church is the latest historical Christian house of worship that Turkey has repurposed as either a mosque or religious tourism site this year. The sites include the Byzantine Chora Church and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.


Armenian opposition MP demoted for ‘offensive’ post about PM, calling public ‘trash’

Liana Toganian
JAM News
Dec 30 2020

    JAMnews, Yerevan

Armenian opposition MP Naira Zohrabyan has been stripped of her post as the head of the permanent parliamentary commission for the protection of human rights following her posts on Facebook that she “hates the garbage that brought Pashinyan to power.”

84 out of 132 MP took part in the closed vote on Zohrabyan’s position, 78 of voted for, four abstained, 2 ballots were declared invalid.

Naira Zohrabyan believes that the ruling faction took this step at the request of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan himself.

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On her Facebook page, Zohrabyan wrote:

“I hate you, rubbish [the electorate of the prime minister] for bringing your own kind to power, the one who is gradually closing the page of our statehood.”

She also wrote that “the first problem of the country is ignorance and after” ‘nicholism’ – “it is necessary to forcefully educate the people so that they do not choose the same again”.

After that, MPs of the ruling faction came up with a project to dismiss Zohrabyan from the post of chairman of the parliamentary commission on human rights for making xenophobic statements about the citizens of Armenia.

Ruling party‘s comments

“The head of the commission for the protection of human rights cannot represent the interests of society, a part of which she calls rubbish,” MP Suren Grigoryan said, explaining the decision of the ruling bloc.

Neither opposition faction of the parliament participated in the discussion of the issue.

The ruling faction also stated that it does not intend to take away the post of the head of the commission from the opposition, and that Zohrabyan may be replaced by another representative of the same Prosperous Armenia party.

What MP Naira Zohrabyan says

She believes that Pashinyan’s “authoritarian junta”, which set his “Soros” MPs against her, is being dealt with.

Zohrabyan also stated that the head of the government himself “more than once or twice expressed hatred and contempt for those around him,” even to the priests:

“Since he [Pashinyan] is very petty, it seems to him that this will be a tragedy for me. He decided to punish me before his resignation.”

The MP also commented on the use of the word “trash”. She once again stated that she considers everyone who justifies the death of 5,000 soldiers in the war in Karabakh, and now also the surrender of the territories of Armenia itself in Syunik, the southern region of the country bordering Azerbaijan, as “rubbish”.

Naira Zohrabyan at the opposition rally demanding the resignation of the prime minister