12:20, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appointed Paruyr Hovhannisyan to be the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Hovhannisyan was Armenia’s Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe since 2016.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Schengenvisainfo news
Turkish Ministry Ordered Schengen Visas for Officials Linked to
Country’s Intelligence Services
Nov. 8, 2021
Two Islamist operatives linked to the Turkish intelligence have
received help from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry to obtain their Schengen
visas from the Belgian Consulate in Istanbul under the diplomatic
channels to deliver an official communiqué and secure urgent approval.
According to Nordic Monitor, the foreign ministry sent a most urgent
note to the Belgian Embassy in Ankara on May 19, 2017, asking the
Belgian Consulate to process two Schengen visas as soon as possible
for the two officials from the Turkey Youth Foundation (TUGVA), which
is run by the family of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“TUGVA President Ismail Emanet and Vice President Sekcin Koc are going
to participate in NATO Conference on the date May 24, that President
of Turkey Rexep Tayyip Erdogan will attend, as a member of the
committee of Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. Ismail Emanet and
Sekcin Koc are going to travel by plane of the Presidency. So, there
is no reservation for plane ticket,” the letter reads.
Moreover, TUGVA, which, according to Nordic Monitor, is an extension
of Turkish intelligence under the cover of an NGO and has a secret
mandate to recruit young people in Turkey and diaspora communities to
help support the Islamist regime of President Erdogan.
The foundation manages numerous dorms in Turkey, has access to schools
and promotes political Islam aligned with the ideology of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
The communiqué of the foreign ministry’s Directorate-General for
Protocol reveals that Ismail Emanet, the head of TÜGVA, and deputy
Seçkin Koç were part of the President’s delegation and listed that the
reason for their visit to Brussels was related to a NATO summit. Both
individuals were also part of the official delegation of President
Erdoğan, who was anticipated to attend the summit in Belgium on May
25.
However, according to a leaked memo from the TUGVA archives, both
officials planned to meet with the President to discuss the
foundation’s activities and receive guidance on pursuing operations in
Turkey and abroad. The memo also mentioned the following figures,
which figures TÜGVA could reach out to in an attempt to mobilize youth
in Turkey and invite in a youth convention there:
Khaled Mashal, the former Hamas leader and currently the head of
Hamas’s politburo abroad
Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood figure, Rashid al-Gannushi
Bosnian Muslim politician Bakir Izetbegovic, formerly the Bosniak
member of the Presidency of Bosnia
The memo also indicated that the TÜGVA operatives had planned to talk
on the plane to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Erdoğan’s chief
advisor and spokesman, İbrahim Kalın, to discuss study areas that the
foundation has to focus on for the future.
11:37, 5 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a powerful amendment that would end U.S. presidential waiver authority of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, an Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) -backed measure that would effectively block U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.
The amendment (#4177) is one of three amendments to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that deals with U.S. aid to Azerbaijan as well as Azerbaijani and Turkish war crimes committed against Artsakh and Armenia during the 2020 war. The amendment removes all references to presidential waiver authority of Section 907, a provision first put in place in 2001, and utilized by successive U.S. presidents – including President Biden, even in the wake of Azerbaijan’s 2020 brutal aggression against Artsakh in Armenia. Since 2016, the U.S. has provided over $120 million in U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, in the face of objections by Members of Congress and the ANCA, which has long raised alarms about the Aliyev regime’s belligerence in region.
Senator Menendez also offered a second amendment (#4150) to the NDAA which calls for a joint State Department and Defense Department report on Turkey’s use of U.S. technology in its Bayrakdar drones, with a special focus on whether their sale to third countries, like Azerbaijan, violates U.S. export laws. The ANCA has identified a number of U.S. parts used in Bayrakdar drones that targeted Artsakh and Armenian civilians during the 2020 Artsakh war. In addition to the ANCA, Amendment #4150 also has the support of a coalition of ethnic, civic, and faith-based groups including the Hellenic American Leadership Council, American Friends of Kurdistan, the Hindu American Foundation, and the Middle East Forum.
A third amendment (#4251) introduced by California Senator Alex Padilla (D) calls for a joint State Department and Defense Department report, in response to Azerbaijani war crimes during the 2020 Artsakh war, including the use of U.S. technology during the attacks; the use of white phosphorous, cluster bombs, and other prohibited munitions; and the hiring of foreign mercenaries.
“We thank Senators Menendez and Padilla for their principled leadership in holding Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We are working – in Washington, DC and across each of our fifty states – to secure the adoption of their ANCA-backed amendments enforcing Section 907, investigating Azerbaijani war crimes, and demanding answers about the U.S. parts discovered in the Turkish drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.”
In the 19th minute, the first goal was scored by 25-year-old Venezuelan forward Jose Caraballo, and in the 57th minute, FC Pyunik doubled the score thanks to 22-year-old midfielder Hovhannes Harutyunyan.
FC Pyunik played the last part of the match with 10 footballers. Brazilian center-back Bruno Nascimento, 30, was dismissed after receiving his second yellow card in the 71st minute.
In the added 7th minute, FC Ararat-Armenia scored only one goal thanks to the goal scored by 27-year-old winger Mailson Lima (Cabo Verde).
FC Ararat-Armenia are on top of the championship table with 31 points, while FC Pyunik climbed to second place with 24 points and are one point ahead of FC Ararat.
Armenian Premier League, 12th round
FC Ararat-Armenia – FC Pyunik: 1-2
Mailson Lima, 90+6 – Jose Caraballo, 19, Hovhannes Harutyunyan, 57
Dismissals: Bruno Nascimento (FC Pyunik), 71, second yellow card
We publish a factual analysis of one of the unlawful deployments and unlawful fortification work by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Gegharkunik Province. The Human Rights Defender (ombudsman) of the Republic of Armenia (RA), Arman Tatoyan, wrote this on Facebook, attaching a respective video.
“Due to their criminal actions and presence, an RA business company is unable to use the 200 hectares of land legally allocated to it by the decision of the RA government and the ownership certificate of the Cadastre Committee, on 75 [hectares] of which it has built two windmills, is unlawfully deprived of the right to do business, and the damage suffered—by its calculation—is 5 million [US] dollars.
Moreover, due to the unlawful deployments of Azerbaijan, the civilian population has appeared in the target of the Azerbaijani armed servicemen. It is at risk, the peaceful life and safety of the people are disrupted by regular [Azerbaijani] shelling, the right to life is violated, the people are deprived of the right to property and the opportunity to earn a family income from agriculture.
These facts will be sent to the relevant international bodies, as well as to the RA state bodies and NGOs—for use in their work,” Tatoyan wrote as attachment to this video.
17:15,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Rockstar Serj Tankian announced that he’s been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The System of a Down frontman said he developed flu-like symptoms when he returned to Los Angeles after three shows. “I am shocked that it could even be Covid as I am not just vaccinated but also incredibly careful. I am so sorry to have to push these dates yet again especially to those who made sacrifices to be here from out of town,” he said, as his Los Angeles performances were rescheduled to February 2022.
Editing by Stepan Kocharyan
According to part 1 of Article 20 of the Constitutional Law “Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly”, upon the request of at least a quarter of the total number of deputies, by virtue of law, the National Assembly of Armenia has set up a committee to lead a probe into the use of the funds collected by Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and transferred to the State Budget of the Republic of Armenia.
According to part 6 of Article 20 of the Law, the draft decision of the National Assembly defining the number of members of the probe committee will be considered during the regular sessions of the National Assembly set to begin on October 26, 2021,” the announcement signed by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, acting Speaker Ruben Rubinyan reads.
17:36,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received today a delegation led by the European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, the PM’s Office reports.
Pashinyan praised the dynamic development of the Armenia-EU dialogue, stating that Armenia attaches importance to the constant intensification of the partnership with the EU.
Toivo Klaar in turn said that the EU is committed to deepen the partnership with Armenia.
He conveyed the warm greetings of the President of the European Council Charles Michel to the Armenian PM.
The Armenian PM and the EU Special Representative exchanged views also on the agenda of the bilateral relations. The prospects of boosting the mutual partnership at different formats, including within the frames of the Eastern Partnership program were discussed.
The sides also discussed the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and a number of issues of regional significance. They highlighted the resumption of the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, emphasizing the importance of this format.
Toivo Klaar said the European Union is ready to support trust and dialogue-building process in the region which would contribute to ensuring peace and stability.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
16:58,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian authorities are denying media reports which claimed that the Mount Pela in Syunik Province is being surrendered to Azerbaijan.
“In response to some media reports claiming that Kapan’s Mount Pela has been surrendered to Azerbaijan, the National Security Service of Armenia is informing that no positional changes have taken place in the area called Mount Pela in the Syunik Province and the Armenian Border Guards continue conducting border protection in the mentioned part,” the National Security Service said in a statement.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Armenia and Azerbaijan face off in UN court over ethnic discrimination case
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse the other of violating an international anti-discrimination convention in the wake of the Nagorno-Karabakh war. The conflict left thousands dead, and tensions continue.
Armenia told the ICJ it wants to ‘prevent and remedy the cycle of violence and hatred perpetrated against ethnic Armenians’
Armenia on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of promoting systematic ethnic hatred against Armenians, and urged judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to issue an order to halt hate speech.
During opening arguments at the ICJ, Armenian representative Yeghishe Kirakosyan also asked the court to order the release and repatriation of prisoners of war taken during the conflict in late 2020.
The feud between the neighbors escalated into open war last year over the disputed region of Nargorno-Karabakh , which left well over 6,000 people dead.
Azerbaijani troops drove ethnic Armenian forces from territory that they had controlled since the 1990s in and around the region before Russia brokered a ceasefire.
“With this application, Armenia instead seeks to prevent and remedy the cycle of violence and hatred perpetrated against ethnic Armenians,” Kirakosyan said.
What is the legal background of the case?
Last month, Armenia filed a case with the ICJ, charging that Azerbaijan violated the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
After Armenia made its claim, Azerbaijan filed a counterclaim, accusing Armenia of violating the same treaty. Hearings on the Azerbaijani case are due before the court next week.
The hearing Thursday did not go into the merits of the case, but dealt with a request from Armenia to impose urgent interim measures to stop any violations while the court considers the larger case.
What has Azerbaijan said?
Azerbaijan is asking the court to order similar protective measures while the cases are ongoing, accusing Armenia of carrying out ethnic discrimination against Azerbaijanis.
Azerbaijzan’s deputy foreign minister, Elnur Mammadov, told the hearing via video link on Thursday that it is actually Armenia that was involved in “decadeslong ethnic cleansing.”
Mammadov also said Armenia’s request “is defective, and must be rejected.”
It will likely take years before ICJ judges reach a final ruling in the Armenia-versus-Azerbaijan case, but a ruling on emergency measures could come in weeks.
kb,wmr (AP, Reuters, dpa)