Author: Maghakian Mike

​Armenia and Azerbaijan face off in UN court over ethnic discrimination case

Maghakian Mike
Deutsche Welle, Germany
Oct 14 2021


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)

Nagorno-Karabakh civilian shot dead in apparent ceasefire violation

Maghakian Mike
Oct 11 2021
 

ByAni Avetisyan
Photo credit: Hetq/Narek Aleksanyan.

Aram Tepnants, a 55-year-old resident of the town of Martakert (Aghdara) in Nagorno-Karabakh, was reportedly shot dead by an Azerbaijani sniper while working on a farm that was under the direct supervision of Russian peacekeepers.

The Interior Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh reported the incident on 9 October.

The following day, Russia’s Ministry of Defense also confirmed the incident and stated that Russian peacekeepers have launched an investigation ‘with the involvement of representatives of both sides’. 

Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry has called the reports of the shooting ‘untrue’.

Mikayel Gyurjyan, the Mayor of Martakert, told Tert.am that the man was shot while driving a tractor. ‘Five to six’ Russian peacekeepers were in the immediate area where the man was working. 

The tractor cabin where Aram Tepnants was shot. Photo via Tert.am.

The incident reportedly took place roughly one to two kilometres away from the line of contact. 

According to the Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia, Tepnants initially avoided driving any agricultural machinery, fearing that he might be shot, ‘but one of the peacekeepers offered to sit with him in the cabin as an additional guarantee of safety’.

‘They did several rounds that way’, witnesses cited by the report claimed.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry ‘strongly condemned’ the shooting, stating that it was a ‘gross violation’ of Azerbaijan’s obligations under the 9 November ceasefire agreement. 

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.


Armenpress: Work underway to prepare Putin-Pashinyan talks in Moscow on October 12 – spokesman

Maghakian Mike

Work underway to prepare Putin-Pashinyan talks in Moscow on October 12 – spokesman  

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 16:34,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Work is underway to prepare a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow on October 12, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Sunday, according Armenpress.

“Yes, this meeting is being prepared,” he confirmed in reply to the question.

This year, Putin and Pashinyan met in person three times, and besides they had over ten phone calls.

Armenia issues statement on protection of humanitarian law in armed conflicts at UN HRC

Maghakian Mike

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 19:30, 8 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. During the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Armenia issued a joint statement on Protection of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law During Armed Conflicts. 19 countries from all the UN regional groups joint the statement.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press servic eof the MFA Armenia, the statement delivered by Permanent Representative of Armenia H.E. Andranik Hovhannisyan runs as follows,

“I have the honor to speak on behalf of a cross-regional group of States and my own country, Armenia. The full list of the co-sponsors will be posted on Extranet.

The settlement of disputes by peaceful means and refraining from the threat or use of force are among the basic principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

We strongly condemn gross violations and abuses of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts and urge States to hold accountable the perpetrators of such crimes.

We recall that in accordance with international law it is the obligation of States to investigate and prosecute certain gross human rights violations and abuses. Those crimes must be prosecuted independently of where they have been committed and regardless of the nationality of the offenders, victims and survivors.

We recall that the World Conference on Human Rights expressed its deep concern about violations of human rights during armed conflicts, affecting the civilian population, especially women, children, the elderly and the disabled. We, therefore, reiterate the call upon States and all parties to armed conflicts to respect international law, including humanitarian law, as well as human rights.

We are mindful that the unlawful use of force is often preceded or accompanied by hate speech, large-scale propaganda of war, statements by political leaders and public figures that express support for the affirmation of superiority of a race or an ethnic group, disseminating hostility and prejudice against ethnic, religious or racial groups, or condone or justify violence against them.

We recall that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action recognizes that gross violations of human rights, including in armed conflicts, are among multiple and complex factors leading to displacement of people.

It further reaffirms the right of the victims to be assisted by humanitarian organizations, as set forth in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other relevant instruments of international humanitarian law, and calls for the safe and timely access for such assistance.

In this regard we reiterate that prisoners of war and internees must be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law and must be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities. Their repatriation is necessary, inter alia, for creation of an environment of trust and establishment of lasting peace and stability. The hostage taking, prolonged detention of prisoners and internees for bargaining purposes is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Likewise, we encourage to implement effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent, terminate and punish acts of enforced disappearance.

We call upon the UN’s appropriate bodies to assume a more active role in the promotion and protection of human rights in ensuring full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law in all situations of armed conflict, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

We call upon the experts of the UN treaty bodies as well as the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council, to focus on, report and promptly address the violations committed in war and post-war situations”.

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan visits Russia

Maghakian Mike

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 10:41, 4 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan is leading a delegation to Russia on an official three-day visit.

Speaker Simonyan will have meetings with FM Sergei Lavrov, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko.

A visit to the Russian Diplomatic Academy is also planned, where discussions with students and academic staff will take place.

The delegation will also meet with Archbishop Yezras Nersisyan, the Prelate of the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhijevan of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

A meeting with representatives of the Armenian community of Russia will also take place.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Iran envoy discusses extraditing convicts with Armenian Min.

Maghakian Mike
Mehr News Agency, Iran
Oct 2 2021

TEHRAN, Oct. 02 (MNA) – The Iranian envoy to Yerevan and the Armenian Justice Minister discussed ways to extradite Iranian convicts to their country, and cooperation in the field of crime prevention were discussed by

Abbas Badakhshan Zohuri, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Yerevan met and held talks with Karen Aresi Andreasyan, the Justice Minister of the Republic of Armenia. 

During the meeting, the two sides discussed various issues such as the transfer of Iranian convicts to their respective country, acceleration of the judicial process of the cases, and cooperation in the field of crime prevention.

They also expressed satisfaction with the development of friendly relations between the two countries.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed some legal issues related to the economic activity of Iranians in Armenia.

It is worth mentioning that on September 15, the Iranian embassy in Yerevan announced that six Iranian prisoners were extradited from Armenia to the country.

ZM/FNA 14000710000196

Ex-President Robert Kocharian: serious processes are going on, and they are not in favor of Armenia

Maghakian Mike
JAM News
Oct 4 2021


    JAMnews, Yerevan

Ex-President of Armenia Robert Kocharian harshly criticized the current authorities. During his press conference, which lasted about two hours, he accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of ill-considered steps that led to the war in Karabakh and eventual defeat. Moreover, he suggested that the war ended in accordance with hidden agreements with the enemy.

The most important theses voiced during the press conference of the former president, acting in the role of irreconcilable opposition to the current authorities.

  • Op-ed: does Armenian parliament have any real power?
  • Will upcoming elections in Armenia just be a repeat of the past?
  • Op-ed: ‘Blood, toil, tears and sweat’ – solving the Armenian political crisis
  • The Armenian authorities, with their ill-considered steps, created favorable conditions for Azerbaijan to resolve the Karabakh conflict by means of violent conflict
  • The negotiation process was stalled by the conflicting statements of the Armenian side. This aroused mistrust on the part of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs [mediators of peace talks before the start of the Karabakh war in autumn 2020 – JAMnews]. The impression is that the Armenian authorities want to avoid substantive negotiations
  • The army was discredited, the government of the country was chaotic, relations with Russia and the CSTO military bloc operating under its auspices were ruined.
  • The authorities did everything to ensure that Armenia was isolated before the start of the war
  • In this situation, it was clear to the Azerbaijani authorities that there would be no better conditions for resolving the conflict by force, and the risks for starting and conducting a war for him were minimal.
  • The Armenian leadership did everything to involve Turkey in this conflict:

“If the Armenian authorities were Turkish agents, they would do the same to achieve this goal”.

  • Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s call for the formation of volunteer units during the war was a signal for Azerbaijan that Armenia no longer has resources and military pressure on the front can be increased
  • It is not armies that are fighting, but states, which is why the authorities mobilize all resources for victory during hostilities. But the supreme commander-in-chief of Armenia [Prime Minister Pashinyan] did not mobilize all human and material resources. The mobilization failed. This is the first reason for defeat
  • The war is waged by the state, not just the armed forces. The army was left without political support during the hostilities
  • The Armenian authorities want to place all the blame for the defeat on the army but it is necessary to understand who made the fundamental mistakes. And it’s time for the generals to speak, otherwise all the blame will be laid on them.
  • The country’s authorities continue to evade clarifications on a number of issues related to the war. The accusations against them remain unanswered. An in-depth investigation is needed
  • It is very likely that the war began due to the shortsightedness of the Armenian authorities, but it may have ended already in accordance with the agreements with the enemy.
  • The Armenian authorities stopped talking about Nagorno-Karabakh. The solution of all issues related to Karabakh is deliberately shifted to Russia:

“Armenia has ceased to be the guarantor of the security of Karabakh, moreover, it seems that the country’s authorities seem to be washing their hands”.

  • Soon the society will connect all issues on Karabakh with the Russian side, including all unfavorable decisions
  • Baku announces that it has finally solved the Karabakh issue. What will happen if Azerbaijan abandons the mandate of the peacekeepers in Karabakh after the end of their mission [in 2025]
  • It is impossible to talk about the beginning of an era of peace when you cannot establish it in your country:

“We are talking about an era of peace in the region [Prime Minister Pashinyan stated this as the plans of his government]. The question arises: “Seriously?” […] What are you [addressing the Armenian Prime Minister] to make such statements? Funny. You are not sitting at the negotiating table, you are at this table. You are being discussed without your participation. You have ceased to be a subject of negotiations, you are an object”.

  • It is not very convenient to negotiate on your knees, and you cannot negotiate with the one who mocks you [talking about the President of Azerbaijan].
  • Serious processes are taking place in the South Caucasus, and they are not in favor of Armenia
  • You cannot beg for the normalization of relations with Turkey. The Prime Minister of Armenia needs this only to maintain power [Nikol Pashinyan spoke of his readiness to normalize relations with Turkey]. It will be a one-sided game, and it will be the gates of Armenia:

“We will be in the role of a supplicant. This has never happened before. At one time, they themselves turned to me as the President of Armenia, trying to create a commission. All these letters are there. You can see for yourself in what tone we then answered them. “

  • Turkey poses a danger to Armenia, obviously a clash of interests, but this does not mean that it is necessary to completely abandon the dialogue with Ankara.
  • The ultimate goal of the current Armenian authorities is to retain power
  • The opposition, represented by the Hayastan parliamentary bloc (Armenia) [Robert Kocharian heads it, does not take part in its work himself, renounced his parliamentary mandate] will continue to fight for a change of power. This is a process, and all the available tools for a change of power will be used:

“Yes, we will fight, we will also fight in the streets, but the necessary conditions must be ripe for this. We need to work with the people throughout Armenia, we need to convince the people. “

  • If the bloc fails to organize a street fight, this will mean that it has not been possible to find the right words to speak with society, or people have accepted, reconciled with what is happening.

Nikol Pashinyan has always presented himself as an opposition politician, he was the leader of the 2018 velvet revolution, which brought him to power. Under pressure from the society that supported the revolution, the parliamentary majority approved his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister of Armenia.

The future prime minister made his first serious steps in the political arena in 2007, founding the social and political initiative “Alternative”. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, he was number one on the list of the Impeachment bloc, which sought the resignation of President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan. But the block failed to overcome the barrier to entry.

In the 2008 presidential elections, Nikol Pashinyan represented the interests of presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan [the first president of Armenia, resigned in 1998]. On March 1, 2008, after the dispersal of a demonstration of those who disagreed with the election results and the death of 10 people in the events, Pashinyan went underground for a year and four months due to charges of organizing mass riots.

On July 1, 2010, he voluntarily appeared in the prosecutor’s office, was arrested and sentenced to seven years. One year and 11 months later, he fell under an amnesty timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Political analysts believe that the authorities were forced to take this step under pressure from international structures. Immediately after coming to power, the Pashinyan government revived the so-called “March 1” case.

On July 28, 2018, Robert Kocharian was arrested. The former president of Armenia was accused of overthrowing the constitutional order. This was related to the events of March 1, 2008. Kocharian spent over a year in prison. As a result, he was acquitted on the basis of the decision of the Constitutional Court on the unlawfulness of the accusation.

One year after the Karabakh war, politics in Azerbaijan has come to an end

Maghakian Mike
Open Democracy
Sept 27 2021




With the Aliyev regime still triumphant one year on from its military takeover in Nagorno-Karabakh, chances for dialogue – whether over Karabakh or inside Azerbaijan – are non-existent

Bahruz Samadov
27 September 2021, 11.59am


One year has passed since the beginning of the war between Azerbaijan and the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, supported by Armenia. Already this description would cause dispute: Nagorno-Karabakh has never been accepted as a party to contend with in Azerbaijan. For many Armenians, there is only the Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh – while the suffering of Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, who were forced to leave their homes during the first war, has been largely ignored.

Despite discontent over interpretation, a very real war took place last autumn, taking thousands of young souls to their graves. The winning side, Azerbaijan, confidently claims that the conflict is over (resolved through war) and that there is no such thing as Nagorno-Karabakh. In doing so, the Azerbaijani government not only rejects the existence of a separate region, but also any further dialogue over granting Nagorno-Karabakh some kind of autonomous status. Indeed, the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, recently claimed that 25,000 ethnic Armenians live in Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia estimates that 120,000 Armenians currently live there. In either case, the Armenians living there do not see their future in Azerbaijan: there is nothing commonly shared for that to happen.

The contours of national identity in Azerbaijan have changed since the war: while the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions during the First Karabakh War in the 1990s was perceived as a national trauma, now there is a national narrative of victory. In June, a monument of an ‘iron fist’ – commemorating Azerbaijan’s military operation to retake Karabakh – was erected in the town of Hadrut, previously inhabited by Armenians. In April, a military trophy park opened in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, complete with the helmets of Armenian soldiers and dehumanising wax figures depicting them.

Azerbaijan has also made direct and indirect territorial claims to Armenia, namely to the southern Syunik province, which have been articulated in both official and political discourses. Rivalries also continue as Azerbaijan aims to control roads that lead to Nagorno-Karabakh. The post-war discourse of the Azerbaijani government does not seek dialogue. On the contrary, it pushes the Armenian government to accept the victor’s position and deny the existence of Nagorno-Karabakh as an actor.

To put it simply, there is nothing that would carry even a faint promise of reconciliation and co-existence. Victory has only deepened the antagonistic nature of Azerbaijani national identity.

The arrival of a Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh followed the Russia-brokered ceasefire on 10 November 2020. While the mandate of the peacekeeping mission is still unclear, its very presence should remind us of the region’s colonial past.

Once a part of Tsarist Russia, Azerbaijanis and Armenians fought previously, for example in 1905-07. Massacres took place in many cities of modern Azerbaijan, including the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh. Both communities were concerned with the aims of the Russian administration to privilege one group over the other. Battles took place again in 1918, in March and September respectively, in Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan. While March 1918 was more the result of an absence of any strong administration and the lack of representation of Muslim Azerbaijanis, the clashes in September 1918, when Armenians were the target, were provoked by the imperialist Islamic Army of the Caucasus of the moribund Ottoman Empire.

Neither before or after, communication with the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh simply does not exist in Azerbaijan – neither at the state level nor via civil society

A few years later, when the dust had settled after the revolutions in the South Caucasus, the Soviet authorities decided that Nagorno-Karabakh should live within the borders of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic as an autonomous region. When both countries were included in the Soviet Union, a new narrative of ‘togetherness’ began to emerge as part of the state socialist ideology. Authors, poets and musicians praised brotherhood between the two nations. Even when the hostilities started again in the late 1980s, popular singers from both sides continued to talk about ‘brotherhood’.

While the colonial nature of the Soviet Union can be discussed elsewhere, history shows that as soon as the Soviet administration weakened, old traumas and resentments were revealed: the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh demanded unification with Armenia and ethnic Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Similarly, after anti-Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijan, Armenians no longer felt safe in Azerbaijan, which took the path of nationalism as an alternative to the dissolved Soviet ideology.

Now, after the war, the situation has not changed: Armenians would not feel safe in Azerbaijan, a country with a state ideology based on resentment and revenge. Hopes for a broader dialogue, which would include non-state actors, were destroyed after Aliyev’s authoritarian turn, which included not only internal repressions in 2013, but also a nationalistic turn.

One only has to look at the story of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army officer who murdered his Armenian counterpart, Gurgen Margaryan, during a NATO training in Budapest in 2004. When Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan, after being sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary, he was pardoned by President Aliyev and promoted to the rank of major. This increased Aliyev’s popularity and could be read as a nationalistic turn in the state ideology. This turn was needed to justify the increasingly authoritarian measures against the country’s opposition and civil society and changes in the constitution that now allow Aliyev to be re-elected more than twice.

It should not surprise anyone that Azerbaijan does not aim to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh. This process would require democratisation in Azerbaijan, the expansion of the public sphere and inclusive changes in national identity. Instead, the presence of the Russian peacekeeping mission is a consensus between the three sides: with all the colonial features, the mission at least guarantees the safety of ethnic Armenians. It could be argued that the end of war transformed the conflict from routine armed hostilities to an illiberal peace with colonial features. Neither before or after, communication with the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh simply does not exist in Azerbaijan – neither at the state level nor via civil society. The latter enthusiastically supported the 2020 war and has remained silent about war crimes committed by Azerbaijani forces and the fate of Armenian prisoners of war.

Hopes for the democratisation of Azerbaijan have also dissolved, and many activists are simply disillusioned. President Aliyev remains triumphant, the opposition is even more nationalistic, and it feels as if the notion of democracy itself has no power. If before the war there were sometimes more or less vibrant independent political activities, now any concerted political activity would be a failure: it is simply impossible. While the mainstream opposition either tries to devalue Aliyev’s victory or criticise the Russian peacekeeping mission, populist parties make Azerbaijan’s political culture only more toxic.

To put it simply: the war has effectively put the political process in Azerbaijan to an end.



Exhibition on 2020 autumn war attracts Yerevan townspeople

Maghakian Mike
Caucasian Knot, EU
Sept 28 2021

The exhibition opened on September 27 at the Yerevan Painters’ Union displays photos made by Mikael Nazarenko at the frontline. According to the photographer, the aim of the exhibition is to show the “peaceful side” of the war.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on September 27, marked one year since the start of the Karabakh war in 2020.

The full-scale combat actions took place in Nagorno-Karabakh in the period from September 27 to November 9, 2020. The “Caucasian Knot” has released a map marking the deployment of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. Another map prepared by the “Caucasian Knot” indicates what territories Azerbaijan got after the autumn war.

The author of the exhibition, Mikael Nazarenko, a war veteran, a photographer by profession, also makes films. The exhibition started with screening of his documentary “1080 Hours”, most of which was filmed in the frontline during the war. The rest of the film, in particular interviews with servicemen, was made already after the war.

In his comment to the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent, Mikael Nazarenko has noted that he wanted to show the “peaceful side” of the war at the exhibition. “Peace can be found in every, even the most terrible phenomenon. During the war, I decided to capture a ‘calm time,’ to show soldiers’ life in such a tense situation,” the author of the exhibition has noted.

Asmik Badalyan, one of the visitors, has found it important that the author managed, “while being in this hell, to find moments of calmness and capture them.”

“It is important to see all this, to realize and find the power to live on. We must look into the future, build this future ourselves, because we owe this to those guys who gave their lives for us,” Badalyan told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 28, 2021 at 03:50 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Relatives of people killed in Karabakh war share their memories on anniversary of beginning of combat actions, Armenia: IC updates Karabakh war casualties, Analysts criticize Armenian authorities’ passivity on anniversary of start of last autumn war.

Author: Armine Martirosyan; Source: CK correspondent

Source: 
© Caucasian Knot

Armenia detains wartime ex-defence minister over graft

Maghakian Mike
The Daily Star, Bangladesh
Sept 30 2021


Afp, Yerevan
Fri Oct 1, 2021 12:00 AM

Armenia has detained on corruption charges the former defence minister who headed the country’s military during last year’s disastrous war with Azerbaijan, officials said yesterday.

Last autumn Armenia’s armed conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region claimed more than 6,500 lives and saw Yerevan cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

The war sparked harsh criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with opposition parties accusing him of failing to prepare the army for possible large-scale hostilities and betraying national interests by agreeing to a humiliating truce.

Critics say Armenian armed forces were ill-equipped and lacked knowledge of modern warfare, while corrupt officials made a fortune on arms procurement contracts.

Armenia’s state security service yesterday announced the detention of former defence minister David Tonoyan for alleged “abuse of office, forgery, and embezzlement while procuring weapons for the country’s armed forces.”

Tonoyan, 53, was appointed defence minister in 2018 and resigned shortly after the six-week war.

He is suspected of misappropriating some $4.7 million, the security service said, adding that “many more former and serving military officials” were being investigated for similar offences.

Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union collapsed, and the ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.

At the time, Armenians took control of the enclave as well as seven nearby districts of Azerbaijan — some 20 percent of the country’s national territory.

A fresh war erupted last September and saw the technologically superior Azerbaijani military rout Armenian forces with Turkey’s backing.

The war ended in November with a Russian-brokered truce under which Yerevan ceded parts of Karabakh and all of the surrounding districts.

Moscow has deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers in the area to oversee the ceasefire.