Author: Maghakian Mike

Work: A Curse or a Blessing

Maghakian Mike
 Rev. Dr. Vahan Tootikian Keeping the Faith, Columns 0

Labor Day parade by L. G. Strand, circa late 1880s (Wikimedia Commons)

Labor Day is a holiday honoring working people. It is observed as a legal holiday on the first Monday in September throughout North America. Labor organizations sponsor various celebrations, but for most people it is a day of rest and recreation. It also has become a symbol of the end of summer. In European and other countries, Labor Day is May 1.

The idea of setting a day aside to honor the country’s working people was conceived in 1882 by Peter McGuire, founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a legal holiday, after which President Grover Cleveland signed a bill in 1894, making Labor Day a national holiday.

For most of humanity, people have had to work. Even the first parents of the human race, Adam and Eve, had responsibilities in the Garden of Eden. An accurate reading of the Genesis story shows us that, from the beginning, it was God’s intention that Adam should tend the Garden. Adam’s attitude toward work changed after the fall.

Work is essential because many worthwhile things have to be earned. Few things in life are free.

Work is not only essential to human survival, but also to our mental and emotional well-being. Some of the healthiest people are those who enjoy their work. Work is also important for self-esteem and personal dignity. It not only drains surplus energy, which can be a source of tension if not properly used, but also kindles hope and banishes morbid discouragement. When hope vanishes, life is not worth living. Idleness causes stagnation, and anything stagnant is hurtful. Purposeful, creative work gives one a sense of worth and dignity. Worthwhile work enriches personality.

Unemployment can be a serious problem in many respects. Sociologists tell us that unemployment has very high social costs. Each time the unemployment rate increases, suicides and murders increase.

Work is also related to people’s sense of satisfaction about life. Lack of purposeful action brings about boredom, and boredom can be deadly to the morale of individuals. There is a great deal of truth in the saying, “The idle brain is the devil’s playground.”

Work is also good therapy for those who are in distress. Part of the secret for dealing with grief is to carry on with the daily routine of life. Those who are not capable of dealing with distress shut themselves off from the world of responsibility and relationships.

Of course, not all people have enviable and satisfying jobs. Some kinds of work are not easy; some kinds of work are thankless. Regardless of the nature of work, it becomes meaningful when people understand that their lives are part of a greater divine plan. God created humans in His own image. God is a creating, sustaining and working God. Jesus said in John 5:7, “My Father is working still, and I am working.” How we view our work is a religious question. If people view life as meaningful and purposeful, then they will probably view their work as having rhyme and reason as well. However, if life is simply a matter of passing time, getting by and merely existing, then it is doubtful that people will get excited about the roles they play in life.

Work has a spiritual purpose. Each individual has a place in God’s plan for the world. In fact, human beings are partners with God in the provision of the world’s needs. As part of the plan of God, our work is a ministry, a mission and a sacred endeavor. We are partners with our Creator in the stewardship of earth’s resources and in supplying the needs of His children.

Viewed from this perspective, work is not a curse, but a blessing!

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Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian is the Executive Director of the Armenian Evangelical World Council.


Azerbaijani media report arrest of three Armenians in Lachin Corridor

Maghakian Mike

 15:30,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS. Three Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh were arrested on Monday at the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint in Lachin Corridor, according to Azerbaijani media reports.

According to the Azerbaijani media reports, the arrested Armenians are football players of the Martuni Avo club who have been wanted by Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies since 2021 for allegedly “dishonoring” the Azerbaijani flag. They face a 10-day jail term.

So far, the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) InfoCenter has reported the kidnapping by Azerbaijan of only one person, a 22-year-old student who was traveling to Armenia to continue his education. Another student was being interrogated by the Azeri border guards when the news on the kidnapping was reported, according to Tigran Petrosyan, the head of the anti-crisis council under the Artsakh President.

First Armenian cross-stone in Finland inaugurated in Espoo

Maghakian Mike

 16:01,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. The first Armenian cross-stone (khachkar) in Finland was consecrated and inaugurated on August 19 in Espoo, the second most populous city of the country, as a sign of Armenian-Finnish friendship. The monument is located in the yard of St. Herman Church.

The cross-stone is a replica of one of the many historic cross-stones in Old Jugha which were infamously destroyed by Azerbaijani authorities.

Grigori Yeghiazaryan, the Vice President of the Armenian community in Finland, told ARMENPRESS that the inauguration of the cross-stone is of great significance for the entire community. “From now on the cross-stone will become a monument uniting the community, and also connecting us with Armenia,” he said.




French, Chinese foreign ministers discuss Nagorno-Karabakh

Maghakian Mike

 11:57,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a phone call, according to the French foreign ministry.

A readout issued by the French foreign ministry said that Colonna and Yi discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and Niger, in addition to other issues pertaining to bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

Menendez, Padilla Urge UN Security Council Resolution to End Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh

Maghakian Mike
Aug 15 2023
August 15, 2023, 6:08 pm | in

 

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) sent a letter to United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urging her to introduce a resolution calling for an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s eight-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, including allowing unfettered humanitarian access to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

 

As the government of Azerbaijan threatens to ethnically cleanse the people of Nagorno-Karabakh through starvation, and is actively depriving them of fuel necessary for emergency response efforts and other essential goods, the Senators are calling on the United Nations to act immediately according to the mandate in its Charter.

 

“For eight months Azerbaijan has gradually tightened a blockade meant to deprive Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh access to essential goods, including food and medicine. On June 15, Azerbaijan effectively shut down the delivery of all critical humanitarian assistance, leading to severe consequences for the tens of thousands of people living there including children, the elderly, and other residents with illnesses and disabilities,” wrote the Senators.

 

“In your capacity as the President of the UN Security Council for August 2023, we ask that you work with all UNSC members to pressure the Azerbaijani government to lift the blockade and prevent what the evidence suggests is a coordinated effort to ethnically cleanse the people of Nagorno Karabakh,” continued the Senators.

 

Full text of the letter is available here [https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/menendez_padilla_letter_to_usun_re_nagorno-karabakh.pdf] and below.

 

Dear Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield,

 

We write to urge you to take a strong stance at today’s UN Security Council’s emergency meeting on the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh to address the humanitarian crisis.

 

For eight months Azerbaijan has gradually tightened a blockade meant to deprive Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh access to essential goods, including food and medicine. On June 15, Azerbaijan effectively shut down the delivery of all critical humanitarian assistance, leading to severe consequences for the tens of thousands of people living there including children, the elderly, and other residents with illnesses and disabilities. In an affront to international humanitarian law and basic human dignity, almost a month ago, Azerbaijan began denying access for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the last remaining humanitarian group able to deliver life-saving relief to vulnerable populations. The ICRC reported last month that “fruits, vegetables, and bread are increasingly scarce and costly,” while “other food items such as dairy products, sunflower oil, cereal, fish, and chicken are unavailable,” noting also that “people lack life-saving medicine and essentials like hygiene and baby formula.” Today we know that the situation has worsened further, with journalists posting photos of empty grocery stores and reporting that ambulances no longer have fuel.

 

Azerbaijan’s actions are nothing short of an attempt of ethnic cleansing of the Armenian community that has lived there for centuries. Indeed, earlier this month, former Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a report stating that there is “a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed.”

 

We are encouraged that the United States supported the call for convening the meeting. In your capacity as the President of the UN Security Council for August 2023, we ask that you work with all UNSC members to pressure the Azerbaijani government to lift the blockade and prevent what the evidence suggests is a coordinated effort to ethnically cleanse the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Specifically, we urge you to introduce a resolution calling for an immediate end of the blockade and unfettered humanitarian access to the region.

 

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent request.

https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/menendez-padilla-urge-un-security-council-resolution-to-end-blockade-of-nagorno-karabakh/

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 08/04/2023

Maghakian Mike 
                                        Friday, August 4, 2023
Opposition Signals No Plans To Join Yerevan Mayoral Race
        • Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - The Yerevan municipality building is surrounded by opposition 
protesters demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation, May11, 2022.
Armenia’s two leading opposition forces have given no indications yet that they 
will run in municipal elections in Yerevan slated for September 17.
Residents of the Armenian capital will to go the polls to elect a new municipal 
assembly that will in turn appoint the city’s mayor.
The last mayor, Hrachya Sargsian, stepped down on March 17 after only 15 months 
in office. Yerevan has since been effectively run by Tigran Avinian, a deputy 
mayor nominated by the ruling Civil Contract party for the vacant post. The 
party raised $1.3 million for its election campaign during an event last week 
attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
It remains unclear whether Avinian and the ruling party will be challenged by 
any of the two opposition alliances represented in the Armenian parliament.
The main opposition Hayastan alliance is not known to have even discussed the 
possibility of joining the mayoral. A key member of Hayastan, the Dashnaktsutyun 
party, is discussing the matter separately amid apparent cracks emerging in the 
alliance led by former President Robert Kocharian.
“The discussions within Dashnaktsutyun involve local structures and the Yerevan 
city committee, and there will be a full statement on our participation or 
nonparticipation in the next few days,” Gegham Manukian, a senior party figure, 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Friday.
Pativ Unem, the other opposition bloc dominated by the former ruling Republican 
Party (HHK), has held no such discussions, according to one of its senior 
members, Hayk Mamijanian.
“The fact that we haven’t discussed it shows that our nation has much more 
important problems and challenges to deal with,” said Mamijanian. “But the issue 
will definitely be discussed. As soon as we make a decision it will be made 
public.”
Avinian would also face a serious challenge from Hayk Marutian, whom Pashinian’s 
political team had installed as mayor after winning the overwhelming majority of 
seats in the city council in 2018. The council ousted Marutian in December 2021 
after he fell out with the prime minister. The former TV comedian remains coy 
about his participation in the upcoming elections.
The deadline for the submission by election contenders of necessary documents to 
the Central Election Commission is August 13.
Armenian Election Chief Sees No Foul Play By Ruling Party
        • Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - Vahagn Hovakimian, chairman of the Central Election Commission, speaks 
at a news conference, Yerevan, August 3, 2023.
Armenia’s top election official allied to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has 
dismissed a civic group’s claims that the ruling Civil Contract party is abusing 
government resources to facilitate its victory in upcoming municipal polls in 
Yerevan.
In an extensive investigative report released late last month, the Union of 
Informed Citizens (UIC) said that the administration of a local community 
comprising the town of Spitak and surrounding villages is drawing up lists of 
its Yerevan-based natives promising to vote for Civil Contract and its mayoral 
candidate, Tigran Avinian, in the September 17 vote. It said the process is 
overseen by Gevorg Papoyan, the ruling party’s deputy chairman.
The allegations are based on recorded phone calls between local officials and an 
UIC activist posing as an aide to Papoyan. The audio of those conversations was 
posted on the group’s fact-checking website.
Spitak’s deputy mayor, Hovik Hovannisian, and six village chiefs can be heard 
saying that they already have or will soon have such lists. In Hovannisian’s 
words, Spitak officials explain to such voters “just how bad thing will be for 
them” if Civil Contract loses the polls.
Papoyan rejected the UIC report as slanderous and said he will sue the 
Western-funded organization. He said at the same time that the Spitak officials 
are affiliated with Pashinian’s party and have a right to campaign for its 
election victory.
The UIC leader, Daniel Ioannisian, countered that the officials admitted 
ordering their subordinates to participate in that campaign.
Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General last week pledged to look into the 
UIC report. But it has still not opened a criminal case.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) also seems unlikely to investigate the 
alleged foul play. The CEC chairman, Vahagn Hovakimian, said it could do so only 
if it receives a formal complaint.
“In my personal view, that audio does not testify to an abuse of administrative 
resources,” Hovakimian told reporters on Thursday. “Your or any other citizen’s 
idea of abuse of administrative resources is one thing and the law another.”
A longtime collaborator of Pashinian, Hovakimian was affiliated with Civil 
Contract until being controversially installed last October as head of the body 
organizing all elections in Armenia. Opposition and civic groups denounced 
Pashinian’s choice of the new CEC chairman.
In a joint statement issued ahead of Hovakimian’s appointment, 17 Armenian 
nongovernmental organizations said that he is a partisan figure who cannot 
guarantee the CEC’s “independence and political impartiality.” Hovakimian 
insisted that in his new capacity he will not be influenced by his long-standing 
ties with Pashinian.
Russia Against Rushing Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal
RUSSIA-HEALTH-VIRUS
Russia warned on Friday against attempts to “artificially” speed up the signing 
of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord, pointing to lingering differences 
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“A hastily prepared, raw peace treaty would not bring a sustainable peace to the 
region,” Denis Gonchar, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, told the 
TASS news agency. “On the contrary, it would lay the foundation for new 
conflicts and tragedies in the future. Priority should be given not to speed but 
to the adequate preparation of balanced and mutually acceptable solutions.”
In an interview published on the ministry’s website, Gonchar said Western powers 
are trying to rush Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on the treaty even though the 
conflicting sides have yet to “find solutions on a number of difficult topics.”
“From a number of Western capitals, statements are periodically made to the 
effect that Baku and Yerevan will be able to sign a peace treaty already in ‘the 
coming weeks and months,’” he said. “We proceed from the premise that the time 
frames for the signing should be determined by the parties themselves.”
Russia - Denis Gonchar, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Fourth 
Department on CIS countries.
“The task of responsible mediators is not to speed up a negotiation process for 
opportunistic considerations but to facilitate reaching lasting long-term 
agreements,” the diplomat added in a clear jibe at the West.
In recent months, the United States and the European Union have stepped up their 
efforts to broker a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Armenian 
and Azerbaijani foreign ministers held two rounds of intensive U.S.-mediated 
negotiations outside Washington in May and June. Meanwhile, the EU’s top 
official, Charles Michel, hosted a series of Armenian-Azerbaijani summits in 
Brussels.
The would-be peace treaty topped the agenda of those talks which fuelled 
speculation that it could be signed by the end of this year. Moscow has been 
very critical of the Western peace efforts, saying that their main aim is to 
drive it out of the South Caucasus. U.S. and EU officials deny this.
USA - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts the Armenian and Azerbaijani 
foreign Ministers for talks at the George Shultz National Foreign Affairs 
Training Center in Arlington, Virginia, June 29, 2023.
Azerbaijan is also pushing for a deal meeting its key demands. Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev declared early this year that “2023 is the last chance 
for Armenia to sign the peace treaty.”
The two sides are understood to still disagree on mechanisms for delimiting the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and providing security guarantees for Karabakh’s 
ethnic Armenian population. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian complained on 
Thursday that Baku is reluctant to sign the kind of agreement that would commit 
it to recognizing Armenia’s existing borders.
Pashinian earlier pledged to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh 
through the peace treaty, drawing strong condemnation from his domestic 
political opponents. The latter also accuse him of plotting to end Armenia’s 
political and military alliance with Russia and to reorient his country towards 
the West.
Moscow has signaled its disapproval of Pashinian’s far-reaching concession to 
Baku. In another sign of mounting tensions with Yerevan, a Russian Foreign 
Ministry spokeswoman lambasted Pashinian on Wednesday for questioning the 
continued presence of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh and claiming that Moscow 
has scaled back its involvement in the negotiation process because of the war in 
Ukraine.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Protests in Yerevan and Stepanakert as humanitarian crisis grows in Nagorno-Karabakh

Maghakian Mike
July 26 2023
 26 July 2023

ByAni AvetisyanandIsmi Aghayev

Protesters gathered on Yerevan’s Freedom Square on Tuesday night. Photo: Ani Avetisyan/OC Media

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in both Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia’s capitals on Tuesday evening, demanding international intervention and support, as the Red Cross warned of a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Protesters demanded action to support the blockaded region, which is facing critical shortages of staple goods. 

Shortly before the protest, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a press conference discussing the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and defending his government’s actions. 

The region has been under complete blockade since mid-June, when Azerbaijan banned Russian peacekeepers from delivering humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh. The blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, has been ongoing for over six months, after first being blocked by Azerbaijani protesters in December 2022. 

Since then, both the local government and international humanitarian organisations have warned that people in the region are facing a humanitarian crisis as a result of severe shortages of staple foods, medicine, and fuel. 

The rallies were called by the authorities in Stepanakert. No Armenian political forces publicly organised or joined the protests, which in Yerevan were organised by people from Nagorno-Karabakh. Speeches in Yerevan and Stepanakert were broadcast live at both protests. 

[Listen to The Caucasus Digest: Podcast | Blockade fatigue in Nagorno-Karabakh]

Speaking in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan fiercely criticised the Armenian government for its decision to recognise Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, stating that any such ‘verbal or written’ assertions were unacceptable. 

Protesters in Stepanakert. Photo: Marut Vanyan/Twitter

Armenia’s government and its Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have repeatedly stated that Armenia is ready to recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Nagorno-Karabakh, if Azerbaijan agrees to recognise Armenia’s territorial integrity and leaves Armenian territories it occupied between May 2021 and September 2022. 

The Pashinyan government’s decision to stop advocating for the right to self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War has deepened existing mistrust between the two governments, prompting authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh to frequently sharply criticise Pashinyan and his cabinet. 

‘Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] cannot be considered within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan because it is a long-established political unit’, Nersisyan stated.

‘That approach is incapable of ensuring peace in the region and the safe existence of the people of Artsakh. Moreover, it cannot even guarantee the existence of Armenia because the Turkish–Azerbaijani tandem takes issue not with Artsakh but the entire Armenian people and the Armenian statehood’. 

After the rallies concluded, protesters marched to the main military cemeteries in Yerevan and Stepanakert. 

In recent days, discussions of delivery of humanitarian aid have grown increasingly active, with Armenia promising to deliver aid on Wednesday, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stating publicly on Tuesday that it was unable to deliver aid to Nagorno-Karabakh ‘despite persistent efforts’. 

These efforts reportedly included attempts to use routes entering the region from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly suggested that aid could be delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh via Aghdam, a town that came under Azerbaijani control after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. 

[Read more: Backlash in Armenia as EU backs Nagorno-Karabakh aid via Azerbaijan]

A convoy of approximately 400 tonnes of food and medicines left Yerevan for Stepanakert early on Wednesday morning. 

Armenia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs stated that the aid consisted of only the most essential goods, including sugar, oil, flour, pasta, salt, milk powder, baby food, and medicines, and would be sufficient only for one or two days. At the time of publication, the convoy was still in transit. 

While officials in Yerevan and Stepanakert stated their expectation that Russian peacekeepers would accompany the cargo through the Lachin checkpoint to Stepanakert, no information was provided on whether this was agreed with the Russian forces. 

Azerbaijan’s State Border Service called the decision to send the aid convoy to the entrance of the Lachin Corridor a ‘provocation’, and warned Armenia against ‘aggravating the situation’. 

A humanitarian crisis has been growing in Nagorno-Karabakh since the Lachin Corridor was first blocked by alleged eco-activists associated with the Azerbaijani government in December, with the region immediately losing over 90% of its daily supply of food and other essential goods from Armenia. 

Since then, only Russian peacekeeping and ICRC vehicles were allowed to pass along the corridor, delivering essential goods and transferring patients to and from Armenian hospitals. 

Existing shortages of food and medicine have significantly worsened since mid-June, when the transfer of humanitarian aid by Russian peacekeepers was banned after a clash between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. ICRC vehicles were limited to transporting patients, but barred from delivering any goods to the region. 

ICRC access has since been fully banned twice, and both times restored following a meeting between the country’s foreign minister and the head of the ICRC in Azerbaijan. In the second case, Azerbaijan accused ICRC drivers of attempting to ‘smuggle’ cigarettes, mobile phones, and fuel into the region. 

In its public statement on Tuesday, the ICRC called for ‘the relevant decision makers’ to allow the organisation to resume its humanitarian work in the region, and called on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a ‘humanitarian consensus’. 

‘ICRC is not currently able to bring humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor or through any other routes, including Aghdam’, the statement read. 

It noted that the civilian population was facing a lack of life-saving medication, as well as staple goods including hygiene products, baby formula, and food. 

‘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’, the statement added. ‘The last time the ICRC was allowed to bring medical items and essential food items into the area was several weeks ago.’

It stated that people with diseases, elderly people, and children were particularly at risk. 

‘This is life-saving work, and it must be allowed to continue’, the statement concluded. 

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry swiftly responded to the statement, asserting that Azerbaijan had offered to deliver humanitarian assistance, but that ‘the Armenian side’ had refused both offers of humanitarian aid and the entry of an ICRC doctor via roads from Azerbaijan.

The statement additionally warns that the Red Cross should observe its humanitarian mandate, and not abuse it ‘for political purposes’. 

Journalists and local authorities have reported severe fuel shortages, leaving ambulances and public transport immobilised, which have combined with food and medicine shortages to drive increases in mortality. 

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a five-hour press conference hours before the rally began, focused on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Pashinyan appeared to react emotionally to the questions of opposition journalists, and recorded questions from residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, including one asking him whether he considered himself to be a ‘traitor and a failed politician’. 

Pashinyan noted the financial and material support that his government had sent to Nagorno-Karabakh since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

‘[If we are] a traitorous government, give up the support of the traitorous government’, he said. ‘What is a person who receives money from a traitor?’

He went on to accuse journalists of being part of a ‘political campaign’ and being ‘instructed’ to distribute propaganda, after being asked about pictures his wife, Anna Hakobyan, had shared on social media last week, showing fruits and vegetables grown in their family garden. The post was criticised by Armenian-language social media users, who accused Hakobyan of being insensitive towards people on the verge of starvation. 

Pashinyan added that while the question of delivering aid from Azerbaijan to Nagorno-Karabakh had been discussed in a meeting between him, Azerbaijani President Aliyev, and EU Council President Charles Michel on 15 July, Armenia did not have a ‘mandate’ to discuss the matter. 

‘I have a mandate to discuss the issue related to the Lachin Corridor, because the Lachin Corridor was created by the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, of which I am one of the signatories’, stated Pashinyan. ‘At those platforms, we discuss only the issues related to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor and the opening of the Lachin Corridor, I do not discuss other issues’.

Pashinyan struck a different tone in an article about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh published by French media outlet Le Monde on Monday.  Pashinyan described the blockade as a ‘Sarajevo-style siege’, and called for ‘Europe and partners around the world’ to take action. 

‘The authorities in Baku use force, and the threat of further military escalation, to achieve their irredentist aims. This should not be tolerated; the consistent torpedoing of the peace process must have consequences’, wrote Pashinyan. 

Following a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers in Moscow on 25 July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the talks had proven ‘fruitful’.

He added that Yerevan had ‘[understood] the need to convince Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to meet as soon as possible with Azerbaijani representatives’, to discuss their rights in relation to relevant legislation and international obligations. 

 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.

https://oc-media.org/protests-in-yerevan-and-stepanakert-as-humanitarian-crisis-grows-in-nagorno-karabakh/

World leaders must stop Azerbaijan’s genocide in Nagorno-Katrabakh! Act Now! – Ambassador Mkrtchyan

Maghakian Mike
july 27 2023
by TIGRAN MKRTCHYAN

A creeping genocide is unfolding slowly before our eyes. For more than seven months now, 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh (commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh) continue to remain under complete blockade: with no food, medicine, fuel, gas or electricity. The only lifeline connecting Artsakh to Armenia was initially blocked by government-sponsored Azeri “peace-advocating” fake “eco-activists” on December 12, 2022. Azerbaijan officially institutionalised the blockage of the road by an illegal checkpoint installation on April 23, 2023, grossly violating its international obligations.

Azerbaijan continues to demonstrate a willful disregard for the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, the ECHR ruling of December 21, 2023, as well as ICJ orders issued on February 22 and July 6, 2023, calling on Azerbaijan to urgently “take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”

Moreover, Baku is presenting the latter decisions of the international courts willfully to delude the international community and continue its policy of starving to death the population of Nagorno Karabakh.

It blatantly ignores the calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, the European Parliament, other international organisations and numerous states. Azerbaijan’s illegal actions persist despite those demands and appeals.

Encircled and sieged by Azerbaijan, the 120,000 Armenians, among which 30,000 children and 20,000 elderly, survive merely on scarce local produce. No single consignment of goods or medicine has been allowed to enter the region for over a month. Healthcare, public transport and public and business offices have been paralysed.

Agricultural fields cannot be harvested because of the lack of fuel. Pregnant women and children are malnourished. No fruits or vegetables can be imported to Artsakh. Death rates are higher than ever.

Europe is watching; sometimes, statements are made. It tries hard to maintain “parity”. It calls “on both sides” to contribute to peace. It describes the situation as unsustainable and in “no one’s interest”.

In the meantime, the total blockade continues by a country that some have labelled as a “reliable energy partner”. At the same time, international non-governmental organisations have a consensus that it is a “consolidated authoritarian regime.” A “sustainable blockade” is making the lives of Armenians living there more and more unbearable.

Besieged locals only have limited access to energy.

Moreover, some are considering the Baku proposed “integration” as a solution to the problem. The PROBLEM encompasses three wars imposed by the “Integrator”. Three battles were unleashed to eliminate Armenians, leaving thousands dead, tortured, and many POWs still illegally held in Azerbaijani prisons. Add to that the massacres and forced displacement of all Armenians living in Azerbaijan in 1988-1991.

Has anybody ever asked why Azerbaijan has no ” integrated” Armenians? How many integrated Armenians has anyone met in Baku, Sumgait, Kirovabad or Nakhijevan? Not only Armenians but even the graves of their dead have been harassed – demolished and erased. The destruction of thousands of cross-stones in Nakhijevan’s medieval cemetery proves that. The deliberate and planned destruction of cemeteries and churches in the territories Azerbaijan currently controls speak for themselves. Any Armenian trace is being erased. It is part of the creeping genocide in action.

True, we are talking about providing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as one of the critical elements of the ongoing negotiations. So far, though, there are no signs that Azerbaijan is ready to respect these very fundamental human rights. The conflict can not have an enduring and just solution by such means.

Enduring peace is equivalent to conciliatory peace and not punitive, which has historically proven to be short-term. Humiliation, subjugation and ethnic cleansing merely postpone the vicious cycle of violence. Azerbaijan has juxtaposed its perilous “quest for domination” (power to coerce and destruction) against the Armenian side’s understandable “quest for security”.

Heating will become a major issue with only a few weeks of summer left.

Azerbaijan is not ensuring its security interests by attempting to ethnically cleanse Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, occupying territories of the Republic of Armenia and making further territorial claims against the sovereignty of Armenia.

This attempt of self-aggrandisement and self-extension to the detriment of Armenia will enmesh the Caucasus region into long-term instability and catastrophe with very unpredictable results. This is not in the interest of any major international player.

Azerbaijan objects to any international humanitarian assistance to be delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh. For Azerbaijan, statements demanding the opening of the Lachin Corridor ring hollow: background noise as it proceeds undeterred and with impunity to employ measures of obscene inhumanity to subjugate the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan forcefully, expel them from their native homeland, or destroy them wholesale.

The evidence is overwhelmingly clear: the ongoing blockade of Artsakh and intentional disruption of vital infrastructure by Azerbaijan, as well as the regular and consistent armed attacks against the Artsakh Armenians, are specifically engineered to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh of its indigenous Armenians through physical and psychological intimidation and unbearable, indeed inhumane, living conditions.

Please do not be hoodwinked: Azerbaijan’s rhetoric of “integration” is actually one of abject subjugation. In this reality, it is absurd to demand that a victim of a targeted and total blockade—to boot, a malnourished and starving victim—negotiate tete-a-tete with its very torturer without any international mechanism, international presence or international guarantees.

Realpolitik in an international context is about states pursuing their interests. Most of the time, morality and human rights outside their nations are seen in the context of their national interests.

Energy is important. How about responsibility? The Responsibility to Protect – R2P- is an international norm that seeks to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Indifference to the fate of others, under the pretence of neutrality, is an obsolete idea.

Moreover, it is a short-sighted and immoral approach. When profit and power have driven policies at the cost of the most fundamental and preached values, the result has always been more instability, destruction, and lives lost.

By playing a deaf ear to the creeping genocide unfolding before your eyes, those who have leverage on Azerbaijan, but prefer negligence instead, may become silent participants and enablers of the green light to new crimes against humanity.

Resolute and tangible steps must be taken as soon as possible. Every hour the situation is becoming untenable and explosive.

Global decision-makers, collectively and individually, face the moral problem of choosing first the value that deserves protection by all means – the right to life, which guarantees it offers values like liberty, justice and peace. Energy infatuation will dissipate in time; moral stain most probably will not. Liberal humanitarianism still has a chance.

For our people, any hope for stability and security demands, first of all, human survival. Open and unhindered access through the Lachin Corridor is that guarantee of human survival.

Tigran Mkrtchyan
Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of Greece, Cyprus and Albania

Russia again tells Azerbaijan to open Lachin Corridor

Maghakian Mike

 11:22,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has met the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloghlu to discuss the situation in South Caucasus, as well as the reconciliation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Russian side reaffirmed the need for the complete and immediate unblocking of Lachin Corridor and restoration of transport connection in two directions, in accordance with the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, as well as the need for creating conditions for the normal livelihood of Nagorno Karabakh,” reads the statement.

The parties also discussed the Azerbaijani strong reaction to a recent statement by the Russian foreign ministry. Azerbaijan criticized Russia for what it described as associating the Azeri territorial integrity with the statements made by the Armenian Prime Minister on recognizing the Azerbaijani territorial integrity, which, according to Baku, contradicts the Moscow-Baku partnership agreement.

“Regarding the inappropriate comments by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on July 15, it was emphasized that the Russian Federation has always respected the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is fully committed to the spirit and letter of the bilateral statement on allied cooperation. At the same time, this doesn’t eliminate the issue of comprehensively promoting the Armenian-Azerbaijan normalization process and resolving all issues on the agenda, including the issues of ensuring the rights and security of the population of Nagorno Karabakh, with exclusively peaceful political-diplomatic methods,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

Moscow also expressed readiness to organize a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting to discuss the implementation of high-level agreements, the draft peace treaty, which will then be followed by “a summit of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing the abovementioned document.”