Thursday, March 2, 2023
German Leader Backs Karabakh’s Right To Self-Determination
• Astghik Bedevian
Germany - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian, Berlin, March 2, 2023.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday advocated a peaceful resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that would respect Nagorno-Karabakh residents’
right to self-determination.
“We are concerned about instability on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the
worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Scholz said after talks
with Armenia’s visiting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. “The status quo cannot
continue and there needs to be a long-term solution to the benefit of people.”
“There needs to be a peaceful settlement in terms of the territorial integrity
of Armenia and Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh citizens’ right to
self-determination. These principles are equally applicable,” he told a joint
news conference.
Peace plans jointly drafted by the United States, Russia and France prior to the
2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war upheld the Karabakh Armenians’ right to
self-determination, which would be exercised through a referendum. Successive
Armenian governments for decades championed that principle.
Over the past year, Pashinian and other senior Armenian officials have made no
references to it in their public statements. They have spoken instead of the
need to ensure “the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Pashinian stated in January that the international community has always regarded
Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. The claim was denounced by the
Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s leadership. The latter urged Yerevan to
continue to champion “the Artsakh people’s right to self-determination” in the
international arena.
Scholz also voiced support or European Union chief Charles Michel’s ongoing
efforts to facilitate an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal. He noted in that
regard that German observers account for a large part of a monitoring mission
launched by the EU along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan last month.
Russia has denounced the mission requested by Armenia, saying that it is part of
the West’s efforts to squeeze Moscow out of the South Caucasus. Yerevan has
dismissed the strong criticism voiced by its traditional ally.
Speaking at the press conference in Berlin, Pashinian revealed that Armenia and
the EU are planning to sign a “document regulating the monitoring mission.” He
did not go into details.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited the German capital last month.
During that trip, his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock added her voice to
calls for an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s blockade of Karabakh’s land link with
Armenia. Baerbock pointed to “disastrous” humanitarian consequences of the
blockade.
Armenia Backs India’s Bid For Permanent UN Security Council Seat
India - A panel discussion held as part of the the Raisina Dialogue, an
international conference in New Delhi, March 2, 2023.
A senior Armenian official voiced support on Thursday for India’s efforts to
become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, underscoring deepening
ties between the two countries.
“Armenia appreciates India's balanced and stabilizing stance in these times of
global upheaval,” deputy parliament speaker Hakob Arshakian said during a panel
discussion on Indian-Armenian relations held as part of an international
security conference in New Delhi.
Arshakian described India as a “major pillar of regional and international
stability.” The world’s largest democracy is right to aspire to a larger role in
global affairs, he said.
India’s arch-foe Pakistan strongly supported Azerbaijan during the 2020
Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh. It has for decades refused to
establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan.
By contrast, India has backed Karabakh peace efforts spearheaded by the United
States, Russia and France. Its relationship with Armenia has become even more
cordial since the 2020 war. The Indian and Armenian foreign ministers met
regularly in 2021 and 2022.
USA - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan meets his Indian counterpart
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at UN headquarters in New York, December 14, 2022.
New Delhi has effectively sided Armenia with in its ongoing border disputes with
Azerbaijan. It has also expressed serious concern over the Azerbaijani blockade
of the Lachin corridor.
In September, the Armenian military reportedly signed contracts for the purchase
of $245 million worth of Indian multiple-launch rocket systems, anti-tank
rockets and ammunition. Defense Minister Suren Papikian explored the possibility
of more such deals during a subsequent visit to India.
Arshakian praised the Indian government’s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani
government.
“The last three years have been marked by a tremendous development trend in our
relations,” he said.
The official, who is a senior member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party,
also hailed growing commercial ties between the two countries. Indian-Armenian
trade rose from $216 million in 2021 to over $315 million in January-November
2022, he said.
New Rights Defender Still Not Named
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Kristine Grigorian addresses the National Assembly shorly before being
elected Armenia's human rights defender, Yerevan, January 24, 2022.
More than one month after the unexpected resignation of Armenia’s state
ombudswoman, Kristine Grigorian, the ruling Civil Contract party has still not
nominated a new human rights defender.
Grigorian stepped down on January 23 after less than a year in office. She said
she is planning to move on to another job.
Under the Armenian constitution, Grigorian has to be replaced by the Armenian
parliament within three months from her resignation. Civil Contract, which
controls the current National Assembly, has given no indication yet who could
replace her.
Vigen Khachatrian, a senior member of the party’s parliamentary group, said on
Thursday that he and his colleagues were encouraged by their parliamentary
leader to propose candidates for the vacant post. They have shown little
interest in doing that,” he said.
“There are probably two reasons,” Khachatrian told reporters. “Either there is
no [suitable] candidate or there are too many of them.”
Taguhi Tovmasian, an opposition deputy chairing the Armenian parliament’s
standing committee on human rights, criticized the delay.
“This is indicative of how the state treats the protection of human rights,”
charged Tovmasian. “If they found that important, they would not display such a
disdainful attitude towards this [state] institution.”
“We are now witnessing processes to which the ombudsperson’s reaction is
extremely important. And yet the office of the ombudsperson is now headless,”
she said, singling out Azerbaijan’s continuing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh’s
land link with Armenia and its humanitarian consequences for Karabakh’s
population.
The two opposition groups represented in the National Assembly have not
nominated any candidates either. Tovmasian said they realize that the
parliament’s pro-government majority would almost certainly reject their choice
of the human rights defender. In these circumstances, she said, the opposition
also has trouble convincing potential candidates to run for the post.
The opposition lawmakers voted against Grigorian when the parliament elected her
in January 2022. They described her as a government loyalist who will not take
serious action against human rights violations in the country.
Unlike her outspoken predecessor Arman Tatoyan, Grigorian rarely criticized the
government and law-enforcement bodies during her tenure.
Karabakh Downplays Talks With Baku
Nagorno-Karabakh - The main government buildings in Stepanakert, September 7,
2019.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership has accused Azerbaijan of misrepresenting a
meeting of Azerbaijani and Karabakh officials hosted by the commander of Russian
peacekeeping forces on Wednesday.
The two sides gave differing accounts of the agenda and purpose of the meeting
held amid the continuing Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor.
The authorities in Stepanakert said its participants discussed the restoration
of “unimpeded” traffic thorough the corridor and Armenia’s electricity and
natural gas supplies to Karabakh also blocked by Baku.
An official Azerbaijani readout of the talks said, however, that they focused on
the Karabakh Armenians’ “integration into Azerbaijan.” One of the Azerbaijani
negotiators, Ramin Mammadov, told Azerbaijani media that this is the key
objective of the “dialogue.”
“The participants of the meeting did not discuss issues related to the political
status of the Republic of Artsakh,” read a statement released by the Karabakh
foreign ministry late on Wednesday. “The comments made by the Azerbaijani side
regarding the results of the meeting do not correspond to reality.”
“Such discussions organized for the purpose of solving urgent issues and, in
particular, the lifting of the blockade of Artsakh cannot be a substitute for
full-fledged peace negotiations which are necessary for the comprehensive
settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict,” added the statement.
It also said that the Russian peacekeepers have repeatedly organized such talks
before.
Azerbaijan has been trying to regain full control of Karabakh since its victory
in the 2020 war with Armenia. Speaking after his February 18 talks with Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Munich, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
said Baku is ready to negotiate with the Karabakh Armenians over their
“minority” rights.
The Karabakh president, Arayik Harutiunian, reiterated on Wednesday that
Stepanakert will continue to resist Azerbaijani rule.
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.
Author: Markos Nalchajian
U.S. underscored need for free, open commercial and private transit through Lachin corridor at Munich summit – spox
11:03,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the need for free and open commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a press briefing.
“…we have made clear through our word and our deed that we are ready and able to help the parties – Armenia and Azerbaijan – advance progress on these very difficult questions in any way that we can. We have done so bilaterally, we have done so trilaterally with the parties, including when Secretary Blinken sat down with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Munich. We are and have been working with and through our partners. We’re very supportive of the EU process, and I should note that there is an offer from President Michel of the EU to host the parties in Brussels. It’s an opportunity, should they accept it, to sit down to continue the progress that we’ve seen in recent weeks.
When it comes to the Lachin corridor, the Secretary raised this in his engagement with the prime minister and with the president in Munich last weekend. He underscored the need for free and open commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor. He also called on the parties to open other transportation routes. We think it in the first instance is incumbent on the parties themselves to resolve these impediments to the free flow of goods, including humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most in this corridor, and we’re going to focus our diplomacy on attempting to bring – to help bring that about,” Price said.
Asked when the Brussels meeting is expected to take place, Price said: “My understanding is that the invitation and the opportunity has been extended to the parties. Ultimately, it’s going to have to be up to the parties themselves – our Armenian partners, our Azerbaijani partners – to speak to their potential participation in any such meeting.”
The Lachin Corridor is blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022.
MSC2023: Very important to keep international attention on our region, says Pashinyan
20:16,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan believes the situation in South Caucasus requires more international attention in conditions of the current risks.
“Global stability can make things in our region better. Because for long time, the whole international attention is concentrated on Ukraine, understandably, and it creates new risks for our region. And it is very important to keep the international attention on our region as well because I think there are many risks to be managed. What is our approach to this whole situation? We stayed devoted to our democratic reforms agenda, because we believe that democratic reforms, the development of democratic institutions, rule of law, human rights, independent judiciary, et cetera, would make the overall situation in our region better. And we think that it is a benefit for the whole region for us to do our part of the job,” PM Pashinyan said at a panel discussion alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the Secretary General of the OSCE Helga Schmid at the Munich Security Conference.
Music: Armenian baritone wins 10th Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 3 2022
CULTURE 12:35 03/09/2022 WORLD
Armenian baritone Grisha Martirosyan has won the 10th Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition held in Dublin from 25–30 August, the Journal of Music reports.
Martirosyan is a graduate of the Yerevan State Conservatoire in Armenia and also studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2019, he won first prize at the Gohar Gasparian Armenian National Singing Competition and is currently a member of the Mascarade Emerging Artists programme in Florence
The Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition was established in 1995 by Irish soprano and vocal coach Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Dunne, who passed away in 2021. The competition is held every three years in Dublin and has a prize fund of €30,000.
Each of the six finalists in this year’s competition performed three arias with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Laurent Wagner. For Martirosyan’s performance, he sang ‘Si può’ from Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, ‘Avant de quitter ces lieux’ from Gounod’s Faust, and ‘Vision fugitive’ from Massenet’s Hérodiade.
Aebh Kelly from Dublin was awarded second prize. A graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, she is also a member of the Mascarade Emerging Artists programme and was previously a member of Irish National Opera’s ABL Aviation Opera Studio. She recently performed as the Red Queen in Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Underground and in Amanda Feery’s opera A Thing I Cannot Name, as well as Jenn Kirby’s Dichotomies of Lockdown as part of INO’s 20 Shots of Opera. She made her debut with the NSO in June.
Armenpress: China launches new satellite via Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket
China launches new satellite via Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket
09:40, 23 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS. China on Tuesday successfully launched a new satellite into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Xinhua news agency reports.
The Chuangxin-16 satellite, developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was launched at 10:36 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully.
The satellite will mainly be used for scientific experiments and verification of new technologies.
Armenian Government offers infrastructure support to investors
12:03, 24 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. The Government approved the “Infrastructures for Investments” program which offers investors support by building the necessary infrastructures.
“Armenia recorded high economic activity growth in the first half of the year, but naturally this inspires us to further promote and support investments,” Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said at the Cabinet meeting.
The program is aimed at helping all investors in solving their infrastructure issues.
“Many people who build factories and hotels or carry out other investments are almost always having problems related to infrastructures, be it a water pipeline, gas pipeline, road or anything else, and with this program we are encouraging investors by helping them in the issue of infrastructures,” Kerobyan said.
The government will provide 20% infrastructure needed by investors who are investing 500,000,000 dams. If the investment is higher than 500,000,000 drams, the government will provide the necessary infrastructure by 10%.
Armenpress: Tigran Avinyan participates in the resumption of Sisian’s stone processing workshop
Tigran Avinyan participates in the resumption of Sisian’s stone processing workshop
21:10,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. Tigran Avinyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Armenian National Interest Fund (ANIF), participated yesterday in the resumption of the "VH Stone" stone processing workshop in Sisian, ARMENPRESS reports Avinyan wrote on his Facebook page.
"The workshop belonging to Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine was not functioning since 2019, and this year it was restarted by the decision of the new managing staff of the Combine. It already has 40 jobs, but in the case of expansion of production capacity, it can provide up to 100 jobs," Avinyan wrote, adding that it is thanks to such economic units and appropriate infrastructures that the regions of Armenia can develop both by providing jobs to the population and by transforming the economy with technological development.
Karabakh: all Akhavno villagers decide to leave their houses
The Caucasian Knot
Aug 20 2022
All the residents of the village of Akhavno have decided to quit the community; two of them burned down their houses, the head of the village has informed. Law enforcement bodies of Nagorno-Karabakh take care that the residents of Akhavno and Berdzor, who leave for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, wouldn't burn their houses down.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the administration of the Kashatag District of Karabakh reported that residents of Berdzor (the Azerbaijani name is Lachin) and the village of Akhavno (Zabukh) must leave their houses by August 20. The authorities do not guarantee the safety of those who decide to stay, the Mayor of Berdzor has stated. Akhavno villagers have put up with the need to leave the village, a local resident has stated.
The Armenian population of the town of Lachin and two villages must leave these territories, the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliev, has stated earlier. The houses built during the time when these dwelling settlements were not controlled by Azerbaijan should be demolished, Imdad Alizade, a journalist, believes.
Andranik Chaushyan, the head of Akhavno, has noted that "absolutely everyone will leave the village, as they fear for their lives and the lives of their children."
However, the families who decided to leave for Armenia, have faced the problem of high costs of housing.
"I've lost my house and orchards. Now, I regret that I haven't burnt down everything I left behind. But I hope that one day I will be able to return to my village," said Amlet Azizyan, a former resident of the Kashatag District.
"Why is everyone threatening ordinary people? What are we to blame for? Responsibility is on authorities of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh since 1994," Mesrop Pogosyan, a resident of Berdzor, has stated.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 19, 2022 at 04:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
See earlier reports:
Berdzor residents prepare to leave their houses, Realtors assess chances of forced migrants from Berdzor to acquire housing in Armenia, Berdzor population reduces to 70 before resettlement from Lachin corridor.
Author: Alvard Grigoryan Source: СK correspondent
Источник: https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/61080/
© Кавказский Узел
Artsakh authorities diligently empty another village
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 22 2022
15:01, 22.08.2022
Artsakh authorities diligently devastated another village, for which Azerbaijan should "reward" them. A resident of Aghavno village Haykaram Mnatsakanyan wrote on a Facebook post. "Ilham Aliyev will thank, I hope, also award Hayk Khanumyan and all those who led this work with the Heydar Aliyev Gold Medal," he says. According to the resident, although Aghavno is deprived of electricity and all means of communication, they are still there. "We need you all to live in Aghavno, we do not lose hope, although they go step by step to their goal to please Aliyev; the village was not devastated by the Russian or Armenian governments, this village was devastated by the Artsakh government," says Haykaram Mnatsakanyan.
On August 5, Artsakh Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hayk Khanumyan informed Aghavno and Berdzor residents that they must leave their homes before August 25. On August 18, electricity, telephone, internet, gas and later water supply was cut off in these settlements. Most of the population has already left Berdzor and Aghavno.
Regular screening the best fight against development of breast cancer
11:54,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. Breast cancer continues to claim many lives all over the world. The biggest problem is that women often visit a doctor when the disease is already at the final stage. In order to prevent the disease, every woman should regularly be examined.
In an interview to ARMENPRESS, oncologist-surgeon Artur Avetisyan, the deputy director of the National Center of Oncology named after Fanarjyan, said that the breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women and could lead to very serious consequences because of not detecting it on time.
“Unfortunately, many people in Armenia see the breast cancer at the stage when it becomes visible or palpable. Even if it is very small, we could already assume that it could have been detected earlier thanks to the regular screenings”, he said.
Talking about the causes of the breast cancer, Artur Avetisyan said that they are many and the meeting of these various causes in one place could cause the disease. Among the causes he mentions a hereditary factor, obesity, passive lifestyle and abuse of different types of hormone substitutes or drugs containing female hormones, etc.
“The breast cancer is spread globally, but in developed countries the number of deaths associated with this disease is declining. This is thanks to early detection and quality treatment”, he added.
The oncologist-surgeon notes that in order to avoid the disease, it is necessary to follow the weight, run a healthy lifestyle, avoid using hormone substitutes for a long time and regularly undergo medical examination.
As for the screening programs, the doctor said that it aims at examining everyone in a concrete age or risky group which will allow to detect early the disease and fully prevent its further complications.
Interview by Gayane Gaboyan
Photos by Hayk Manukyan