Author: Nahapetian Samvel

Armenia repatriates 5 Iranian prisoners: Media

Nahapetian Samvel

Tehran, Jun 24 (IANS): Five Iranians imprisoned in Armenia have been repatriated under a prisoner extradition agreement between the two countries, media reported.

The convicts are expected to serve the remainder of their jail terms in Iran, the the semi-official Fars news agency report said on Friday.

Fars quoted the Iranian Foreign Ministry as saying the prisoner extradition process will increase coordination between the Iranian and Armenian juridical and law enforcement authorities.

Iran and Armenia signed the prisoner extradition agreement in February 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Iranian Justice Minister Amin-Hossein Rahimi, most of the Iranians imprisoned in Armenia are accused of carrying narcotics including codeine-based sedatives.

The Hidden Place of Artsakh

Nahapetian Samvel
 Siranush Sargsyan  0

Srbuhi Vanyan in her living room in Stepanakert with her working sketches and some completed works

“Your whole life, you set goals, work hard, create, and then there’s a war and now the blockade, which create monumental challenges that require doing the near-impossible to overcome them,” explains radio host-turned aspiring guesthouse manager Srbuhi Vanyan in her living room in Stepanakert. “It’s like trying to wring wood from a stone,” she repeats a folk saying in Artsakh.

Vanyan, 43, is a trained journalist who had been working in local radio for many years until she and her husband decided to launch Min Taqun Tegh (A Hidden Place), hoping to turn their old house into a guest house for rental income. The Vanyans’ vision was to create an authentic experience for Artsakh visitors, a cozy place where visitors can discover for themselves the beauty of Artsakh and gems hidden from most of the world. It would also be a place where visitors experience the Vanyans’ artwork.

Srbuhi Vanyan at her unfinished guest house in Stepanakert

But the war of 2020 left the guest house unfinished.

Vanyan compares the beauty of Artsakh with a panoramic picture. After the war, Vanyan took up painting and created handmade and applied art in the form of eco bags, tablecloths and decorative pillows that feature the local dialect and folklore motifs, in an effort to preserve elements of national identity. “I like to paint everything that is related to Artsakh,” she says. Since tourists can’t visit Artsakh now, she wants her buyers, who may never have the chance to visit, to have a piece of hidden Artsakh with them, in their homes.

However, the ongoing six-month blockade of Artsakh has hindered the growth of her small business. Due to the closure of the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia and to the rest of the world, she cannot bring raw materials from Armenia, and the items sold online cannot be delivered to the buyers.

The endless queues are challenging for Vanyan as for almost everyone, but not only for getting necessary products. “We seem to have found ourselves at the lowest level of human needs. My customers are mostly women, who have higher needs such as being in the proximity of art, but today they have to think mainly about satisfying those basic needs,’’ says Vanyan.

The blockade has also been a personal challenge for Vanyan, because her family has been divided. Her husband is left without a job in Yerevan. Her elder daughter, who is studying in Yerevan, can’t return home either. 

Vanyan tries to take care of the family on both sides of the road. She is not afraid of these difficulties or the deprivation, because since the first war, they have survived many hardships.

“On the one hand, war hinders the opportunity to develop. On the other hand, it inspires creativity and resourcefulness,” she bitterly notes. “When I was a child, I cut my mother’s wedding dress and sewed a suit for myself. I sewed my brother’s torn shoes from an old school bag.”

After the war, Vanyan didn’t hesitate to return to Artsakh, a risky decision she admits may have been irrational: “Maybe we love this land too much.” But she also says that her dream and the collective desire of local Armenians is not something unusual—to continue one’s way of life, to simply exist. “I just want to have the opportunity to live together with my family, to create and move freely, but also to preserve our identity in our homeland, in our hidden place.” She wishes that this was not as seemingly impossible a task as wringing wood from a stone.

The blockade has had enormous consequences for Artsakh’s economy, which has not yet recovered from the 2020 war, putting it on the brink of a new crisis. 

In particular, the activity of the mining sector and large-scale agricultural activities have been  completely suspended. The construction of roads, tens of kilometers of water lines, irrigation systems for thousands of hectares of land and housing for displaced people from the occupied territories have all come to a halt.

During the blockade, foreign trade turnover was disrupted as well. Only humanitarian cargo has been imported through the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping force, mainly food and medicine, which is only eight-percent of the volume of goods imported into Artsakh before the blockade. An average of more than 200 tons of commodities used to be exported from Artsakh per day (mainly mining, food and textile industry products, alcoholic beverages), but now exports have completely halted.

According to the economic forecast, if the current situation remains unchanged, in 2023 the gross domestic product of Artsakh will decrease by more than 45-percent compared to the previous year.

As a result of all this, workers in all affected sectors face the threat of unemployment and many others have already lost their jobs. About 11,000 people have become unemployed, more than half of the employees in the private sector of the economy.

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Siranush Sargsyan is a freelance journalist based in Stepanakert.


Lawyers protest outside Prosecutor General’s Office in Yerevan

Nahapetian Samvel
Panorama
Armenia –

A group of lawyers on Monday staged a protest against police violence outside the Prosecutor General’s Office in Yerevan. They “gifted” a TV set with a red ribbon to Armenia’s chief prosecutor.

The protest was sparked by an incident in which lawyer Karen Alaverdyan was beaten up by police officers while representing his client at a police station in Yerevan earlier in June.

“When the chief prosecutor was asked in the parliament about the progress in the investigation into the violence, she said she was not aware of the incident,” Arsen Babayan said.

“Today, we have brought the prosecutor general a TV as a gift, so that she would have the opportunity to watch not only the Public TV, but also other channels to learn about violence against lawyers in police custody,” he added.

Sports: Essegian called to represent Armenian National Team

Nahapetian Samvel
 UW Badgers 
University of Wisconsin 
June 12 2023

Men’s Basketball June 12, 2023

MADISON, Wis. — Connor Essegian earned the opportunity to play the game he loves and represent his heritage, as the Wisconsin sophomore recently accepted an invitation to play basketball for the Armenian National Team in two upcoming games against France.

Essegian will be making his debut for Armenia in the “Armenian Basketball Classic,” an event that will take place June 16-17 and have Armenia facing France – ranked No. 5 globally – in back-to-back games. Both games will be played in California at Premier America Credit Union Arena on the campus of California State University, Northridge. It will mark the first-ever Armenian basketball games to be played in the United States.

Building on its momentum after winning gold at the 2022 European Championship for Small Countries, Armenia begins its journey to qualify for the FIBA World Cup.

Essegian reported for training camp in Glendale, California, which runs Monday through Thursday.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play the game that I love, while also representing Armenia and my family in the process,” Essegian said. “My father’s side is Armenian and I believe one of my relatives, Chuck Essegian, was the first Armenian player in Major League Baseball, so I’m excited to add to that history through the game of basketball. I’m also excited to represent Wisconsin on an international level of competition. I plan to use this opportunity to challenge myself against professional-level players, while also better preparing for this upcoming season.”

Connor’s father is 50 percent Armenian, and Connor’s grandfather is 100 percent Armenian. The cousin of Connor’s grandfather, Chuck Essegian, is the first Armenian to play in Major League Baseball. Chuck Essegian played baseball and football at Stanford University, competing in the 1951 Rose Bowl, before going on to play in MLB for six seasons (1958-63) where he played in the 1959 World Series with the Dodgers. Chuck Essegian set a World Series record with two pinch-hit home runs, and became just the second player to play in both the Rose Bowl and World Series.

Essegian burst onto the scene in his first season at Wisconsin, earning Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors and showcasing himself as one of the best sharp shooters in the country. Essegian played in all 35 games for the Badgers, starting the final 19 games and averaging 11.7 points per game on the season. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native became just the fifth Badger over the last 25 years to average double figures in their freshman season, joining Brad Davison (2017-18), Ethan Happ (2015-16), Alando Tucker (2002-03) and Devin Harris (2001-02). With 69 made 3-pointers on the season, Essegian broke the school record for most made 3-point field goals by a freshman.

“Any time one of our athletes gets to play on an international stage and represent their heritage it is an awesome opportunity,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said. “We’ve had several players over the years use this experience as a springboard into the next season, and I know that Connor will go in with his eyes and ears wide open to squeeze everything out of this opportunity that he can. I’m excited to follow him as he competes.”

For updates on Connor Essegian and the Armenian National Team, follow @BadgerMBB on social media and visit UWBadgers.com.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86

Nahapetian Samvel

 12:51,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died aged 86.

He died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, according to Italian media.

In April, Berlusconi was treated for a lung infection linked to a previously undisclosed case of chronic leukaemia, according to the BBC.

A flamboyant billionaire media tycoon, Berlusconi first came to office in 1994 and led four governments until 2011.

Reacting to the news, Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Berlusconi’s death left a “huge void”.

“An era is over… Farewell Silvio,” Mr Crosetto wrote in a tweet, adding that he “loved” Berlusconi “very much”.

Armenpress: Armenian FM calls for maximum possible certainty in delimitation process with Azerbaijan

Nahapetian Samvel

 10:14, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan has talked over the phone with US acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Derek Hogan.

FM Mirzoyan and Hogan discussed issues of regional security and stability, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Ahead of the discussions which are planned in Washington in a few days, the key issues of the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were touched upon, including border delimitation and security, proper addressing of the rights and security issues of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the importance of ensuring the maximum possible certainty in the delimitation process, particularly the commitment regarding the map of 1975.  

FM Ararat Mirzoyan once again drew the attention of the American side to the aggressive rhetoric expressed by the top leadership of Azerbaijan in parallel with the negotiation process, stressing the need to exclude the threat of use of force and mutual respect for territorial integrity.




Madison County Historical Society to host session on Armenian history

Nahapetian Samvel
May 30 2023
The Intelligencer
May 30, 2023

EDWARDSVILLE — “An Introduction to Armenian Culture, History and the Armenian Genocide” is the topic for the June 11 Speaker Series program from the Madison County Historical Society (MCHS).

Historian Norma Asadorian, whose Armenian grandparents immigrated to Granite City, will introduce the audience to Armenian culture and the Armenian genocide. The program will begin at 2 p.m. at the Main Street Community Center, 1003 N. Main St. The program is free and open to the public.

Armenians and other immigrants who settled in Granite City’s Lincoln Place neighborhood played an important role in the development of the planned community. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Granite City was established by the immigrant industrialist brothers Fredrick and William Niedringhaus across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

Granite City began as an industrial town producing graniteware household items and industrial steel. It was connected to other parts of the country by several railroad lines. The need for large amounts of cheap factory labor attracted thousands of immigrants, including Hungarians, Macedonians, Mexicans and Armenians, among many others.  

Known to historians as “The First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” the Armenian genocide is a significant event in modern Armenian history and continues to influence foreign relations with the Republic of Armenia and the lives and shared memories of Armenians and their descendants around the globe. This is what prompted the immigration of many early Granite City Armenians.

Norma Asadorian earned a bachelor of arts from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, where she double majored in history and in Russian and East European Studies. Subsequently, she attended SIUE where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in education with a major in history and later an master’s degree in history.

Before her retirement in 2012, Asadorian was an award-winning secondary school teacher for 37 years. She is the founder and president of the Lincoln Place Heritage Association, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the historical and cultural heritage of Granite City’s historic Lincoln Place neighborhood.

This program is the third of four offered annually by the Madison County Historical Society. All speaker series programs are free and open to the public.

MCHS is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that owns and operates the Madison County History Museum and Archival Library at 801 N. Main St., Edwardsville. For additional information visit the MCHS website at https://madcohistory.org/ or call 618-656-1294.

https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/armenia-focus-june-speaker-series-historical-18121831.php

Armenian NGOs concerned over U.S. statement on Artsakh

Nahapetian Samvel
Panorama
Armenia – June 3 2023

A group of Armenian NGOs have expressed deep concern over the statement made by the U.S. State Department on 30 May following Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s fresh threats agianst Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Below is the full text of a statement released by the organizations on Friday.

“We, the undersigned civil society organizations from Armenia express our grave concerns over the statement of the US State Department on May 30, 2023 in relation to the remarks delivered by President of Azerbaijan Aliyev on May 28, 2023.

Whereas we support the efforts aimed at achieving a lasting and sustainable settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the effective observance and respect for human rights, however we strongly believe that the recent United States statement will serve as an endorsement for Azerbaijani president to proceed with further use of force and ethnic cleansing policy of Armenians. Lack of adequate reaction serves as a normalization of the practice of the use of force in settlement of disputes which is against the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The essence of the international legal order post-World War II is to ensure that there is no place for the use of force in settling disputes. With the current state of affairs in our broader region and serious challenges undermining the current order, including the human rights system, it is of paramount importance and its utmost responsibility to prevent autocratic regimes from benefitting from the ongoing crisis and achieving their aims through gross violations of human rights and the use of force.

Silence but more so welcoming statements not interpreted in the context of the rest of the speech of President Aliyev and his previous racist record, validate “the new normal” – the use of force instead of internationally mediated negotiations. Instead of encouraging genuine negotiations for resolution of the conflict, such statements embolden Azerbaijan to continue resorting to the use of force to achieve its goals and allow Azerbaijani president to brag about the support and approval of his conduct by international partners.

This is the context of the offer for ‘amnesty’ in the speech of President Aliyev:

“We are simply being patient. However, everyone knows perfectly well that we have all the opportunities to carry out any operation in that region today. Therefore, the “parliament” should be dissolved, the element calling himself “president” should surrender, all “ministers”, “deputies” and others should give up their positions. Only in that case can a concession be made to them. Only in that case can we talk of an amnesty”. “Either they will bend their necks and come themselves or things will develop differently now. Therefore, they can count on an amnesty only if they voluntarily put aside all their false duties and apply for Azerbaijani citizenship. We will look at that. My word is final, and everyone knows that both in Azerbaijan and the rest of the world, including Armenia. We do what we say. Not a single word of ours, as they say, has been left in the air and never will be in the future either… They have missed many opportunities, a number of opportunities, and each time, as they say, we had to knock them over to bring them to their senses.”

He also referred to Armenia: “They [Armenians] must accept our terms. If they don’t want delimitation, there will be no delimitation. The border will be where we say it should be. No one will help them, not the retired French policemen, not anyone else. They must not forget that Armenian villages are visible from here.”

President Aliyev explained his approach still on December 24, 2022: “Nobody can influence us. There may be calls, there may be some statements, but we do not need to pay attention to them. We are answering these calls simply out of political courtesy. But this will not change our position in the slightest.”

President Aliyev’s recent remarks on consideration of ‘amnesty’ welcomed by the State Department are nothing else as another clear threat of the use of force and further violations of human rights not only against the elected leadership of Nagorno Karabakh but the entire population. Moreover, threats of use of force in coming weeks were echoed in social media channels affiliated with Azerbaijani government.

With all the appreciation of the U.S. involvement in conflict resolution, it is obvious that the efforts so far have not discouraged Azerbaijan from its aggressive moves aimed at erasing any Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. The everyday threat of ethnic cleansing decreases the chances of having a genuine and durable peace in the South Caucasus. The ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be futile if Nagorno-Karabakh is depopulated of its indigenous Armenians.

Notwithstanding the ongoing peace negotiations, Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev’s rhetoric is getting more and more belligerent and seriously undermines the trust into the peace process and results in regular military escalations with casualties. At least 40 people on both sides have been killed and wounded since March 2023 making this spring the deadliest since the 2020 war. Peace deal for the sake of a peace deal alone shall not be an end goal itself. Peace would only be lasting and durable if it is based on effective guarantees of non-use of force, genuine respect for human rights and ensuring justice.

Guarantees prescribed under the trilateral ceasefire statement of November 9, 2020, brokered by Russia are currently failing․ The agreement to return the Armenian prisoners of war, resolve humanitarian issues, adhere to the cease-fire and open transport communications have not been observed by Azerbaijan. Instead, we have witnessed a growing asymmetry of powers, increasing hate and combative rhetoric by Azerbaijan, deprivation of Nagorno-Karabakh people of their basic rights and fundamental freedoms. It is in this context that ‘amnesty considerations’ are made.

In a situation when basic human rights of the entire population of Nagorno Karabakh are violated by Azerbaijan, when they are taken hostage, amnesties are not the issue to be discussed.

With the extremely poor human rights record in Azerbaijan and extensive record of inciting hatred towards Armenians documented by the relevant UN and regional human rights organizations, we remain seriously concerned about its capacity and genuine will to respect human rights, especially of Armenians. Emboldening a war-mongering autocracy – Azerbaijan – will result in further bloodshed and will definitely not lead to a dignified and durable peace in the region.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh must have a diplomatic and political solution with robust guarantees for the security of the indigenous Armenian population, with effective mechanisms in place to ensure that they live peacefully in their homes and enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms.

In this respect, we call the Government of the United States:

– To refrain from statements that can embolden the Azerbaijani leadership to further resort to the use of force or the threat to use of force,

– To intensify the efforts aimed at solving humanitarian issues, including immediate and unconditional repatriation of all Armenian POWS and civilians detained by Azerbaijan,

– To put pressure on Azerbaijan to restore the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo through the Lachin Corridor in both directions, as stated in the decision of ICJ;

– To support the presence of an international peacekeeping mission inside Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the Lachin corridor to guarantee impartial monitoring of the situation on the ground, regular and public reporting to the international community, and serve as an essential assurance of security for the local people;

– To support the establishment of a rights based international mechanism between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh;

– To support the delimitation and demarcation process in line with human rights principles

– To take measures in line with the US legislation to hold the Azerbaijani political and military leadership accountable for gross violations of human rights and war crimes, including through application of sanctions.”

Protection of Rights without Borders NGO

Transparency International Anticorruption Center

Democracy Development Foundation

Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

For Equal Rights NGO

Law Development and Protection Foundation

Peace Dialogue NGO

Journalists’ Club ‘Asparez’

Public Journalism Club

Union of Informed Citizens



EU expects Armenia and Azerbaijan to reiterate political will to normalize relations

Nahapetian Samvel

Save

 13:31, 1 June 2023

CHISINAU, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. President of the European Council Charles Michel has expressed hope that during the upcoming June 1 meeting in Chisinau Armenia and Azerbaijan will once again reiterate political will to normalize relations.

“This important meeting will take place today,” Michel told reporters during the opening of the 2nd European Political Community Summit in Chisinau when asked on his expectations from the Armenia-Azerbaijan summit, where Michel himself will participate together with the German and French leaders. “I’ve had the occasion to meet with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels a few weeks ago. We had some progress. And I hope this will once again be a chance to reiterate common political will to normalize relations between the two countries,” he said.

Providence ARF remembers and celebrates the Khanasor exhibition and Armenian independence

Nahapetian Samvel
 Guest Contributor Diaspora 0

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The Providence “Kristapor” Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) held its annual Khanasor and Armenian Independence Day picnic on Sunday at Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church.  

About 200 picnic supporters enjoyed delicious beef tip kebabs, losh kebab and chicken dinners prepared by ARF members and helpers. Those gathered at the Armenia Street parking lot were entertained by Hagop Garabedian (keyboard), Harry Alahverdian (oud), Malcolm Varadian (dumbeg) and Carl Goshgarian (vocals).

This annual event celebrates the historic Battle of Khanasor (Khanasor Expedition), which took place in 1897 and the Republic of Armenia’s First Independence in May 1918.

The Providence ARF proudly celebrates our fedayi heroes who stood against the enemy to defend our peoples’ right to live freely and practice their Christian faith. The fight for survival is still going on in Armenia and Artsakh today, and our heroes continue to put their lives on the line against the same enemy from more than 100 years ago, fighting to defend our right to live as Armenians in our sovereign land.