MediaMax, Armenia
Author: Tambiyan Samvel
BAKU: Protest held in German Bielefeld against Armenian provocation
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
18:14 (UTC+04:00)
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijanis from all over the world continue to support their homeland in telling the truth about the Armenian aggression to the world. Yesterday, the German-Azerbaijani Culture Society “Bielefeld NR” held a protest on the main street of the German city of Bielefeld in connection with Armenia’s military provocation in Alkhanly village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli region.
This provocation resulted in the murder of two Azerbaijani civilians living in the village – a woman and her two-year-old granddaughter. This deadly incident once again proved that Armenia doesn’t stop on constant violations of ceasefire with Azerbaijan – the aggressor also targets Azerbaijani human settlements near the frontline.
During the protest in Bielefeld, its participants were carrying posters and banners reflecting the atrocities of the Armenian army. The protesters chanted slogans against Armenia’s aggression policy, such as “Sargsyan – the baby killer!”, “Say NO to terror and aggression,” “Justice for Zahra,” and others.
The protest participants also mentioned the victims of Armenia-committed Khojaly genocide against Azerbaijani civilians in 1992. Head of the German-Azerbaijani Culture House Tarana Tagieva, doctor Ruslan Jafarli and head of the Bielefeld branch of the Ataturk Thinking society Mehmet Ali Olmez told about the atrocities of the Armenians.
The protesters further called on the international community to take decisive action against Armenia in order to force it to withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani lands and to put an end to Armenia’s aggression policy.
Since signing the ceasefire with Azerbaijan in 1994, Armenia has been constantly violating it, thus killing Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians from time to time. However, the international community remained indifferent to all these violations of international law.
Today Armenia remains unpunished and therefore continues these deadly provocations, thus ruining the stability in the region and hampering the resolution of the prolonged Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Turkish Armenian Writer Sevan Nisanyan Escapes from Prison
Asbarez Armenian News
July 14 2017
Sevan Nisanyan
ISTANBUL—Turkish-Armenian writer Sevan Nisanyan, who has been serving a 17-year prison term since 2014 has reportedly escaped from the correctional facility where he was being held and fled Turkey, according to Turkish media reports.
Nisanyan left the minimum security prison on Friday morning and has not returned.
A message on his Twitter page said: “The bird flew away: Same wishes to the remaining 80 million.”
Turkish historian and scholar Taner Akcam, reacted to the news by tweeting: “Sevan Nisanyan has escaped by saying ‘the bird flew away.’ With expectations of a free world for all birds….”
Nisanyan was arrested and imprisoned in Turkey for carrying out “illegal” construction in his own garden, charges that were so obviously made up by Turkish authorities who had been seeking ways to silence the outspoken scholar and writer.
Even the Turkish media said that his arrest was an obviously an effort by Turkish authorities to frame him since he was a staunch critic of the Turkish regime.
See the tweet at
We have sufficient arsenal to neutralize threats to Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, says President Sargsyan
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia July 14, 2017 Friday We have sufficient arsenal to neutralize threats to Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, says President Sargsyan YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. The self-determination right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh is a right granted from above, a right defined under the charters of international structures, a principle adopted by international rights and it must be exercised, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to Armenia TV’s “Revolution” program. “What can guarantee the continuity of any solution or what guarantee can there be that if a political solution happens, then the conditions will be maintained. I have said numerously, and I will repeat now: the number one guarantee is having own combat-worthy armed forces. This is the number one guarantee and the most-trusted guarantee. We have sufficient arsenal to be able to eliminate the danger which threatens Nagorno Karabakh or Armenia with the combat capabilities of our troops. Whoever thinks that Iskander’s have only moral or psychological significance, he doesn’t understand what Iskanders are. When he knows, he will understand what destructive force this weapon has”, the Armenian president said.
36 children from Kotayk region participated in Rostelecom Armenia and Russian Art Museum joint project
ArmInfo, Armenia
ArmInfo. Starting from June 10, 36 children aged 6-16 years from the SOS Children’s Village of Kotayk region became participants of the joint project “Art for All” by Rostelecom Armenia and the Museum of Russian Art.
As the press service of the company told ArmInfo, four programs were implemented within the framework of the project: “Art: kinds, genres, technique”, “My house is my fortress”, “Guess the picture”, “Puzzle, outline, description” On the development of logical thinking, observation, visual memory, the enrichment of knowledge and vocabulary in educational art, as well as the formation of aesthetic sense and perception of beauty in children.
To note, the start of the project fell on November 2016, within the framework of which it is envisaged the implementation of programs developed as a result of joint work of teachers, museologists, psychologists and art historians in guardianship centers in orphanages in Armenia, and for disabled children, or with backward development and other groups.
To remind, Rostelecom OJSC (www.rostelecom.ru) is one of the largest national telecommunications companies in Russia and Europe, which is present in all segments of the communications services market. The number of Internet users exceeds 10.9 million, and pay-TV subscribers – 7.7 million. Russian OJSC Rostelecom through its subsidiary in Armenia, GNC-ALFA started promoting and retailing telecommunications services in Armenia under its own brand at the end of 2012. The financial stability of the company is confirmed by the assignment of a high rating: “BBB-” – from Fitch Ratings and “BB +” – from Standard & Poor’s.
Edward Nalbandian: As long as Azerbaijan fails to respect its international commitments Baku bears full responsibility for all consequences
Aravot, Armenia
Statement by H.E. Mr. Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia at the Informal Ministerial Meeting of the OSCE
“Building trust through dialogue and cooperation”
Mr. Chairman,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the Austrian Chairmanship and particularly Minister Sebastian Kurz for organizing this informal Ministerial discussion.
Joining efforts with a view to overcoming distrust and increasing confidence is enshrined in the birth certificate of this Organization, while dialogue and cooperation have been long identified as the instruments for achieving our common goals. We appreciate the Chairmanship’s initiative to once again apply to the foundations of the OSCE, since neither dialogue, nor cooperation can be taken as granted nowadays. We hope that this kind of discussions can contribute to reviving the true spirit of cooperation, being mindful that the most noticeable accomplishments of the OSCE have been secured through dialogue and compromise, political will and good faith.
The setbacks of our cooperation and erosion of trust do not merely limit to the existing disagreements on number of areas. Here we refer also to the abuse of the principle of consensus, the consequences of which go far beyond from damaging the trust, especially in the cases where there is none, but rather shaking the very essence of the OSCE which is designed to solve the issues through dialogue and cooperation and never through imposing the position of one participating State at the expense of all others and the entire Organization. Thus, the refusal of Azerbaijan to join the consensus on the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan damages not merely the integrity of the field missions of the OSCE but its capacity of inclusive cooperation in implementing the commitments. Azerbaijan failed to respect the OSCE commitments back home and eliminated the OSCE Office in its own country before it attacked and closed the OSCE last assets in the region.
The violation and abuse of shared norms and principles do not happen in a vacuum. It does not come as a surprise that this participating State found itself alone and in isolation in challenging the OSCE Office in Yerevan.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The dire record of Azerbaijan’s noncompliance encompasses all three dimensions of the OSCE. The leadership of Azerbaijan uses every opportunity to boast about multiculturalism allegedly cultivated by them. In reality thousands masterpieces of Armenian cultural and historic heritage, sacred sites, churches, monasteries, cross stones destroyed and erased by Azerbaijan testify to the contrary. The 2016 report of the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance states: “Political leaders, educational institutions and media have continued using hate speech against Armenians; an entire generation of Azerbaijanis has now grown up listening to this hateful rhetoric”. It is this generation raised in the environment of such propaganda that again and again commits despicable crimes. How could the leadership of Baku talk about multiculturalism at the same time declaring that “all Armenians of the world are number one enemies of Azerbaijan”? Probably it considers this to be part of Baku’s self-proclaimed “intelligent power”. There is nothing smart in trying to mislead the international community, especially those countries that do not have, difficulty to find out the truth, to warn their citizens of the Armenian origin to avoid visiting Azerbaijan, where they will be subjected to outrageous racist discriminating practice on the basis of their ethnicity.
Mr. Chairman,
In April 2016 Azerbaijan unleashed a large scale aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh that was accompanied by the grave violations of international humanitarian law, atrocities against the civilian population, including children, women and elderly persons, mutilation of the bodies, Daesh-style beheadings, which have been condemned by international community.
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries initiated Summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg aimed at overcoming the consequences of Azerbaijan’s aggression as well as at creating conducive conditions for the advancement of the negotiation process.
During the Vienna Summit it was particularly agreed upon and then reconfirmed in St. Petersburg to establish the OSCE mechanism for investigation of the ceasefire violations; to increase the number and enhance the capacity of the OSCE monitors on the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, and on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The commitment on the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict was reiterated, the strict adherence to the 1994-1995 ceasefire agreements was emphasised.
Trust and confidence are built when agreements are implemented. With this understanding Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh gave their consents to implement the mentioned high level agreements. Azerbaijan backtracked from those agreements as it had done with prior commitments many times before. This attitude of Azerbaijan questions its credibility for being a party to negotiations, which honours its agreements.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the framework of the OSCE trust means first of all trust into Organization and its ability to address eminent security challenges in Europe. We firmly believe that based on the proposals of the Co-Chairs the OSCE should enhance its presence on the ground in the conflict zone on more permanent and stronger basis. In this respect the OSCE could help all parties to the conflict to respect ceasefire, avoid military escalation and build trust and confidence. The OSCE is an organization which was created on the lessons of history and history teaches us on many occasions that war is an outcome of misperception and miscalculation of security environment while peace is an outcome of trust. Azerbaijan has chosen a different path.
People on all sides of the conflict deserve to know who pushes them to the path of loss and suffering. Identifying the security threats in impartial and responsible manner is important for credibility of this Organization as well.
We took note that in their statement the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs identified Azerbaijan as a party who first resorted to the violence. This has been far not the first appeal of the Co-Chairs addressed directly to Azerbaijan. On previous occasions the Co-Chairs have made a number of clear cut statements calling Baku to refrain from the escalation of the situation, to reaffirm the commitment to peaceful settlement of the issue, to refrain from criticizing the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries and to respect their mandate, give up efforts to shift the conflict resolution to other formats, to agree to the establishment of investigation mechanism of ceasefire violations. In response to Azerbaijan’s claims that tried to question the validity of the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, the Co-Chairs clearly stated that these agreements have no time limitation and should be strictly adhered to.
However, Azerbaijan ignores all appeals of the Co-Chair countries and continues to stick to its highly destructive attitude at the negotiation table and provocative actions in the conflict zone.
On July 4th the Azerbaijani leadership once again resorted to the tactics of notorious terrorist organizations and as many times before used its civilian population as a human shield for shelling the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh by heavy weaponry, including by multiple rocket launcher systems. In response, the Defense Army of Nagorno-Karabakh was obliged to exercise self-defense against the aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani side. Baku clearly demonstrated that it is not capable to comprehend the appeals of the Co Chairs.
As long as Azerbaijan fails to respect its international commitments in compliance with 1994-1995 trilateral ceasefire agreements, refuses to implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg Summit commitments, especially on the creation of the mechanism for investigation of the ceasefire violations, that can become also a mechanism for prevention of escalation, Baku bears full responsibility for all consequences for such behaviour.
This stresses once again the imperative for the international community to consider more tangible means to curb Azerbaijan.
We are bound together to advance the cause of peace and security through the OSCE. We will continue to be actively involved in all efforts aimed at building cooperation, consent and trust in the OSCE area.
Thank you.
Education: Erasmus+ engineering and innovation summer school for students kicks off in Armenia
Aravot, Armenia
Last week, Armenian students with technical backgrounds gathered at the country’s National Engineering Laboratories for a summer school on engineering and innovation, supported by the Erasmus+ project in Armenia.
The summer school will last until 4 August and will have a multi- and cross-disciplinary thematic approach, to meet the challenges and opportunities related to modern, innovative engineering.
The one month programme will consist of a series of shared lectures and seminars, as well as separate, subject-specific workshops, the sharing of successful student experiences, site visits, industry tours and an engineering challenge project, said the Erasmus+ office in Armenia.
The aim of the summer school is to give students knowledge and skills in innovative engineering, and provide an extended overview of the realisation of a product’s life cycle from idea to innovative product.
Armenian human rights defender opposes business ombudsman institution plan
Tert, Armenia
17:17 • 10.07.17
Armenia’s human rights defender on Monday voiced his strong opposition to a proposal for creating a separate institution of a business ombudsman.
In a speech at the National Assembly, Arman Tatoyan called instead for active efforts towards developing the existing system.
“It is more preferable to develop the functioning institution rather than create a new one,” he said, responding to Mikael Melkuman, an opposition MP from the Tsarukyan alliance.
“We are now in intensive talks with the EU, involving also representatives of the sector, so I believe we will have a solution in the near future,” the ombudsman said, adding that active discussions with the European Development Bank are also now underway.
Tatoyan also addressed the reported violations of employment rights, citing the absence of a judiciary system as a reason accounting for abuses.
“That kind of agency would relieve the courts’ burden as an independent body. In many countries, of course, it is the ombudsman’s responsibility, yet there are countries where different formats are put in place,” he added.
Medicine: SoCal doctors embark on medical mission to heal in Armenia
ABC 7, Los Angeles
Sports: Three Armenian athletes to participate at the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships
Panorama, Armenia
The 2017 World Taekwondo Championships will kick off in Muju, South Korea, from June 24-30 where Armenia will be represented by 3 athletes.
Armenian National Olympic Committee (ANOC) reports, some 2,500 athletes from 183 states are set to take part in the prestigious tournament, which is held every two years. The head coach of Armenia team Gevorg Danielyan has told ANOC press service, Armenia will be represented by Sergey Vardazaryan (87kg), Davit Vardumyan (74kg), and Arman Yeremyan (87kg).
“The taekwondo team are holding a training camp at the sport center of the national teams in Yerevan. I hope our team will show good performance at the world championships and will be able to struggle for medals,” Danielyan has said.