Author: Torgomian Varazdat

Israel should be wary of Turkey’s reconciliation narrative – Jerusalem Post

Torgomian Varazdat
AHVAL News
April 3 2021

  • Apr 03 2021 10:47 Gmt+3
  • Last Updated On: Apr 03 2021 10:54 Gmt+3

Israel must be wary of the press reports about Ankara’s desire for reconciliation, as the latter’s sole desire is under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been isolating Israel and empowering Israel’s enemies, the Jerusalem Post said in an editorial published on Saturday.

If Erdoğan is sincere in his desire to mend ties with Israel, it said, he must make amends for calling Israel a Nazi country, expel Hamas members and “stop the flirtation with anti-Israel extremist groups.’’

Erdoğan in an unexpected statement in December said that Turkey would like better ties with Israel 

Once allies, the two countries have had a bitter falling out which began over a decade ago.Israel-Turkey relations began to deteriorate after Israel raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010, killing ten pro-Palestinian activists, most of them Turkish citizens, onboard the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship. 

The Turkish governmenthas repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians while criticising recent U.S.-brokered rapprochements between Israel and a number of Muslim countries.

“Israel’s government has a long history of this abuse from Turkey and no evidence that Turkey does anything to mend ties,’’ the Jerusalem Post said. “Turkey could start by stating that Israel is not like Nazi Germany. Otherwise, there is nothing to talk about.’’

Ankara must also stop giving “a red carpet to the Hamas commanders who have blood on their hands,’’ and welcome with hugs, the Jerusalem Post said. 

Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel and the United States while Turkey says the group is a legitimate political movement that won power through democratic elections.

The group established an office in Istanbul after the Syrian Civil War forced it to abandon one of its bureaus in Damascus and Turkey has been accused of providing funds and even citizenship to its top officials.

Erdoğan hosted the political chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Turkey twice last year, prompting condemnations from Israel, as well as global powers such as the United States. 

Last week, Haniyeh spoke with Turkey’s state-run news agency to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Palestinian Land Day.

Provincial governor: Armenia is in favor of unblocking roads

Torgomian Varazdat
News.am, Armenia
14:15, 30.03.2021

I am in favor of everyone doing their job and doing it professionally. The governor Armenia’s Tavush Province, Hayk Chobanyan, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“I consider the statement by the secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, incorrect. The main discussions are in progress on the issue of unblocking the roads,” said the provincial governor.

“I know that Armenia is in favor of that process from an economic point of view; it is in our interests. But the issue of security is a priority, and a balance needs to be put,” Chobanyan added.

As reported earlier, when asked in a recent interview whether Armenia considers Turkey an enemy state, Security Council secretary Armen Grigoryan had stated that Armenia should make some adjustments in its respective approach.

APT Gen-Sec sends letter to Armenian parliament President over funding of Human Rights Defender

Torgomian Varazdat

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 21:33,

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Secretary-General of the Association for Prevention of Torture Barbara Bernath sent an open letter to President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, noting that the financial independence of the Defender should be preserved.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the open letter runs as follows,

”Dear President Mirzoyan, The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an international non-governmental organisation that is at the origin of the international torture prevention system established by the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). This system opens all places of deprivation of liberty to independent monitoring by both an international body – the United National Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) – and national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) in over 90 states. We work closely with both the SPT and NPMs around the world to strengthen this system and to prevent torture and ill-treatment. In this context, we have a long history of close and constructive cooperation with the Armenian Human Rights Defender / NPM.

I am writing to you in relation to the proposed amendments to the Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender, submitted by the Armenian government on the 11th of March 2021. I understand that the current proposals would remove Article 8(5) of the Constitutional Law, which provides that the amount of funding in the state budget for the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) and the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) cannot be below the amount provided in the preceding year. I further understand that these changes have been initiated without proper consultation or discussion with the Human Rights Defender.

These proposals must also be considered in the context of other reported actions with a negative impact on the resources and technical capacity available to the NHRI and NPM, including restrictions on the use of government vehicles, which are essential to its work, including its ability to effectively monitor places of deprivation of liberty across the country.

As you are no doubt aware, Article 18(3) of the OPCAT, to which Armenia became a party in 2006, contains a positive obligation on states parties to provide both the necessary resources and adequate funding for the effective functioning of NPMs.

In line with the Paris Principles, financial autonomy is a fundamental requirement of NPM independence. It underpins the essential ability of NPMs to take operational and other decisions free from undue pressure or influence. As the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) notes in its 2010 Guidelines on NPMs, “the NPM should enjoy complete financial and operational autonomy when carrying out its functions under the Optional Protocol.”

The current constitutional guarantee against a regressive provision of funds to the Armenian Human Rights Defender has been widely considered an international best practice and is commonly cited by us in our advice to other countries in the process of establishing NPMs. Indeed, it is this and other guarantees of independence that have made the Armenian Human Rights Defender such a strong and reliable partner in the fight against torture and ill-treatment. Our cooperation over many years is built on the foundation provided by the NPM’s independence and technical expertise.

While many states face budgetary constraints, particularly in the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also at such times that the most vulnerable in society are at the greatest risk. It is thus essential that institutions mandated with their protection are not only supported but further strengthened at such moments in time.

In the light of the relevant international standards and Armenia’s obligations as a state party to the OPCAT, we thus recommend that the current Article 8(5) of the Constitution of Armenia is retained – as a best practice among NHRIs and NPMs – and that the Human Rights Defender is fully consulted in relation to any further discussions relating to amendments to its founding legislation.

We remain available for further information and discussion’’.

Former Presidents of Armenia and Artsakh hold meeting

Torgomian Varazdat

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 14:42,

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS. Former Presidents of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and former Presidents of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan held a meeting on March 25, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s spokesperson Arman Musinyan said on Facebook.

The spokesman said a number of issues relating to the post-war situation in Artsakh and the future possible developments were discussed during the meeting.

A similar meeting took place also during the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Bodies of 5 more soldiers found in search operations, Artsakh says

Torgomian Varazdat
Panorama, Armenia

Artsakh search and rescue teams on Saturday found the bodies of 5 more fallen servicemen as a result of their operations in the Azerbaijani-held areas.

The bodies were retrieved from the Jrakan (Jabrayil) and Varanda (Fizuli) regions, Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations said.

Since the start of the ceasefire, a total of 1,523 bodies of fallen troops and civilians have been found as a result of search efforts or have been handed over to Artsakh by Azerbaijan

Search operations will continue in the coming days too, but from now on they will be conducted out of necessity, the service said.

Western Prelacy Establishes ‘Artsakh Heroes Families Fund’

Torgomian Varazdat



Western Prelate Bishop Torkom Donoyan lights one of 250 candles in memory of martyrs, after announcing the “Artsakh Heroes Families Fund”

Western Prelate Bishop Torkom Donoyan on Wednesday announced that the Prelacy, in line with an earlier decision by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia who declared 2020 “The Year of Artsakh,” has established the “Artsakh Heroes Families Fund.”

The announcement was made by Donoyan, who presided over the last Lenten evening service, which took place at the Western Prelacy’s “Dikran and Zarouhi Der Ghazarian” Hall. A candlelight vigil was held for the souls of the martyrs. The service was attended by clergy, the Prelacy’s Executive and Religious councils, Ladies Auxiliary Guild and parishioners.

“During this sacred moment, as we gather here together here, we establish a new fund by the Western Prelacy, called ‘Artsakh Heroes Families Fund,’ which will be operational in the coming days. The purpose of this fund is to extend a helping hand to the families of the victims of the Artsakh War,” explained Prelate Donoyan when he delivered his Lenten message.

Prelate leads last Lenten evening service

He further expounded on the idea of giving, and mentioned that the Western Prelacy Ladies Auxiliary Guild made a special effort preparing and selling Lenten dishes, and with the support of the clergy, managed to raise $50,000 in recent days for the fund.

The Prelate concluded his message by announcing that “in memory of the martyrs, 249 candles were lit in various Armenian homes tonight, while one of the candles was lit in the Western Prelacy.”

As the Prelate lit the candle, Berge Kirazian performed the “Kda Der” hymn. The service ended with the singing of the Armenian National Anthem.

The 250 candles were donated by the Chairperson of Hollywood’s St. Garabed Armenian Church, Madlen Ashjian and her husband, Sarkis.

Coronavirus: Armenia reports 1071 daily cases

Torgomian Varazdat

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 11:22,

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. 1071 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 183,127, the ministry of healthcare reports.

459 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 167,977.

The death toll has risen to 3332 (12 death cases have been registered in the past one day).

5959 COVID-19 tests were conducted in one day.

The number of active cases is 10,963.

The number of people who had coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 855 (4 new such cases).

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Khachik Nazaryan: Science is in dire state in Armenia, scientists face a bleak future

Torgomian Varazdat
Panorama, Armenia

Science is the lifebelt for a state to recover from crises. In Armenia, however, the scientific potential goes down drastically and loses on high volumes. This is the alarm raised by dozens of associations, which have established Gituzh (Power of Science) initiative. They demand the government to increase the budget allocations to the science sector. The petition is published on Change.org website and  collected 7,500 signatures thus far. 

“Science is a nourishing source for other sectors,” Director of Engineering at VMware company, board member at the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) Khachik Nazaryan told an interview with Panorama.am. In his words, the science is often linked to the development of technologies, yet science, per him, is everywhere – in political science, diplomacy, linguistics, Turkish studies, etc. 

“Gaps in these humanitarian disciplines had a more negative impact on the country than the ones on the technological sector. It is now convenient to refer to the technological sector, the security, as those are related to business and income, yet there is no a possibility to assess the losses emanating from the defeat of the diplomatic thought. The Artsakh war is one of the vivid examples of the above-said,” Nazaryan explained. 

He highlights the education-science and primarily science-education links. In the words of the technologist, science is the producer of knowledge and the sector that prepares highly qualified specialists. 

“Everyone forgets who are writing textbooks. Those are the results of scientific work. The best form of higher education is through learning from a researcher and a scientist. That is to say, the science-education link is stronger and more important. We often hear recommendations to start improving the things from kindergartners. Who is tasked to solve that issue and what knowledge and models are needed for that? It is possible only through science. We may think there is much science in the world and no need for us to produce the one, instead taking and applying from others. However, even taking from others, adapting and localizing is possible only when you have specialists with relevant skills,” Nazaryan said. 

People with good understanding about the need of additional funding to the science sector have to explain to authorities the dire situation in the country and urge  them to take steps to prevent irreversible negative consequences, call on bold and revolutionary undertakings. 

“A country that once had some 40 thousand scientists, has only 4 thousand today, and most of them are aged. Young scientists obtain their Ph.D  and disappear. It is evident if we take no action in the next five years, there will be no scientists in Armenia. The issue is urgent and requires solution though increasing the funds directed towards science. When possible, we need also to organize a  brain-drain.”

In Nazaryan’s words, scientists may not be invited to live in Armenia but can be offered teaching online or managing scientific labs remotely. “The matter is urgent and acknowledging its urgency makes it easier to address all other issues,” stressed our interlocutor, noting no difficulty may impede and block the solution. 

Commenting on the recent meeting of the initiative members with the government representative, Nazaryan said with sorrow that the responsible bodies for the sector within the government do not recognize the urgency of the matter and that the respective minister lacks enough will to address the issue. 

“There were a lot of discussions, public promises recently, yet we fo not see long-term commitments. We were promised to see increased financing of the sector in this year’s budget, however the amount is too small and the general approach lacks strategy. We want the law to fix the increase of the funding continually year over year and be linked to the GDP percentage for the country to give a message to the scientific community and the world. That would be important in terms of the government commitments. Although we have heard promises, yet the practical solutions are in no way compatible with the depth and urgency of the problem,” noted Nazaryan.

Judge recognizes absence of "legal relationship" in Onik Gasparyan’s lawsuit

Torgomian Varazdat

Judge recognizes absence of “legal relationship” in Onik Gasparyan’s lawsuit

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 10:54,

YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Judge Mher Petrosyan of the Administrative Court ruled in favor of temporarily “securing the suit” filed by Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan in his lawsuit requesting to invalidate his dismissal, according to court documents.

When the government declared that Gasparyan is dismissed from duties by virtue of law, the general filed a lawsuit claiming his dismissal is unconstitutional.

However, the defense minister then appointed another general as acting chief of the general staff.

The administrative court ruled that there is no legal relationship envisaged for the conditions in which Gasparyan was sacked. 

After the documents were reported, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement, noting that this ruling doesn’t reinstate Gasparyan, and that under Article 139, paragraph 2 of the Constitution the dismissal is in force.

Correction: The original version of this article was updated with the PMO’s comment. 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

ICC Partners with Armenian Assembly of America to Host Event on Nagorno-Karabakh

Torgomian Varazdat
March 12 2021

03/15/2021 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) will be hosting a virtual event on Wednesday, March 17th at 10am EST entitled, Anatomy of Genocide: Karabakh’s Forty-Four Day War. The event will be hosted with the Armenian Assembly of America, covering the aggressions of Azerbaijan and Turkey last Fall in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) against Armenia. Robert Avetisyan, the Permanent Representative of Artsakh to the United States, will deliver remarks, joined by representatives from ICC and the Armenian Assembly.

Last September, Azerbaijani forces attacked Nagorno-Karabakh without warning with the support and endorsement of Turkey. What followed was forty-four days of bloodshed, which included various war crimes committed by Azerbaijani forces and Turkish-paid Syrian mercenaries, concluding with a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement. The conflict resulted in Armenia ceding control of Artsakh to Azerbaijan, despite the majority Armenian population of the region.

However, this conflict was about more than mere territorial control of Artsakh; the Turkish and Azerbaijani messaging of the brief war paint a much broader picture. Both states continually used symbolic narratives that promoted their shared Pan-Turkic identity, with an intention to eliminate the Armenian identity completely from Artsakh. The degrading treatment of Armenian Christians illustrates this desire, remnant of the treatment of Armenians during the genocide of the early 20th century. For this reason, Turkish and Azerbaijani ambition still threatens the mere existence of Armenians on account of their ethnicity and religion.

ICC recently published an in-depth report outlining these details and the broader issues of the conflict, entitled, The Anatomy of Genocide: Karabakh’s Forty-Four Day War.

This event is meant to further delve into the conflict itself, while also highlighting the problems that face Armenians moving forward and providing recommendations for U.S. policymakers on how to address these issues. The event will be held on Zoom and recorded for viewers who are unable to attend live.