Author: Vanyan Gary

Armenia establishing Repatriation and Integration Center

Vanyan Gary
PanArmenian, Armenia
Dec 21 2021
– 13:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia is launching a Repatriation and Integration Center to better coordinate the government’s support for repatriates.

The center is expected to serve as the “ultimate gateway” to solving all repatriation issues, according to Margarita Baghdasaryan, who’s leading the program.

“The Republic of Armenia has identified mass repatriation as a strategic priority for the nation, establishing a goal of having five million people living in Armenia by the year 2050,” Baghdasaryan says in a video address published by the Center.

“Reaching this objective would require that 60,000 Diaspora Armenians move to Armenia each year, greatly surpassing the existing numbers.”

In order to effectively organize the process of repatriation and ensure active integration into Armenian society, the office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs will establish a first of its kind repatriation and integration center, which will serve as a comprehensive resource center to aid potential repatriates with every aspect of moving their lives, families and business ventures to Armenia.

Armenpress: Two Azerbaijani soldiers arrested by Armenian border guards returned to the Azerbaijani side

Vanyan Gary

Two Azerbaijani soldiers arrested by Armenian border guards returned to the Azerbaijani side

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 21:08,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Two Azerbaijani servicemen who violated the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan were arrested on December 18 by Armenian border guards.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia, for humanitarian reasons and with the mediation of Russia, the mentioned servicemen were returned to the Azerbaijani side on December 20.

Asbarez: Hye Hopes 2nd Annual Telethon to Support Education in Syunik, Armenia

Vanyan Gary
 by Contributor

 

 December 16, 2021

 

in Armenia, Community, Latest, News, Top Stories
 0
Hye Hopes 2nd Annual Telethon flyer

GLENDALE—Hye Hopes will host its 2nd annual Telethon, airing Live from 6 to 9 p.m. PST, on Monday, December 20. This year, the funds raised during the telethon will support the students, teachers, and schools of Armenia’s Syunik region.

Hye Hopes is celebrating its one-year anniversary! In the span of a year, your contributions have allowed Hye Hopes to equip schools in the Syunik region with innovative technology, essential educational resources, and staff development. Since its inception, Hye Hopes has successfully completed two 8-week sessions, and is looking forward to the completion of its third 8-week session in December.

In an effort to continue to support the students, teachers and schools in the Syunik region, Hye Hopes is hopeful the telethon will provide much needed financial support to continue providing educational resources for the schools in Kapan, Goris and Verishen. They have announced their next phase—delivering essential educational resources and technology to the schools in Meghri and Sisian.

The telethon will feature special performance and appearances by: California State Senator Anthony J. Portantino, Araksya Karpetyan of Good Morning LA Fox 11, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, Superintendent Glendale Unified School District Dr. Vivian Ekchian, composer and musician Greg Hosharian, Element Band’s Ara Dabandjian, musician Shant Massayan, actress/playwright Lori Tatoulian, and other special local and state elected officials.

Joining throughout the United States are special guests from Boston, New York, Tennessee, Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles. Student leadership from our High School Armenian Clubs of Hoover, GHS, CVHS, and Clark Magnet will also be presenting and performing at the telethon. Hye Hopes will be connecting live with the students in Kapan and Verishen during the telethon.

Please join Hye Hopes on YouTube live, Monday, December 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. PST. For more information and to donate early visit the website or email Hye Hopes at [email protected].

Azerbaijan jamming cellular communications in Artsakh

Vanyan Gary
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 17 2021

People in Artsakh are experiencing problems with mobile connections as a result of frequency jamming by Azerbaijan, Artsakh’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure said in a statement on Friday.

“Failures in cellular communications are caused by frequency jamming by the enemy. Steps are being taken to resolve the issue through negotiations,” the statement says.

The ministry urges people to refrain from “inappropriate manipulations”.

UN court introduces provisional measures for Azerbaijan on Armenia’s request

Vanyan Gary
TASS, Russia
Dec 8 2021
In accordance with the document, Azerbaijan shall also “protect from violence and bodily harm all persons captured in relation to the 2020 Conflict

THE HAGUE, December 7. /TASS/. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial body of the United Nations, obliged Azerbaijan to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination against Armenians pending a verdict on the issue, ICJ President Joan Donoghue said on Tuesday.

“In its Order, which has binding effect, the Court indicates the following provisional measures: The Republic of Azerbaijan shall, in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination <…> take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, including by its officials and public institutions, targeted at persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin,” she said.

In accordance with the document, Azerbaijan shall also “protect from violence and bodily harm all persons captured in relation to the 2020 Conflict who remain in detention, and ensure their security and equality before the law” and take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenia’s cultural heritage.

The court additionally urged both parties to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.

Armenia initiated a court proceeding in the UN International Court of Justice against Azerbaijan in accordance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination on September 14. The lawsuit states that “Azerbaijan has been subjecting Armenia to racial discrimination for decades,” which included mass murder, torture and other violations. The lawsuit also demands the imposition of temporary provisional measures against Azerbaijan.

On September 24, Azerbaijan filed a counterclaim, accusing Armenia of committing discriminatory actions against Azerbaijanis, on the basis of their nationality and ethnicity. Both sides have demanded compensation and provisional measures to prevent the situation from deteriorating while the cases are being heard.

Asbarez: 4 Specific Azerbaijani Transgressions Included in 2022 U.S. Defense Bill

Vanyan Gary
by Asbarez Staff

 

 December 7, 2021

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

The four issues addressed in amendments in the 2022 U.S. Defense bill

A radically scaled back 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, the result of tense partisan gridlock in the US Senate, stripped out hundreds of amendments, including several provisions backed by the Armenian National Committee of America.

A pro-accountability provision that remained in the final measure calls for a “Report on Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict,” ANCA reported.

While not calling out Azerbaijan’s aggression by name, this legislative language does point to four specific Azerbaijani transgressions:

  1. US parts discovered in Turkish Bayrakdar drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh
  2. Azerbaijan’s illegal detention and torture of Armenian POWs
  3. Jihadist mercenaries recruited by Turkey to fight alongside Azerbaijan against Artsakh
  4. Ongoing Azerbaijani violence and violations of agreements and international law

Last month Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced an
amendment that would end US presidential waiver authority of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

The amendment was one of three offered to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that deals with US aid to Azerbaijan as well as Azerbaijani and Turkish war crimes committed against Artsakh and Armenia during the 2020 war. 

Senator Menendez also offered a second amendment to the NDAA which called for a joint State Department and Defense Department report on Turkey’s use of US technology in its Bayrakdar drones, with a special focus on whether their sale to third countries, like Azerbaijan, violates US export laws. 

A third amendment introduced by California Senator Alex Padilla (D) called for a joint State Department and Defense Department report, in response to Azerbaijani war crimes during the 2020 Artsakh war, including the use of US technology during the attacks; the use of white phosphorous, cluster bombs, and other prohibited munitions; and the hiring of foreign mercenaries.

Armenia’s FlyOne to launch in late 4Q21

Vanyan Gary
Nov 29 2021
FlyOne Airbus A320-200

FlyOne (Armenia) (Yerevan) has announced it will launch scheduled operations from Yerevan to seven international destinations starting on December 15, 2021.

The Armenian start-up plans to operate to Moscow Vnukovo (the destination of its inaugural flight, daily), Istanbul New (3x weekly), Tehran Imam Khomeini, Lyon St. Exupéry, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, Krasnodar, Tbilisi, and Kutaisi (2x weekly each). Tickets for all routes are already available on the carrier’s internet booking engine. It is also offering connecting tickets via Vnukovo to , with the second leg operated by its Moldovan sister carrier FlyOne (5F, ).

The airline is a 54/46 joint venture between a trio of Armenian entrepreneurs and FlyOne and received its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) on October 26, 2021. However, the most recent update of the Armenian aircraft register, published on November 5, does not show any aircraft assigned to FlyOne, although the airline said it would operate A320 Family jets. Its Moldovan sister carrier operates one A319-100 and four A320-200s. Currently, all of them are active on FlyOne’s network out of  except for a single A320, ER-00006 (msn 4630), parked in Moldova since October 27, 2021.

Michel says Azerbaijan, Armenia leaders to meet in Brussels

Vanyan Gary
POLITICO
Nov 19 2021

Council president says longtime enemies also agreed to establish ‘incident prevention’ hotline.

European Council President Charles Michel | Pool photo by Olivier Matthys/AFP via Getty Images
BY DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
 10:32 pm

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in Brussels next month on the sidelines of the EU’s Eastern Partnership summit, European Council President Charles Michel announced Friday.

Michel’s announcement of the meeting between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came just days after renewed military clashes between the longtime enemies. Armenian officials said at least 15 of their soldiers had died in that fighting. A renewed truce was reached Tuesday.

A roughly 30-year conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was settled last year after Armenia conceded defeat and surrendered. The capitulation capped a month-long skirmish in which Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, reclaimed territory long occupied by Armenians who viewed it as the independent territory of Artsakh.

But a post-war truce and border agreement, negotiated by Russia and signed this past January in Moscow, has proven fragile.

Michel said that in preparation for December’s meeting, Baku and Yerevan had set up a direct line of communication between their defense ministers to provide crisis management. A news release issued by Michel’s office said the line would function as an “incident prevention mechanism.”

If the meeting between Aliyev and Pashinyan indeed goes forward on the margins of the December 15 summit, Michel will have reclaimed a role for the EU in the long conflict, and potentially upstaged Russian President Vladimir Putin — if only for now. Russian officials have been trying unsuccessfully for weeks to arrange a meeting between the two leaders.

Friday night’s deal was reached after a flurry of calls between Michel, his counterparts, and their advisers.

The EU launched the Eastern Partnership in 2009 as an outreach effort to former Soviet countries including Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko pulled out of the program after the EU imposed sanctions over the country’s fraudulent presidential election in August 2020.

Michel has previously intervened to help ease tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and last spring helped broker a deal in which Azerbaijan released Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for maps to landmines in some of the territories it had recaptured.

Avetik Chalabyan: I call for protecting the rights of the killed Artsakh resident Martin Yeremyan and his brave brother

Vanyan Gary
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 13 2021

The Co-Founder of ‘National agenda’ party Avetik Chalabyan commented on the Saturday incident near Shushi where a man threw an explosive device at the Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Stepanakert-Berdzor interstate road. 

To remind, the man has been identified as Norayr Yeremayn, the brother of the 22-year-old Artsakh citizen killed by Azerbaijani forces on November 8. Three others were wounded as a result of Azerbaijani shooting then.

“I voice a solidarity with Norayr Yeremyan who was obliged to do justice for his killed brother. At the same time, I call on authorities of Armenia and Artsakh to ensure justice and protect all human rights of the killed Martik Yeremyan and his brave brother,” Chalabyan said.