Author: Vanyan Gary

Azerbaijani press: US congressman Steve Cohen issues statement on Khojaly tragedy’s anniversary

Vanyan Gary
POLITICS5 March 2021 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5

Trend:

Democrat Steve Cohen, co-chairman of the working group on Azerbaijan in the US Congress, representing Tennessee in the House of Representatives, made a statement on the 29th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, Trend reports on Mar.5 referring to the Azerbaijani Embassy in the country.

According to the statement, the murder of hundreds of residents of the city of Khojaly during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was the largest act of massacre against ethnic Azerbaijanis.

Stressing that 7,000 residents lived in Khojaly town, located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, before the massacre of people by Armenian forces, the member of the US Congress noted that more than 600 civilians, including 106 women and 83 children, were killed, more than 100 children lost one of their parents, 25 children lost both parents, and 8 families were exterminated.

“Despite the 1994 ceasefire, the conflict wasn’t resolved. Hopefully, the parties will be able to achieve peace after the 2020 war,” said the statement, emphasizing that long-term peace, security and regional cooperation serve the interests of the South Caucasus region, as well as the whole world.

Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020 (the second Karabakh war), Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document (and liberated the occupied territories). A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia. A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.

The congressman noted in his statement that Azerbaijan is a strong partner of the US and the country's allies, as well as stressed the role of Azerbaijan in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the service of Azerbaijani troops together with the US troops in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, Azerbaijan's provision of its territory for the transit of goods in order to provide coalition forces in Afghanistan, providing Europe with alternative energy sources through construction The Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea to Italy, as well as Azerbaijan's provision of about 40 percent of the oil consumed by Israel.

The statement also paid special attention to cooperation with the Jewish community of Azerbaijan and Israel.

In conclusion, the member of the Congress once again revered the memory of the people who died as a result of the Khojaly tragedy, noting that he shares the grief of the Azerbaijanis.

From fake accounts to edited video: How Ara Saghatelyan became a political prisoner

Vanyan Gary
Panorama, Armenia
March 2 2021

“Political persecution on fabricated charges: a play in 4 acts”: this is how the story begins, with Ara Saghatelyan, a former head of the Public Relations and Information Center SNCO of the President's Office, becoming a political prisoner.

A video report of Tert.am tells how Ara Saghatelyan became the next target of the current authorities for over a year. In the hottest phase of the war, when the fate of the homeland was being decided, a Facebook user named Taron Chakhoyan accused Saghatelyan of ordering the spread of defamatory statements about the authorities. Moreover, the act was linked to Armenia’s former Ambassador to the Holy See Mikayel Minasyan.

It is noted that Chakhoyan's post immediately began to be shared by representatives of the authorities, but when information security experts intervened in the case and showed that Chakhoyan's post was false, the latter had to delete it.

Ara Saghatelyan was eventually accused of being connected with a fake Facebook account named “Gagik Soghomonyan” and was arrested.

Cybersecurity expert Alexey Chalabyan was the first to reveal that the video released by Taron Chakhoyan was fake.

Details regarding the development of events in the video are presented by Ara Saghatelyan's lawyer, information security experts and others.

Armenian Armed Forces fully conduct defense of borders of Homeland – ministry

Vanyan Gary

 17:24, 25 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Armed Forces fully conduct the defense of the borders of the Homeland and ensure their security, the defense ministry said in a statement.

“The Army is an apolitical structure, and all attempts of involving the Armed Forces into any political process are impermissible. Each such attempt threatens the stability and security of the Republic of Armenia. The defense ministry will respond to any such action in a worthy manner”, the statement says.

On February 25 the General Staff of the Armenian Forces of Armenia issued a statement, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Cabinet.

In his turn Pashinyan commented on the statement, calling it as a “military coup attempt”.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Office of Prosecutor General urges to refrain from any initiative endangering legal order in Armenia

Vanyan Gary

Tweet

 15:00, 25 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia has released a statement, warning that any anti-constitutional process, involvement to that process, no matter who will conduct it, will receive the strongest legal assessment.

“The risks of the February 25 statement of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, the discussions and comments on it in public and social platforms have created preconditions of domestic public, political instability in the Republic, and their possible developments can lead to unpredictable, catastrophic consequences for our state and people from security perspective, with serious treats to the legal and constitutional order.

Therefore, the Office of the Prosecutor General calls on to stay within the regulations of the Constitution of Armenia and avoid irresponsible actions, refrain from any initiative endangering the legal order in the country, the attempts of engaging the Armed Forces to the domestic processes, any action directed against the public order”, the Office said in a statement.

On February 25 the General Staff of the Armenian Forces of Armenia issued a statement, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Cabinet.

In his turn Pashinyan commented on the statement, calling it as a “military coup attempt”. He invited all his supporters to the Republic Square to discuss the ongoing developments. Currently Pashinyan is marching across Yerevan with his supporters.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian defense ministry urges not to drag army into political processes

Vanyan Gary
TASS, Russia
Feb 27 2021
The Defense Ministry also added that the Armenian Armed Forces do their utmost to ensure the country’s security, irrespective of political processes

TASS, February 27. Armenia’s Defense Ministry urged on Saturday not to involve the national armed forces into political processes.

"We demand to refrain from making statements on behalf of the armed forces. [We demand] that the army should not be involved in political processes and that the country’s security should not be subordinate to [personal] interests," reads the communique posted on the Defense Ministry’s site.

The Defense Ministry also added that the Armenian Armed Forces do their utmost to ensure the country’s security, irrespective of political processes.

On February 25, mass rallies of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s supporters and critics began in Armenia after the General Staff of the Armed Forces had called for the resignation of prime minister and his cabinet. The statement was signed by Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan, his deputies and other military top brass. Pashinyan slammed the move as a military coup attempt and announced his decision to dismiss the General Staff chief.

Earlier on Saturday, President Armen Sarkissian sent back to the prime minister his order to dismiss Gasparyan, pointing out that the decree, according to lawyers, was unconstitutional. The president added that he was not supporting either of the political forces and that the current crisis cannot be solved with frequent reshuffles. After Pashinyan re-submitted his proposal, the president has three days to either sign the decree or to appeal it at Armenia’s Constitutional Court.

Executions of Armenian POWs a results of Azerbaijan’s past uncondemned crimes

Vanyan Gary
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 27 2021

The executions of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in the Hadrut region of Artsakh and other settlements fallen under the military control of Azerbaijan are the results of the past uncondemned crimes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Thirty-three years ago, on February 27-29, 1988, pre-planned massacres of Armenians were carried out in the city of Sumgait (Azerbaijan) amid the encouragement of the Azerbaijani authorities and the permissiveness of the law enforcement bodies. Hundreds of Armenians were killed, including women, children and elderly, and thousands of Armenians were forcibly displaced.

Sumgait massacre was a response to the aspiration of the people of Artsakh to assert their inalienable right to a dignified and safe life in their historical homeland and to exercise their right to self-determination. Azerbaijan opposed the attempts of exercising human rights with the policy of collective punishment, subjecting the Armenian population of the Sumgait town to severe violence and torture.

The atrocities of Sumgait instigated the ethnic cleansing and massacres of Armenians in other cities of Azerbaijan, such as Baku and Gandzak. Moreover, the unequivocal justification of such crime, the glorification of the murderers for killing Armenians were reflected in the efforts of the Azerbaijani authorities to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the use of force. 

“Last year, on September 27 the full-fledged war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and its people was accompanied by similar war crimes against the Armenian identity, with one difference – the murders of the civilians were not carried out by controlled mobs, but by servicemen of the Azerbaijani armed forces and the relevant videos were uploaded on the Internet,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“During the 44-day war, the Azerbaijani armed forces, driven by a sense of impunity, committed numerous violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, which are manifestations of mass atrocities, including ethnic cleansing and war crimes. While adhering to the behaviour of terrorist groups, the Azerbaijani armed forces committed violations against prisoners of war, civilians, barbarically destroyed historical-cultural monuments and desecrated sanctuaries,” the Ministry said.

It added that the executions of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in the Hadrut region of Artsakh and other settlements fallen under the military control of Azerbaijan are the results of the past uncondemned crimes.

“Today, by paying tribute to the innocent victims of the Armenian massacres in Sumgait, we once again emphasize the determination of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Artsakh and all Armenians to live a free, independent and dignified life in their homeland,” the statement reads.

 

COVID-19: Armenia reports 273 new cases over past day

Vanyan Gary

 11:07,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. 273 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 170,945, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said today.

188 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 162,517.

4 patients have died, raising the death toll to 3175.

2993 tests were conducted in the past one day.

The number of active cases is 4445.

The number of patients who had coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 808 (2 new such cases).

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Germany supports OSCE MG Co-Chairmanship on settlement of NK conflict: Ambassador’s interview

Vanyan Gary

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 17:33,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The return of prisoners of war is a humanitarian issue which has to be settled under full respect of international humanitarian law, Ambassador of Germany to Armenia Michael Johannes Banzhaf said in an exclusive interview to ARMENPRESS, commenting on the observation according to which Azerbaijan is artificially delaying the process of the return of Armenian POWs.

– In the aftermath of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, which lasted from September 27 to November 10, the issue of the status of Artsakh is not clarified yet. How does Germany consider the settlement of the issue of the status of Artsakh? What’s Germany’s comment on the statements claiming that Nagorno Karabakh conflict is solved?

- Germany fully shares the view that the cessation of hostilities is only a first step to end the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Efforts must be renewed for a negotiated, peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the conflict, including on the status of NK. Germany fully supports the OSCE Minsk Group led by its Co-Chairs to find a long-lasting solution.

– The statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on the cessation of hostilities referred to the issue of the return of prisoners of war and captured civilians as well. Both conflicting sides have stated that the exchange will be carried out on the “all for all” principle, however, Azerbaijan is artificially delaying the return of prisoners of war. What kind of steps can the international community undertake to urgently resolve this issue?

– The international community should recall that the return of prisoners of war is a humanitarian issue which has to be settled under full respect of international humanitarian law. I do hope that further progress will be made in the next future. My sympathy is with all families waiting with growing impatience to embrace their beloved ones.

– As a result of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, the people of Artsakh encountered serious humanitarian issues, many civilian infrastructures were destroyed, and prohibited weapons were used, putting the region on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. What kind of steps should the international community undertake, including Germany, to relieve the humanitarian issues of the civilians of Artsakh?

– Providing humanitarian aid to all those who suffered from the recent military hostilities is high on the agenda of the international donor community. Germany for its part is supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross. Germany is also supporting the cooperation of the German Red Cross with the Armenian Red Cross in this regard. The problem of access to Nagorno Karabakh is still unsolved and so humanitarian aid prevented from unfolding its full effect. A speedy settlement of this issue is urgently needed.

Armenia says Turkey has no reason to keep land border shut

Vanyan Gary
AHVAL News
Feb 11 2021

  • Feb 11 2021 10:48 Gmt+3
  • Last Updated On: Feb 11 2021 10:56 Gmt+3

Armenia said Turkey has no reason to keep a border between the two countries closed after a conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh ended in a ceasefire agreement.

The standoff in Nagorno-Karabakh has now been resolved through military means, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian said in a Q&A session at the country’s parliament in Yerevan on Wednesday, according to Armenian-American newspaper Asberez.

“As you are aware, the blockade – the closure of the border – was the result of the Nagorno-Karabakh status quo, which has changed through a use of force,” he said. “Turkey therefore no longer has any reason to keep its border with Armenia closed.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire deal in November to end last year’s military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey, which sealed its border with Armenia in 1993, backed Azerbaijan with weapons and military know-how during the clashes, which lasted six weeks and killed thousands of combatants. Azerbaijan regained five cities and control of the entire Azerbaijan-Iran border.

Aivazian said an ongoing Turkish-Azeri military exercise in Turkey’s Kars region, adjacent to the border, which Ankara said was designed to “coordinate efforts during joint operations and to test new weapons” was a cause for concern.

Armenia has received certain diplomatic messages from Turkey, but the time had come for action, he said.

The European Union has said the re-opening of the land border would benefit the economies of the two countries and the wider region, including the South Caucasus, Russia, the Black Sea, Iran and Central Asia, and would help de-escalate ethnic pressures and promote de-militarisation.

Relations between Turkey and Armenia have been marred by the mass killing of ethnic Armenians by Ottoman Turks early last century and Armenia’s historical claims to land inside Turkey.   

Armenia Deputy PM: All the money sent to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund transferred to state budget

Vanyan Gary
News.am, Armenia
Feb 10 2021
18:26, 10.02.2021

During today’s question-and-answer session with government officials in parliament, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan said the funds transferred to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in October-November have been transferred to the state budget.

According to him, during martial law, this allowed to make all expenses quickly and on time, and there were also large expenses.

“There will be report on the expenses during the parliamentary hearings in May,” Grigoryan stated.

Nearly $170,000,000 was transferred to the Fund during the entire period of the war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).