Author: Vanyan Gary

Asbarez: Pashinyan Doesn’t Comprehend Shushi’s Vital Importance

Vanyan Gary

January 22,  2020



The centuries-old Shushi fortress

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Every time Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attempts to rationalize or justify his decision to sign the November 9 agreement he digs himself—and the entire Armenian Nation—deeper into a hole, emerging from which becomes more and more difficult, if not impossible.

His insincere mea culpas are often followed by baffling statements that seem to indicate his inability to grasp the gravity of the losses and consequences that the country, and the nation, must grapple with since the signing of the November 9 agreement.

On several occasions, when responding to lawmakers’ questions in parliament about the surrender of Shushi, Pashinyan has demonstrated that he does not comprehend the vital and strategic importance of Shushi, not only historically, but in the present day.

Pashinyan made the most egregious statement about Shushi on Wednesday, again in response to a lawmaker’s question, when said that essentially was not an Armenian city.

“I would like to bring to you attention the fact that before its liberation more than 90 percent of Shushi’s population were Azerbaijanis. Are you trying to say that, with more than 90 percent of its population being Azerbaijani, the city of Shushi was Armenian with that status?,” said Pashinyan.

The operative word in that statement is “liberation,” which signals that the city was being occupied by Azerbaijanis, thus requiring its liberation, which our heroes did in the 1990s Karabakh war.

Pashinyan’s ignorant statement shows a disdain for the Artsakh Liberation Movement, and specifically the liberation of Shushi, without which Armenians would not have been able to achieve victory in the war. The Shushi Liberation of May 9, 1992 cemented Artsakh’s victory over Azerbaijan and allowed us, as a nation, to reclaim our historic lands from occupiers, who were using Shushi to rain down rockets and bullets on innocent civilians in Stepanakert and elsewhere.

Pashinyan’s remarks on Wednesday only add credence to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s false declaration that Shushi will become a critical Islamic and Turkic cultural hub.

Back in November, Pashinyan also said that Shushi was a bleak, dark and dreary city, adding that if Shushi were so important why weren’t more steps taken to revitalize it.

Pashinyan not only does not comprehend Shushi’s historic importance as a centuries-old Armenian capital and cultural center, but he also fails to understand that by agreeing to surrender Shushi, he has given up a critical strategic territory for the security of Artsakh.

Pashinyan has adopted this deferential attitude toward the concessions he agreed to on November 9 in order to deflect blame and responsibility for the fact that by signing the document he, essentially, signed away our homeland.

This attitude was also at display on January 11 when Pashinyan signed another agreement, this time to open Azerbaijan’s borders and allow the free-flow of transportation by Azerbaijan through Armenia’s Syunik Province.

Of course, for Pashinyan, the silver lining was the economic benefits that Armenia would allegedly gain by this measure, despite the fact that Aliyev didn’t waste a moment to hail the decision as a means for Turkey to have unabated access to the region and to Armenia.

On several occasions, since November 9, Pashinyan has insisted that the Karabakh conflict settlement is far from over, stressing, among other things, the issue of Artsakh’s status, which he says still needs to be determined and has urged the international community to engage in that process.

How are international mediators supposed to negotiate Karabakh’s status and advance the issue of self-determination for the people of Artsakh, when Armenia’s leader continues to make callous and dangerous statements that not only jeopardize the security of Artsakh but call into question Armenia’s official commitment to that process.

Aram Hamparian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, accurately framed the situation in an email exchange with me on Friday.

“The already hard work of truth-telling in the international arena—against the flood of lies coming from Turkish and Azerbaijani lobbyists—is made all the more difficult when Armenia’s prime minister cites twisted stats and makes false claims about Shushi, Syunik, Artsakh’s survival and Armenia’s sovereignty,” Hamparian told me.

Since November 9, we have witnessed that lay citizens of Armenia and Artsakh have been forced to bear the brunt of Pashinyan’s decision on daily basis, while he has taken every opportunity to accuse and discredit those who have questioned his actions, and continues to make compromises and concessions in the name of our homeland.

Artsakh reports 8 COVID-19 daily cases

Vanyan Gary

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 11:35, 22 January, 2021

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. 8 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Artsakh in the past 24 hours.

73 tests were conducted on January 18, the ministry of healthcare told Armenpress.

A total of 2274 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Artsakh.

The death toll stands at 31.

The ministry of healthcare has again urged the citizens to follow all the rules to avoid new outbreaks and overcome the disease.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkish press: Jan 20 ‘important turning point’ for Azerbaijan: envoy

Vanyan Gary
Jeyhun Aliyev   |20.01.2021

ANKARA 

The tragedy of Jan. 20, 1990, also called Black January, was an "important turning point" for Azerbaijan which proved that the nation's striving for liberty and independence was irreversible, according to Azerbaijan's envoy to Turkey.

"It led us to be more united and more determined to make our country the best and to get what we deserve — independence," Khazar Ibrahim told Anadolu Agency, referring to the violent crackdown, massacre of more than 130 people and wounding of hundreds of civilians by the Soviet army in the capital Baku and surrounding areas on the eve of the country’s independence.

Marking the 31st anniversary of the tragedy and remembering the violence Azerbaijan witnessed prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ibrahim said the events of Jan. 20 are regarded as the rebirth of the country, which in 1918 first gained independence that was later stamped out in 1920, when the country became part of the Soviet Union.

On the night of Jan. 19-20, under direct instructions from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the State Security Committee and Ministry of Internal Affairs entered Baku and nearby regions, massacring the civilian population using heavy military equipment and other weaponry.

Mass arrests accompanied the illegal deployment of troops and subsequent military intervention.

"It [the tragedy] has also changed us individually. Those people who went through those days have changed dramatically, including myself personally," he recalled.

Reasons behind tragedy

"Actually, it's not a secret anymore that the real rationale behind the Black January tragedy was the desire by the Soviet leadership to calm down, to suffocate the striving of the Azerbaijani people for liberties, rights and independence," he said, adding Gorbachev did not hide his "negative inclination" towards Azerbaijan.

The Soviet Army’s massacre on Jan. 20 – now National Mourning Day – completely shook Azerbaijanis' confidence in the USSR, accelerating the process leading to the country's independence.

"And the fact that there was an indiscriminate overwhelming reaction to people's rights, which was actually in the constitution of the Soviet Union, cannot be explained by anything else but by hatred, by the desire to keep the Soviet Union afloat," the envoy said.

He emphasized that the "hatred" was also influenced by the Armenian advisors who had lobbied Gorbachev for a long time, not only on the Jan. 20 issue but also on many other issues regarding Azerbaijan, in a negative way.

Azerbaijanis refer to Black January as a day of sorrow, but at the same time, as a day of pride, because the country's heroes who perished laid the groundwork for the state’s independence.

Nagorno-Karabakh issue as grounds for Jan. 20.

The Azerbaijani ambassador underlined that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue laid the grounds for the Jan. 20 tragedy.

The events that led to the tragedy of Black January actually date to the end of the 1980s, when attempts to annex Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and another wave of the expulsion of native Azerbaijani people from their historical lands were gaining momentum.

He said that nearly three decades ago, the Azerbaijani territories had been militarily illegally occupied by Armenian forces through the "ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis" which led to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azerbaijanis becoming both internally displaced persons as well as refugees because the cleansing also took place against Azerbaijanis living in Armenia.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, Armenia launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces as well as violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the nearly six-week-long conflict, Azerbaijan liberated its lands, while at least 2,855 of its soldiers were known at the time to be martyred. There are differing claims about the number of casualties on the Armenian side, which sources and officials say could be as high as 5,000.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement.

The envoy stressed that the major factor behind the long-awaited victory was the determined leadership of Azerbaijan’s President and Commander in Chief, Ilham Aliyev.

Referring to the 44-day Patriotic War, Ibrahim said: "The kids who fled the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the hands of their mothers came back [to those territories] on top of the tanks."

He highlighted that those fleeing "kids" emerged into a new generation after the territories were cleansed and destroyed, and today, they have become the soldiers of Azerbaijan, who couldn't have forgotten the "injustice" that happened in the past.

Ibrahim also hailed the solidarity of the Azerbaijani people, noting that "regardless of the place of living, regardless of ethnicity, religious affiliation, everybody was a swarm."

"Therefore, I see these three reasons as the major factors which allowed Azerbaijan in this short period of time to achieve what could have seemed for many as unimaginable a couple of years ago," he said, referring to the soldiers, solidarity and determined president.

Region's strongest country

A lot has changed in Azerbaijan in the last 30 years, the ambassador said.

"Economically, Azerbaijan became the strongest country in the region. Militarily, Azerbaijan became one of the strongest in the world, given its size and population," he said, adding the nation developed every sector of the society including culture, education and science during that timeframe.

Despite the illegal military occupation of its territories, the people of Azerbaijan never lost their "sense of pride and unity" and became even stronger and more confident within these years, he added.

"The Azerbaijani side has never hidden that since we have the right, and since we have the power, we are ready to liberate our territories. But I think it was a big mistake by the side of the Armenians not to listen not only to us but also to the international community."

Ibrahim urged the international community not to turn a blind eye to the tragedies of other countries, noting that "if these things happen, it would embolden other massacres."

"So ‘never again embolden the criminals’ is the message which the world should hear and never forget."

Azerbaijan prohibiting the removal of over 1,500 works of art and exclusive samples from Armenian Shushi (PHOTOS)

Vanyan Gary
News.am, Armenia
Jan 15 2021
  

Well-known geologist and philanthropist Grigor Gabrielyants, Director of the Museums of the City of Shushi SNCO Lusine Gasparyan and the Ministry of Culture of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are actively negotiating with the Russian side to save the museum samples that are still preserved in the city of Shushi transferred to the enemy and remove them from the city. This is what Lusine Gasparyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am and voiced hope that it will be possible to at least save pieces of the tremendous cultural heritage of Shushi through the mediation of the Russian side.

Before the war that broke out in September 2020, there were 4 state and 2 private museums operating in Shushi, which is considered the center for culture in Artsakh. Unfortunately, during the war, only the samples of a private rug museum were removed from the city, and the samples of 3 of the 4 museums operating as part of the SNCO were moved to a bomb shelter.

“I was in Shushi in early November, and moved to Yerevan on November 5. During that period, it didn’t cross anyone’s mind that the city could be transferred to the enemy and it would be necessary to remove the collections kept in the bomb shelter. We moved all the samples to the bomb shelter amid shooting, and if we had known that the city might be transferred to the enemy, we would have moved the collections to Stepanakert,” Gasparyan said stressed that the authorities of Artsakh and Armenia hadn’t informed her and the others about the intention to hand the city, and until November 9, the Ministry of Defense insisted that Shushi was under Armenians’ control.

There are 197 monuments representing the history and culture of Shushi, nearly 800 paintings, graphic works and sculptures of the Museum of Fine Arts and over 700 samples of the Geology Museum of Shushi that are currently under the control of the enemy.

“Today the Azerbaijani side doesn’t even want to hear about the return of collections remaining in Shushi, but these collections are the cultural heritage of us Armenians and need to be returned to us. Knowing the enemy, we don’t have good expectations from the negotiations, but we have to do everything we can to save whatever there is,” Gabrielyants said. Gasparyan added that she is regularly following the scenes published in Azerbaijani sources showing that the museum wasn’t destroyed during shelling. According to her, this shows that the samples moved to the bomb shelter couldn’t have been damaged before November 9, and if the Azerbaijani side refuses to return the samples or declares that they haven’t been preserved, the only thing left to do is to conclude that we are dealing with another war crime.

https://news.am/eng/news/623710.html

Opposition MP to Armenian authorities: Keep insisting that you have made significant achievements

Vanyan Gary
Panorama, Armenia

Jan 12 2021
 
 
MP Edmon Marukyan from the opposition Bright Armenia faction referred to the claims of the Armenian authorities that the statement signed during the trilateral meeting in Moscow on Monday is also beneficial for Armenia.
 
"The authorities continue to insist that the new document signed in Moscow yesterday is in Armenia's interests, as it will allow us to have a direct railway link with Russia through Azerbaijan, spreading false claims that it will be safe from now on,” he wrote on Facebook.
 
“I would like to underline that it will be going through the territory of Azerbaijan, a country that has not returned our prisoners of war and civilian captives so far, a country whose servicemen tortured and beheaded our soldiers and citizens with the Islamic State methods, not sparing even the elderly and the sick, as a result of the anti-Armenian policy of its authorities, as well as with their approval, a country that did not shy away from using terrorists against us, a country that shelled a maternity hospital, a church and, finally, a country whose soldier was glorified and rewarded at the highest level for axing to death our officer while he was asleep.
 
“Keep insisting that you have made significant achievements,” the opposition MP said.
 

Putin, Macron discuss upcoming trilateral meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian leaders

Vanyan Gary
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 10 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the parties discussed issues related to the meeting of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, which will be held in Moscow on January 11, Kremlin said.
 
“Taking into account the consistent implementation of the joint Statement of November 9, 2020 and the stabilization of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, it was noted that, first of all, at this meeting it is meant to consider further steps to establish a peaceful life in the region,” the Kremlin said.
 
The French President supported Russia’s efforts to promote the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
 
“The emphasis was placed on the importance of urgent humanitarian assistance to the population affected by the clashes, including through specialized international organizations,” the press service said.
 
Trilateral talks between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will be held in Moscow on January 11.
 
Vladimir Putin will hold separate talks with Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan.
 

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 01/08/2021

Vanyan Gary 
                                        Friday, 

Armenian Government Mum On Pashinian’s Trip To Moscow

        • Artak Khulian

Armenia -- Armenian Justice Minister Rustam Badasian talks to journalists and 
opposition protesters in Yerevan, January 8, 2021.

The Armenian government did not confirm or refute on Friday reports that Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian will fly to Moscow on Monday for further talks on the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenian opposition figures and some media outlets critical of the government 
have said in recent days that Pashinian will hold there a trilateral meeting 
with Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

A pro-opposition social media account claimed on Thursday that they will sign an 
agreement on Armenian territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in an effort to 
cement the Russian-brokered ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict zone. It said the 
draft agreement has already been sent to Armenian Ministry of Justice for 
examination.

Justice Minister Rustam Badasian and his press office were quick to deny the 
claim in separate statements.

Despite the denials, several dozen opposition activists and supporters rallied 
outside the ministry building in Yerevan on Friday to demand explanations. 
Badasian emerged from the building to talk to the protesters and repeat his 
assurances.

Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane 
Gevorgian, also denied the existence of such a document.

Earlier this week Gevorgian did not rule out the possibility of Pashinian’s 
visit to Moscow. She did not comment further.

The opposition claims appeared to have prompted concern from President Armen 
Sarkissian. In a statement issued by his office, Sarkissian said the government 
should be accountable to the public and stick to Armenia’s constitution and laws 
when implementing the ceasefire agreement that stopped the war on November 10.

Meanwhile, Pashinian identified his administration’s top “priorities” in the 
implementation process: the release of all Armenian prisoners remaining in 
Azerbaijani captivity, the recovery of the bodies of Armenian soldiers and 
civilians killed during the war, and the opening of the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
border for cargo and passenger traffic.

The truce accord commits Yerevan to opening a transport link between the 
Nakhichevan exclave and the rest of Azerbaijan, which would pass through 
Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province.

In a Facebook post, Pashinian again stressed that Baku will have to allow, for 
its part, Armenia to use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo 
shipments to and from Russia and Iran.



Armenian Ministers At Odds Over Coronavirus Restrictions


Armenia -- Officials from Armenia's Health and Labor Inspectorate inspect a shop 
in Yerevan to verify its compliance with coroanvirus safety rules, July 22, 2020.

Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian has publicly objected to a Ministry of Health 
proposal to extend restrictions aimed at preventing coronavirus infections in 
Armenia.

The Armenia government kept the restrictions in place when it lifted a 
coronavirus-related state of emergency in September. The government introduced a 
nationwide “quarantine” regime which allowed it to continue requiring people to 
wear face masks in all public areas and enforcing social distancing and hygiene 
rules set for businesses.

The new regime was due to remain in force until January 11. The Ministry of 
Health formally asked the government late last month to extend it by six month 
months, citing the continuing large number of coronavirus cases in the country.

Kerobian criticized the request in an interview with Armenian Public Television 
aired late on Thursday.

He claimed that the restrictions would hurt the Armenian economy which has 
already been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The economy badly needs more 
“oxygen” after contracting by at least 7 percent in 2020, said he 44-year-old 
businessman who was appointed as economy minister in late November.


Armenia - Businessman Vahan Kerobian at a news conference in Yerevan, January 
17, 2019.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Arsen Torosian dismissed the criticism on 
Friday, saying that the existing rules do not place restrictions on economic 
activity and only reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections within businesses and 
other entities.

“Minister Vahan Kerobian noted that what the economy needs most now is oxygen,” 
the official, Alina Nikoghosian, said. “Individuals treated for the coronavirus 
over the last several months have also needed oxygen first and foremost, which 
has been provided by the Ministry of Health.”

“We hope that the Ministry of Economy too will save no effort to provide the 
economy with oxygen without increasing the number of [COVID-19] patients,” she 
said.

Nikoghosian insisted that the rules criticized by Kerobian are essential for 
containing the further spread of COVID-19. She argued that many other countries 
are still imposing lockdowns and other tougher restrictions to deal with the 
pandemic.


Armenia -- A healthcare worker clad in protective gear looks after COVID-19 
patients at the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, Yerevan, June 5, 2020.
The Armenian authorities largely stopped fining people and businesses to enforce 
the rules following the September 27 outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. 
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases reported by them grew rapidly as a 
result. But it has been steadily falling since mid-November.

According to the Ministry of Health, there were 9,850 active cases in Armenia as 
of Friday morning, sharply down from 22,850 cases reported on December 1.

More than 161,000 coronavirus infections and at least 2,908 deaths caused by 
them have been officially confirmed in the country of about 3 million to date. 
The real number of cases is believed to be much higher.

Citing “some international projections,” Nikoghosian warned that another 1,000 
Armenians may well die from the disease by April 1.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenian ombudsman: Study of Azerbaijani president’s speeches attests to threat of genocide

Vanyan Gary
Panorama, Armenia

Jan 5 2021

Armenian Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan has reflected on the determination of Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan’s continued state policy of Armenophobia in an interview to Sputnik Armenia. The ombudsman shared the key points of the interview on his Facebook page. 

"1. When choosing any approach or a principle in determining Armenia’s state borders, at least two crucial questions must be answered: 1) whether the approach applied endangers the inviolability of the state borders of Armenia and the security of the country; 2) whether the approach applied endangers or violates the rights of people living in our country and especially border residents, and whether it is consistent with the requirements of the applicable rule of law.

"2. Determination of Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan must be considered in the context of guaranteeing the physical security and the health and welfare of the border residents. Indeed, the viability of the Armenian people in general, their lives, their physical and mental inviolability, their property rights and all other vital needs must be the foremost priority at all times," Tatoyan said.

"To be clear, and to put in context, not only the state policy of an organized anti-Armenian campaign and an anti-Armenian propaganda has not stopped being implemented in Azerbaijan, but such activities have also continued to be put to use and have been further developed. These practices have produced new manifestations of openly and notoriously threatening the territory of Armenia and our entire population.

"Moreover, a study of the speeches and rhetoric of that country's president attests to the threat of a genocide," he added. 



PHOTOS: Armenians in the Kurdistan Region celebrate Christmas

Vanyan Gary
Kurdistan 24
Jan 6 2021
Hiwa Shilani  January 6 2021   20:58      

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Armenians in the autonomous Kurdistan Region on Wednesday celebrated the annual holiday marking the birth of Jesus Christ, which fell on Wednesday according to the Armenian Apostolic Church calendar.

Dawood Mar Nisan, head of the administrative committee of Armenians in Duhok’s Zakho district, told Kurdistan 24 that this year's Christmas ceremonies "were limited to holding religious rituals in Armenian churches due to the health conditions of the coronavirus pandemic."

He pointed out that "the number of Armenians in the Kurdistan Region is about 3 thousand people and 850 to 900 of them live in the Zakho district of Dohuk province."

Photo: Kurdistan 24

Speaking to Kurdistan 24, a participant in the ceremony congratulated Christians both locally and internationally and went on to thank Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities for providing a secure and peaceful atmosphere for multiple faiths represented in the region.  

Editing by John J. Catherine

Photo: Kurdistan 24

Russian envoy conveys Putin’s answer to the letter of Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem

Vanyan Gary
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 4 2021

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On January 4, 2021, the Russian Ambassador to Israel His Excellency Mr. Anatoly Viktorov, visited the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and met with His Beatitude Abp. Nourhan Manougian and conveyed him the answer of His Beatitude’s letter addressed to His Excellency Mr. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russian Federation, Chancellor at Armenian patriarchate of Jerusalem Fr. Koryoun Baghdasaryan informs.

“On behalf of the President, I express his gratitude for you message on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue of November 20, 2020. I would like to inform you that the considerations contained in your letter have been taken into account,” the Ambassador said.

Separately, he emphasized that the Russian leadership keeps under special control the issues of the safe return of refugees to their homes, the protection of cultural and religious monuments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as well as the regulations of the status of this territory when conditions are ripe for this.