Author: Vanyan Gary

Armenian Misha Melkumyan died in captivity in Azerbaijan as a result of violence

Vanyan Gary

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 19:04, 5 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. According to the preliminary conclusion of the forensic expert, Misha Melkumyan, 84, died in Azerbaijan while being held captive from traumatic brain injury, ARMENPRESS reports Head of the Department of Criminalistics of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Rafik Vardanyan said.

” According to the preliminary conclusion of the forensic expert, the death occurred due to brain trauma as a result of violence”, Vardanyan said.

An 84-year-old Armenian man, Misha Melkumyan, who was detained as a civilian captive by the Azerbaijani military, died overnight October 29-30 in Azerbaijani custody, the Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said on October 30.

“Taking into account all evidence and documented facts on the Azerbaijani military’s inhumane treatment and level of cruelty against Armenian captives, the reasonable and grounded assumption on what could have caused the death of our compatriot becomes obvious,” Tatoyan said.

Earlier on October 29, the Azerbaijani authorities spread disinformation claiming that the Armenian side refused to accept Melkumyan from the Azeris. The Armenian Human Rights Defender investigated and debunked the Azeri allegations. The investigation revealed that according to medical conclusions Melkumyan’s deteriorated health hindered the organization of his transfer and would’ve been unsafe for him, and the Azeri authorities were well aware of the issue. The Armenian authorities had expressed readiness to organize Melkumyan’s transfer as soon as his health condition would allow it.




CivilNet: Day 36, Diary of War, Nagorno-Karabakh

Vanyan Gary
CIVILNET.AM

5 November, 2020 04:34

By Lika Zakaryan, Stepanakert

“Cubes of sugar”

Shushi was bombed again. The war continues, more and more refugees and many more wounded. Not to mention the eternal loss… Today I want to tell a story from the first Artsakh war. I will not name the locations, it’s not of importance.

War. A group of young and not so young men are fighting to get rid of the enemy and establish independence in their land. Food? Sleep? It was all just a dream… The battle was not for life, but for death. Losing meant the end of everything and everyone.

The moment came when one group captured an important city. This city was key in terms of winning the war. The peaceful inhabitants of this city who sympathized with the enemy had already left via a corridor. But there were still those who did not have time to escape. The operation was successful. The city belongs to them. One of the most difficult obstacles to independence has been overcome. How long have they been waiting for this? How important it was, how many lives they saved by this.

In the midst of the chaos of victory, one young man, 20-22 years old, who was a part of this day, stood and looked around, trying to realize what they had managed to do. He looked at the houses that were left, and at another city, which from now on was saved from the enemy’s hail. “I stood, drowned in these thoughts, and suddenly I heard a sound from one house. Are there still people there?” In a fit of curiosity and surprise, he entered the house – with a gun in his hands. Nothing is visible… He walks further, and… An old woman is sitting on the couch, crying. Nearby is her son, with a gun in his hands, trembling. And next to his two children and his wife is a man… Everyone is crying. A young soldier stands in front of them, they look at him sadly, say nothing, they are afraid. The man in the house is not a military man, he hardly knows how to use a weapon (this was evident from the way he holds a gun). What to do? What if they attack? But after several minutes of tense silence, the soldier lowered his gun. The woman began to sob… Probably from happiness. Finally the man from the house spoke up: “Don’t kill us… We are ordinary people. Ours ran away, they left us. They knocked on the window, threw a gun at me and said: defend yourself! Now, I never even fired a single shot…” Both dropped their guns. The soldier went up to the children, bent down and said: “Do not be afraid, I will not touch you, no one will touch you, I promise!” He took them away, himself towards the corridor, made sure that everything would be fine with them.

Since food was not an everyday luxury, the soldiers were given two cubes of sugar to eat or drink with water just in case they ran out of bread. Glucose… They didn’t know when there would be a chance to eat or find the other two lumps of sugar, so they were very anxious and were afraid to even take this chance. Stored permanently for the worst case. Our hero had the same two sugar cubes with him.

At the end, during the farewell, the soldier leaned over to the children, pulled out these two cubes and said: “Take it, they say – there is a lot of glucose, and this is important. You need to eat them so that your head does not spin…” He said goodbye to them. The man from the house turned around, looked at him, said nothing, just looked. They didn’t really talk that much during all this time. But in his eyes there was boundless gratitude… And the soldier looked approvingly, as in, this is how it should be. No one said a word, but everyone understood each other…

These are the things that happened during the first war. This is a real story and I personally know the soldier who gave his last two sugar cubes to the children. Perhaps these children have grown up and are now on the frontline, fighting against the son of that same soldier. Who knows? But I really want to believe that just like the lives of these people, this war will be stopped by the same “two cubes of sugar” on both sides…

Iran Will Not Tolerate Terrorists Near Its Borders, Says Tehran

Vanyan Gary

November 2,  2020



Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif

Iran will not tolerate the presence of terrorists near its borders, the country’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, commenting on the involvement of Turkey-backed mercenary-terrorists in the military operations unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh, IRNA reported.

“As for the terrorists we are almost sure that they have participated in the clashes. We have stated that this action is not beneficial to anyone. During and before the negotiations we have told the Armenian and Azerbaijani officials, as well as Russia and Turkey that Iran will not tolerate this,” Zarif said, referencing a plan that Iran proposed to stem the Karabakh conflict. The plan was presented by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, who traveled to Baku, Moscow, Yerevan and Ankara to discuss Iran’s proposal.

In announcing Iran’s objections, Zarif hinted revealed a portion of Iran’s peace proposal, the details of which have not been publicized.

“We believe that the war will inflict most damage on regional countries and so these countries should have the most influence on ending the war,” said Zarif.

“In this context, and framework, and without undermining other mechanism, such as the [OSCE] Minsk [Group], we pursued this dialogues and presented our goals,” added the minister.

Azerbaijani missile attack causes civilian casualties and heavy damages in Shushi, Artsakh

Vanyan Gary

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 14:00,

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Civilian casualties and heavy damages occurred in the town of Shushi as Azerbaijan once again bombarded the peaceful settlements of Artsakh on October 29, the State Service of Emergency Situations of Artsakh said.

“Azerbaijan is continuously violating all international conventions, using banned munitions against the peaceful population and civilian settlements of Artsakh. Shushi once again came under an Azerbaijani missile attack. There are civilian casualties and major material damages,” the State Service of Emergency Situations of Artsakh said.

The town of Shushi, as well as the city of Stepanakert and other nearby settlements, were heavily bombarded by the Azeri military with Smerch multiple rocket launchers.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Member of Spanish Congress of Deputies urges government to refrain from selling arms to Azerbaijan

Vanyan Gary

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 16:54,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain from Plural faction Míriam Nogueras i Camero is urging the country’s government to refrain from selling weapons to Azerbaijan, to promote the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the _expression_ of will of the majority of the NK people, the Armenian Embassy in Spain told Armenpress.

“The Plural faction of the Spanish Congress, under the initiative of MP Míriam Nogueras i Camero, has submitted a proposal to the Congress, urging the government

-to refrain from selling weapons to Azerbaijan

-to promote at the international level the peaceful settlement of the conflict based on the _expression_ of will of the majority of the Nagorno Karabakh people

-to condemn Turkey’s military support to Azerbaijan, initiating sanctions on Turkey for its aggressive and expansionist actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus”, the Embassy said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/24/2020

Vanyan Gary 
                                        Saturday, 
U.S. Still Sees No ‘Military Solution’ To Karabakh Conflict
U.S. - U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien (L) meets with Azerbaijani 
Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Washington, .
U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien insisted that there can be no 
“military solution” to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after meeting with 
Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers in Washington late on Friday.
“In my meeting with Azerbaijani FM [Jeyhun Bayramov] I pressed for an immediate 
ceasefire, then a return to Minsk Group-facilitated negotiations with Armenia 
and rejection of outside actors further destabilizing the situation. There is no 
military solution,” the U.S. National Security Council quoted O’Brien as saying 
on its Twitter page.
O’Brien made a somewhat different comment on his separate talks with Armenian 
Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian. He said they met to “discuss the need for 
an immediate ceasefire” and the resumption of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks 
mediated by the three Minsk Group co-chairs: the U.S., Russia and France.
“The U.S. will continue our strongest diplomatic efforts at all levels until the 
conflict is resolved,” added President Donald Trump’s key adviser.
U.S. - Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan meets with U.S. Secretary 
of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, at the State 
Department in Washington, U.S., 
The Trump administration invited Bayramov and Mnatsakanian to Washington as part 
of its efforts to stop the nearly month-long war in and around Karabakh. The two 
ministers also separately met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier 
on Friday.
Pompeo said he discussed with them “critical steps to halt violence in the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.” He did not report any fresh Armenian-Azerbaijani 
agreements that effect.
Trump spoke afterwards of “really good progress” made in U.S. mediation efforts. 
But he did not elaborate.
“We don’t yet know what progress they are talking about,” a spokesman for 
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the RIA Novosti news agency on Friday 
night.
Putin expressed hope on Thursday that Washington will contribute to Russian 
efforts to get the conflicting parties to respect a ceasefire agreement that was 
brokered by Moscow on October 10.
A similar “humanitarian” truce agreement brokered by France on October 17 has 
also not been observed. Both warring sides reported on Friday fresh fighting and 
shelling of civilian areas in the conflict zone.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Pople mourn during the funeral of a soldier who died in 
recent military clashes Karabakh, Stepanakert, 
At his meeting with O’Brien, Mnatsakanian again held Turkey responsible for the 
continuing bloodshed. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, he claimed 
that Ankara is keen to destabilize the region by recruiting Middle Eastern 
“terrorist fighters” for the Azerbaijani army and providing other military 
assistance to Baku.
The Turkish and Azerbaijani governments deny Turkey’s direct involvement in the 
ongoing war.
Pompeo criticized Ankara’s role in the Karabakh escalation last week. “We now 
have the Turks, who have stepped in and provided resources to Azerbaijan, 
increasing the risk, increasing the firepower that’s taking place in this 
historic fight,” he said.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Tbilisi: Aliyev: Weapons Smuggled by Civilian Planes to Armenia

Vanyan Gary
Civil Georgia
Oct 16 2020
16/10/2020 – 19:30

399 1 minute read

“According to the information at our disposal, smuggled weapons were sent from the Georgian territory to Armenia by civilian and cargo planes,” Baku-based Report News Agency quoted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev as saying in an interview with Turkish TV channel A Haber on October 16.

Aliyev claimed that “rich Armenian businessmen” living in Russia have purchased an IL-76 plane that is being used to smuggle Russian Armenians as mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as anti-tank and air defense weaponry to Armenia.

“I can say that Iran and Georgia have closed the airspace and land roads for the delivery of weapons to Armenia,” Aliyev stated, expressing gratitude to the governments of the two neighboring countries. However, the Azerbaijani leader asserted that the military goods are being declared as civilian cargo and transported illegally.

President Aliyev stated that the Azerbaijani government has addressed the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the matter.

Earlier in October, the National Security Council of Georgia stated that the issuance of permits for transiting military cargo through its territory towards both Azerbaijan and Armenia was suspended as soon as tensions erupted in the Nagorno-Karabakh.

Regardless, Tbilisi has frequently faced accusations of military transit through its territory, with officials denouncing various allegations, such as allowing the transfer of Syrian militants, as well as arms transit to Azerbaijan.

Most recently, deputy FM Lasha Darsalia denounced media reports that military shipments through Georgia are carried out via civil fights as “manipulation of information,” asserting that “the flights taking place in the airspace of Georgia are of humanitarian and civil nature only.”

Every Year Armenian Americans Rally For Justice, But These Protests Are Different

Vanyan Gary
LAist
Oct 16 2020
Updated 3:32 PM

Every year members of the Armenian diaspora push for recognition by the United States and other world powers of a genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.

During the Armenian Genocide, as much as three-fourths of the population was wiped out in massacres and forced marches to the Syrian desert, and the survivors were scattered far and wide, many ultimately settling in Southern California.

But those who have taken to the streets in recent weeks are focused on what they see as a more imminent and existential threat to their homeland and families. That’s because a long-simmering conflict half a world away has boiled over into armed confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the latter of which is backed by Turkey.

Salpi Ghazarian, director of the University of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian Studies, explained to our culture and local news show Take Two, which airs on 89.3 KPCC, how news of Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan and the rhetoric of conquest brings back traumatic memories:

“We continue to live until this last generation is dying with those memories — very real memories of Turkish atrocities against its Armenian citizens. And now, we see Turkey and Turkish authorities repeating the same lines. And so, that trauma is being recalled and it’s very raw.”

Russian reporter injured by Azerbaijani bombing if Shushi church to be taken to Russia

Vanyan Gary

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 20:00, 9 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The two Russian journalists injured by Azerbaijani bombing of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of Artsakh’s Shushi town will taken to Russia with the governmental delegation, ARMENPRESS reports, citing Ria Novosti, the reporters covering Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin’s working visit to Yerevan will return to Moscow with the same plane.

On October 8 the Azerbaijani forces bombed Shushi’s Ghazanchetsots Cathedral twice. One of the Russian reporters has been critically injured. The Armenian Foreign Ministry has announced that the regular targeting of international reporters in Artsakh by Azerbaijan is aimed at preventing them from covering the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan. Earlier two French reporters had been injured. Azerbaijan has banned international reporters to cover the developments from the territory of Azerbaijan.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan