Category: 2019

Azerbaijan, Armenia give fresh impetus to Karabakh negotiations — Azerbaijani leader

Boris Nahapetian
TASS, Russia
World

March 29, 23:31 UTC+3

VIENNA, March 29. /TASS/. Azerbaijan and Armenia have given a fresh impetus to the negotiating process during a meeting in Vienna on Friday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, replying to a question by TASS.

“We highly assessed our talks, which were conducted in a constructive atmosphere. This was the first official meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia after a long break. All the previous talks had been held mainly in the format of international meetings,” he said, adding, “The foreign ministers of the two countries have held several rounds of talks. The most important fact is that the current meeting gave another start to the negotiation process.”

“We have discussed the issues related to strengthening trust measures during contacts between people,” Aliyev continued. “Earlier, there had been contacts between members of the public. So it is too early to talk about this (the humanitarian measures – TASS).”

According to Aliyev, Baku has not conceded to any changes. “We are back to the situation when you have to conduct substantial talks. We instructed the foreign ministers to meet in order to continue the negotiating process, and they will do that in the near future, most probably,” the Azerbaijani leader noted.

 “The negotiating process should be supported by humanitarian measures. It is of huge importance that the format of talks remained unchanged – only Armenia and Azerbaijan discuss their problems as it was many years before,” he went on.

“The negotiating process received a fresh impetus. We highly assessed the statement made by co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on March 9. The document reaffirms that every changes in the format of the negotiating process may occur only if both sides agree,” the president added.

Pashinyan said after the meeting the talks have been productive, however, there has been no breakthrough. 

“In general terms, I estimate the meeting as positive. However, I cannot say that there has been a breakthrough in the negotiation process, or an evolution,” he said. “However, the main thing is that the sides started to talk about the issues. I hope that President Aliyev will also see this meeting as positive.”

Aliyev and Pashinyan met in Vienna on Friday to discuss the regulation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is their fourth one-on-one meeting. Earlier, they met on the sidelines of the CIS summits in Dushanbe and St. Petersburg (September and December 2018 respectively), as well as in Davos during the World Economic Forum (January 22, 2019).

During the talks, both leaders have stressed the importance of peaceful steps to resolve the conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen Igor Popov (Russia), Stefane Visconti (France) and Andres Schofer (USA) stated on the outcomes of the meeting.

“The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their respective positions. They exchanged views about several key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance,” the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs informs. “The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.”

The Azerbaijani president and the Armenian PM also agreed on humanitarian measures to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field,” the OSCE informed.

“The Prime Minister and President instructed their Ministers to meet with the Co-Chairs again in the near future. They also agreed to continue their direct dialogue,” the statement added.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed border region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, sought independence from Azerbaijan at the end of the 1980s, which resulted in a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia that claimed the lives of 25,000-30,000 people between 1988 and 1994. Since then, the territory has been under Armenia’s control.

Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been going on since 1992. Russia, the US and France are co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that acts as a mediator in resolving the crisis. The group also includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Turkey.


Aliyev: Format of negotiations with Armenia remains unchanged

Jhanna Virabian
News.am, Armenia
Aliyev: Format of negotiations with Armenia remains unchanged Aliyev: Format of negotiations with Armenia remains unchanged

23:59, 29.03.2019
                  

The format of the negotiation process with Armenia remains unchanged, there is progress in the negotiations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told TASS.

“Negotiation process also has to be supported by humanitarian actions. The fact that the format of negotiations remained unchanged is important, negotiations are conducted between Armenia and Azerbaijan as it has been for many years, – the president noted. – A new impetus has been given to the negotiation process, we very positively assessed the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs of March 9, which says that a change in the negotiation format can be only with the consent of the two parties.”

According to him, Baku did not give consent to that. “We are back to a situation where we need to continue to conduct substantive negotiations. An instruction has been given to the Foreign Ministers, who are likely to meet in order to continue the negotiation process, ”Aliyev said.

“The negotiation process must be result oriented,” he pointed out.

According to Aliyev, the talks were held in a constructive atmosphere.

 “We assess the talks positively, they took place in a constructive atmosphere. This is the first official meeting of the leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia after a long break, previous meetings were more introductory and were held in the framework of international events,- he said. – The foreign ministers held several rounds of talks. The meeting is important because a new start has been given to the negotiation process on the substance of the issue.

“We discussed issues related to the strengthening of confidence-building measures in the framework of contacts between people,” continued Aliyev. – Previously, there were contacts between members of the public. It’s too early to talk about humanitarian measures. ”

Burbank community to commemorate Armenian Genocide on April 16

Arsine Chaltikian
Public Radio of Armenia
Burbank community to commemorate Armenian Genocide on April 16

2019-03-29 11:52:30

Asbarez – The Armenian National Committee of America – Burbank, the Armenian Youth Federation Burbank ‘Varak’ Chapter and AYF Junior “Gaidzag” Chapter, the Homenetmen “Sipan” Chapter and the Burbank High School Armenian Club have teamed up this year to commemorate the 104th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on Tuesday, April 16.

The commemoration will begin at 6 p.m. with a short remembrance program led by ANCA – B. The BHS Armenian Club will showcase a testimonial presentation during the Burbank City Council meeting and, as is Burbank tradition, the City Council will present its proclamation in recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

A candlelight vigil will follow in front of Burbank City Hall, located at 275 E. Olive Ave, at 7 p.m., during which there will be speeches and performances from community leaders and a performance by members of the AYF Juniors “Gaidzag” Chapter.

The commemoration event is open to all community members, activists, and leaders. Join us in remembering the 1.5 million Armenian lives lost. For far too long, the crimes against humanity the Armenian people endured have been denied. We must unite in demanding recognition and restitution for the genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government. We must persist in our fight for justice.

“The Armenian-American youth recognizes the importance in unifying to promote awareness. For this reason, we urge people of all ages to come together and support this event,” stated Christine Mkrtchyan the secretary of AYF “Varak’ Chapter.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Burbank advances the social, economic, cultural and political rights of the area’s Armenian American community and promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.

Ter-Petrosyan’s enemies demand Pashinyan send more Armenian presidents to jail

Emil Lazarian
Vestnik Kavkaza
Ter-Petrosyan’s enemies demand Pashinyan send more Armenian presidents to jail

29 Mar in 13:00

Not only the ‘party of war’ of Sargsyan and Kocharyan – the Republican Party of Armenia – but also its permanent ally, ARF Dashnaktsutyun was among political forces, which lost the ‘velvet revolution’ in Armenia. The Dashnaks, formally unrelated to the Karabakh clan, are trying to settle a score with their ancient opponents by putting pressure on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In particular, recently head of the Civic Platform initiative group Aghvan Poghosyan wrote on his Facebook’s page about the ex-ARF chairman Rouben Hakobian’s desire to see Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosian in jail, to whom the Dashnaks lost the 1991 presidential election (Ter-Petrosyan won with 83% of the vote, at a turnout of 70%, while the ARF’s Sos Sargsyan – only 4.3%). As a pretext to imprison him, Hakobian suggested that Pashinyan should reconsider the results of the 1996 second election, when Ter-Petrosyan won with a minimum result of 51.3% with a turnout of 60.3% (the ARF did not participate then).

“Yesterday, a former member of the National Assembly Ruben Hakobian published the U.S. State Department’s 1996 Human Rights Report. In particular, the report touched upon the violence and cruelty on the part of the authorities against opposition members and demonstrators that took place in the post-election period. The reports stressed that Levon Ter-Petrosyan was re-elected as a result of controversial elections, which were marked by a number of illegal actions and serious violations of the electoral law,” Poghosyan reports.

“In general, speaking of committing electoral fraud, beating demonstrators and violating constitutional order, these processes were initiated by falsifying the 1996 elections, as there are comments from the Ter-Petrosian team’s members. In particular, Vano Siradeghyan and Karapet Rubinyan said that the elections were rigged. There are grounds and facts that could result in criminal proceedings concerning violation of constitutional order and election fraud,” the head of the Civil Platform cites Hakobian’s words.

Then, the former ARF head tries to draw an analogy with the criminal prosecution of second president Robert Kocharyan, who came to power in 1998 after Ter-Petrosian’s resignation (due to the Karabakh clan’s unwillingness to follow Ter-Petrosian’s plan to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict) to put in jail the first president, who is Nikol Pashinyan’s political mentor.

“Why should they be shy of these facts if the Special Investigation Service is preparing materials based on Shirkhanyan’s open letter to initiate criminal proceedings in the 1998 elections? One can go back two years ago and fully disclose the falsified elections. The ball is on Nikol Pashinyan’s court. and now he has to prove that his actions are really based on the state’s interests and don’t conceal political persecution and revenge,” Rouben Hakobian concluded.

Representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia: "Islamic State" shifts interest into the territory of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

Edgar Tavakalian
Arminfo, Armenia
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.After the defeat in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State shifts interest to the territory of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. This  opinion is shared by Head of the Main Directorate for Countering  Extremism of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation  Oleg Ilinykh.

According to Ilinykh, leaders of the Islamic State banned in Russia  are harboring plans to form a worldwide terrorist network, sleeping  cells that would demonstrate the ability to carry out terrorist  attacks around the world.

“The strategic defeat of the Caliphate in Syria and Iraq entails a  shift in the interests of the” Islamic State “to the territory of  Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia,” said  Ilinykh at the V.Ya. Kikot’ Moscow University of the Ministry of  Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, speaking at the opening  of the II International Scientific and Practical Conference “Priority  tasks of international cooperation in countering extremism and  terrorism,” RIA Novosti reports.

ISIS shifts interest to CIS countries, including Armenia – Russian official

Ani Kharatian
Panorama, Armenia

Following the defeats in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State has shifted its interest to number of CIS countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirgizstan, and Armenia, Head of department combating extremism at Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Oleg Ilyinikh has stated on Friday.

Ria Novosty agency reports, the Russian official’s remarks came during a presentation at a conference dedicated to international cooperation on combating terrorism and extremism.

The emergence of second-generation immigrants Berejiklian and Barilaro definitely a big positive

Markos Nalchajian
Canberra Times (Australia)
Thursday
The emergence of second-generation immigrants Berejiklian and Barilaro definitely a big positive
 
by John Warhurst
 
The confirmation of Gladys Berejiklian and John Barilaro as Premier and Deputy Premier of New South Wales should be celebrated, regardless of party affiliation and public policy differences, because of their immigrant backgrounds. Berejiklian herself has commented on how remarkable it is that “someone with a long surname and a woman can be Premier in NSW.”
 
She was born in Sydney of Armenian immigrant descent. She is also the first woman to have won an election as NSW Premier, though Kristina Keneally was the first to hold the position. Her achievement was celebrated across the partisan divide with congratulations from Julia Gillard and Tania Plibersek. She is a moderate Liberal in the same state that produced the conservatives Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott.
 
Giovanni “John” Barilaro was born in Queanbeyan to Italian immigrant parents. He rose to become leader of the Nationals and Deputy Premier in 2016. His job is now to improve the performance of the Nationals following a disappointing state election in which they lost three seats.
 
The emergence of Berejiklian and Barilaro reflects the successful engagement with political life of second-generation immigrant communities. Neither is the first, by any means, to emerge from non-English speaking immigrant communities. Plibersek herself, the daughter of Slovenian immigrant parents, is an obvious example.
 
The Italian community in NSW produced former Premier Morris Iemma and former Education minister Adrian Piccoli among others. Greens leader Richard di Natale is of Italian ethnic background. Elsewhere, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk, recently re-elected, is of Polish/German immigrant heritage.
 
The twin success of Berejiklian and Barilaro shows that immigrant communities do inject themselves successfully into politics. Those of European background are being followed by those of Asian heritage, like Senator Penny Wong, favoured by many as Labor Party leader, whose father is Malaysian/Chinese and Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, born in Pakistan, who described herself in her maiden speech last year as a “brown, Muslim migrant”. Perhaps 26-year-old newcomer Scott Yung, the Liberal candidate who almost won Kogarah, will be another.
 
Leaders of Asian descent will be followed shortly by those of African, Pacific Islander and other diverse backgrounds. We should rejoice in these achievements at the same time as we combat racism in the Australian community.
 
Ethnic diversity is matched by geographic diversity, which has traditionally meant just the urban-rural division or the eastern suburbs-western suburbs divide in Sydney but is much more complex. It is the major challenge faced by all political parties seeking to appeal to a statewide constituency.
 
It ranks alongside the traditional blue-collar/white collar tensions which has been an issue primarily for the Labor Party. This tension was often expressed as the challenge for a Labor government of appealing at the same time to environmentalists and coal miners without being two-faced.
 
The challenge of geographical diversity was evident in several ways in this state election campaign. Most dramatically it was one element behind the racist remarks of Labor leader Michael Daley which became public in the last week. The video of a politics in the pub event last September in Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains showed Daley making totally unacceptable remarks about young Sydneysiders being forced out of the city and replaced by Asians with PhDs.
 
It was also evident in Labor’s problem, following the Christchurch massacre, with gun control policy. Labor had exchanged preferences with the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party in two regional seats. It opened the Opposition to charges of hypocrisy and being ‘soft’ on gun control.
 
In attempting to improve its regional chances, its position endangered its standing among voters in marginal city seats. Christchurch ensured that they would not get away with that tactic and John Howard’s role in the Liberal campaign in western Sydney as the ‘gun-control king’ was made more potent.
 
Not that the Liberals were without fault in this regard. They exchanged preferences with the Liberal Democrats in the Legislative Council election, despite that party’s libertarian pro-gun policies. Berejiklian unconvincingly tried to explain this away by the ploy that preferences in the lower house of government were more important than preferences in the upper house of review.
 
In attacking the Shooters Fishers and Farmers party in city campaigning as “dangerous”, the Liberals also made the job of their partner the Nationals much more difficult. Of all the parties, the Nationals face the greatest problems with geographic diversity.
 
The inland-coastal divide problem is not new for the Nationals nor is it new to have to face off against challenges. The federal Nationals under Tim Fischer did so against Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in the 1990s and later against Independents like Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott. They survived those challenges so all is not lost.
 
But they now face as big a challenge as ever. They are under siege in western NSW, losing Barwon and Murray, failing to win back Orange and narrowly surviving in Dubbo. At the same time they are losing ground on different issues in the north-east where they lost Lismore to Labor and failed to win back Ballina from the Greens. Society is changing and traditional party allegiances are weakening.
 
There will be simplistic arguments advanced, such as ditching the name Nationals by returning to the old Country Party brand or Barnaby Joyce’s advocacy of a shift further to the right, in order to recapture past loyalties or win new friends like coal miners.
 
But what the Nationals need, as do all political parties seeking a broad mandate, is an integrated vision for Australia which can deliver policies the party is proud of across the whole country or state.
 
John Warhurst is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University.
 
The challenge of geographical diversity was evident in several ways in this state election campaign.

Why the emergence of Berejiklian and Barilaro is a good thing

Hambik Zargarian
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
— 12.00am

The confirmation of Gladys Berejiklian and John Barilaro as Premier and Deputy Premier of New South Wales should be celebrated regardless of party affiliation and public policy differences because of their immigrant backgrounds. Berejiklian herself has commented on how remarkable it is that “someone with a long surname and a woman can be Premier in NSW.”

She was born in Sydney of Armenian immigrant descent. She is also the first woman to have won an election as NSW Premier, though Kristina Keneally was the first to hold the position. Her achievement was celebrated across the partisan divide with congratulations from Julia Gillard and Tania Plibersek. She is a moderate Liberal in the same state which has produced the conservatives Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott.

Giovanni “John” Barilaro was born in Queanbeyan to Italian immigrant parents. He rose to become leader of the Nationals and Deputy Premier in 2016. His job is now to improve the performance of the Nationals following a disappointing state election in which they lost three seats.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Boyd Baling farm in Lismore.Credit:AAP

The emergence of Berejiklian and Barilaro reflects the successful engagement with political life of second-generation immigrant communities. Neither is the first to emerge from non-English speaking immigrant communities by any means. Plibersek herself, the daughter of Slovenian immigrant parents, is an obvious example.

The Italian community in NSW produced former Premier Morris Iemma and former Education minister Adrian Piccoli among others. Greens leader, Richard di Natale, is of Italian ethnic background. Elsewhere Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszcuk, recently re-elected, is of Polish/German immigrant heritage.

The twin success of Berejiklian and Barilaro shows that immigrant communities do inject themselves successfully into politics. Those of European background are being followed by those of Asian heritage, like Senator Penny Wong, favoured by many as Labor Party leader, whose father is Malaysian/Chinese and Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, born in Pakistan, who described herself in her maiden speech last year as a “brown, Muslim migrant”. Perhaps 26-year old newcomer Scott Yung, the Liberal candidate who almost won Kogarah, will be another.

Leaders of Asian descent will be followed shortly by those of African, Pacific Islander and other diverse backgrounds. We should rejoice in these achievements at the same time as we combat racism in the Australian community.

Ethnic diversity is matched by geographic diversity, which has traditionally meant just the urban-rural division or the eastern suburbs-western suburbs divide in Sydney but is much more complex. It is the major challenge faced by all political parties seeking to appeal to a statewide constituency.

It ranks alongside the traditional blue-collar/white collar tensions which has been an issue primarily for the Labor Party. This tension was often expressed as the challenge for a Labor government of appealing at the same time to environmentalists and coal-miners without being two-faced.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian during the NSW Nationals campaign launch in Queanbeyan.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The challenge of geographical diversity was evident in several ways in this state election campaign. Most dramatically it was one element behind the racist remarks of Labor leader Michael Daley which became public in the last week. The video of a politics in the pub event last September in Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains showed Daley making totally unacceptable remarks about young Sydneysiders being forced out of the city and replaced by Asians with PhDs.

It was also evident in Labor’s problem, following the Christchurch massacre, with gun control policy. Labor had exchanged preferences with the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party in two regional seats. It opened the Opposition to charges of hypocrisy and being ‘soft’ on gun control.

In attempting to improve its regional chances its position endangered its standing among voters in marginal city seats. Christchurch ensured that they would not get away with that tactic and John Howard’s role in the Liberal campaign in Western Sydney as the ‘gun-control king’ was made more potent.

Not that the Liberals were without fault in this regard. They exchanged preferences with the Liberal Democrats in the Legislative Council election, despite that party’s libertarian pro-gun policies. Berejiklian unconvincingly tried to explain this away by the ploy that preferences in the lower house of government were more important than preferences in the upper house of review.

In attacking the Shooters Fishers and Farmers party in city campaigning as “dangerous” the Liberals also made the job of their partner the Nationals much more difficult. Of all the parties the Nationals face the greatest problems with geographic diversity.

The inland-coastal divide problem is not new for the Nationals nor is it new to have to face off against challenges. The federal Nationals under Tim Fischer did so against Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in the 1990s and later against Independents like Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott. They survived those challenges so all is not lost.

But they now face as big a challenge as ever. They are under siege in Western NSW, losing Barwon and Murray, failing to win back Orange and narrowly surviving in Dubbo. At the same time they are losing ground on different issues in the North East where they lost Lismore to Labor and failed to win back Ballina from the Greens. Society is changing and traditional party allegiances are weakening.

There will be simplistic arguments advanced, such as ditching the name Nationals by returning to the old Country Party brand or Barnaby Joyce’s advocacy of a shift further to the right, in order to recapture past loyalties or win new friends like coal-miners.

But what the Nationals need, as do all political parties seeking a broad mandate, is an integrated vision for Australia which can deliver policies the party is proud of across the whole country or state.

John Warhurst is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University.



Prime Minister Pashinyan Questions US ‘Nil’ Reaction to Democratic Changes in Armenia

Boris Nahapetian
Sputnik News Service
Thursday 4:23 PM UTC
Prime Minister Pashinyan Questions US ‘Nil’ Reaction to Democratic Changes in Armenia
 
 
YEREVAN, March 28 (Sputnik) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that the United States had had absolutely no reaction to the democratic transformation in Armenia and questioned why this was the case.
 
“The United States has long been one of the most ardent defenders of democracy in the world. I would like to ask how the United States responded to the unprecedented democratic changes in Armenia? While this was a democratic transformation in its essence and content, and no one should be in doubt about it. Its reaction, and I also told this to American representatives, was nil in practice. Why?” Pashinyan said, addressing the country’s parliament.
 
Pashinyan’s remark came as a response to the criticism by Arman Babajanyan, a lawmaker from the Bright Armenia party, who accused the country’s government of continuing a one-sided foreign policy and said that Armenia’s relations with the United States and the European Union were not developing as they ought to. Babajanyan also criticized the Armenian humanitarian mission being sent to Syria.
 
According to Pashinyan, Armenian combat engineers and doctors were sent to Syria based on the country’s “historical mission.”
 
Head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Center for Syrian Reconciliation, Lt. Gen. Sergei Solomatin, said that on February 8, an 83-strong humanitarian mission from Armenia began working in Syria. The mission is engaged in clearing mines and providing medical assistance to the residents of the city of Aleppo. Russia has been providing logistical support to the Armenian mission.

Sports: 10 Armenian Greco Roman wrestlers to compete at European C’ship

Babken Chilingarian
Panorama, Armenia

Head coach of Armenia’s Greco Roman wrestling team Levon Julfalakyan has unveiled the lineup for the European Wrestling Championships in Bucharest, Romania, the National Olympic Committee told Panorama.am.

A total of 10 Armenian athletes will vie for medals at the championship. The lineup includes Rudik Mkrtchyan (55 kg), Gevorg Gharibyan (60 kg), Slavik Galstyan (63 kg), Karen Aslanyan (67 kg), Hrant Kalachyan (72 kg), Arsen Julfalakyan (77 kg), Sargis Kocharyan (82kg), Maxim Manukyan (87kg), Artur Shahinyan (97kg) and Davit Ovasapyan (130kg).

The European Wrestling Championships are scheduled for 8-14 April, with the Greco Roman wrestlers to start their performances on 12 April.