Category: 2019

Armenophobia is Integral Part of Azerbaijani Identity, Says Artsakh Parliament Speaker

Jhanna Virabian
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9 hours ago

Artsakh Parliament Speaker Ashot Gjhulyan (left) during the conference on Armenophobia at the European Parliament

BRUSSELS—Member of the European Parliament Dr. Eleni Theocharous hosted a conference on March 6, entitled “Armenophobia: historical and present-day resurgence” in the European Parliament. The event was co-organized by the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) and the Tufenkian Foundation. The President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh Ashot Ghulyan, was the special guest speaker of the conference. More than hundred attendees were present at the event, among them Members of the European Parliament, representatives of civil society, as well as Armenian community members.

During the conference, the keynote speakers, including prominent scholars, historians, human rights activists, journalists and eyewitnesses addressed the phenomenon of Armenophobia, its origins and current manifestations in Azerbaijan and Turkey. The participants expressed deep concern over the dangerous consequences of incitement of hatred against Armenians all over the world, backed by the Turkish and Azerbaijani authorities on a large scale.

In his opening remark, the EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of Armenophobia at the European Parliament. “Seeding hatred can never be a solution. The relevant bodies of the EU and in particular the EU Special Representative for Human Rights must encourage Turkey and Azerbaijan to stop the policy of nurturing anti-Armenian sentiment,” said Karampetian.

“Armenians are peaceful people with strong ideals and high capabilities of coexisting with everyone,” stated European Parliament member Theocharous. She expressed conviction that the Armenian people in fact predispose every conscious citizen to feel Armenophilia, sympathy and respect for Armenia.

One of the main points agreed on during the discussions was that the anti-Armenian sentiment is a clear demonstration of xenophobia, one of the greatest threats to the humanity.

In this regard, Mr. Ashot Ghulyan stressed: “It is even more dangerous when xenophobia and hate speech become a state policy, calling into question the peaceful coexistence of peoples in the short and long term. A society poisoned with xenophobia can never and under no circumstances create a public and universal value.”

Human rights activist Ragip Zarakolu highlighted the historic and current level of hatred towards Armenians in Turkey. He said: “Armenophobia was always strong in Turkish history. Armenia was an obstacle to the realization of that time’s pan-Turkic ideology which led to the perpetration of the Armenian Genocide.”

Speaking about Armenophobia in Azerbaijan, historian Pr. Jakub Osiecki mentioned that some scholars considered that the phenomenon of Armenophobia was allegedly related to the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the beginning of the 20th century. However, he argues that Armenophobic behavior goes back to the 19th century, as also evidenced by many European historians of that period.

During the conference, war crimes and violations of international humanitarian norms committed by the Azerbaijani army during the 2016 April war were also condemned. Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan presented evidence of the Azerbaijani atrocities against Armenians, including civilians. Furthermore, he expressed deep regret concerning the fact that after the April war the perpetrators of war crimes were awarded by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev personally.

Human rights activist Ragip Zarakolu was honored by the EAFDJ

The former Ombudsman of Artsakh Ruben Melikyan elaborated on the manifestation Armenophobia in the education system and media in Azerbaijan. He said that hatred against Armenians is being spread among children in the in schools and kindergartens of Azerbaijan on purpose. Melikyan presented the report published by the office of Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh entitled “Armenophobia in Azerbaijan: organized hate speech and animosity towards Armenians.”

Well-known Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin who was persecuted by the Azerbaijani authorities, presented his personal experience and stated: “I see some parallels between modern Azerbaijan and Nazi Germany during the beginning of World War II. Today, the propaganda of hatred towards people of Armenian descent is the basis of the state policy of Azerbaijan,” concluded Lapshin.

The speeches were followed by a lively question and answer session, where the guest-speakers addressed the questions asked among others by Azerbaijani participants.

At the end of the conference, on behalf of the EAFJD, Karmapetian honored Ragip Zarakolu for his lifetime struggle for human rights, democracy and justice.

EAFDJ members welcome Artsakh Parliament Speaker Ashot Ghulyan to Brussels

EAFJD president Gaspar Karampetian met on Monday with Ghu;yan’s delegation.

During the meeting Karampetian reaffirmed the EAFJD’s readiness to assist Artsakh and protect the rights of its citizens among the representatives of European organizations.

In his turn, Ghulyan highly appreciated the role of the ARF, the party unions and the Armenian National Committees in fight on reaching the international recognition of free and independent Artsakh.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/06/2019

Ophelia Vardapetian 
                                        Wednesday, 
Ex-President’s Indicted Brother Allowed To Leave Armenia
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- President Serzh Sarkisian's brother Aleksandr is seen outside the 
parliament building in Yerevan, 10 June, 2010.
An indicted brother of Armenia’s former President Serzh Sarkisian has been 
allowed to temporarily leave the country after agreeing to pay the state $30 
million from his bank account that was frozen last summer.
Aleksandr Sarkisian avoided arrest but was banned from leaving Armenia when the 
National Security Service (NSS) charged him with fraud last month.
NSS spokesman Samson Galstian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Wednesday that 
investigators have allowed Sarkisian to stay abroad “for some time.” Galstian 
declined to give the reason for his departure or possible dates for his return 
to the country.
Sarkisian’s $30 million bank account in Armenia was frozen as part of a 
separate inquiry launched by the NSS shortly after his elder brother resigned 
in April 2018 amid nationwide anti-government protests. Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian publicly demanded in September that he “return the money to the state 
budget.” Sarkisian rejected Pashinian’s demand as illegal, while offering to 
donate part of the sum to the government as a gesture of goodwill.
The NSS announced last week that he has donated $19.6 million to the Armenian 
military. The money will be spent on arms acquisitions, the security agency 
said in a statement.
The statement said Aleksandr Sarkisian has also paid $6.5 million in back 
taxes. The nearly $3.9 million remaining in his frozen account will also be 
transferred to the state to fully settle his tax debt, according to the NSS.
Armenia -- Aleksandr Sarkisian is taken to the NSS for questioning, Yerevan, 
July 4, 2018.
The fraud charges brought against the ex-president’s brother stem from over a 
dozen drawings by the 20th century Armenian painter Martiros Saryan which were 
found in his Yerevan villa in July. The NSS confiscated the drawings, saying 
that his fugitive son Narek had fraudulently obtained them from Saryan’s 
descendants.
Narek Sarkisian, 37, fled Armenia in June before being charged with illegal 
arms possession and drug trafficking. The Czech police detained him in Prague 
in December on an Armenian arrest warrant. Armenian prosecutors formally 
demanded his extradition three weeks later.
Aleksandr Sarkisian’s second son, Levon, is currently standing trial on charges 
of attempted murder and illegal arms possession which he denies. The 
33-year-old was arrested in July and freed on bail in September.
During his brother’s 2008-2018 rule, Aleksandr Sarkisian, who is better known 
to the public as “Sashik,” earned notoriety for his flamboyant behavior and 
insults addressed to critics of Armenia’s former government. The 62-year-old is 
thought to have made a big fortune in the past two decades. He held a 
parliament seat from 2003-2011.
Armenian Speaker Proposes Multi-Party Talks On Electoral Reform
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan speaks at a parliament session in Yerevan, 
March 5, 2019.
Parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan urged political forces on Wednesday to start 
negotiations on reforming Armenia’s electoral legislation and bodies.
“The electoral institutions need to be improved and I want to take this 
opportunity and invite political forces to start jointly developing electoral 
reforms,” Mirzoyan said. He stressed that the pro-government majority in the 
Armenian parliament is ready to accept “radical changes” that would require 
constitutional amendments.
Vahagn Hovakimian, another lawmaker from the ruling My Step alliance, said the 
offer applies to not only the parliamentary opposition but also parties that 
are not represented in the National Assembly. The majority leaders will soon 
clarify the format of the proposed multi-party talks, he said.
Gevorg Gorgisian, a senior deputy representing the opposition Bright Armenia 
Party (LHK), reacted cautiously to the proposal, saying that it is not clear 
enough.
But the other parliamentary opposition force, the Prosperous Armenia Party 
(BHK), welcomed the idea. A senior BHK figure, Naira Zohrabian, told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service that her party will definitely participate in the proposed 
reform of the Electoral Code.She said it will specifically advocate a lower 
vote threshold to enter the parliament and the abolition of nationwide 
constituencies from which half of the members of the current parliament were 
elected.
The previous Armenian parliament came very close to enacting these and other 
amendments before being dissolved in November. Former President Serzh 
Sarkisian’s Republican Party was widely blamed for its failure to pass them.
Pashinian Deplores ‘Azeri Intransigence’ On Karabakh
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) and members of his government 
attend a question-and-answer session in the parliament, Yerevan, March 6, 2019.
Azerbaijan is reluctant to accept a compromise solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Wednesday ahead of his 
anticipated fresh talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Speaking in the Armenian parliament, Pashinian complained that Baku has not 
reciprocated his recent calls for a Karabakh settlement that would be 
acceptable to the peoples of not only Armenia and Karabakh but also Azerbaijan.
“Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani side has still not made similar statements,” he 
said. “On the contrary, it constantly speaks of its readiness for and the 
possibility of a military solution to the problem. There are statements which 
make it clear that Azerbaijan’s government is not even thinking about any 
variant of the conflict’s resolution that would also be acceptable to the 
people of Armenia and Karabakh.”
Pashinian dismissed Baku’s offers to grant Karabakh a high degree of autonomy. 
“The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have a right to self-determination and must be 
able to exercise that right,” he told lawmakers.
Aliyev claimed, for his part, on Tuesday that “Yerevan is not showing a serious 
desire to conduct substantive negotiations and is trying to impede a Karabakh 
settlement by all means.”
“It is essential that the international community exert serious pressure on 
Yerevan to achieve progress in the negotiating process and the withdrawal of 
Armenia’s armed forces from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories,” Aliyev told 
Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who is also the current 
chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Aliyev and Pashinian traded the accusations just days after the U.S., Russian 
and French mediators co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group announced that they have 
agreed to meet soon for further talks. The mediators gave no date for the 
summit.
Pashinian’s most recent meeting with Aliyev took place on January 22 on the 
sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It followed fresh 
negotiations held by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Paris. 
According to the Minsk Group co-chairs, the ministers acknowledged the need for 
“taking concrete measures to prepare the populations for peace.”
Yerevan Seeks Release Of Armenian Villager Jailed In Azerbaijan
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian attends a meeting of the Armenian 
Armenia’s government is doing its best to bring back home a resident of an 
Armenian border village who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 
Azerbaijan, Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian said on Wednesday.
The Azerbaijani military detained the 34-year-old Karen Ghazarian in still 
unclear circumstances in July. It claimed to have captured him while thwarting 
an Armenian incursion into Azerbaijani territory.
The Armenian Defense Ministry categorically denied the alleged incursion 
attempt, insisting that Ghazarian is a civilian resident of Berdavan, a village 
in the northern Tavush province located just a few kilometers from the 
Azerbaijani border. It said he has a history of mental disease and had never 
served in the Armenian army because of that.
On February 27, a court in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja convicted Ghazarian of 
plotting “terrorist attacks” and “sabotage” in Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 
20 years’ imprisonment following a short trial reportedly held in closed 
session.
The Armenian government strongly condemned the verdict and again demanded 
Ghazarian’s immediate release.
Zeynalian accused Baku of illegally keeping Ghazarian in jail on bogus charges 
when he was asked about the captive’s fate during the government’s 
question-and-answer session in the Armenian parliament.
“Representatives of Karen Ghazarian have appealed to the European Court of 
Human Rights,” replied the minister. “That appeal is now being considered, … 
and the Republic of Armenia will be involved [in the legal action] as a third 
party.”
“Besides, the government is using all instruments and means to secure Karen 
Ghazarian’s life. At the same time everything is done to bring him back to the 
homeland,” added Zeynalian.
Another Armenian man, Zaven Karapetian, is also being held captive in 
Azerbaijan. Karapetian was detained in June 2014, with Baku similarly claiming 
to have thwarted an Armenian incursion. Yerevan insisted that Karapetian is a 
civilian resident of Vanadzor, an Armenian city around 130 kilometers from the 
border section which he crossed for still unknown reasons.
Three residents of other Tavush villages strayed into Azerbaijan in 2014. Two 
of them were branded Armenian “saboteurs” by the authorities in Baku and died 
shortly afterwards.
 
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” writes on the 60th birthday anniversary of Armenia’s late Prime 
Minister Vazgen Sarkisian marked on Tuesday, saying that it rekindled memories 
of the October 1999 attack on the Armenian parliament in which he and seven 
other officials were assassinated. The paper hopes that the shock killings were 
be finally solved under the current Armenian leadership. “After a 20-year 
pause, many are now sure that the organizers of the October 27 [attack] can be 
identified,” it says.
In this regard, the paper quotes President Armen Sarkissian as calling for a 
proper legal “evaluation” of the 1999 shootings after laying flowers at Vazgen 
Sarkisian’s grave on Tuesday. It notes that the head of state has made more 
ambiguous statements about the March 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.
“Zhamanak” reports, meanwhile, that former President Serzh Sarkisian attended a 
separate remembrance ceremony for Vazgen Sarkisian which was held in 
Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday. The daily believes that the event also had 
“political connotations” since it followed the latest newspaper interview given 
by another ex-president, Robert Kocharian. The latter expressed serious concern 
over the current Armenian authorities’ policy on the Karabakh conflict. The 
paper says that Kocharian is keen to exploit the issue in his efforts to secure 
his release from prison and resume his political activities. It claims that 
Serzh Sarkisian’s “silent” attendance of the event in Stepanakert is a 
“political response” to Kocharian’s alarmist statements on Karabakh.
“Hraparak” dismisses allegations by some opposition politicians and other 
critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian that Armenian civic groups and 
activists financed by U.S. billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations 
(OSF) pose a serious threat to Armenia’s sovereignty and national security. The 
paper blasts the “limited mindset” of those critics. “The higher the degree of 
public self-consciousness and the more developed a country is, the fewer 
clichés it has,” it says, adding that educated Armenians will not buy such 
“conspiracy theories.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

Calendar of Events – 03/7/2019

Yeghisabet Arthur 
                        Armenian News's Calendar of events
                        (All times local to events)
                =========================================
What:           "The Ethiopian Armenian Community", by Asbed Pogarian
When:           Mar 14 2019 7:30pm
Where:          Aram and Anahis D. Boolghoorjian Hall of the Merdinian School
                13330 Riverside Dr. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Online Contact: [email protected]
Web:            
                =========================================
What:           "Armenians in the Late Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey"
                a lecture by Ara Sarafian
When:           Mar 17 2019 1pm
                Following Church Divine Liturgy which starts at 10:30am
Where:          Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley
                Western Prelacy's Hall, 6252 Honolulu Ave., La Crescenta, CA
Misc:           This presentation will cover the recent publication by the
                Gomidas Institute of population statistics (and their
                relevance) for some 4000 Armenian-populated places in the
                immediate pre-Genocide period (Armenians in Ottoman Turkey,
                1914: A Geographic and Demographic Gazetteer by Sarkis
                Y. Karayan) and what Armenian life is like there now,
                specifically in Dikrangerd at Christmas this year.
                Ara Sarafian is the director of the Gomidas Institute of
                London, which has been at the forefront of Armenian Genocide
                studies for almost 30 years. At the core of its work are a
                number of seminal works, as well as other activities engaging
                the Armenian Genocide and its legacy in modern Turkey.
                The event is free of charge to the public. There will be a
                reception at the end of the program.
Tel:            818-244-9639
                =========================================
What:           Event dedicated to "Iraqi Armenian Educational Institutions"
When:           Mar 24 2019 4:30pm
Where:          St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral's Hall
                1510 E. Mountain St. Glendale, CA 91207
Misc:           With a high sense of gratitude to our Iraqi national Schools
                and educators, we have organized an event dedicated to "Iraqi
                Armenian Educational Institutions" under sponsorship of the
                Hamazkayin USA Western Region.
                Participating in the event are our youth with recited poem, who
                had received their Armenian education in Iraq, Singers, the
                screening of Iraqi Armenian Schools history video, former
                principals and teachers eyewitness testimony video, and remark
                of the Hamazkayin Board member.
                The event is free of charge to the public. There will be a
                reception at the end of the program.
Tel:            818-244-9639
***************************************************************************
Armenian News's calendar of events is collected and updated mostly from
announcements posted on this list, and submissions to Armenian [email protected].
To submit, send to Armenian [email protected], and please note the following
important points:
a) Armenian News's administrators have final say on what may be included in
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        a final reminder before weekend activities kick in.
c) Calendar items are short, functional, and edited to fit a template.
d) There is no guarantee or promise that an item will be published on time.
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g) Armenian News is a non-commercial, non-partisan, pan-Armenian outlet.
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Armenia’s Deputy FM visits Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Karagyozian Lena
Public Radio of Armenia
March 6 2019
Armenia’s Deputy FM visits Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

2019-03-06 13:58:03 

                           

On March 5, 2019, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia His Excellency Mr. Grigor Hovhannisyan visited the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and met with His Beatitude Abp. Nourhan Manoigian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Mr. Hovhannisyan was accompanied by His Excellency Mr. Armen Smbatyan the Armenian Ambassador to Israel, the Israeli Honorary Consul to Armenia Mr. Ashot Shakhmuradian and Mr. Yuri Babukhanyan.

Cognac, saké: Armenia sees Japan as an ally

Nahapetian Zhanna
Asia Times, Hong Kong
March 6 2019
 
 
Cognac, saké: Armenia sees Japan as an ally
 
For the Caucasus nation, engaging Japan presents an attractive complement to China’s Belt and Road
 
By Richard Giragosian, Yerevan
 
There is a fresh impetus in Yerevan to deepen and develop relations with Tokyo, seen as a key Asian trade market, a partner in forging a knowledge-based economy and a logical hedge to Belt and Road engagement.
 
Armenia has long held a special affinity for Japan. Stemming from the centuries-old presence of Armenian businessmen throughout Asia, including a small but significant commercial elite in Singapore, Thailand and India, Japan was a key outpost for early Armenian diplomacy.
 
As early as 1920, Armenia was represented by Diana Apcar, an ethnic Armenian, but Rangoon-born – now Yangon – intellectual who, as Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Japan, was possibly the first female diplomat in history.
 
Japan’s pivotal position as the center of Armenian diplomacy in Asia continues. Armenian Ambassador Grant Pogosyan stands out by virtue of a rare combination of being both a professional diplomat and a local professor, with more than two decades of experience teaching at a university in Tokyo.
 
As a fluent Japanese speaker, Ambassador Poghosyan has contributed to the substantial deepening and development of bilateral Armenian-Japanese relations, including an expanded breadth that encompasses humanitarian and cultural ties beyond the traditional areas of political and economic cooperation.  
 
Although Japan was one of the first countries to recognize the newly independent Republic of Armenia in September 1992, the Armenian embassy in Tokyo was not established until 2010, while Japan opened its embassy in Yerevan in 2015.
 
Diplomatic, economic and commercial ties have nevertheless consistently expanded, with two Armenian presidential and two foreign ministerial visits to Japan from 1999-2012, as well as several separate visits by the Armenian premier, various ministers and parliamentarians.
 
Bilateral trade is promising, but relatively meager to date, with Armenia exporting to Japan only about 1.17 billion yen (US$9.8 million) and importing roughly in 2.17 billion yen worth of goods and products in 2017. Japan’s role as a donor to Armenia is far more significant, however, with official development aid extended through 2016 totaling approximately 39 billion yen in loans and grants, with an additional 4.5 billion yen in financing for technical cooperation.
 
In recent years, official Japanese trips to Armenia included four visits by the parliamentary vice-ministers for foreign affairs, and one visit by the state minister for foreign affairs, as well as a high-profile visit by current Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in September 2018.
 
Endowed with a refreshing degree of strategic vision on the Armenian side, there is a more focused approach to forging a strategic relationship with Japan. This improvement stems from two main factors.
 
New markets, IT
 
The first, most fundamental driver of Armenia’s renewed engagement of Japan is rooted in a revised strategic vision that elevates attention to the importance of Asia as a source of new markets and investors for Armenia.
 
This belated recognition of the importance of Asia as a strategic target is bolstered by a steady influx of Asian tourists to Armenia.
 
For Armenia, which is seeking to correct its over-dependence on Russia, the deepening ties with Tokyo are also based on an understanding that Moscow will be much more permissive of such diplomacy in Asia than any deeper embrace of the West.
 
A second factor shaping Armenia’s pursuit of Japan stems from the Armenian government’s recently articulated goal of forging a more innovative knowledge-based economy, leveraging the synergy of its surging IT sector with the desire for Japanese technical expertise, applications and hardware.
 
A key component in this area is the necessity for Armenia to tailor Japanese technical and technological training programs to address what has become a shortfall in Armenian education and a shortage of a new generation of skilled IT workers and specialists.
 
The signing of a new Japan-Armenia Investment Agreement in 2018 has also granted new impetus to the expansion of bilateral relations. The agreement offered most-favored-nation status, and it is also expected to encourage Japanese investment in Armenia’s growing information technology sector. It is this agreement, and its inherent focus on IT, that reveals the deeper strategy underlying Armenia’s view of Japan.  
 
Balancing the Belt
 
But it is geopolitics and Armenia’s quest for greater strategic balance that makes Japan so attractive. More specifically, with a sustained policy of developing relations with China, Armenia sees a need for balance and parity by also deepening relations with Japan.
 
And looking beyond geopolitical balancing between Beijing and Tokyo, the imperative for Yerevan in this context is “strategic diversification,” mandated by the spring 2018 Velvet Revolution that swept Armenia’s new government to power.
 
For Armenia, this localized focus on strategic diversification reflects the divergence of Armenia’s relationship with China and Japan.
 
With China, Armenia relies on the need for alternative military and security ties, beyond simply an over-dependence on Russia, as well as the potential of indirect dividends or economic spillover from China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
 
The latter promise of Chinese capital investment in regional infrastructure is also an important longer-term goal for Armenia.
 
Armenia’s view of the grand Belt Road Initiative project also sees China as a gateway for greater “inter-connectivity” and essential consideration of remote, isolated and landlocked Armenia. But at the same time, Japan is also valued as a source for a different, and more advanced form of such inter-connectivity, offering Armenia a path to greater technological integration and access, a much more pressing factor than basic Chinese capital investment in roads and rail.
 
The Armenian strategy is based on a view of Japan as a pivotal player with the capacity to counterbalance China and to go beyond any over-reliance on still-distant Belt and Road projects.
 
Armenia’s neighbors in the South Caucasus have taken a more China-focused approach, with Georgia relying more heavily on Beijing as a partner for the financing of its infrastructure and Azerbaijan also looking to the Chinese for cooperation in its energy sector. Neither country seeks to engage Japan as an offset to balance against expectations from China’s Belt and Road vision.
 
Against this backdrop of a more refined and better defined strategic vision, Armenia is now moving quickly to forge an enhanced and empowered policy of engaging Japan.
 
Bolstered by the country’s already deepening relationship with China, this balanced “pivot” to Asia offers Armenia an important new opportunity, an imperative given the lack of credible Belt and Road opportunities to date.
 
Richard Giragosian is the director of the Regional Studies Center, an independent think tank in Yerevan, Armenia.

Armenia: Two schoolboys come to rescue after car falls from bridge

Emil Lazarian
PanArmenian, Armenia
March 6 2019
March 6, 2019 – 13:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A major car accident happened in Armenia’s Lori Province when a Mercedes deviated from the drive zone, crashed into the iron bars across a bridge and fell into the river underneath.

8th graders Edik Gharakeshishyan and Edmon Kocharyan, who happened to be at the scene of the accident, flipped the car back, took fire prevention measures and performed first aid before the rescuers arrived.

Edik and Edmon go to N.1 secondary school of the town of Vanadzor and are members of the school’s rescue squad.

Berkaber: Armenia’s ‘fertile crescent’ turned combat zone

Lilit Nahapetian
JAM News
March 6 2019
Gayane Mkrtchyan, Yerevan
Naira Martikian
March 5, 2019

“We sleep like hares, with our eyes open, in order to scoop up the kids and run to the basement if they start shooting”

The Armenian border town Berkaber is just 800 metres from Azerbaijan. Two kilometres of the border lie on land, and another two cut through a water reservoir. The Joghaz reservoir has been one of the main attractions of the village and the entire region since the 1980s. In Soviet times, the farm plots in the region, both in Armenia and Azerbaijan, were even irrigated with its water.

The Karabakh conflict made the reservoir inaccessible to both sides. It is no longer used for its intended purpose and has instead turned into a buffer zone between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

For Tatul Mailyan, the Joghaz reservoir is his workplace. The 29-year-old resident of Berkaber earns his living by fishing here, and he is not alone as there are five other fishermen in the village.

Each time he approaches the reservoir, Tatul thinks: “Will they shoot from that side of the bank, or will I be lucky again?”

“There is always danger. But what can you do? We don’t shy away from fishing further out from shore. For example, at this time of year, it is better to fish in the deeper parts. Recently the situation has been quieter. They [the Azeris] also sometimes fish, but less often than we. The area where I fish is just 400 metres from the opposite shore. They see us, and we see them. What is there to say? They are people too!” says Tatul Mailyan.

Berkaberians say that although the shooting has continued for decades, it doesn’t mean they have gotten used to it. All 567 locals live in fear. One resident says:

“We sleep like hares — with eyes open, so that in the event of a shooting we have time to gather the children and run to the basement. This is a situation of neither peace nor war. Of course, we hope that peace will come soon. We haven’t gotten around to repairing the house. What if there is a bombing again, and everything collapses?”

“But I’m not going to leave. Where should I go? This is my home. If I leave, another will leave, and who will stay?” says the father of three children and war veteran, 45-year-old Robert Khudaverdian.

Many of those who left did not return to their hometowns – this can be seen from the number of pupils registered in the local secondary schools. Before the war, at least a hundred pupils studied here, now, there are just 47.

However, local villagers say they are optimistic about the future – much in part due to last year’s velvet revolution, led by current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“Now we even have a family who has returned from abroad!” says village headman Argam Arzumanyan. “People are offering new ideas, bringing them to life – people are doing all they can for the village to develop. People are inspired, and [they believe] that now there will be a new and better approach to border villages, as everything will be distributed fairly.”

Various sources put the number of casualties on both sides of the conflict at 20,000 – 30,000. Ten of them are buried in Berkaber. In addition to these irrecoverable losses, the vast majority of local residents lost a considerable amount of land.

Around 75 per cent of the rural land that used to belong to this village is now under the control of Azerbaijan. Village resident Suren Khudaverdyan showed us his plot from his home – a piece of land on the opposite bank. He says that only 84 hectares of arable land are available to the village today. Every family gets about 5,000 – 6,000 square metres of land.

Because of this, many Berkaber residents have begun using greenhouses to grow their crops.

You can see the greenhouses scattered about the private plots like sails. Village headman Arzumanyan says there are currently 22 of them in the village, and that they mainly grow tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

Suren Khudaverdyan says that the organization Sahman [Arm. border] helped him build his greenhouse. The organization gave Suren the task of growing seedlings here for greenhouses throughout the region:

“Every year we grow about 10 thousand sprouts, and people buy them for their greenhouses. They give harvests earlier than in vegetable gardens, and therefore they can sell their produce for more.”

The land in the village is very fertile, and locals claim that any fruit sapling will take root. Greenhouses were popular in Berkaber in Soviet years as well, when lemon farming was popular at the time. The village used to produce about 2-3 tonnes of lemons. Locals say they want to restore this tradition.

In the greenhouse of 65-year-old Edik Harutyunyan there are 31 lemon trees which have grown so large it is difficult to pass between them. In Soviet years, Harutyunyan was a senior agricultural expert in the village, and now he has decided to establish two large lemon orchards in Berkabera.

“There are financial difficulties. It’s not so easy, but I want to take on this business. In the new greenhouse, I’ll have about 200-300 trees. This year we have been heating our greenhouse for just a month – and heating is expensive. If they bring gas to the village, it will be a completely different story,” says Harutyunyan.

Making a living here is not easy. People take out loans from banks in order to move their businesses forward, but then they find themselves in an even more difficult situation – they cannot pay back the interest.

Suren Khudaverdyan says that he took a loan of 3 million drams (more than 6 thousand dollars) to heat his greenhouse, thanks to which he was able to harvest in winter. However, he didn’t have the funds to purchase enough firewood. After January, it was impossible to heat the greenhouse, and all the seedlings died due to frost.

Suren Khudaverdyan says that the village doesn’t need much in order to get on its feet. He thinks the state should pay more attention to border villages:

“We need the state to help us. They must step up. A programme should be set up to attract investors who will want to try and make a factory here. They would be exempt from taxes because Berkaber is a border village,” Khudaverdyan says.

In addition, the state has exempted residents of border villages from paying land tax. But this is not essential for Berkaberyans, since most of their land is no longer theirs. Residents of Berkaber could, in theory, enjoy cheaper gas prices – if they had access to gas.

Berkaber does, however, benefit from cheaper electricity prices. Therefore, Robert Khudaverdyan says, new life could be breathed into the village if enterprises were to be introduced, be they funded by the state or private sector.

“Even if there was just a small factory, people would start working. Nothing more is needed, the people would heal.”

Several small industries in the village are working now. The public organization Sahman helped them get a start, and the Armenian diaspora helps to keep them afloat.

Armine Eganyan and a number of other women founded a business four years ago. They knit eco-toys from environmentally friendly yarn. They came up with the name Berkaber Toys. Most orders are from the USA.

“We receive orders from different countries. Most orders are online, and in the summer tourists come to the village to buy. I draw sketches. We knit dogs, elephants, giraffes, bunnies and pandas. Our best workers manage to knit one toy a day. For one toy we get 2,000 drams (4 dollars). On average, I earn up to 50 thousand ($103) a month,” says Armine.

Ara Khudaverdyan annually harvests 20-30 tonnes of persimmon. He has a large garden on the banks of the Joghaz reservoir.

“After the war, people were afraid to invest in something on the border because they thought they would lose everything. They saw no future here. But our generation has broken these stereotypes. There are many young people in the village who have started their own business. I get about five tonnes of organic dried fruit from 30 tonnes of persimmon. For two years I have been engaged in the dried fruit business,” says Ara Khudaverdian.

He says he started the business after receiving a grant. Later he participated in various international exhibitions and presented his products in Dubai and London:

“There are interested people and there are orders. The only problem is that there are few organic dried fruits in Armenia, and customers want to buy in large volumes. There is a demand, and this means that it is necessary to develop organic agriculture in Armenia.”

Berkaber’s geographical position is peculiar: towering heights and precipices, picturesque gorges, the Joghaz reservoir – all this makes quite an impression on tourists. In recent years, residents of other regions of Armenia have started to visit the village regularly.

Elder Argam Arzumanyan says that the village hopes to develop its tourism sector even further:

“At first, I did not believe that  it was possible to develop tourism in our situation, but now I understand that it is possible. There is very beautiful nature, unique air, water, and a sense of peace. Extreme Cafe can also be one of the incentives for tourists to come visit. The cafe is built right on a hill – from the windows you can see Azerbaijani villages, the Joghaz reservoir and the combat posts of the Azerbaijani armed forces.”

“At the moment they are renovating the place, but by the summer the cafe will be ready. Tourists will be able to enjoy a cup of coffee just 500 metres from Azerbaijani military positions, and for the Berkaberians themselves, the cafe is a symbol of the fact that life goes on, even though the conflict has not yet been resolved.”

Armenian side should demand clarifications from Georgia’s president: political analyst

Emil Lazarian
Aysor, Armenia
March 6 2019

The Armenian side must demand specifications from the president of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili regarding her statement about “occupied” Azerbaijani and Georgian territories at the meeting with the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnzaryan said, speaking to Aysor.am.

“It is clear that Georgia is speaking from the position of territorial integrity, considering own issues in Abkhazia and Ossetia, nevertheless it is necessary for Georgia to differentiate its issues from the Artsakh conflict in particular for avoiding such unpleasant situations,” the political analyst said.

He noted that Armenia’s policy toward Georgia must not be agreed with the statements of this or that Georgian officials.

“The significance Georgia has for Armenia and the impact Armenia has on Georgia must allow us work out stable political line and impose it a bit on Georgia. We must force, demand and make the Georgian side always consider Armenia’s interests in their statements,” Melik-Shahnazaryan said, stressing that Armenia, as a state, has the potential and in case of successive work the mentioned may become a reality.

Concluding, the political analyst stressed once again that the Armenian side is the one to form the agenda of Armenian-Georgian relations as the resources it has for influencing that county are big, besides Georgia is very important for Armenia.

During her visit to Baku Georgia’s president Salome Zourabichvili stated at the meeting with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev that during the recent years their two countries have passed through the similar tragedies. “During the recent years our countries have passed through similar tragedies. Today we feel what occupation means for a country, when your territorial integrity is breached. The occupation lines are open wounds for us and impede our development,” Zourabichvili stated, adding that despite these tragedies, they managed to strengthen and develop their economies to continue their path as independent states.

Zourabichvili is planning to visit Armenia in upcoming days.

Azerbaijani Press: Baku: What are young citizens of Armenia doing in occupied Azerbaijani territories?!

Arbi Tashjian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 6 2019
6 March 2019 12:00 (UTC+04:00)

By  Trend

If the political leadership of Armenia declares its mandate to speak on behalf of the citizens of this country, then let it also speak on behalf of the citizens of Armenia from Tavush, Syunik and other provinces who are serving in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said.

She was commenting on the interview of Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to the Armenian public TV, Trend reports.

“In the above-mentioned interview by the Armenian foreign minister, the statements of the top political leadership of this country are repeated, according to which the prime minister of Armenia has no right to speak on behalf of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, while “he can speak on behalf of the people of Armenia – from Tavush to Syunik”,” said Abdullayeva. “I would like to reiterate the question already asked by us earlier: what are young citizens of Armenia, who voted for Pashinyan during the election, doing in the occupied Azerbaijani territories?!”

Abdullayeva noted that the Armenian minister may not remember the statement voiced by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris Jan. 16, but probably didn’t forget the joint statement adopted by his approval Dec. 6 last year in Milan.

 

That statement says that the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will continue to work to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by achieving fair and sustainable peace, she added.

“The Azerbaijani side doesn’t hold meetings just for the sake of meetings, nor does it want to convince the international community of its good intentions by such meetings,” she said. “We have only one clear and legally justified goal: we are negotiating for the liberation of our territories occupied by Armenia with gross violation of the principles of international rights, and to ensure the peaceful return of Azerbaijanis living there to their native lands.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

This is another step to corrupt the political field. Gorgisyan to the Prime Minister

Garnik Zakarian
  • 05.03.2019

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  • Armenia:

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If the Prime Minister claims that there are such people in the political field, then the National Security Service should go after those people. Gevorg Gorgisyan, deputy of the NA “Bright Armenia” party, mentioned this in a conversation with journalists at the National Assembly on March 5.


He mentioned this during a meeting with the Armenian community in Iran Nikol Pashinyanto the statement that there should be no officials in Armenia that resemble more international agents.


According to him, the NSS should not only go after such people, but also make the results public.


When asked if he personally understood who the prime minister meant when he spoke of agents, Gorgisyan said that he had difficulty answering who the prime minister could be referring to. “If Mr. Prime Minister has specific facts regarding specific individuals, I think it would be right to transfer them to the relevant bodies and start a relevant process, otherwise, this is just another step to corrupt the political field, which, to put it mildly, is not welcome,” continued Gevorg Gorgisyan.


As for the question whether the prime minister’s speech was addressed to the parliamentary or extra-parliamentary opposition, the MP answered. “I don’t know, you should ask the Prime Minister that question. If there are facts, they should be followed by actions, if not, this is just a rumor.”


To another question of the journalist, whether they will demand names, he said that he does not see the need for it. “There is a NSS that should deal with these cases. Everyone should do their own thing. If the Prime Minister claims that there are such persons, then the NSS should go after them and make public all the results.”