Monday,
Armenian Lawmakers Voice Hope For Peaceful End To Crisis In Belarus
• Nane Sahakian
My Step faction MP Mikael Zolian
Armenian parliamentarians say they hope that the current political crisis in
Belarus will not take a violent course and the situation there will be resolved
peacefully.
Talking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun) member of the Armenian
parliament’s pro-government My Step faction Mikael Zolian said that violence is
unacceptable in any situation.
“Violence has never solved such problems and I think that in this case it won’t
solve any problem either. A peaceful resolution of the situation is necessary,”
the lawmaker said.
At the same time, Zolian said that both parliamentarians and government
officials in Armenia should exercise restraint in commenting on the events in
Belarus. “I would not like to comment on issues related to the internal affairs
of Belarus. I believe that the people of Belarus should resolve this situation
themselves, and it would be wrong for other countries, including us, to propose
any solutions,” he said.
Protests swept across Belarus after the country’s incumbent President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka was declared a victor in an August 9 presidential election that the
opposition says were rigged in favor of the longtime autocratic leader.
Lukashenka’s main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has fled Belarus for
neighboring Lithuania, refused to recognize Lukashenka’s victory, calling on her
supporters to stage protests to seek an election rerun.
At least two people have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and thousands
arrested in the government crackdown against protesters in Belarus.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, who came to power as a result of
widespread anti-government protests in May 2018 and earlier spent nearly two
years in prison after being convicted of organizing mass disturbances during
2008 postelection protests, congratulated Lukashenka on his disputed win hours
after Belarus’s Central Election Commission announced the preliminary results on
August 10.
Pashinian’s move immediately drew criticism from his political opponents and
some leading human rights activists who believe the Armenian leader took a hasty
step.
Only a handful of world leaders have congratulated Lukashenka on his disputed
election win. Among them are Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader
Xi Jinping. The European Union has said it does not recognize the results, and
the United States has expressed deep concern over the election results and the
unrest, with President Donald Trump describing the situation unfolding in
Belarus as “terrible.”
Zolian, a member of the Pashinian-led My Step bloc, said that the
congratulations sent to the Belarus leader by Armenian leaders were “a step
taken in accordance with certain diplomatic rules.”
Armenia is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and Collective
Security Treaty Organization, both of which include Belarus.
“Both the prime minister and the president sent their congratulations on the
basis of the adopted procedure. If events develop in a way that new elections
are held [in Belarus], there will be new congratulations in accordance with the
results of these new elections,” Zolian said.
Opposition Bright Armenia faction member Armen
Yeghiazarian, who was on a delegation of observers at the Belarus election
representing the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent
States, a loose grouping of several post-Soviet countries, said that based on
what he observed at polling stations in Minsk he got the impression that perhaps
indeed there were no major violations during the ballot itself. “Perhaps people,
indeed, cast their vote, but in the end, during the vote count, seeing that the
numbers were not in favor of the incumbent, they [election officials] changed
them. Perhaps, there were indeed no violations at the polling stations for us to
see,” he said.
Bright Armenia faction MP Armen Yeghiazarian
Yeghiazarian said that the main challenge for Belarus now is to avoid bloodshed.
“If the majority in the country opposes the current government, it might be
right for Lukashenka to step down and leave it up to democracy so that people
themselves can decide in which direction the country wants to go,” the Armenian
lawmaker said.
While most people in the streets of Yerevan took little interest in the events
taking place in Belarus, those who did mainly spoke in favor of the protesters.
“He [Lukashenka] must leave. But he is very stubborn. He won’t leave until he
does what we had in 2008,” one Yerevan resident said, referring to Armenia’s
post-election crackdown 12 years ago in which 10 people were killed.
“I support the people of Belarus. Let it be the way people want it to be,”
another man said.
Universities In Armenia To Reopen In September, Education Minister Says
The main building of Yerevan State University (file photo)
Armenian universities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic in March will
reopen their doors to students next month, Education Minister Arayik Harutiunian
has said.
Harutiunian made the announcement after a meeting on August 17 of senior
government officials who are coordinating the response to the coronavirus
pandemic.
Harutiunian added that university classes for freshman students will open on
September 1, while all others will start on September 15.
"Universities themselves will decide on how to organize courses, including a
hybrid way that will allow online learning. Universities will publish details on
their websites and will provide additional information about their curricula,"
Harutiunian said in a Facebook post.
Last week, Harutiunian announced that classes in all secondary schools in
Armenia as well as in vocational training colleges, music, and art schools will
begin on September 15.
Education Minister Arayik Harutiunian
He stressed that all educational establishments must comply with sanitary and
hygienic rules set by the government.
All schools, universities, and other general education institutions in Armenia
have remained closed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March
when they switched to distance learning to ensure the continuity of the
educational process.
The current state of emergency in Armenia ends on September 11. The government
has indicated that it will not extend it unless the coronavirus situation takes
a turn for the worse.
Armenia has recorded 41,701 coronavirus cases and 824 deaths since the start of
the epidemic. In recent weeks, however, the country’s heath authorities have
been reporting decreasing numbers of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities.
Armenia, Turkey Exchange More Diplomatic Salvos Over Regional Affairs
Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis is escorted by Turkish Navy ships as
it sets sail in the Mediterranean Sea, off Antalya, Turkey, August 10, 2020.
The diplomatic agencies of Armenia and Turkey have renewed their acrimonious
exchange over the weekend after official Yerevan voiced support for Greece and
Cyprus in their dispute with Ankara over the latter’s Mediterranean gas and oil
search effort.
“We closely follow the latest developments and naval mobilization in the Aegean
and Eastern Mediterranean caused by the Turkish illegal and provocative actions.
This destabilizing posturing in the Eastern Mediterranean manifests continued
aggressive and expansionist policy that Turkey has been pursuing in its
neighboring regions,” Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement
released on August 15.
“We reiterate Armenia’s unequivocal support and solidarity with Greece and
Cyprus and call on Turkey to de-escalate the situation, respect the
International Law and cease all actions within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
of Greece and Cyprus,” it added.
The following day a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman issued a statement,
claiming “an insidious alliance that is being attempted to be forged against
Turkey.”
Hami Aksoy said that Armenia is “in a fallacious perception of the global
geography and its place in it.”
“The issue at hand is the Eastern Mediterranean, not Lake Sevan,” he said in an
acid comment.
“Following its provocative statement on the Treaty of Sevres, Armenia’s
expressing an opinion regarding the Eastern Mediterranean this time is a novel
instance of impertinence and irresponsibility.
“Coming after the examples of the United Arab Emirates and France, the fact that
Armenia, a country with no coastline to any sea, presumes itself worthy of
speaking about the Eastern Mediterranean, unravels the dimensions of an
insidious alliance that is being attempted to be forged against Turkey,” the
Turkish Foreign Ministry representative said.
Aksoy stressed that “no matter what, Turkey will resolutely continue to protect
both its and Turkish Cypriots’ rights in the Eastern Mediterranean stemming from
international law.”
“No alliance of malice will manage to prevent this. Those who think otherwise
have not learned their lessons from history. On this occasion, Turkey would also
like to remind that, with all its means and capabilities, it stands by brotherly
Azerbaijan,” he concluded.
Earlier last week Armenia and Turkey exchanged acrimonious remarks on the
centennial of the Treaty of Sèvres, a post-World War I document viewed
differently from Yerevan and Ankara.
The 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I, a coalition led by
France, Britain, the United States and others on the one side, and the Central
Powers, including the Ottoman Empire, on the other was never ratified by Turkey.
If implemented, it would, in particular, have given Armenia a much larger
territory than it had, including access to the Black Sea.
Armenia and Turkey currently have no diplomatic relations. Internationally
backed efforts in 2008-2009 for rapprochement between the two neighboring states
divided over historical events, including the 1915 Armenian Genocide, eventually
led to no normalization, and the Turkish-Armenian border remains closed to date.
Armenian Official Defends Pashinian’s ‘Quick’ Congratulatory Message To
Lukashenka
• Harry Tamrazian
Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigorian (R) being
interviewed by RFE/RL Armenian Service Director Harry Tamrazian on the Sunday
Analytical Show, .
A senior Armenian official says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s congratulatory
message to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on his disputed reelection
was in line with the agenda of Armenia’s peaceful 2018 revolution.
Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, said in an
interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on August 16 that decisions like the
one to congratulate Lukashenka are taken on the basis of a “comprehensive risk
assessment.”
Pashinian immediately came under criticism from his political opponents and
human rights activists in Armenia for sending “quick” congratulations to
Lukashenka on August 10, hours after Belarus’s Central Election Commission
published the preliminary results of the vote, triggering large-scale opposition
protests against “rigged elections.”
Only a handful of world leaders have congratulated Lukashenka on his disputed
election win. Among them are Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader
Xi Jinping. The European Union has said it does not recognize the results, and
the United States has expressed deep concern over the election results and the
unrest.
“Security-related and other major decisions have grounds, they are not born out
of thin air,” Grigorian said, speaking on the Sunday Analytical Show by RFE/RL's
Armenian Service. “In general, a complete risk assessment is made, and a
decision is taken in the interests of the Republic of Armenia.”
Pashinian, who came to power as a result of widespread anti-government protests
in May 2018 and earlier spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted
of organizing mass disturbances during 2008 postelection protests, has refused
to comment on criticism of his congratulations to Lukashenka, who has ruled
Belarus since 1994.
Grigorian, who was one of the leaders of the 2018 street protests that brought
down the government, said that the protest movement’s leaders had announced that
there would be no changes in Armenia’s foreign policy agenda.
“In other words, [Pashinian’s] message is completely in line with the agenda of
the revolution. It ensures the continuity of the agenda of the revolution,” he
said.
Armenia is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and Collective
Security Treaty Organization, both of which include Belarus.
Lukashenka’s main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has fled Belarus for
neighboring Lithuania, refused to recognize Lukashenka’s victory, calling on her
supporters to stage protests to seek an election rerun.
At least two people have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and thousands
arrested in the government crackdown against protesters in Belarus.
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.
Category: 2020
CivilNet: Armenia PM Speaks of “Historical Connection” to Lands Promised in Treaty of Sevres
CIVILNET.AM
10 August, 2020 22:02
✓Armenia marks 100 years since the Treaty of Sevres.
✓Ex-police chief Vladimir Gasparyan has threatened journalists.
✓Aid-filled planes have arrived in Lebanon from Armenia and Artsakh.
✓47,000 covid-19 test kits have been produced in Armenia.
Azerbaijani press: US expert: Development of Amulsar mine causes tremendous pollution of fresh-water resources in Caucasus
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 9
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Anglo-American Lydian International firm, as the business entity engaged in gold extraction, is causing a tremendous environmental contamination to the fresh-water resources in the Caucasus and depleting the natural resources of Armenian agriculture, soil, and subsoil, Peter M. Tase, the US expert in European and Latin American politics, told Trend.
“The people of Armenia have been condemned with the harmful toxic waste left behind from the companies that are extracting gold in their backyard, meanwhile government officials and politicians are growing wealthy thanks to the briberies received from a number companies engaged in mining (gold extraction) activities. This identical practice is also present in other countries and regions such as South America and Africa, where the environment is highly vulnerable, fresh water resources become scarce and local politicians suddenly open bank accounts in countries that are a fiscal paradise and favor money laundering schemes,” noted Tase.
“Armenia is heavily dependent on Agriculture and pollution originated by mining companies is detrimental to its national economy and Gross Domestic Production,” Tase stressed.
“Mining enterprises negatively affect the deposition rate of soil particles. What is considered fundamental is the fact that open cut mining removes the rare minerals closest to the surface which are easiest to extract, but also exposes to erosion, the largest area of the underlying soil,” emphasized the expert.
“The unloading of ‘soil residues’ can form unvegetated hills that are a source of leachate and sediments, which may end up in waterways. Alluvial mining typically occurs on floodplain terraces, these sediment-filled ponds may reduce re-establishment of vegetation, alter river channels, and expose soils to erosion,” he said.
“Gold mining decreases water clarity and reduces visibility for water animals and fish seeking food and places to live. Mining damages fish gills (breathing apparatus under water) and destroy filter feeding apparatus of invertebrates,” the expert said.
“The mining activities in Armenia’s Amulsar must be shot down immediately and Armenian government should explore other venues that ensure sustainable economic development, withdraw its armed forces from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan is the first step for Armenia to become an industrialized and economically sustainable nation,” Tase stressed.
Azerbaijani press: Hoagland comments on distortion of his remarks by VOA Armenian Service on Karabakh conflict
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.10
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Former US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard E. Hoagland has commented on distortion of his remarks by Voice of America’s (VOA) Armenian Service about Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“First, it is important to note that my interview with VOA’s Armenian Service was in English, as is this interview with Trend. To be precise, I said that, in my personal view, a UN protectorate could – not should – be established, meaning that it is one possible option. Second, I would like to emphasize that I was speaking as an informed private American citizen; I was speaking neither for the U.S. government nor for the Caspian Policy Center where I am currently a member of the board of directors,” he told Trend.
Hoagland pointed out that now, having been the interim U.S. Co-Chair for the OSCE Minsk Group for nine months in 2017, he necessarily learned a great deal about Nagorno-Karabakh and the history of this prolonged conflict in which one country illegally by international standards occupies and claims the sovereign territory of another country.
“The OSCE has worked since 1994 to find a solution for this tragic problem. The United Nations has passed four Security Council resolutions about N-K. A road-map for a solution exists in what are called the Madrid Principles. More recently, there is a similar roadmap for resolution called the Lavrov Plan. Any kind of eventual solution – short of, God forbid, outright war – will require compromise,” he said.
Hoagland went on to add: “So we have to ask, do we want this difficult situation to continue in perpetuity, with the occasional tragic loss of life and further destruction of property? From a humane point of view and for the children of the next generation, the answer has to be no. The United Nations exists, in part, to find peaceful solutions for seemingly intractable problems. That is why one possible future solution that could provide a modicum of face-saving to both sides could come from the United Nations. Will it happen? Honestly, I doubt it. But it is worth asking the question.”
—
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Turkish press: Turkey, Azerbaijan to complete joint military exercises
Helicopters carry out drills during joint military exercises conducted by the Turkish and Azerbaijani armed forces in Azerbaijan, Aug. 9, 2020. (AA Photo)
The 13-day joint military exercises conducted by Turkish and Azerbaijani armed forces are expected to be completed on Monday.
Turkey and Azerbaijan, with the participation of the countries’ air and ground forces, launched joint military drills in the wake of recent Armenian attacks on Azerbaijani border points.
The war exercises began on July 29, and Aug. 5 was the last day of ground engagements – including artillery, armored vehicles and mortars striking simulated targets – in the capital Baku and the exclave of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan’s autonomous region bordering Turkey. Air combat drills involving jets and helicopters were scheduled to continue in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Kurdamir and Yevlakh through Monday.
Last month, Armenia attacked Azerbaijani troops in the northwestern Tovuz border region. As a result, at least 12 Azerbaijani soldiers, including a major general and a colonel, were killed and another four soldiers wounded. A 76-year-old Azerbaijani citizen also lost his life.
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of taking “provocative” actions, with Ankara warning Yerevan it would not hesitate to stand against any kind of attack on Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, has been under illegal Armenian occupation since 1991.
International organizations, including the United Nations, have demanded the withdrawal of the occupational forces.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the U.S., was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict but to no avail.
Turkish press: Legal battle resumes over massive inheritance of Turkey’s ‘brothel queen’
Kerope Çilingir (R) attends Matild Manukyan’s funeral in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 22, 2001. (Photo by Recai Kömür)
Matild Manukyan was one of Turkey’s top taxpayers when she died in 2001, at the age of 84. She was a real estate investor but was better known for the brothels she owned that earned her the nickname “brothel queen.” Her massive wealth has sparked legal action by many seeking to claim a share, but her only heir was her son Kerope Çilingir. When Çilingir died last week, the fight for inheritance spanning from Istanbul to Erzurum was reignited.
Çilingir was already entangled in a lawsuit against him by his own family and members of a clan in Muş, an eastern province where Manukyan’s parents lived for a while before emigrating to France. The plaintiffs claim Çilingir is not the biological son of Manukyan and that she herself unlawfully grabbed the inheritance of her aunt, Susan Chah Muradyan. An Istanbul court last year ordered the temporary seizure of Manukyan’s assets.
Manukyan, who was born to an Armenian family, worked as a tailor in her youth before inheriting a massive fortune from her father, including brothels in Karaköy, the red-light district of Istanbul. Her investment skills helped her amass a larger fortune, and from brothels, she branched her investments into other areas, from business plazas to hotels. In her last decade, Manukyan won the title of the top taxpayer in Istanbul for five consecutive years, and her life story had dominated the headlines for a long time. Among the assets she owned at the time of her death were six five-star hotels in three cities and in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), two factories in Istanbul, two manors on Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands, 500 apartments and 70 business centers in Istanbul, hundreds of apartments and land plots in the northwestern province of Yalova, tens of buildings and plots in the provinces of Muğla, Kocaeli, Erzurum and Adana, 220 taxis and 150 million euros ($176 million) in a French bank account.
As Çilingir was fighting his legal woes, his daughter Dora filed another lawsuit and claimed he was mentally unstable. The daughter had called for the annulment of his marriage to Neslihan Çilingir in 2019.
Oktay Köse, a lawyer for plaintiffs, said Çilingir’s death did not change much in the lawsuit. “Defendants will now be his daughter and wife,” Köse told Hürriyet. Plaintiffs claim the real heirs of Manukyan are the heirs of Gülnaz Bağçıvan, the daughter of Manukyan’s aunt.
Turkish press: Azerbaijan, Armenia clashes may continue until territorial conflict is resolved, professor says – World News
- August 11 2020 07:01:00
AA Photo
As tensions rose between Azerbaijan and Armenia amid clashes at the border and military preparations, a Turkish scholar has said there is a likelihood for clashes to occur until the territorial conflict between the two countries is resolved.
“Armenia and Azerbaijan are ready to clash with one another at every chance possible,” said Prof. Mitat Çelikpala from Kadir Has University, specialized in Eurasian security and politics, in an online interview with Hürriyet Daily News.
“We will face these clashes emerging when least expected until the territorial issue gets resolved between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Çelikpala said.
The neighbors have been locked in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan, ever since the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994.
Armenia and Azerbaijan frequently engage in clashes. The latest incident involved exchanging fire in the northern section of their border in mid-July. Current encounters between the two witnessed a considerable spike in hostilities in four days of the deadly conflict since 2016.
When asked if the latest clashes can open a new front in the decades-long conflict, Çelikpala said he does not think that is going to be the case.
“I don’t think so. We can understand this as such: The line where Upper Karabakh stands has been an engagement area nearly since the early 1990s. Both sides have strengthened their fortifications and have positions against each other. Thus, if these clashes did not happen on coincidence due to the actions of [both sides], it could have happened to control each other’s preparations or existence,” he said.
Çelikpala also underlined that the Upper Karabakh region is significant due to its location as it is near the energy transportation lines that Turkey established over Georgia and is also near the natural gas pipeline between Russia and Armenia.
“Furthermore, we are mostly discussing the issue with its strategic geopolitical dimension, but the area has water reservoirs as well. Meaning, the water sources are scarce and controversial. Before, both sides were able to carry out agricultural activities with various agreements made with each other. It was one of the regions both sides engaged with one another, which could have triggered sensitivity too,” he said.
On a possible peaceful resolution to the conflict, Çelikpala said that despite the efforts, no concrete solution emerged. He also referred to the process carried out by the Minsk Group, established under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
“The plans [of the Minsk Group] were constantly vetoed by one of the sides,” he said, adding other initiatives such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which Russia has been carrying out other than the OSCE process.
“But think of it like this: No matter what, this goes back to the historical process. In the modern world’s perspective, Upper Karabakh is within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but under the occupation of Armenia,” he said.
“In my opinion, unless the international community finds a solution both sides can agree on, one of the sides will try to solve with clashes,” the professor added. “But I do not know if it can resolve. As you know, everyone has a big brother. Russia immediately gets involved in the issue.”
Çelikpala also conveyed Turkey’s stance about the conflict, saying that Ankara has been overtly taking its position in support of Azerbaijan.
“Before, Turkey was standing by Azerbaijan but was in a more balanced position. As the protocols vetoed, Turkey’s stance is clear: It is with Azerbaijan,” he said. He also added that the recent military exercises, initiatives, military, and defense cooperation between Ankara and Baku are “reflections” of this proximity.
“Of course, it is not possible to do a projection with this, but in my opinion, if the conditions will be suitable, one of the sides will try to solve with the help of military ways,” he said.
Tensions between Turkey, Russia may rise
After the first clashes occurred in the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, both sides carried out military exercises with Turkey, a NATO ally, and Russia, respectively.
When asked how the most recent conflict will affect Ankara’s relations with Moscow, Çelikpala said that Russia and Turkey have a “limited vision” in their relations and have different expectations from the conflicts they support at different sides.
“What both sides understand and expect from the resolution are different. But what are they doing? They are finding daily solutions without colliding and try to proceed,” he said, adding that both sides have much at stakes to risk a conflict.
“Think of it like this: Armenia does not protect its border with Turkey, Russia does. [Russia] sees it as the border of the CSTO. And sees [Turkey] as a NATO country,” he said.
“Russians military bases and defense systems are here. They are controlling Caucasia from here. And [Turkey] has been building a different Caucasia with the trilateral cooperation with Georgia and Azerbaijan for almost 10 years,” he added.
Çelikpala said that both sides’ expectations from the situation in Caucasia are different.
He also added that the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia may lead to tensions between Ankara’s relations with Moscow.
Turkey would not want war
As for Turkey’s approach to the conflict and its expectations, Çelikpala said, Turkey would not want a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“That’s why there has always been an agreement with Russia, and the Upper Karabakh issue nearly froze for almost 30 years,” he said.
The professor also underlined that both sides have been investing in their militaries and as Azerbaijan started to gain more revenue while energy prices were high, it spent almost as much as Armenia’s budget on its military.
“A huge infrastructure was built. Turkey and Israel are among the countries which Azerbaijan cooperates with, but Russia and China are among the top countries selling arms,” he said.
“Meaning, Russia is the actor who is providing weapons to both sides. In this sense, they think that they control the balance,” he said.
When asked if it was possible for Ankara and Baku to build a joint army, as suggested by an Azerbaijani politician, Çelikpala said that it would not be possible, and both sides would not want to do so.
“Because what Azerbaijan values is its independence, being an independent state. I think that being strategic partners is a discourse that would make Azerbaijan and Turkey happy,” he said.
Armenia getting more isolated
Concerning the other side of the conflict, the Armenian side, Çelikpala said that the country has been getting “more and more isolated” from the rest of the world.
“It has started to become a satellite for Russia,” he said, adding that the domestic problems Armenia has been facing are stemming out of it.
“[Armenian Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinyan, who the [Armenian public] supported started to fail the public’s expectation from 2018 to 2020,” he said. He also referred to the security doctrine Pashinyan announced just before the conflict, and that he did not bring any solution to the territorial conflict.
“This Upper Karabakh issue started to pressure [Armenians] because it is being isolated. [While] for Azerbaijan, it is the opposite,” Çelikpala said.
When asked if the internal pressures can shape Armenia’s foreign policy, Çelikpala said that until this day, it had an impact but did not shape the politics.
“Because of the public’s opinion, when we speak of Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Upper Karabakh issue, is standard. It has become a pattern for Armenia, and they cannot exit this,” he said.
Çelikpala also said that Turkey’s relations with Armenia should be separated from Turkish-Armenian relations, which are “very complex with a historical baggage. It is not something that a politician can do. But Turkey and Armenia relations can be carried out,” he added.
Nevertheless, Çelikpala said that due to Armenia’s approach and Turkey’s political atmosphere, the relations are centered around Azerbaijan.
“When we look at it like this, Armenia’s domestic [politics] started to get ahead of its actions,” he said.
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/09/2020
Sunday, August 9, 2020 Armenia Sends First Planeload Of Humanitarian Aid To Lebanon August 09, 2020 Armenia has sent the first planeload of humanitarian aid to Lebanon following a massive explosion in Beirut which killed at least 158 people and injured thousands of others earlier this week. About 12 tons of medication, foodstuffs and other vital supplies in boxes with an inscription “From Armenia’s Heart To Beirut” were delivered to the Lebanese capital on board a chartered cargo aircraft that left Yerevan on Saturday evening. The Armenian government said it will send two more planeloads of humanitarian aid to Lebanon in the coming days. A cargo plane at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport being loaded with humanitarian supplies for Lebanon, August 8, 2020 The government in Yerevan pledged to provide relief aid immediately after the August 4 explosion at Beirut’s sea-port warehouses. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian described Lebanon as “one of Armenia’s closest friends,” implying the existence of a sizable and influential Armenian community in the Middle Eastern state. At least 13 members of the community were reportedly among the victims of the explosion and more than 250 were injured. The devastating blast wave also destroyed or seriously damaged many Lebanese Armenian homes. Zareh Sinanyan, the high commissioner for Diaspora affairs, who flew to Beirut along with some other government officials and lawmakers on August 8, said that the first planeload of humanitarian aid included items that had been asked for by the Lebanese government and was intended for the people and the state of Lebanon. He said that the second and third planeloads of supplies to be delivered to Lebanon on August 9 and 11 will also include items designated for the Armenian community specifically. “I find it important that the people of Lebanon understand that we remember the positive role that they played in the fate of our people when they granted asylum to Armenians fleeing the genocide [in Ottoman Turkey] and let Armenians prosper in their country for many years,” Sinanyan said. Zareh Sinanyan, Armenia's High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs (file photo) The high commissioner for Diaspora affairs said that in Beirut he planned a series of meetings with local Armenian leaders to assess the needs of the community as well as the potential for repatriation, which has been a stated goal of the current government in Yerevan. “There are some 40 people who have expressed their desire to move to Armenia [on a permanent basis] immediately,” Sinanyan said. “There is another, much more sizable category of people who do want to move to Armenia, but cannot do it now because they want to solve issues connected with their property affected by the explosion. So, these are people who want to come in the medium to long term.” The blast and its devastating consequences have led to calls for the evacuation of Lebanon’s ethnic Armenian nationals willing to relocate to Armenia. Some opposition politicians and public figures as well as Lebanese-born citizens or residents of Armenia have urged the Armenian government to launch special Yerevan-Beirut flights for that purpose. Lebanon, a nation with a population of some 6.8 million, is home to more than 150,000 ethnic Armenians, many of whom live in capital Beirut. As one of the Middle Eastern country’s minorities, Lebanese-Armenians also have their quota in top-level public positions, including in the government and parliament of Lebanon. 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.
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/08/2020
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Ex-Police Chief Threatens Azatutyun Reporters Working Near Lake Sevan
August 08, 2020
• Robert Zargarian
Former Police Chief Vladimir Gasparian (file photo)
Former Armenian Police Chief Vladimir Gasparian on Saturday obstructed the work
of an RFE/RL Armenian Service (Azatutyun) crew working on a report about
government plans to dismantle some private houses illegally constructed near
Lake Sevan.
Gasparian, who served as Armenia’s police chief for seven years before being
dismissed from this post after the change of government in May 2018, drove his
vehicle in the direction of two Azatutyun reporters, almost running over them,
after seeing that they were filming in the lakeside area where his house is
presumably located.
Gasparian further threatened to physically destroy the reporters, using phrases
like “I’ll shoot you” and “I’ll slaughter you”. Using offensive language the
former police chief demanded that the reporters not show his house in the report.
The RFE/RL Armenian Service has reported the incident to police.
The Azatutyun reporters were working on a follow-up story after newly appointed
Environment Minister Romanos Petrosian said this week that authorities will
start the process of dismantling illegally constructed facilities and housing
near Lake Sevan already on August 10.
According to media reports, a number of houses belonging to several former
high-ranking officials, including Gasparian, are affected by the decision.
Earlier this week the newly appointed minister ordered the dismantling of a
lakeside resort where a party with the participation of a current pro-government
lawmaker had been staged in breach of coronavirus safety rules set by the
authorities.
Minister Petrosian then said that the turn was now for illegally constructed
facilities and housing around the lake that environmentalists say is endangered
by them.
Armenia - A view of Lake Sevan, 8Aug2020
“Here we have no legal issues, as there are no ownership rights pertaining to
these territories, consequently there are no prospects of legal actions [against
the government],” the minister said.
Environmentalists argue that illegal structures – both business facilities and
private houses – greatly damage the lake’s ecosystem, as a result of which for
several years now the usually blue Sevan waters have been turning green because
of vegetation at some places during the summer.
An environmental plan for Lake Sevan, which lies at 1,900 meters above sea
level, aims to raise its level, and the buildings that are to be demolished lie
below the level to which it is to be raised.
Raising the level of the lake, the largest body of fresh water in Armenia, has
been the stated goal of consecutive Armenian governments.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
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