Category: 2021

CivilNet: Presidential Elections – by Direct Vote or Without it?

Khoyetsian Rose
CIVILNET.AM

11 Mar, 2021 10:03

Ahead of the constitutional reforms in Armenia, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation organized a discussion on the topic “Presidential Elections – by Popular Vote: Pros and Cons”. 

Speakers:

Prof. Fernando Casal Bértoa, Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham (UK), 

Mr. Daniel Ioannisyan, Program Coordinator of the Union of Informed Citizens (UIC),

The discussion is moderated by Arshaluys Mghdesyan.

A full analysis by Professor Bértoa on the topic can be found here:

CivilNet: The AMAA’s Mission to Help Artsakh’s Displaced

Arbi Tashjian
CIVILNET.AM

10 Mar, 2021 06:03

As a result of the war in Artsakh, many houses and infrastructures lie destroyed or damaged. The Artsakh government and charitable organizations are helping people to deal with restoration works. The Armenian Missionary Association of America is one of these organizations, which aims to help Artsakh Armenians come back to their homes and resettle. The AMAA is renovating nearly 50 houses belonging to Artsakh Armenians. The house of Victoria is one of them. CivilNet’s team visited her to find out more. 

CivilNet: Garo Paylan on Possible Imprisonment and Perception of the Artsakh War in Turkey

Lilit Nahapetian
CIVILNET.AM

10 Mar, 2021 06:03

Garo Paylan, a Turkish politician of Armenian descent, is facing  a possible  aggravated life sentence in Turkey along with eight other lawmakers from his Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). 

Mr. Paylan talks with CivilNet’s Ani Paitjan about the lack of democracy in Turkey, the perception of the Artsakh war in the Turkish society and the future of relations between Turkey and Armenia. 

CivilNet: The Lachin Corridor: Russian Peacekeepers Securing Artsakh’s Lifeline

Chatinian Lara
CIVILNET.AM

10 Mar, 2021 09:03

On the road to Artsakh from Armenia, a line of checkpoints manned by Russian peacekeepers are a reminder of the stark changes taking place in the region since the end of the Second Karabakh war. They are responsible for ensuring the security of the roads, and for the prevention of clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. 

CivilNet is on the road to Artsakh to report on the changes on the ground.

CivilNet: From the Archives: Russian Peacekeeping Brigade’s Symbolic Karabakh Link

Karagyozian Lena
CIVILNET.AM

10 Mar, 2021 10:03

By Emil Sanamyan

The peacekeeping forces deployed in Karabakh since November 2020 come from Samara Oblast-based 15th motor-rifle brigade of the Russian army. Prior to Karabakh, the brigade was deployed in Abkhazia between 2005 and 2008, and is the only Russian military unit fully dedicated to peacekeeping operations.

While the 15th brigade was created in 2004, from 2019 it was made a formal successor of the 5th Alexandrian Hussar (Cavalry) Regiment of the Russian Imperial Army, giving it a curious historic link to Karabakh, a year before its deployment there. The 5th regiment was established in 1776 in the Ukrainian town of Alexandria and in 1918, when it was disbanded by the Bolsheviks, was based in Samara.

From 1812 to 1815, as most of the Russian army, the 5th regiment participated in the wars with Napoleonic France, making its way from Moscow to Paris. One of its commanders at the time was Karabakh-born Armenian Valerian Madatov. Madatov was born in the village of Chanakhchi, now known as Avetaranots (from late October 2020 it has been under Azerbaijani occupation). The future general made his way to Russia as a youth in 1796 and was recommended for military education by Archbishop Iosif Argutinskiy and businessman Ivan Lazarev, the most prominent Russian Armenian leaders of the time.

Following the Napoleonic wars, Madatov was transferred to the Caucasus to command Russian forces in the war against Persia from 1826 to 1828. That war ended with the Turkmenchay Treaty that made Erivan and Nakhichevan Khanates part of Russia and soon forming the Armenian Oblast, effectively the precursor to the Armenian republic. Ironically, the Armenian-populated Karabakh and Zangezur (Syunik) were not included in that Oblast since they became part of Russia a decade earlier. That circumstance helped localize the geography of the future territorial disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

General Madatov died in 1829 shortly after defeating Turkish forces in Bulgaria. His best known portrait, painted by British artist George Dawe, depicts Madatov in the uniform of an Alexandrian Hussar.

CivilNet: BREAKING: Azerbaijan Releases Armenian Woman After Months in Captivity

Garo Vardanian
CIVILNET.AM

11 Mar, 2021 03:03

Maral Najarian, the Lebanese-Armenian woman captured by Azerbaijani forces in Karabakh soon after the Second Artsakh War, has been released. 

After months in captivity, Najarian, who was born in Lebanon, was reunited with her family at the Beirut-Hariri International Airport at around 9:30 p.m. local time. 

At around 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Najarian was flown from Azerbaijan to Istanbul, Turkey where she was held most of the day, Armenian Weekly reports.

Human rights activists say that Azerbaijan still holds over 200 Armenian hostages, most captured after the signing of the November 9 ceasefire. They include military personnel, as well as civilians and women.

Turkish press: Turkey commemorates slain diplomat Galip Balkar

Kalashian Nyrie
 ISTANBUL WAR ON TERROR 
MAR 09, 2021 11:46 PM GMT+3
A portrait and the passport of the slain diplomat Galip Balkar are seen next to the flags of Turkey and Yugoslavia in this photo taken at the Turkish Embassy in Serbia’s Belgrade on March 9, 2017 (AA File Photo)

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday commemorated a senior Turkish diplomat who was martyred by an Armenian terrorist group in the early 1980s.

“We remember with respect our martyr Galip Balkar, Ambassador of Turkey in Belgrade, who lost his life following a heinous attack perpetrated by the terrorist organization JCAG [Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide] on 9 March 1983,” the ministry said on Twitter.

Two members of the terrorist group attacked Balkar with automatic weapons near the Turkish Embassy 38 years ago.

The ambassador was seriously injured in the attack and died two days later.

A Yugoslav student, who was hit by a bullet during the attack, also died.

Kirkor Levonyan and Raffi Aleksandr were arrested on March 9, 1984, and each was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Armenian terror groups killed 31 Turkish diplomats and family members across the globe between 1973 and 1986, including Balkar.

The vast majority of the attacks were conducted by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and the JCAG.

Since the 1970s, Armenian terror groups have killed 31 Turkish diplomats and their family members, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA).

Founded in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War, ASALA is responsible for hundreds of bloody terrorist acts. According to “Armenian Terror,” a 2006 study by Ömer Engin Lütem, a former Turkish diplomat, the killings spanned continents, taking place in the U.S., Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, Iran and the U.K.

While the Marxist-Leninist ASALA not only targeted Turkey but also other countries and became infamous for a 1975 bombing on the Beirut office of the World Council of Churches, the nationalistic JCAG only targeted Turkey because it believed that attacking other countries would damage the so-called “Armenian struggle.”

Armenian terrorist attacks intensified from 1980 to 1983, when 580 of the 699 attacks – over 80% – occurred.

Asbarez: President Will Appeal Army Chief of Staff Matter to High Court

Emil Lazarian

March 9, 2021



President Armen Sarkissian

The office of President Armen Sarkissian said on Tuesday that he intends to apply to Armenia’s Constitutional Court to get legal clarity on the matter of dismissing the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan.

Late last month, Gasparyan, along with Armenia’s top military brass, called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who immediately fired him and sent the decree for approval by the president, who did not comply with the prime minister’s request saying that the request did not constitute a regular personnel shuffling. Last week, Pashinyan submitted a second request to fire Gasparyan last week and the president signaled that he would send the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Gasparyan’s announcement was hailed by the opposition, whose Homeland Salvation Movement has been demanding Pashinyan’s resignation and pledging its unequivocal support to the military. However, some opposition leaders criticized Sarkissian for not directing the matter to the country’s high court, citing a March 9 deadline for this submission.

In an announcement issued late Tuesday evening local time, the president’s office clarified there is no deadline for Sarkissian to apply to the Constitutional Court. The statement also admonished some political forces for “manipulating” the issue, which has created unnecessary confusion.

“Different political forces, figures and individuals have been making certain comments, clarifications and providing analysis on the terms of the President’s application to the Constitutional Court,” said the president’s office statement. “By manipulating this issue, a misconception has been formed that March 9 is the deadline to apply to the Constitutional Court.”

“Such opinions are unfounded. There is no deadline for applying to the Constitutional Court, and the President of the Republic will soon apply to the Constitutional Court with a request to decide on the compatibility of the Law on Military Status and Status of Serviceman, as announced earlier,” explained the President’s office.

“The President of the Republic once again calls for calm and restraint,” concluded the statement.

Israeli Companies Offer to Help Azerbaijan ‘Rebuild’ Karabakh

Liana Toganian

March 9, 2021



Azerbaijani protesters boast the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Israel alliance

Israeli companies have offered the government of Azerbaijan assistance in what they are calling “rehabilitating the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey Ibrahim Khazar told the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency.

Khazar told Anadolu that other countries to offer Baku assistance are Turkey, Iran, Great Britain, Italy, Hungary and Japan.

“The rehabilitation of liberated territories will be carried out while ensuring the preservation of the region’s historical and authentic heritage alongside technological innovations,” Khazar said.

According to ambassador, the so-called “Nakhchivan Corridor,” which he called a “by product” of the November 9 agreement, has created new opportunities for regional cooperation, chief among them the export trains that have already begun to pass through Azerbaijan on their way from Istanbul to Central Asia and even China in recent weeks.

Khazar claimed that the war has done a lot of damage to Azerbaijan’s economy, saying that Baku reportedly has sustained $50 million in damages.