Category: 2021

The foreign ministries of Armenia and Artsakh on Friday separately welcomed the European Parliament’s condemnation of Azerbaijan for war crimes and Turkey for its role in aiding Baku in its aggression against Artsakh by, among other things, deploying Islamic jihadists to the war zone.

The two offices also welcomed the European Parliaments commitment to address the humanitarian crisis that has developed because of the war, including its insistence that POWs be returned to Armenia.

“There are a number of important provisions enshrined in the report-resolutions adopted by the European Parliament, which are related to the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh and Turkey’s involvement in it, the committed war crimes, as well as the steps to be undertaken to eliminate the consequences of the aggression, especially to address humanitarian issues,” said Anna Naghdalyan, the spokesperson of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday in response to a reporter’s question.

“We particularly emphasize that the European Parliament not only condemned the war crimes, including the targeting of civilian population and infrastructure, places of worship, but also stressed that these crimes should not remain unpunished. We agree with the European Parliament’s call for Turkey to refrain from any intervention in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including offering military support to Azerbaijan, and to desist from its destabilizing actions. In this context, it is especially important that the European Parliament has also condemned the fact that Turkey transferred foreign terrorist fighters from Syria and elsewhere to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone,” added Naghdalyan.

The spokesperson hailed the European Parliament’s efforts to advance humanitarian assistance, emphasize the need to return POWs and protect Armenian cultural sites from destruction.

“We would like to stress the importance of the efforts of international community, in the form of such resolutions, to contribute to the elimination of the causes and consequences of the war, which in accordance to the resolution, supposes the lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the determination of the future legal status of Artsakh on the basis of the Basic Principles proposed by the Co-Chairs. As it was once again emphasized by this respective international body, right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination and security lies at the basis of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” added Naghdalyan.

The Artsakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement, in which it highlighted the European Parliament’s commitment to ensuring the security of the people of Artsakh and providing due condemnation of Azerbaijan’s war crimes, including the use of cluster bombs against civilian targets and deploying poisonous gas in its attacks.

“We share the assessments of the European Parliament related to the events caused by the use of military force by Azerbaijan, as well as the ways out of this situation. In particular, we consider it important to stress the viewpoint of the European Parliament on the need to ensure the security of the Armenian population in Nagorno Karabakh, to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage, to ensure the safe return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their former places of residence, and to exchange the prisoners of war and the bodies of the deceased without delay,” said the Artsakh Foreign Ministry.

“We acknowledge the importance of duly investigating all the alleged war crimes and bringing those responsible to justice. It is noteworthy that the European Parliament also specifically called for an international investigation into the alleged presence of foreign fighters, terrorists and the use of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs,” said the foreign ministry announcement. “We welcome the European Parliament’s support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict founded on the Basic Principles proposed by the international mediators.”

“We join the European Parliament’s condemnation of the destabilizing role of Turkey, which seeks to undermine the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group for the sake of its ambitions of playing a more decisive role in the conflict settlement process,” added Stepanakert.

“We share the view of the European Parliament that a lasting settlement has not been found yet We are convinced that a comprehensive and just settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict can be achieved on the basis of the recognition of the right to self-determination realized by the people of Artsakh and the de-occupation of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh,” said the Artsakh Foreign Ministry.

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step bloc installed on Friday two new members of a state body empowered to nominate, sanction and fire Armenian judges.

The Armenian parliament appointed Gagik Jahangiryan, a controversial former prosecutor, and legal expert Davit Khachaturian to vacant seats in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in a vote boycotted by its opposition minority.

“We do not find it politically expedient to take part in the vote,” Iveta Tonoyan, a senior lawmaker from the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, told reporters. She said her party also has “reservations” about both candidates nominated by My Step.

“In the professional sense we have no problem with the candidates,” said Taron Sahakyan of the opposition Bright Armenia Party. “Our decision is political and results from the fact that the opposition has been barred from participating in judicial reforms.”

Jahangiryan served as Armenia’s chief military prosecutor from 1997-2006 and was accused by civil activists of covering up crimes and abetting other abuses in the Armenian armed forces throughout his tenure. He always denied those allegations.

Khachaturyan is the former head of the governing board of the Armenian branch of U.S. billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations. His brother Sasun Khachatryan runs Armenia’s Special Investigative Service, a law-enforcement agency.

The two men joined the SJC amid tensions between Armenia’s government and judiciary. Critics of the government say that Pashinyan expects them to help increase his influence on courts.

In recent months Armenian judges have refused to allow law-enforcement authorities to arrest dozens of opposition leaders and members as well as other anti-government activists. Virtually all of those individuals are prosecuted in connection with angry protests sparked by the Pashinyan administration’s handling of the autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan charged last month that Armenia’s judicial system has become part of a “pseudo-elite” which is trying to topple him after the disastrous war. Ruben Vartazaryan, the chairman of the SJC, rejected the criticism.

Jahangiryan criticized Pashinyan’s political team for not “purging” the judiciary when he spoke in the parliament before Friday’s vote. He said the government-controlled parliament should pass legislation to “get rid of judges who committed blatant human rights violations.”

Pashinyan accused judges of remaining linked to Armenia’s former leadership and controversially urged supporters to block court buildings after a Yerevan court released former President Robert Kocharian from custody in May 2019. His government subsequently abandoned plans for a mandatory “vetting” of the judges at the urging of European legal experts.

National Salvation Movement leaders and supporters staged a protest outside parliament on Friday in response to the appointment of two members to Armenia’s Supreme Judicial Council, who were installed only by votes of the ruling My Step bloc.

On Friday, Armenia’s National Assembly voted to install Gagik Jahangiryan and Davit Khachaturian to serve on the judicial body. Opposition lawmakers refused to participate in the vote.

The National Salvation Movement accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his My Step alliance of appointing of stacking the judiciary with justices that are loyal to their agenda.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation member Sevak Nazaryan singled out Jahangiryan in comments during the protest, saying that the newly-appointed judge has a checkered past, accusing the authorities of violating Armenia’s Constitution and appointing an individual who will fulfill the will of the authorities.

“It is clear for us that [the vote] has only one purpose: to abscond the judicial branch of the government, which despite threats by Nikol Pashinyan, has shown that it is able to maintain its independence,” said Nazaryan.

“They [the ruling bloc] want to usurp the judiciary so they can continue their illegal efforts of pressuring, arresting and their unlawful judicial rulings, which they think will avert a change in government,” added Nazaryan, who accused the ruling bloc of violating the constitution and the law only to prolong their leadership.

“This is why we have gathered here to raise our voices in protest and alert all citizens that with every day that Nikol Pashinyan continues to remain in power he brings renewed lawlessness and strikes new blows to our statehood, with which he is destroying the foundations of our homeland,” said Nazaryan.

In light of the new session of the California State Legislature, representatives of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region met with CA State Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) to discuss the organization’s policy priorities.

During the hourlong meeting, the parties discussed the effects and next steps following the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh and Armenia. ANCA-WR representatives thanked Asm. Holden for his commitment to pursuing truth and justice on behalf of his Armenian-American constituents and Armenian-Californians in general.

“Asm. Holden has been a longtime friend of the Armenian-American community, regularly attending our events and supporting legislative initiatives,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “Building on our years of productive cooperation and goodwill, we look forward to working with Asm. Holden in advancing matters of concern to our community.”

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Every time Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attempts to rationalize or justify his decision to sign the November 9 agreement he digs himself—and the entire Armenian Nation—deeper into a hole, emerging from which becomes more and more difficult, if not impossible.

His insincere mea culpas are often followed by baffling statements that seem to indicate his inability to grasp the gravity of the losses and consequences that the country, and the nation, must grapple with since the signing of the November 9 agreement.

On several occasions, when responding to lawmakers’ questions in parliament about the surrender of Shushi, Pashinyan has demonstrated that he does not comprehend the vital and strategic importance of Shushi, not only historically, but in the present day.

Pashinyan made the most egregious statement about Shushi on Wednesday, again in response to a lawmaker’s question, when said that essentially was not an Armenian city.

“I would like to bring to you attention the fact that before its liberation more than 90 percent of Shushi’s population were Azerbaijanis. Are you trying to say that, with more than 90 percent of its population being Azerbaijani, the city of Shushi was Armenian with that status?,” said Pashinyan.

The operative word in that statement is “liberation,” which signals that the city was being occupied by Azerbaijanis, thus requiring its liberation, which our heroes did in the 1990s Karabakh war.

Pashinyan’s ignorant statement shows a disdain for the Artsakh Liberation Movement, and specifically the liberation of Shushi, without which Armenians would not have been able to achieve victory in the war. The Shushi Liberation of May 9, 1992 cemented Artsakh’s victory over Azerbaijan and allowed us, as a nation, to reclaim our historic lands from occupiers, who were using Shushi to rain down rockets and bullets on innocent civilians in Stepanakert and elsewhere.

Pashinyan’s remarks on Wednesday only add credence to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s false declaration that Shushi will become a critical Islamic and Turkic cultural hub.

Back in November, Pashinyan also said that Shushi was a bleak, dark and dreary city, adding that if Shushi were so important why weren’t more steps taken to revitalize it.

Pashinyan not only does not comprehend Shushi’s historic importance as a centuries-old Armenian capital and cultural center, but he also fails to understand that by agreeing to surrender Shushi, he has given up a critical strategic territory for the security of Artsakh.

Pashinyan has adopted this deferential attitude toward the concessions he agreed to on November 9 in order to deflect blame and responsibility for the fact that by signing the document he, essentially, signed away our homeland.

This attitude was also at display on January 11 when Pashinyan signed another agreement, this time to open Azerbaijan’s borders and allow the free-flow of transportation by Azerbaijan through Armenia’s Syunik Province.

Of course, for Pashinyan, the silver lining was the economic benefits that Armenia would allegedly gain by this measure, despite the fact that Aliyev didn’t waste a moment to hail the decision as a means for Turkey to have unabated access to the region and to Armenia.

On several occasions, since November 9, Pashinyan has insisted that the Karabakh conflict settlement is far from over, stressing, among other things, the issue of Artsakh’s status, which he says still needs to be determined and has urged the international community to engage in that process.

How are international mediators supposed to negotiate Karabakh’s status and advance the issue of self-determination for the people of Artsakh, when Armenia’s leader continues to make callous and dangerous statements that not only jeopardize the security of Artsakh but call into question Armenia’s official commitment to that process.

Aram Hamparian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, accurately framed the situation in an email exchange with me on Friday.

“The already hard work of truth-telling in the international arena—against the flood of lies coming from Turkish and Azerbaijani lobbyists—is made all the more difficult when Armenia’s prime minister cites twisted stats and makes false claims about Shushi, Syunik, Artsakh’s survival and Armenia’s sovereignty,” Hamparian told me.

Since November 9, we have witnessed that lay citizens of Armenia and Artsakh have been forced to bear the brunt of Pashinyan’s decision on daily basis, while he has taken every opportunity to accuse and discredit those who have questioned his actions, and continues to make compromises and concessions in the name of our homeland.