Category: 2021

 10:14, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Artsakh issued a statement today, on November 9, on the first anniversary of the end of the 44-Day War.

Armenpress presents the text of the statement:

“One year ago, on 9 November 2020, thanks to the active mediation efforts of the Russian Federation, a trilateral statement was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan. The signing of the trilateral statement made it possible to put an end to the 44-day war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh with the direct military involvement of Turkey, as well as international terrorists and mercenaries from the Middle East, and laid the ground for the entry of Russian peacekeeping forces into the territory of Artsakh to maintain peace in the zone of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict. The trilateral statement also plays an important role in ensuring the post-war rehabilitation of the Republic of Artsakh.
 
As a result of the aggression and the devastating war that lasted 44 days, significant territories of the Republic of Artsakh, including the town of Shushi, the historical and cultural center of Artsakh, were occupied by Azerbaijan. During the hostilities, the Azerbaijani army committed numerous war crimes, including deliberate attacks on civilian objects, torture and extrajudicial killings of prisoners of war and captured civilians, ethnic cleansing, deliberate destruction of historical and cultural monuments and churches, the use of indiscriminate weapons prohibited by international law.

Even after the signing of the trilateral statement on 9 November 2020, Azerbaijan has not stopped its internationally wrongful acts and continues its offensive and aggressive actions, including capture of military personnel and civilians, carrying out deliberate killings, destruction of Armenian churches and cultural heritage in the occupied territories.

In this regard, it should be emphasized that the situation resulting from the illegal use of military force by Azerbaijan, flagrant violation of its international obligations, systematic and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law cannot serve as a basis for the settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict.

It is well known that the norms of international law prohibit the recognition of any territorial gains as a result of the threat or use of force. Moreover, the use of force cannot abolish one of the fundamental principles of international law, the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, enshrined in the UN Charter and other fundamental international documents.

The position of the official Stepanakert and the will of the people of Artsakh remain unchanged. Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan. Respect for the inalienable right to self-determination realized by the people of Artsakh and de-occupation of the territories where they created their independent statehood through self-determination and developed it are the cornerstone of a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh conflict and establishment of a sustainable and lasting peace in the region”.

 10:51, 9 November, 2021

The original version of this article was updated with comments from the prosecutor-general’s office

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Investigative Committee of Artsakh released details from the November 8 Azerbaijani attack near Shushi which left 1 Armenian civilian dead and three others seriously wounded.

“Around 15:00, November 8, a serviceman of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces – whose identity is yet to be determined by the investigation – passed into the area called “Shushii Tak” [Under Shushi] of the Shushi-Berdzor road of the Republic of Artsakh from the territories which have gone under Azerbaijani control, and with the purpose of terrorizing the population of the Republic of Artsakh and developing an atmosphere of fear and terror among them, fueled by religious and ethnic hatred and with the purpose of committing [mass murder] opened fire with his firearm at the persons who were repairing a water supply pipe,” the investigators said in a statement. They added that the shooting resulted in the death of Martin Yeremyan (born 1998) – from a gunshot wound to the head, while three others – Gevorg Melkumyan, Gagik Ghazaryan and Armen Sargsyan suffered gunshot wounds.

Criminal proceedings were launched amid an ongoing investigation to reveal all circumstances of the incident.

The prosecutor-general’s office of Artsakh said in a separate statement that they are treating the shooting as terrorism. It said that all victims of the shooting were plumbers of the Artsakh water supply company. 

“The evidence gathered by law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Artsakh during the investigations of the Azerbaijani criminal actions reaffirm the constantly repeated position that similar incidents individually as well as their entirety pursue a single goal – to terrorize at all cost the Armenians of Artsakh, to defame the Russian peacekeeping forces and thus develop a sensation of defenselessness and intentions of leaving Artsakh among the population. This kind of an Armenophobic and genocidal conduct will continue as long as the international community is encouraging Azerbaijan with its silence and inaction,” the prosecution said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:04, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. A battalion commander is under arrest on charges of dereliction of duty concerning his actions which authorities say led to nine troops being killed, two taken captive and multiple combat positions being taken over by Azerbaijani military during 2020 December 11-12 clashes.

The battalion commander was charged with aggravated dereliction of duty back in April 2021 and investigators asked a court to remand him in pre-trial detention, but the motion was rejected. The supervising prosecutor appealed the decision to a higher court, which eventually ordered a renewed examination. Subsequently, a Yerevan court of general jurisdiction approved the pre-trial detention, the Investigative Committee said in a press release.

The officer, who was the commander of a rifle battalion, was ordered after the 2020 November 9 ceasefire to ensure the security of 12 combat positions of the eastern border of Hin Tagher, a district of the Hadrut region in Artsakh.

“However, during combat operations which took place between 2020 December 11-12, he committed actions amounting to dereliction of duty which led to grave consequences: 12 combat positions of the Hin Tagher district’s eastern border were taken over by enemy troops, the servicemen deployed in one of these combat positions were besieged, of whom nine servicemen were killed and two were taken captive,” the investigators said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:11, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited today the Yerablur military pantheon on the occasion of the first anniversary of the end of the 44-Day War, the government’s press service said.

Pashinyan laid flowers at the tombs of fallen heroes, bowing and paying tribute to their memory.

 Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:28, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. 1121 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 322,364, the ministry of healthcare reports.

9152 COVID-19 tests were conducted on November 8.

2191 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 285,057.

The death toll has risen to 6762 (62 death cases have been registered in the past one day).

The number of active cases is 29,203.

The number of people who have been infected with COVID-19 but died from other disease has reached 1342.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:06, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan resigned.

“I am grateful to the Prime Minister and the staff of his office for the joint work,” Gevorgyan, who served as Pashinyan’s spokesperson from 2020, said in a statement.

“The course of my term as spokesperson of the prime minister was full of hardships for Armenia, but despite everything I tried to remain committed to the values which were placed at the foundation of the 2018 revolution. I apologize to anyone whose hopes I did not justify in this position. I am also grateful to journalists for the productive cooperation,” Gevorgyan said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:09, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Legendary Armenian director of essay films, screenwriter Artavazd Peleshyan’s Nature (La Nature) film’s European premiere will take place in the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA) on November 17-28, kinoashkharh.am reports.

Festival president Orwa Nyrabia said that this year the festival will honor Peleshyan for his invaluable contribution to film-making.

Other films by the renowned film director will also be screened.

The Nature movie’s global festival premiere was held at the New York Film Festival-59. Premiered by the Fondation Cartier, Nature brings together amateur shots of nature, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and grandiose landscapes from the internet, juxtaposing the overpowering force of nature with human ambition.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:20, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appointed Paruyr Hovhannisyan to be the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Hovhannisyan was Armenia’s Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe since 2016.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:42, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The curling Civil Contract party’s proposal to create a commission for investigating the circumstances of the 2020 Artsakh War will be implemented, and all steps will be taken for an effective work, Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan told reporters at a briefing.

“You know that the law allows to create a commission for 6 months and extend the term of its operation by another 6 months. You know that not all MPs have presented documents on confidentiality. I can state that the commission will definitely operate and this will not be the only purpose. It must have a concrete result and deal with concrete actions. The activities of the commission will start soon when we understand that there is no technical problem for the operation of the commission”, Alen Simonyan said.

Alen Simonyan said that lessons must be learnt from the past 30 years path which led to the November 9 ceasefire agreement. “We need to analyze long, we have paid a very high price for our mistakes. I attach great importance to the idea of establishing that investigative commission, which we have proposed, as its results could play a decisive role”, the Speaker added.

He also commented on yesterday’s actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces which targeted civilians, calling it as a provocative step.

“We need a situation to continue together with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs the discussions on the Artsakh issue which have been suspended”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:06, 9 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan visited today the Stepanakert Memorial on the occasion of the first anniversary of the statement which put an end to the 2020 war, his Office reports.

The President of the Republic also visited the military pantheon and laid flowers at the tombs of the servicemen fallen at the Artsakh wars.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan