Friday,
Aliyev Alleges Armenian-Iranian ‘Conspiracy’
• Lusine Musayelian
• Aza Babayan
Azerbaijan -- President Ilham Aliyev addresses a virtual summit of the
Commonwealth of Independent States,
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Friday accused Iran and Armenia of using
Azerbaijani territory for drug trafficking, prompting swift rebuttals from both
neighbors.
“After restoring its 130-kilometer border with Iran, which was under Armenian
control for 30 years, Azerbaijan stopped the illegal trafficking of narcotics
from Iran to Armenia and on to Europe through Azerbaijan’s Jebrail district,”
Aliyev said during a virtual summit of former Soviet republics.
“Armenia and Iran conspired to use Azerbaijan’s occupied territories to traffic
drugs to Europe,” he charged without producing any proof of his allegations.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian denied the allegations when he addressed the
summit from Yerevan.
“I want to point out that we have been very closely cooperating with Iran’s
law-enforcement bodies and very productively fighting against drug trafficking,”
said Pashinian.
Iran rejected Aliyev’s “astonishing” claims in stronger terms. The Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said that they serve Israel’s
geopolitical interests and will further damage Azerbaijani-Iranian relations.
Tajikistan - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (R) and Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian meet in Dushanbe, September 17, 2021.
In written comments released by the ministry, Khatibzadeh said that Baku is
sticking to “baseless statements” despite privately sending “positive messages”
to Tehran. The Islamic Republic will respond to that accordingly, he said.
Azerbaijani-Iranian relations deteriorated significantly after Azerbaijani
authorities imposed on September 12 heavy duties on Iranian trucks transporting
goods to Armenia. Iran held large-scale military exercises along its border with
Azerbaijan earlier this month.
Senior Iranian officials have since repeatedly accused Baku of harboring Sunni
Muslim militants and Israeli security personnel near that frontier. Aliyev again
rejected the Iranian accusations in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.
The Iranian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers spoke by phone on Tuesday in a bid
to defuse the tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
reportedly told his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov that Tehran expects
a solution to “the problem of cargo transit.”
Armenian and Iranian leaders have also discussed the problem in recent weeks.
Yerevan has pledged to complete before the end of this year the reconstruction
of an alternative Armenian road that will allow Iranian trucks to bypass
Azerbaijani-controlled territory.
Armenian Security Chief Said To Back Anti-Western Statement
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia -- The National Security Service headquarters in Yerevan.
The director of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) has reportedly joined
his counterparts from Russia and other ex-Soviet republics in accusing the West
of seeking to destabilize the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States.
Armen Abazian attended their meeting in Moscow on Wednesday hosted by Sergei
Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service.
An SVR statement on the meeting said participants discussed “the West’s
unconstructive influence on our countries” under the guise of democracy
promotion.
“The heads of the special services were of the common opinion that the processes
are of systematic character and are aimed at destabilizing the political
situation in CIS countries,” the SVR said in a statement. “The involvement of
nongovernmental and international organizations in these processes is
coordinated by Western intelligence services.”
The security chiefs of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to step up joint
efforts to “counter those processes.”
As of Friday evening, the press offices of the NSS and Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian declined to confirm that Yerevan agrees with the SVR’s claims.
In its five-year policy program approved by the Armenian parliament in August,
Pashinian’s government described closer ties with the United States and the
European Union as a foreign policy priority. Pashinian has repeatedly made that
clear in his contacts with U.S. and EU officials.
Earlier this year the EU pledged to provide Armenia with up to 2.6 billion euros
($3.1 billion) in economic assistance and investments over the next five years.
Pashinian said the funding will help to “introduce more European values in our
country.”
More Questions Arise About Firms Run By Armenian Speaker’s Brother
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - Road works in Shirak province.
Sirush Davtian is 65, lives in a modest village house and doesn’t quite look
like a neophyte entrepreneur. Yet the ailing single woman is listed on a state
business registry as the sole owner of a construction company set up in February
with 140 million drams ($290,000) in capital.
Davtian refused to answer any questions from an RFE/RL correspondent who visited
her home in Ushi, a village 30 kilometers northwest of Yerevan. Her brother
laughed off her de jure connection to the company, telling the journalist to
look for its real owners elsewhere.
The company called Euroasphalt-1 is one of at least two businesses run by
Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonian’s brother Karlen. The other one,
Euroasphalt, had an authorized capital of just over $100 when it was founded by
two little-known individuals in March 2018. Karlen Simonian became its executive
director early this year.
Euroasphalt won recently two government contracts for rural road construction
worth a combined $1.4 million, raising suspicions of a conflict of interest and
even corruption. Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikian assured RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service late last month that this was the result of transparent and fair
tenders, rather than government connections.
Alen Simonian, who is a figure close to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian,
condemned media outlets for questioning the integrity of those deals when he
spoke with journalists earlier this week. “I don’t answer questions from the
yellow press,” the speaker said when asked to comment on his brother’s
entrepreneurial activities.
Armenia - Sirush Davtian's house in Ushi village.
Euroasphalt won one of the contracts worth about 400 million drams ($830,000)
after bidding just 50,000 drams ($103) less than another construction company.
Speaking with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, senior executives of the defeated firms
avoided criticizing the outcome of the contest. They hinted that they do not
want to antagonize the government because they hope to win similar tenders in
the future.
Vahe Sarukhanian, an investigative journalist who has also written about Karlen
Simonian’s involvement in business, described the tiny margin of Euroasphalt’s
victory in the bidding as suspicious.
“In the past, the [former ruling] Republican Party’s government was widely
criticized for the fact that the organizers of tenders would inform their
cronies’ firms that a particular company is bidding a particular amount of money
and that they must bid slightly less to win and then sort other things out with
them,” explained Sarukhanian.
“I don’t know what happened in this case,” he said. “I have no evidence to voice
accusations. But logical suspicions definitely arise and corruption risks cannot
be excluded.”
Armenia - Speaker Alen Simonian chairs a session of the National Assembly,
September 13, 2021.
As an outspoken opposition parliamentarian, Pashinian had for years alleged
corrupt practices in tenders won by individuals linked to Armenia’s former
governments. He claimed to have eliminated “systemic corruption” in the country
after coming to power in 2018.
Neither Karlen Simonian nor other Euroasphalt representatives could be reached
for comment.
It emerged on Thursday one of the company’s two officially registered addresses
is the same as that of a Yerevan apartment where Simonian’s mother currently
lives. The other address could not be located.
The speaker’s brother is also the deputy director of the TS Construction
company, a concrete producer and supplier. An Armenian civic group revealed
recently that it donated over $10,000 to Pashinian’s Civil Contract party during
this year’s parliamentary election campaign.
Truce Violations Reported In Karabakh
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Armenian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint on the road
leading to Kalbacar, near the village of Charektar, November 25, 2020
One Azerbaijani soldier was killed and six Armenian servicemen wounded in
Nagorno-Karabakh in skirmishes reported late on Thursday.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that the soldier was killed by Armenian
sniper fire.
The Karabakh Armenian army denied any responsibility for his death. It reported
later in the evening that six of its soldiers manning an outpost in Karabakh’s
east were wounded after coming under Azerbaijani fire.
A statement by the Defense Army added that Russian peacekeeping forces deployed
in Karabakh were immediately alerted about the truce violation denied by the
Azerbaijani side.
Citing the army, Karabakh’s state minister, Artak Beglarian, said shortly after
midnight that shootouts also broke out at several other sections of the “line of
contact” around Karabakh but stopped shortly afterwards.
“The situation has now stabilized along the entire line of contact,” Beglarian
wrote on Facebook. “The military and political leadership of Artsakh
(Nagorno-Karabakh) is taking urgent steps to further stabilize the situation,
making necessary decisions and communicating with relevant parties.”
The official also said that although two of the wounded Karabakh soldiers are in
a serious condition their lives are not at risk.
The skirmishes were one of the most serious violations of a ceasefire agreement
which Russia brokered last November to stop the Armenian-Azerbaijani war over
the disputed territory.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Category: 2021
Forkner Elementary to become first school in FUSD to be named after an Armenian-American
Your Central Valley, CA
Oct 14 2021
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) – A Fresno Unified elementary school is getting a lot of attention after school board members voted to change its name to honor a prominent Armenian figure.
It’s the first school in the district to be named after an Armenian-American.
Oct 14 2021
Forkner Elementary to become first school in FUSD to be named after an Armenian-American
KSEE24 NEWS
by: Karen Alvarez
Posted: Oct 14, 2021 / 07:08 PM PDT / Updated: Oct 14, 2021 / 07:08 PM PDT
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) – A Fresno Unified elementary school is getting a lot of attention after school board members voted to change its name to honor a prominent Armenian figure.
It’s the first school in the district to be named after an Armenian-American.
Following an emotional debate, the Fresno Unified school board voted to change the name Forkner Elementary to H. Roger Tatarian Elementary.
“I actually think that’s an absolutely fabulous idea and that needs to happen eventually,” says Ryan Duff principal of Forkner Elementary. “What I am here to do is to speak and support my current students and be here on behalf of them.”
One by one, community members took to the podium to express their opinions.
Michelle Asadoorian, one of the members spearheading the campaign to change the name, was present at Wednesday night’s meeting and says the name change is long overdue.
An Armenian herself, she says the name change is a step in the right direction and finally reflects a significant part of the Central Valley’s population.
“In 140 years and now I believe 110 schools, there had not been until last night a school honoring the contributions of Armenian-Americans,” says Asadoorian.
Asadoorian says it’s important to have role models to look up to and that’s why they went with Roger Tatarian, a prominent Armenian journalist.
One of the main reasons for the proposed name change is the alleged past of the man the school is currently named after. Jesse Clayton Forkner was a Fresno developer in the early 1900s who reportedly refused to sell land to people of color.
People like Juanita Cantu are excited about the change.
“Definitely excited about the name change, it should be all positive,” says Cantu. “We’re going to be the first school who’s named after an Armenian.”
A father of a current Forkner Elementary student says he’s not opposed to the name change but says the name changing process was ill-advised and will be disruptive to current students.
“I think the kids don’t need this type of change in their lives after a year and a half of remote learning and I also think the way the board went about doing this change, without outreach to the Forkner community, without an outreach to parents, was wrong.”
Forkner Elementary was built in 1980 and has over 500 students.
A spokesperson with Fresno Unified says physical name changes to the school will begin after the end of the current school year, with the name change becoming effective at the start of the 2022/2023 school year.
Armenia’s Yeraskh village under Azerbaijani shelling day and night – Ombudsman
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 15 2021
Yeraskh village of Ararat province is subjected to regular shelling by the Azerbaijani armed forces, both during the day and at night, Armenia’s Human Rights defender Arman Tatoyan alarms.
The village last came under shelling today, on October 15.
“The unruliness of the Azerbaijani servicemen has reached such a level that they set fire through intentional shootings to 8000 stacks of grass belonging to a resident of Yeraskh community. The entire winter stockpile, which the citizen had collected to feed his livestock, has been destroyed,” the Ombudsman said in a Facebook post.
Moreover, he said, the fire spread destroying the roof of the barn belonging to the citizen. The fire was extinguished only thanks to timely intervention of the firefighters.
“Taking into consideration that the Azerbaijani positions are located in the immediate vicinity of the village, it is obvious to Azerbaijani servicemen that their actions are harming the residents of the village, destroying their property, violating their rights to life and property, and disturbing their life and peace.” Tatoyan said.
He insists that the process of creating a demilitarized security zone around the borders of Armenia with Azerbaijan and the removal of the Azerbaijani armed servicemen form the vicinity of the villages and from the roads between the communities of Armenia should start immediately.
“The proposal of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia has already been included in an international instrument- in Resolution 2391 (2021) of September 27, 2021 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Human Rights Defender will send relevant reports about this situation to international organizations, to the State bodies of Armenia, and to civil society organizations,” the Ombudsman said.
It is evident that the basis of these criminal harassments and the gross violations of human rights is the same: – the policy of Armenophobia and enmity, and of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This policy has institutional bases, and the violations will not end, and the security of the people will not be guaranteed unless the perpetrators are punished,” Arman Tatoyan concluded.
Watch video at https://en.armradio.am/2021/10/15/armenias-yeraskh-village-under-azerbaijani-shelling-day-and-night-ombudsman/
Read also :
Azerbaijan aims to achieve the exodus of Armenians from Artsakh through aggressive actions and intimidation – MFA
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 15 2021
Over the past few days, Azerbaijan has been trying to artificially escalate the situation in the region, and this is taking place as high-level meeting are being held, Artsakh’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Azerbaijan aims to achieve the exodus of Armenians from Artsakh through aggressive actions and intimidation. This policy is also a blow to Russia and the Russian peacekeeping mission,” the Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh describes Azerbaijan’s policy as terrorism and manifestation of a destructive stance.
“We once again reiterate that Artsakh will not be threatened by such steps. The Armenians of Artsakh are determined to live in their historical Homeland and defend their sovereignty and dignity,” the Foreign Ministry noted.
Footage shows Azerbaijani forces targeting Armenian positions in Artsakh
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 15 2021
Artsakh’s Defense Army has shared footage showing the Azerbaijani armed forces targeting the Armenian positions in Artsakh.
The Armenian positions near the Nor Shen settlement in Artsakh’s Martuni region were shelled from Azerbaijani positions deployed in the vicinity of the village.
The shots were fired so openly that they were recorded by cameras installed on the Armenian side.
The video not only proves the provocative behavior of the enemy, but also clearly shows that the Armenian side is committed to the agreement reached on the highest level and pose no threat to the Azerbaijani military.
Azerbaijani forces target ambulance in Artsakh
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 15 2021
On October 15, at around 9:00 am, units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire on the ambulance of the Defense Army unit located in the north-eastern direction of the Artsakh Republic, Artsakh’s Defense Ministry informs.
No casualties are reported on the Armenian side.
The command of the Russian peacekeeping troops in the Artsakh Republic has been informed about the incident.
The Ministry of Defense of the Artsakh Republic declares that it continues to adhere to the ceasefire regime and calls on the Azerbaijani side to refrain from destabilizing actions.
Paris votes to establish an Esplanade of Armenia in the 8th arrondissement
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 15 2021
The City Council of Paris voted unanimously in the evening of October 14 to establish an Esplanade of Armenia in the 8th arrondissement of the capital.
This space will encompass the part of Court Albert I where the statue of Komitas is located, the Garden of Armenia, and will extend as far as the Pont de l’Alma, – an exceptional location in the heart of the prestigious 8th arrondissement of Paris, right in the center of the capital.
Armenia’s Ambassador to France Hasmik Tolmadjian, who was present in the stands of the City Council at the event, immediately reacted to thank the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, his deputy Arnaud Ngatcha, for this token of friendship and solidarity with Armenia.
Armenian president lauds friendship, good relations with Vatican
Vatican News
Oct 15 2021
Following his audience with Pope Francis, Armenian president Armen Sarkissian speaks with Vatican Media about relations with the Holy See, and his memories of the Popes.
By Christopher Wells
“I think it’s easy to describe relations between the Vatican and the Republic of Armenia,” said President Armen Sarkissian. “I think I can even describe that in two words: very good.” He added, “I’m not saying excellent, because I hope that we can do even better.”
President Sarkissian was speaking with Vatican Media in the Armenian Embassy’s new location close to the Vatican, following his visit on Monday with Pope Francis.
Sarkissian’s involvement in Armenian-Vatican relations goes back to the first days of independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, when he served as the first Ambassador to numerous western countries, including the Holy See. “Back then I was a young scientist who had just become a diplomat, I was guided by a very wise, experienced patriarch [Catholicos Vazgen I] on how we could develop relations with the Vatican.”
He expressed his appreciation of the tremendous support the Vatican has shown for Armenia, noting, in particular, the visit of Pope St John Paul II to the country in 2001. “And every Armenian worldwide, and every friend of Armenia, will never forget that in 2015, there was a special Mass at the Vatican, devoted to the 100 years commemoration of the Armenian genocide.”
Asked about the impact of the visits of the popes to Armenia, President Sarkissian noted the “extraordinary personality” of John Paul II, “an historic figure” known to all. “Don’t forget, we are the first Christian state in the world; and that first Christianity is in the DNA of every Armenian,” he said. “So I think the visit of the Pope to Armenia was a huge event.”
The same was true for the visit of Pope Francis, he said, “for many reasons,” but especially for “what he stands for.” Pope Francis, he said, speaks “very openly” of principles and values. The human values Pope Francis stands for, he said, “are very important values in this very complex quantum world, where a lot of things are unpredictable and there are no stable ideologies or pillars of human behaviour, and there is so much uncertainty, and if you’re weak with your soul the uncertainty takes you into nowhere.” He said, “Having a single leader that has a clear mind, [who] puts clearly human values, values that are common for everyone… gives hope to people.”
He added that for Armenians, during the recent war with Azerbaijan, “hearing the voice of the Holy Father and the Vatican was quite an encouragement.”
The continued support of the Vatican, he said, highlighted the value of the relationship with Armenia. “You know who is your friend in need and in difficulty, and in the support you have,” Sarkissian said. “And this continues… We highly appreciate the support of the Holy Father and the government of the Vatican during the difficult days that we were facing last year.”
The President emphasized the importance of enlarging and improving relations between Armenia and the Holy See in the areas of education, science, and culture. Pointing to a memorandum of understanding signed earlier that day by the Vatican and Armenia’s ministry of cultural education, he noted that, while the use of natural resources changes, human values of intelligence, knowledge, science, and culture remain.
This, he said, “is where we have to build up our relations between the Vatican and Armenia, between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church, and between Catholics all over the world and Armenians all over the world.”
President Sarkissian also recalled the “warm memories” of his personal relationship with John Paul II, noting the Polish pontiff’s kindness and attention to his family, even inviting him as ambassador to bring his children on his visits to the Vatican.
That kindness has continued with Pope Francis, the president said. “Today was great, because when we visited the Holy Father [Francis], I took both of my sons.” He explained that, after having met John Paul II many years ago as small children, it was “a wonderful experience them” to meet once again meet a Pope now that they were grown men with families of their own.
“And it’s something very important for me,” the president said, “that despite all of the difficulties that I personally went through — cancer, illness, through other difficulties in my life — that the faith, faith in God, has helped me to be strong, and here I am, after many years, back again, now as the president meeting the Holy Father.”
President Sarkissian spoke about his own faith: “I’m one of those people that came to believe in God through life experience and science,” he said, rather than simply being born into the faith. It was in the former Soviet Union, where his mother practiced the faith in secret, that he came to his own faith in God, “through philosophy, science, astrophysics, physics, and quantum cosmology” – a journey to a “firm faith” that he said took some time.
“I’m one of those that pray before going to bed,” said President Sarkissian, “and I’m happy to say that my three grandchildren, they also pray. And that’s wonderful because they go to bed and they thank God for wonderful things that happened to them during the day.” That, he said, is “valuing what is good in your life, and praying for those who are important for you.”
And, he revealed, “the same thing happens to me. So, I pray every night, and I pray for Pope Francis too. Every night.”
Part of downtown Paris named after Armenia, embassy says
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 15 2021
On Thursday evening, the City Council of Paris made an important decision, once again confirming the steadfast friendship between France and Armenia and the durability of the Armenian-French privileged relations, the Armenian Embassy in France reported on Friday.
By a unanimous decision of the City Council, the broad area between the Pont de l’Alma and Pont des Invalides bridges enclosed by the Seine River has been named Esplanade d’Arménie (Esplanade of Armenia) after Armenia.
Esplanade d’Arménie will be included in the official address register of Paris. The monument to Komitas, which was unveiled in 2004, and Yerevan Park, which opened in 2009, will also be located in the area.
“Thank you to the City Council of Paris led by Mayor Anne Hidalgo for this important initiative and the decision adopted, as well as Deputy Mayor Arnaud Ngatcha for authoring the draft decision,” the embassy said.
The Armenian ambassador to France was also invited to the meeting of the City Council.
Artsakh Ombudsman: Azerbaijani statements on peaceful coexistence are nothing but hollow words covering the Azerbaijani anti-Armenian agenda
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 15 2021
“On October 14, Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire on the bases of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, as a result of which 6 servicemen were wounded,” Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said in a statement, adding two of the servicemen were in critical condition as assessed by the doctors․ In the morning, the Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan visited the Stepanakert Military Hospital and the Republican Medical Center and got acquainted with their situation․ Their lives are not in danger after the operations.
According to the Ombudsman, on October 15 the Azerbaijani side also targeted the ambulance of the Artsakh Defense Army, with no casualties. In connection with this incident, it is noted that the Azerbaijani side not only once again grossly violated the ceasefire, but also clearly targeted an object carrying out a humanitarian function, which is under special protection under international law.
“The recorded incidents once again prove the aggressive, impudent behavior of the Azerbaijani side, its intention to use force, by all means, to disrupt the normal life in Artsakh, evict the Armenians, and ethnically cleanse the Armenians of Artsakh. It’s noteworthy that the Azerbaijani armed forces directly targeted those positions of the Defense Army of Artsakh which are located a few meters away from the civil settlements of Nor Shen. This proves that Armenian servicemen carry out exclusively the function of protecting the right to life and health of the civilian population while the Azerbaijani military positions located near our peaceful settlements are a direct threat due to their aggressive behavior. Their immediate removal is indispensable for protecting the rights of the civilian population, particularly the right to life,” the statement said.
In the words of Stepanyan, the recorded incidents are another proof of the fact that Azerbaijani theses on peaceful coexistence are false, lack of real goals in that direction, aimed at pulling the wool over the eyes of the international community and the parties interested in the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.
“Azerbaijani statements on peaceful coexistence are nothing but hollow words covering the Azerbaijani anti-Armenian, genocidal-fascist agenda,” the statement added.
It also calls on international organizations, individual states tolook with open eyes at the current situation, the real goals, and actions of the parties not giving in to Azerbaijani manipulations.
“Their indifference finally shatters the international agenda of human rights protection, jeopardizes its practical significance, turning it into a beautiful bunch of words without real desire and determination to protect it,” the statement concluded.