Category: 2021

Amir receives Russian president aide, honours Armenian envoy

Adrine Hakobian
Sept 13 2021
SEP 13, 2021

 

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The Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Aide to President of Russia Igor Levitin and his accompanying delegation at the Amiri Diwan Office on Sunday. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, especially the joint cooperation in sports affairs, in addition to other regional and international developments. HH the Amir also met with Ambassador of Armenia HE Gegham Gharibjanian, who called on the Amir on the occasion of the end of his tenure in the country. HH the Amir granted the ambassador Al Wajbah Decoration in recognition of his role in enhancing bilateral relations between Qatar and Armenia, wishing him success in his future missions, and further development and prosperity in the relations between the two countries. For his part, the Armenian ambassador thanked HH the Amir and the State’s officials for the cooperation he received that contributed to the success of his work in the country. (QNA)

https://www.qatar-tribune.com/news-details/id/220128 

Kazakhstan, Armenia discuss ties

Emil Lazarian
AkiPress, Kazakhstan
Sept 13 2021

AKIPRESS.COM – Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Armenia Bolat Imanbayev was received by Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. During the meeting, issues of Kazakh-Armenian cooperation and interaction between the foreign ministries of the two countries were discussed, the Kazakh foreign ministry said.

The Minister expressed Armenia’s interest in intensifying the dialogue with Kazakhstan at all levels, both in the bilateral format and within the framework of common integration associations and international organizations. He noted the importance of deepening trade and economic cooperation, which has great potential and growth prospects.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the results of the visit of Armenian President Armen Sarkissian to Kazakhstan last June, as well as the implementation of the agreements of the 8th meeting of the Intergovernmental Kazakh-Armenian Commission on Economic Cooperation of May 26, and political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Armenia of April 20.

The Ambassador informed the Minister about the main terms of the State-of-the-Nation Address of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Unity of the People and Systemic Reforms are a Solid Foundation for the Nation’s Prosperity, as well as about current programs of socio-economic modernization in the country and its recent international initiatives.

Glendale’s New Sunday Farmers Market Showcases Armenian Food Culture

Badalian Vardan
LA Eater
Sept 13 2021

Thirty vendors serve homemade food, bread, crafts, and local produce on a shaded lawn in front of Glendale Public Library

by Ani Duzdabanyan  Sep 13, 2021, 11:45am PDT

Photos by Liana Grigoryan

Artsakh Gardens Market could have been a typical farmers market, except it isn’t: 10 months ago, two women came up with the idea of gathering Armenian food producers, farmers, bakers, craft masters, and jewelers on a shade-covered lawn in front of Glendale Central Library. Opened on September 12, 2021 and continuing every Sunday for the next three months from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 30 vendors will offer everything from fresh produce to homemade food prepared with traditional recipes.

It all started with a single Facebook post through which Lilit Barsegyan started to look for a fellow community member with experience in organizing a farmers market. “I was driving around and buying different products from people to help my community here and in Armenia. Soon, I realized that we needed to have one place where everyone can get together and do it. I knew that there must be another Armenian out there in Los Angeles who would have some experience with the farmers markets,” Lilit says.

Hilda Avanessian turned out to be the right person. She used to organize two farmers markets by the local hospitals in Encino and Sherman Oaks where medical staff and families with patients could have access to healthy food. Lilit and Hilda met for a cup of coffee and started to work immediately. Ten months later the city of Glendale allocated the permit for the Artsakh Gardens Farmers Market to operate. Vendors are not only from Glendale but from other cities and counties as well.

Vartan Saghdejian drove down all the way from Fresno to represent fresh fruits and vegetables from his family farm. The CMC farm was established in 1986 by Vartan’s father, an immigrant from Syria. Now Vartan operates it with his brother and two sisters.

The aroma of golden grapes from CMC farm merges with the one of sweet cream coming from the next stall, where Vera Acun, also known as Kadaif Mama, is offering the dessert of shredded dough filled with cream. Two years ago Vera was at an Ugly Sweater Mother and Daughter party and took her favorite dessert as a gift. A week later guests from the party started to ask for her kadaif. Soon, the list of customers became longer, moving to social media and creating a steady market for her.

The vendor next door, Karo Danayan, a teenager, has already earned his place in similar markets in Studio City and 818 Pop-Ups Shops. His famous 16 ingredient carrot cake was first made for his father’s birthday. “He was bored and didn’t know what to do during the lockdown. So he started to bake cakes. Who knew he would come so far,” says Karo’s mother, who was helping him to set up the individually packed pieces of cakes.

A few stalls over, artisan bread baker Ani Harutiunian is “trying to change the bread culture in Los Angeles”. She learned her bread-making techniques in France and Switzerland over ten years ago. Ani first opened a chain bakery in Armenia and later moved to the U.S. Her bakery, Baketo, specializes in sourdough bread from rye to German pumpernickel, the latter of which requires 24 hours of baking time in a low-temperature oven.

Lilit Barsegyan and Hilda Avanessian, coordinators for Artsakh Gardens Farmers Market in Glendale, on September 12, 2021.

For private chef Karreno Alexanian, time spent at home during the surge of COVID-19 was surprisingly productive. Like many in the food industry, he lost his job due to the pandemic. Karreno needed a creative way to generate some income and came up with charcuterie boards with specially designed cones and boxes filled with cold cuts and cheese. Tik-Tok and Instagram brought in over 2.5 million views for Charqute and a deal with Netflix to make special Bridgerton-themed charcuterie boards.

Almost all vendors at the Artsakh Farmers Market are home-based cooks and bakers who found the ideal place to share what unites them — food. Many of them have never operated a storefront. Avanessian is hopeful that more vendors will be joining soon. The farmers market is also raising funds for nonprofits such as Eternal Nations and Aid Beyond Borders, with plans to support other relief organizations in Syria and Lebanon. Artsakh Farmers Market will operate for three months and will continue as long as the city of Glendale renews the permit.

 

Customs payments for Iranian trucks: what is happening at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Tambiyan Samvel

Sept 14 2021


    JAMnews, Baku-Yerevan

Azerbaijan has established police and customs checkpoints on the section of the road between the Armenian cities of Goris and Kapan – this section came under the control of Azerbaijan after the second Karabakh war.

According to the official reports from Azerbaijan, customs posts appeared due to the fact that “numerous facts of entry of Iranian trucks into the part of Karabakh controlled by Russian peacekeepers have been established”.

Azerbaijani customs posts collect fees from Iranian drivers.

Armenia is concerned about both the fact of appearance of police and customs checkpoints at the Azerbaijan-controlled section of Eyvazli (near the Armenian village of Vorotan) of the Goris-Kapan highway, and the demand for fee payements from Iranian trailers.

Azerbaijani police post on the Kapan-Goris road. Photo: social networks

The Armenian opposition demands urgent and effective steps from the country’s authorities, as it believes that this situation raises questions related not only to security. The oppositionists also point to the possible economic consequences for Armenia, recalling that 40% of the country’s trade turnover is carried out through Iran.

  • Echo of the second Karabakh war: why Baku got the opportunity to blockade the south of Armenia
  • How have Armenian villages ended up in Azerbaijan?
  • Azerbaijan discusses legitimacy of Russian peacekeepers’ presence in Karabakh

On August 11, 2021, the Iranian Ambassador to Baku, Seyed Abbas Mousavi, was invited to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, where he was handed a note of dissatisfaction. The document pointed to the illegal transportation of goods by Iranian trucks to the part of Karabakh, controlled by the Russian peacekeepers, according to a trilateral statement dated November 10, 2020.

“The note expresses our dissatisfaction with the constant entry of various vehicles belonging to the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran into the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan without the permission of official Baku. Our discontent, which some time ago was orally conveyed to the Iranian side, was again raised before the ambassador during the meeting”, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

On September 11, 2021, the information portal caliber.az, which is close to the Azerbaijani authorities, came out with a material, which cited the facts of the continuation of supplies from Iran to Karabakh.

The article notes that “in the period from August 11 to September 10, 58 trucks of various purposes entered Khankendi [the Armenian side calls this city Stepanakert], in particular, with fuel and lubricants, 55 of them later left.

“Also, according to the information we received, Iranians and Armenians are resorting to various tricks. For example, when approaching the zone of temporary responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers, they put Armenian registration numbers on Iranian trucks in order to hide the exact number of Iranian trucks heading to Khankendi. It seemed to them that with the help of this trick they could outwit someone. But the Iranians missed the point that these numbers are repeated, wandering from truck to truck, and we have concrete photographic evidence”.

The Azerbaijani side stated that it controls the Lachin corridor connecting Armenia with Khankendi by installing video surveillance cameras.

On the same day, September 11, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan officially announced the establishment of a checkpoint in the section of the Kapan-Goris road passing through the territory of Azerbaijan.

“The employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs fulfill their official duties with dignity on the territory of all cities and districts liberated from the occupation.

For a more efficient organization of service, police posts are being established in the appropriate places”, said the official representative of the department.

A day later, on September 12, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry sent letters to the Russian defense department and the command of the peacekeeping forces regarding the illegal passage of vehicles belonging to other countries to the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.

“Such cases contradict the trilateral statement on Karabakh and it was recommended to prevent them. Legal entities and individuals of other countries and their vehicles cannot enter the territory of Azerbaijan without the consent of Baku, as this is a violation of the laws of the country”, the official letters of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

On September 13, the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan commented on the facts of levying road taxes and other customs duties from vehicles passing through the country:

“Motor vehicles of foreign countries subject to road tax when entering and leaving the territory of the country. Vehicles are subject to road tax, as well as a state duty for issuing a permit regulating international road transport in the territory of Azerbaijan.

Currently, the customs authorities ensure the implementation of the provisions of the legislation in this direction throughout the country”.

On September 10, photographs appeared on social media showing that Azerbaijan had set up a police post near the village of Vorotan, Syunik region.

Only two days later, on September 12, the National Security Service of Armenia issued a statement, saying that the Azerbaijani police were stopping trucks with Iranian license plates near the village of Vorotan, checking the driver’s documents and cargo.

It was also reported that the border guards of the SNB and the FSB of Russia are working together to resolve the situation. After that, no official information was received.

Opposition MPs on September 13 raised the issue in parliament addressing the fact that Azerbaijani border guards were levying customs payments from Iranian truck drivers to allow them to continue on their way.

They offered to discuss the issue in parliament. The ruling party did not object, but the format of the discussion has not yet been decided, no dates have been set.

In a conversation with reporters, Vahe Hakobyan, a deputy from the Hayastan opposition bloc (Armenia), stated that the situation around Vorotan could have economic consequences for Armenia:

“Yes, this is the second issue after security, but no less important. As you know, over 40% of our trade flows through Iran – and it may be under threat now”.

Meanwhile, a deputy from the ruling Civil Contract party, Babken Tunyan, told reporters that he hopes for an early resolution of the situation:

“No one can deny that the inspection of Iranian trucks by Azerbaijan and the requirement to pay state duties is a serious problem. This obstacle is fraught with inconvenience, uncertainty, and risks”.

Tunyan also believes that this may result in a refusal to import goods through the territory of Armenia.

Tatul Hakobyan, a political observer and coordinator of the Ani center, said in an interview with Radio Azatutyun (Freedom) that the situation is not new. Azerbaijan regularly protested against the entry of Iranian trucks into Nagorno-Karabakh:

“This step is directed not against Iran, but against Armenia. If Iranian cars do not enter Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, first of all, we will suffer, given that we are a small market for Iran”.

According to the expert, by its actions Azerbaijan also intends to discredit the Russian peacekeeping mission in NK:

“Azerbaijan is showing its teeth, time will tell what it is capable of. […] I think that Azerbaijan will not stop there. They will set up checkpoints, check one by one. I do not exclude the possibility of someone being taken prisoner because that this person committed some actions against Azerbaijan in such and such years”.

Tatul Hakobyan believes that Azerbaijan is trying to put pressure on Armenia and intimidate it in order to achieve, at least, a corridor connecting it with Nakhichevan, its exclave:

“Of course, they want to get Syunik [the southern region of Armenia, bordering on Azerbaijan], but there are red lines that Azerbaijan needs to think a thousand times before crossing, and there are factors that do not allow Azerbaijan to think in this direction at the moment”.

Azerbaijan starts charging Iranian trucks supplying Armenia

Jalatian Sonya
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 14 2021

Heydar Isayev, Ani Mejlumyan Sep 14, 2021

Trucks ply the route near the village of Eyvazli. (photos: Joshua Kucera)

Azerbaijani police are stopping Iranian trucks transiting a key road through southern Armenia and charging them a fee for entering Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s National Security Service reported on September 12 that Azerbaijani police were conducting the checks on vehicles with Iranian license plates near the village of Eyvazli. Local media also reported that police were charging the Iranian vehicles a substantial fee.

The next day, an Azerbaijani official confirmed that the checkpoints had been set up. The territory in which drivers are being stopped is Azerbaijani territory and thus they “can be checked accordingly,” Elshad Hajiyev, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, told BBC Azerbaijani. “If the fact that there is a police post at Baku-Yevlakh road is not surprising, then it shouldn’t be surprising that there are police posts on Azerbaijan’s liberated territories,” Hajiyev said, referring to two cities deeper inside Azerbaijan.

The same day, Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee released a statement confirming that it was collecting customs payments at the Goris-Kapan road. “According to the Tax Code of Azerbaijan, auto vehicles of foreign countries entering and leaving the territory of the Republic are subject to the road tax,” the statement read, adding that the vehicles are also subject to state fee for permit for international automobile delivery.

The road in question connects Goris and Kapan, the two major towns of southern Armenia. It also crosses through several small slices of Azerbaijani-controlled territory, and Baku has gradually been exercising its newly won sovereignty over that territory after retaking it from Armenia as a result of last year’s war.

Earlier this year it first set up border guard posts, flags, and signs reading “Welcome to Azerbaijan” on its sections. Then, in late August, it blocked the road for nearly 48 hours.

One Iranian driver, citing his fellow truckers stuck in southern Armenia, told RFE/RL on September 13: “They say the Azerbaijanis demand $120 from every truck for using the road.” Another driver told Armenia’s Fifth Channel that they were being charged twice on the road (and used the figure of $130) – once as they traveled north through it and a second time as they returned south.

“Two hundred sixty dollars is a lot of money for us,” the driver said. “If we can’t get that money reimbursed, I personally won’t come.” The driver added that the officers who stopped him were wearing uniforms of the customs service and that they told him to turn off his phone and not film the exchange.

The development follows a period of increased tension between Azerbaijan and Iran. In August. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador to Baku and presented him with a note of protest detailing “undesirable facts of Iranian trucks traveling to Karabakh.”

This is not the first time Azerbaijan has taken issue with Iranian trucks traveling to Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory but which since the first war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the 1990s has been controlled by Armenian forces.

In April 2020, following social media reports of Iranian trucks traveling to Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister telephoned his Iranian counterpart to express concern. Iran’s foreign ministry responded that the reports were “utterly false” and blamed “provocateurs.”

This time, Baku also has blamed Russian peacekeeping forces, which deployed to the region as part of the ceasefire agreement ending last year’s war, and which now patrol the road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.

On September 12, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry reported that it had sent letters to the Russian Defense Ministry as well as to the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh, asking them to stop the “illegal crossing of third-country vehicles into the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan where Russia’s peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.”

The checkpoints appear, however, to apply to trucks whether or not they are going to Karabakh. And they also appear to only be directed at Iranian vehicles, and not Armenian or any other vehicles entering Azerbaijan-controlled territory.

Iranian officials have not yet directly responded to the development.

“We are trying to use the resources of the Islamic Republic of Iran for regional development, peace and stability, with the participation of all neighbors. In particular, the relations with Armenia, as well as our other neighbors are on the agenda,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said.

On September 14, Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Abbas Mousavi tweeted a photo of a meeting with Hikmat Hajiyev, a senior adviser to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, and reported that the two discussed “our bilateral ties and issues of common concern and interest.” Hajiyev responded, saying the two “had indeed fruitful discussions on the issues on our bilateral agenda and reviewed ways forward.”

Following the two-day closure in August, which also disrupted cargo traffic between Armenia and Iran, Iran’s embassy in Yerevan expressed concern and said it hoped that the Armenian government will speed up work on “alternative routes” for Iranian-Armenian trade. An alternative road is in fact under construction, through the towns of Aghvani and Tatev.

But that is not a short-term solution.

“Iranian trucks with large cargo can’t go through the alternative road in Tatev that is under construction,” the deputy mayor of Goris, Karo Kocharyan, told news website factor.am. Kocharyan said the checkpoint had been operating since September 10 and that drivers are being charged $130 for using the road, an additional $60 for larger trucks, and $500 for fuel trucks.

The Armenian government has not yet publicly responded to the reports, and the security service has not issued any more updates.

During a September 13 session of parliament, Vahe Hakobyan from the opposition “Armenia Alliance” and a former governor of the Syunik region where the road is located, raised the issue and said Armenia’s economy stands to suffer: “As you know, over 40 percent of our cargo turnover [with the world] is carried out through Iran.”

On September 14 Arstvik Minasyan from Armenia Alliance told Fifth Channel that “today or tomorrow” the parliament along with security organs of the country was planning to hold a closed-door discussion on the issue. 

 

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

Heydar Isayev is a journalist from Baku.

Armenia interested in cooperation with Ukraine in field of nuclear and renewable energy

Alex Jidarian
Ukraine, Sept 14, 2021


14.09.2021 15:47

Within the framework of the 8th meeting of the Armenian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, Deputy Energy Minister of Ukraine for European Integration Yaroslav Demchenkov and Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Vardanyan held a bilateral meeting.

“Armenia is interested in strengthening cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy, renewable energy, the use of energy saving technologies, and energy efficiency. Ukraine is interested in potential investments in energy transformation projects. We plan to hold a joint Energy Day for such a dialogue,” Demchenkov commented on the results of the meeting.

Armenia has several powerful thermal and hydroelectric power plants, as well as nuclear energy. Therefore, potential projects for cooperation are the participation of Ukrainian enterprises in the construction, repair, and modernization of power plants in the country. In particular, Armenia is interested in Ukraine’s experience in ensuring the safe long-term operation of nuclear power plants and carrying out modernization measures to increase the level of safety at nuclear power plants.

The parties also agreed to consider the possibility of developing mutually beneficial cooperation and implementation of projects in the field of design, modernization, reconstruction, and repair of power equipment for Armenian power plants.

Turkey seeks rapprochement with Armenia, UAE and other traditional foes

Arsine Chaltikian
Sept 14 2021
by GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Over the past month officials from both Ankara (Turkey) and Yerevan (Armenia) exchanged statements which signal a possible rapprochement between these two historical foes. But this is not all: Ankara in fact has been reaching out to quite a few different actors.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened the prospects of starting talks with Yerevan, and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in his turn, has expressed his desire to begin negotiations: as a kind of a goodwill gesture, Yerevan has unilaterally opened its airspace for Turkish overflights between Azerbaijan and Turkey (Turkish airspace still remains closed to Armenian aircrafts). The two countries’ borders have been closed since the early 1990’s due to the conflict in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan – in this case, Ankara supported the latter against the former even in the 2020 war.

Needless to say, such potential rapprochement would have a major impact on South Caucasus geopolitics – among other things, it would give Ankara better access to Azerbaijan. However, this process faces its challenges such as the mutual distrust between the two actors involved, for one thing.

Ankara will always place its national interest above their allie’s common goals. For example, while it seeks EU and NATO membership, it also supports the self-declared independent Northern Cyprus state, which goes to enhance Turkish position in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea – to the detriment of EU members Greece and Cyprus, of course. The same logic applies to other Turkish diplomatic endeavors.

Well, Armenian-Turkish talks are not the only instance of Ankara seeking reconciliation with its traditional foes. In May, for example, Turkey and Egypt had their first diplomatic high-level contacts after an eight-years-old break. Ankara also seems to have started a normalization path with the UAE, and even Saudi Arabia.

Two weeks ago, President Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had a phone conversation for the first time after a whole year. According to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, other positive steps are being taken regarding normalizing diplomatic relations with the UAE. Of course, such won’t be an easy task.

What is behind this consistent recent shift? There are of course different goals in each particular case, but a new approach trend seems to be forming.

On June 15, President Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev signed the Shushi Declaration, an agreement which includes many points, such as mutual defense guarantees, and economic cooperation. It emphasizes the so-called Zangezur corridor, which is to connect Azerbaijan and Turkey through the former’s western region. Azerbaijan has its own plans for being able to reach Iran, Armenia and the Nakhchivan region by railroads. Turkish-Armenian rapprochement talks should be seen in this light and thus may offer some risks to Yerevan.

One should also keep in mind that in January the foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan issued a joint declaration in Islamabad focusing on enhancing their cooperation on defence, energy security, the environment, and other topics – with many ramifications. The highlight however goes to the military and geopolitical aspects of the agreement and its context.

For example, while Erdogan has given diplomatic support to Pakistan pertaining to the Kashmir issue, a recent tweet by the Pakistani embassy in Turkey detailed the schedule for a three-day event in Northern Cyprus to promote dialogue between Pakistan and northern Cypriots. Some thus have speculated Islamabad could recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which would be an enormous diplomatic win for Ankara in their efforts to secure some hold over an island that of course has great geostrategic importance in the Eastern Mediterranean,

While Pakistan is seeking allies to counter India, and Azerbaijan is trying to strengthen its position in the Caucasus region, Turkey, in its turn, seeks to increase its influence in the Caucasus and the Mediterranean as well as in the entire Middle East.

Next year shall mark the centennial of the Lausanne Treaty, which created today’s Republic of Turkey. A new constitution is being drafted to replace the current one (created in 1982) and it is supposed to put an end to the Ataturk era. What will come of this new Erdogan’s era? Only time will tell, but Turkey’s recent rapprochement policies in fact indicate its more ambitious plans for the whole Middle East region.

Erdogan thus seems to be changing his strategy of pan-Turkism and neo-Ottomanism revival from an open confrontation approach to a more tricky and soft one. Turkish hegemony in the South Caucasus and beyond remains his long-term goal.

Uriel Araujo is researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts.


Setting up post by Azerbaijani law enforcers sparks protests in Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Caucasian Knot, EU
Sept 14 2021

An Azerbaijani post on the Goris-Kapan highway was set up in violation of international norms, Arman Tatoyan, the Armenian Ombudsperson, has stated. The opposition demanded to organize a parliamentary discussion of the situation with the participation of the director of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia.

According to Mr Tatoyan, the police post established by the Azerbaijani party on September 9 began operating on September 11. “Video cameras record car license plates, the number of passengers, their faces, as well as drivers’ faces. Thus, the collection of personal data is carried out in violation of international standards for the protection thereof,” the Ombudsperson has stated.

Besides, at least four masked men armed with submachine guns and other weapons are constantly on duty at the police post, Arman Tatoyan has reported.

The Ombudsperson has recalled that the delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border has not yet been carried out; and there were no grounds for setting up the post.

The oppositional “Armenia” bloc has demanded to hold a parliamentary discussion of the situation on the Goris-Kapan highway with the participation of the NSS Director.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on at 04:32 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Head of Armenian village accuses Azerbaijani soldiers of stealing a car, Residents of Syunik Region of Armenia complain about Azerbaijani militaries, Armenian MoD report mortar shelling of its positions.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan; Source: CK correspondent

Source: 
© Caucasian Knot

Serviceman perishes in Armenia

Hovhannisian John
Caucasian Knot, EU
Sept 14 2021

Sergeant Mkrtich Ovakimyan has perished in a combat position due to his violation of the rules for performing combat duty; an investigation is underway, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

According to a source from the MoD’s press service, the incident occurred on September 13 at about 9:00 p.m. Moscow time in a combat position in the south-eastern direction. “An investigation is underway to find out the reasons for the death of the [43-year-old reserve sergeant Mkrtich Ovakimyan],” the source told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Let us remind that military training sessions are being held in Armenia since August 25 with the aim of retraining reservists. Earlier, military analysts called these sessions the largest in the country over the past 30 years.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on at 09:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Armenian soldier killed in a shootout at border, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of shelling its border positions, Armenia refutes information about shelling Azerbaijani militaries.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan; Source: CK correspondent

Source: 
© Caucasian Knot

Art: Stockton Art Gallery features exhibition on Armenian Genocide

Chalian Meline
Sept 14 2021

Vahagn Ghukasyan ‘Sounds of Shadows,’ 2020

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP – “Before, After: Reflections on the Armenian Genocide” will be on display in the Stockton University Art Gallery through Oct. 17.

Stationed in the upper art gallery, this installation includes artwork by 10 artists: John Avakian, Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Vahagn Ghukasyan, Diana Markosian, Talin Megherian, Marsha Nouritza Odabashian, Ara Oshagan, Levon Parian, Jessica Sperandio and Mary Zakarian.

A conversation with artists Talin Megherian and Marsha Nouritza Odabashian will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 4 in the Art Gallery.

A second virtual talk will be held 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, featuring California artists Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian. Participants can attend the watch party in the art gallery, or via the link that will be posted on the art gallery’s website Stockton.edu/artgallery,

The exhibition and the talks are free and open to the public.

Guest curator is Ryann Casey, an adjunct professor of art at Stockton and a Stockton alumna, said the exhibition traces generations of Armenian resiliency through the common thread of loss and survival.

“The exhibition examines the connections passed down through blood, migration and history; from genocide to diaspora to belonging. ‘Before, After’ integrates artifact with abstraction, witness accounts with recreation, old materials reused and new molds made. The Armenian experience (both past and present, before and after) is showcased through a range of mediums and practices, reflecting the repeating patterns of grief, healing and reflection,” she said.

Stockton University Art Gallery is free and open to the public Monday – Saturday 12-7:30 p.m. and Sunday 12-4 p.m. Masks are required indoors.