Category: 2022

Mikayel Harutyunyan issued a statement announcing that he is resigning from the post of Chairman of the Conservative Party (CP) of Armenia.

The statement reads as follows, in particular: "(…) I accept the defeat of my kind and me personally under the conditions of the current unethical arrangement, I hereby announce my resignation from the position of Chairman of and my membership in the Conservative Party. Starting today, no document with my signature in the name of CP Chairman can be considered valid."

After meeting US President Joe Biden, I was once again convinced that the greatness of leaders lies in their modesty. Fr. Koryoun (Hovnan) Baghdasaryan, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, wrote this Facebook—and regarding his talk with Biden, who had visited the Armenian Church at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

"During his visit to the Basilica of the Nativity Bethlehem, Mr. Biden simply approached me as well, shook hands, and gave [me] an opportunity to talk. I told him that I am the grandson of Sassoun immigrants who survived the Armenian Genocide, and I thanked him on my behalf as well for recognizing the Armenian Genocide," Fr. Baghdasaryan added.

YEREVAN. – The meeting of the commissions on border delimitation and border security issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan will take place in Moscow in August. This was reported by the office of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan of Armenia.

It added, however, that there is still no final agreement regarding the exact date of this meeting.

"Hayeli.am" referred to the news that Armenian Yezidi politician Rustam Bakoyan allegedly physically abused and financially exploited his Armenian ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend accused Mr. Bakoyan of physically abusing her several times and robbing her of a large sum of money.

The site writes: "On July 6th, 2022 a meeting of the chairman of the board of the Central Council of Yezidis Germany, Mrs. Zemfira Dilovani, and Mr. Bakoyan took place in the Armenian embassy in Berlin. On the Facebook page of the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany, the meeting between Mrs. Dilovani and Mr. Bakoyan is being hailed and looked upon with great satisfaction, but no critical word nor sentence were the accusations that Mr. Bakoyan is accused of addressed.

Mrs. Dilovani, who publicly complained a while ago in an online conversation with Dr. Irfan Ortac on air at the Alevi TV station Yol TV that she as a female chairperson of the board of ZED (Central Council of Yezidis in Germany) is often not taken seriously or noticed by male Yezidis, seems to have no problem meeting with a politician who is accused of physical and psychological violence against women, despite her own alleged experiences as a woman in a leading position. However, not only Mrs. Dilovani seems to have no problem with the alleged actions of Bakoyan.

For example, Sahir Alias, nephew of the current and controversial spiritual leader Baba Sheikh Ali Alias and online activist posted a photo with Mr. Bakoyan on his Instagram profile on July 10, 2022, with the following caption:

"It was nice to meet you Mr. @rustambakoyan, I hope we can find a good solution for the Yezidis worldwide. Fighting for human rights/fighting for the Yezidi rights."

Apparently, it seems to be no problem for Mr. Sahir Alyas to meet with Mr. Bakoyan despite the massive accusations, even less so does he seem to be interested in the "human rights" of Mr. Bakoyan's ex-girlfriend.

We are amazed and shocked that Yezidi activists, dignitaries, and public figures have no problem meeting with Mr. Bakoyan without voicing any criticism about the allegations made against him.

This meeting is particularly surprising in light of the fact that Sahir Aliyas presented and introduced himself in public as a champion and representative of women's rights.

We hope that all parties involved will apologize publicly for this misconduct and take a clear position on the accusations made against Mr. Bakoyan."

In the first half of 2022, a total of 30 servicemen died in the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), of which 9 were due to ceasefire violation, 7 – car accident, 7 – health problems, 4 – suicide or causing suicide, 2 – murder, and 1 – an accident, the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

For comparison, it should be noted that in the period of January-June 2021, a total of 29 servicemen of the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh had died, of which 9 were due to car accidents, 8 – from health problems, 4 – from accidents, 4 – from suicide, 3 – as a result of the ceasefire violation, and 1 – due to murder.

In the first half of 2022, there were 6 cases of murder and suicide, against 5 in the same period last year.

Comparing the causes of these deaths in January-June 2021 and 2022, it turns out that in 2022, deaths due to ceasefire violations increased sharply, whereas deaths due to health problems and accidents decreased.

The new agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union may be finalized in the next few months, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a joint press statement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, APA reported.

"Of course, our agenda is quite extensive. We are working on a new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan. We have discussed this with Madam President, and I hope that we can finalize it in the coming months. Of course, this would be an important contribution to our bilateral cooperation," he said.

Ilham Aliyev noted that the EU is Azerbaijan's main trading partner: "The implementation of our plans will certainly increase the overall turnover for the benefit of our nations. I am confident that EU-Azerbaijan relations will have a great future, and we will achieve everything we have planned," he added.

Today Aliyev and von der Leyen signed an agreement to increase gas supplies to the EU.