Category: 2022

On Monday 9 May 2022, the most Armenian populated municipality in Australia, the City of Ryde raised the flag of the Republic of Artsakh at Kissing Point Park, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

The flag of Artsakh, which is currently under occupation after a brutal 44-day offensive launched against the self-determined Armenian Republic by the Azerbaijani and Turkish dictatorships, will fly alongside the Australian flag for the next two weeks after a solidarity motion was passed by the City of Ryde Council.

The motion was moved by Mayor Jordan Lane with the support of Armenian-Australian Councillor Sarkis Yedelian reaffirming the City of Ryde’s commitment to friendship city, Artsakh’s capital Stepanakert. The Resolution can be viewed here.

The formal ceremony took place in the presence of over 30 Armenian-Australian community leaders as Armenians worldwide and the people of Artsakh celebrated the anniversary of the liberation of Shushi, currently one of the many ancestral Armenian towns under occupation by Azerbaijani forces.

Councillor Yedelian welcomed attendees and commenced the ceremony’s formalities with a minute’s silence honouring the thousands of innocent Armenian victims who lost their lives in the 44-day Nagorno Karabakh war. Mayor Jordan Lane affirmed Council’s support for the Armenian-Australian community of Ryde and the people of Artsakh in their fight against modern manifestations of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Armenian-Australian community leaders who were present at ceremony also heard from the the Republic of Artsakh’s Permanent Representative in Australia, Kaylar Michaelian, ANC-AU Political Affairs Director Michael Kolokossian and Archbishop of the Armenian Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, His Eminence Haigzaoun Najarian

Michaelian thanked the City of Ryde Councillors for their ongoing commitment to the Armenian people of Artsakh.

“We express our deepest appreciation to Mayor Jordan Lane, Councillor Sarkis Yedelian and all the City of Ryde Councillors for this special event, which will bring pride and joy to the people of Artsakh, who are comforted knowing 14,000km away in Australia there are good people who value the importance of human rights,” he said.

ANC-AU Political Affairs Director, Michael Kolokossian echoed these sentiments.

“The City of Ryde remains the yardstick among cities around the world saying no to illegal occupation by force, and no to Azerbaijan’s trampling over the indigenous Armenian people of Artsakh’s human right to self-determination, independence and democracy,” Kolokossian said.

The ceremony concluded with the official raising of the Republic of Artsakh flag conducted by Homenetmen Ararat Scouts member George Keshishian.

In 2019, the City of Ryde unanimously voted on a resolution to form a Friendship City with the capital of Republic of Artsakh, Stepanakert.

Councillor Jerome Laxale, a candidate for the Federal seat of Bennelong and the City of Ryde’s Mayor when the Council recognised Artsakh’s independence and formed the Friendship City relationship with Stepanakert, declared his pride at this latest show of solidarity.

“I am proud to be part of a City Council that has always championed the rights to self-determination of the Armenian Republic of Artsakh. As Mayor, I seconded motions recognising Artsakh and forming a Friendship City with its capital Stepanakert,” Laxale said.

“Today, the City of Ryde raised the Artsakh flag at Kissing Point Wharf, in support of the occupied Republic. I salute the people of Artsakh, which is always Armenian,” added Laxale.

Simon Kennedy, also a candidate for Bennelong, added: “We have a proud Armenian community here in Bennelong and Monday’s flag raising event was a powerful symbol of the bond between our local community and the people of the Republic of Artsakh.”

“I congratulate everyone involved in this initiative, particularly the Armenian National Committee for their advocacy and the City of Ryde for this powerful symbolic gesture,” added Kennedy.

A group of lawyers plan to apply to a court to end the operations of American billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations in Armenia, famous lawyer Tigran Atanesyan said in a statement on Friday.

He accused the foundation of “sowing the seeds of division and destruction all over the world.”

“The example of our state makes it clear that, in fact, this foundation and its beneficiaries are extremely far from the real goal of building civil society. The foundation actually seeks the destruction of a specific state with far-reaching and calculated political goals,” Atanesian wrote.

He highlights that supporters and beneficiaries of the foundation backed the 2018 “revolution” in Armenia, while now they remain silent about violations of the rights of the opposition.

“These days, Soros’ hirelings are making ordered statements advocating the handover of Artsakh to the enemy. The first step to get Armenia out of the current situation should be to take legal action to ban the operations of the Soros foundation and liquidate it in Armenia,” the lawyer stated.

“A Yerevan court of first instance is now hearing a criminal case in which a beneficiary of Soros’ foundation is accused of inciting ethnic hatred between Yezidis and Armenians. The perpetrator received a tidy sum from corrupt oligarch Soros. His foundation has now taken up the defense of its colleague in a panic which is not surprising, since in a normal country such a criminal prosecution may server as a legal basis for recognizing the operations of the Open Society Foundations illegal and dangerous for the public, thus banning them.

“Although the court has not yet issued a verdict in the case and the defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence, given the crucial moment and the imperative to immediately stop the activities of a foreign network of agents in the country, I and several of my colleagues have decided to apply to a court to demand that the operations of the Open Society Foundations in Armenia be halted,” he said.

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction has rejected a motion to arrest a police officer whose car struck and killed a young pregnant woman while escorting Nikol Pashinyan’s motorcade in Yerevan.

The 29-year-old woman, Sona Mnatsakanyan, was hit by a police SUV while crossing a street in central Yerevan on April 26. Its driver, Aram Navasardyan, did not stop after the accident to help the victim.

Raffi Aslanyan, a lawyer representing the victim’s family, could not provide any information on the court decision, saying they had learned of it from media reports.

He found it difficult to say on what grounds the court had rejected the motion for arrest. “However, the failure to arrest the man from the beginning and charge him for fleeing the scene as well as taking action only after 15 days most probably led to such a decision,” he told Panorama.am.

Raffi Aslanyan reiterates that the aggrieved party will consistently strive to ensure that the criminal case goes to trial.

Terminating the 2004 agreement with Armenia, Iran recently announced its decision to charge $120 for each car with Armenian license plates entering the country starting from May 21.

Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development justified its decision by the fact that the Armenian side, contrary to the agreements reached, began collecting customs payments from Iranian cars in 2018. In addition, in early 2021 Armenia unilaterally canceled the deal on unloading and loading of cargo at the Meghri airport terminal.

In comments to Panorama.am, economist Suren Parsyan claims Iran has decided to make a “mirror move” after Armenia violated the agreements with the country.

The economist believes that the new decision will result in higher transportation costs for trucks traveling from Armenia to Iran. However, according to him, it should be taken into account that the cargo transportation between Armenia and Iran is mainly carried out by Iranian trucks, meaning there are few Armenian trucks carrying cargo to Iran.

“When the Armenian side decided that Armenia and Iran would not charge fees for cargo transportation, in fact, it mostly benefited Iran, since Iranian trucks come to Armenia more. Incidentally, Iranian trucking services are more affordable than ours. Besides, there are problems with cargo transportation through Iran. Many economic entities prefer to transport goods through Iran using the services of Iranian companies, as in this case there are incomparably fewer problems,” Suren Parsyan said.

The economist claims that Armenian companies transporting goods to Iran will be most affected by the new decision, adding their services will become more expensive.

Asked whether the decision could suggest that Iran’s attitude toward Armenia has changed, Parsyan says he does not think so, claiming that it is not such a global issue that could affect Armenian-Iranian relations.

“In essence, Armenia will benefit from this situation, as the budgetary funds will increase. For example, if 100 Iranian trucks enter Armenian territory and five Armenian trucks enter Iran’s territory, naturally, more money goes into our budget. I think that Armenia’s policy pursued a fiscal goal,” Parsyan stressed.

Tatevik Karapetyan, the daughter of Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan, has been appointed an advisor to the Armenian president.

The relevant decree signed by President Vahagn Khachaturyan on Thursday is posted on the official website of the president. 

The appointment comes into effect on Friday.