Category: 2022

Doctor Haykaz Harutyunyan, a member of the Nikol Aghbalyan Student Union of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), and a group of students of the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) on Monday announced an indefinite boycott of classes amid the “worsening security situation in Armenia and Artsakh”, the union said in a statement.

They raised the Artsakh flag over the university building and urged their fellow students to join the strike.

Three former Armenian foreign ministers, including Raffi Hovhannisian, Vartan Oskanian and Ara Aivazian, have joined a statement on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish relations.

The document, which is also supported by a group of Armenian intellectuals, scientists and artists, stresses that the Artsakh issue, which is based on the right of nations to self-determination, cannot become a “subject of bargaining” under any circumstances.

“The status of the Artsakh Republic, including the Hadrut and Shushi regions, the uninterrupted and free communication between Armenia and Artsakh, the return of Armenians to their places of permanent residence, the security of the Artsakh Armenians and constant work with the Russian peacekeeping mission should become our foreign policy priorities,” the statement says.

“Only a modern and efficient Defense Army of Artsakh and the Armenian military can guarantee Artsakh’s security. Armenia’s security is directly linked to the security of Artsakh.”

The authors stress that the issue of the Armenian Genocide is indisputable in the negotiation process with Turkey without preconditions, adding the effectiveness of the Armenian-Turkish dialogue cannot be conditioned by Artsakh’s status and the final settlement of the security issues in Artsakh.

“In order to effectively fulfil these nationwide tasks, it is necessary to use the diplomatic arsenal which hasn’t been exhausted yet, the full potential and unity of all Armenians. Putting aside all differences, it is necessary to voice nationwide disagreement with anything threatening Armenia and Artsakh and to stand up for our national and state interests and dignity,” reads the statement.

Police officers used force to detain a group of members of the Youth Union and the Nikol Aghbalyan Student Union of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) party protesting in Yerevan on Monday, the Student Union said.

In a separate statement, the ARF Youth Union said that five activists were taken to a police station for “carrying out a peaceful awareness campaign.”

As reported earlier, the ARF members blocked a street in Yerevan’s Arabkir administrative district, protesting against Nikol Pashinyan. They chanted “Armenia without Nikol!”, “Armenia without Turks!” and “Unification, Struggle, Victory!”.

This year’s Australian National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide will feature statements from over 20 Federal and State parliamentarians from across the country, as Armenian-Australians commemorate the 107th Anniversary of the Ottoman Empire’s 1915 massacres of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

Their messages of solidarity will include an amplification of calls for Federal recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, and will be broadcast on Tuesday 26 April 2022 at 8:00pm (AEST), via the Facebook (click here) and YouTube (click here) channels of Armenia Media.

Australia’s Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Hon. Paul Fletcher MP and Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Hon. Kristina Keneally will lead a long list of Federal parliamentarians with messages in solidarity with the Armenian Cause.

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP, Co-Chair of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Union Trent Zimmerman MP, Tim Wilson MP, Julian Leeser MP, Senator Janet Rice, Senator Eric Abetz, Steve Georganas MP, Mike Freelander MP and Jason Falinski MP, will also be among the Federal political leaders who will pay their respects on the 107th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

New South Wales State Premier Dominic Perrottet will also feature in the National Commemoration broadcast, continuing the legacy set by his predecessors, who have consistently and appropriately addressed the Armenian-Australian community on this solemn occasion.

Perrottet will be joined by his state-based parliamentary colleagues, including co-convenors of the NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Jonathan O’Dea MP and Walt Secord MLC, along with Mark Coure MP, Damien Tudehope MLC, Victor Dominello MP, Hugh McDermott MP, Tanya Davies MP and Tim James MP.

“As a result of our community’s ongoing and persistent advocacy on this issue, every year we see a growing cohort of parliamentarians join our fight in calling for proper acknowledgement of the crimes committed against our ancestors and a willingness to guide Australia onto the pass of righteousness,” said ANC-AU Political Affairs Director, Michael Kolokossian, who will deliver the event’s Advocacy Address as part of the broadcast.

The National Armenian Genocide Commemoration event will be headlined by a special keynote feature highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Republic of Artsakh as a result of the genocidal policies unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey.