Shocking footage captured the moment fists flew after a brawl broke out among Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh, which was liberated from Armenian occupation after Baku’s victory in the 2020 war.
Watch the video at
Nagorno-Karabakh hostilities may be reborn. Russia’s attempts to transport troops from Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia to Ukraine, where the Russians suffer huge losses, will signal return to hostilities in the region.
It is confirmed by firing on Azerbaijan army positions in the direction of Aghdam region’s Chukhurmehle, Gurdlar, Khidirli, Garadaghli, and Gasimli settlements on March,10.
The Russian contingent in Karabakh consists of 1,960 military personnel, 90 armored personnel carriers and 380 vehicles.
Moscow transports one battalion-tactical group numbering around 500 people from Gyumry 102nd mil base. The unit has been formed and is waiting for a command to be sent. However, the Kremlin knows that they cannot deploy numerous groups because there are only 3 battalions at the base, one of which guards the border with Karabakh (Sisiyan and Goris), and the second one is deployed at the base and is in reserve.
After the war the Armenian and Karabakh troops have low morale, but due to their ethno-cultural characteristics one can predict how fast they can be involved in any provocation. Since their deployment Russian peacekeepers with the full support of General Andrei Volkov, the commander of the Russian contingent, take the side of Karabakh and turn a blind eye to the regular ceasefire violations. The ceasefire regime violations in Nagorno-Karabakh has been recorded by the parties since early March this year.
Thus, after the Russian contingent withdrawal from the region, Baku will have the opportunity to take a total control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh within 1-1.5 weeks and thereby restore the territorial integrity of the state.
The troops of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have not recovered from the defeat in the 2020 war and are unlikely to be capable of resisting the armed forces of Azerbaijan, who received combat training and experience in the 2020 campaign.
In case of more volunteers are sent to fight in Ukraine at the request of Moscow, Armenia may lose even more controlled territories in future.
https://lansinginstitute.org/2022/03/15/russias-tactics-to-fuel-nagono-karabakh-conflict-escalation-might-cost-armenia-territorial-integrity%EF%BF%BC/
by Contributing Editor
Two men previously charged with hate crimes after they were allegedly part of a group dressed in black that attacked Jewish men outside a Beverly Grove restaurant in 2021 are being sued by a non-Jewish photographer who was battered during the melee.
Mher Hagopian, an Armenian-American, brought the suit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Samer Jaylusi and Xavier Pabon, alleging civil rights violations, assault, battery, conspiracy to commit assault, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hagopian seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Representatives for Jaylusi and Pabon could not be immediately reached.
A cell phone video was recorded of the May 18, 2021, attack, which took place about 9:45 p.m. outside Sushi Fumi, a Japanese restaurant on North La Cienega Boulevard. A group of cars with Palestinian flags arrived with about two dozen passengers and megaphones, the suit states.
“The convoy was there simply to seek out Jews,” the suit states. “Indeed, the area of Los Angeles adjacent to Sushi Fumi is widely known to be one of the centers for Jewish life in Los Angeles.”
Hagopian was hired to take photos at the upcoming wedding of his Jewish friend, so the two of them and two Jewish friends of the future groom met for dinner outside at Sushi Fumi to discuss the wedding plans, according to the suit.A cell phone video was recorded of the May 18, 2021, attack, which took place about 9:45 p.m. outside Sushi Fumi, a Japanese restaurant on North La Cienega Boulevard. A group of cars with Palestinian flags arrived with about two dozen passengers and megaphones, the suit states.
“The convoy was there simply to seek out Jews,” the suit states. “Indeed, the area of Los Angeles adjacent to Sushi Fumi is widely known to be one of the centers for Jewish life in Los Angeles.”
Hagopian was hired to take photos at the upcoming wedding of his Jewish friend, so the two of them and two Jewish friends of the future groom met for dinner outside at Sushi Fumi to discuss the wedding plans, according to the suit.
Most of the convoy passengers’ identities were obscured by hooded sweaters or other garb that partially or fully covered their faces, the suit states. They yelled out antisemitic remarks, including “dirty Jew,” “Are you Jewish?,” “Are you Israeli?” and “Be ashamed of yourselves,” the suit states.Most of the convoy passengers’ identities were obscured by hooded sweaters or other garb that partially or fully covered their faces, the suit states. They yelled out antisemitic remarks, including “dirty Jew,” “Are you Jewish?,” “Are you Israeli?” and “Be ashamed of yourselves,” the suit states.
“Refusing to be intimidated, Hagopian’s friends responded that they were Jewish,” the suit states.
At least one bottle thrown from the convoy hit Hagopian in the head and one other glass object shattered on the sidewalk near dining patrons, according to the suit.“Refusing to be intimidated, Hagopian’s friends responded that they were Jewish,” the suit states.
At least one bottle thrown from the convoy hit Hagopian in the head and one other glass object shattered on the sidewalk near dining patrons, according to the suit.
“All hell broke loose,” the suit states.
Other diners ran inside the restaurant or away from the area, but Hagopian and his friends were quickly targeted because they did not have the chance to escape, the suit states.
“At this point, Hagopian and his friends truly feared for their lives,” the suit states.“All hell broke loose,” the suit states.
Other diners ran inside the restaurant or away from the area, but Hagopian and his friends were quickly targeted because they did not have the chance to escape, the suit states.
“At this point, Hagopian and his friends truly feared for their lives,” the suit states.
The plaintiff grabbed a nearby stanchion that had roped off Sushi Fumi’s outdoor dining area and tried to fend off the attackers and protect his friends, the suit states.
At least four men, including Jaylusi and Pabon, overtook Hagopian, slammed him against a vehicle and began beating him with their fists and arms while also spraying him with an aerosol chemical, the suit states.
“Hagopian’s selfless conduct saved others from suffering severe injury” and led to Jaylusi, Pabon and the others leaving, the suit states.
“In the aftermath of this chaos, Hagopian and his friends, and their fellow diners, were left physically and emotionally beaten,” the suit states.
Hagopian suffered emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation and injury to his reputation because of the attack, the suit states.
The attack was condemned by many faith leaders as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti. The defendants were arrested a week later and in September, District Attorney George Gascon charged Jaylusi and Pabon with two felony counts of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury, along with hate crime enhancements.The plaintiff grabbed a nearby stanchion that had roped off Sushi Fumi’s outdoor dining area and tried to fend off the attackers and protect his friends, the suit states.
At least four men, including Jaylusi and Pabon, overtook Hagopian, slammed him against a vehicle and began beating him with their fists and arms while also spraying him with an aerosol chemical, the suit states.
“Hagopian’s selfless conduct saved others from suffering severe injury” and led to Jaylusi, Pabon and the others leaving, the suit states.
“In the aftermath of this chaos, Hagopian and his friends, and their fellow diners, were left physically and emotionally beaten,” the suit states.
Hagopian suffered emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation and injury to his reputation because of the attack, the suit states.
The attack was condemned by many faith leaders as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti. The defendants were arrested a week later and in September, District Attorney George Gascon charged Jaylusi and Pabon with two felony counts of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury, along with hate crime enhancements.
Photographer Sues Over Attack on Jewish Diners – MyNewsLA.com
Vardan Goustanian said all signs show that trade ties between Iran and Armenia are growing.
Goustanian’s comments come as Iran’s minister of industry, mines and trade earlier this month visited Armenia for talks over ways of facilitating economic ties between the Islamic Republic and neighbors including Armenia.
Currently, the volume of trade between Iran and Armenia is $500 million per year but both sides agree this can reach $1 billion. Armenia’s economic attaché in Iran said compared to 2021 and 2020, trade between the two countries has increased 25% ($102 million) this year and now stands at $503 million.
Goustanian also confirmed that the goal is to increase that figure to $1 billion, saying if that objective is achieved, higher figures will also be discussed.
He noted that the Eurasian Economic Union has five members including Armenia, which is the only member of the bloc having a land border with Iran.
Armenia’s economic attaché in Iran said the Eurasian Economic Union is a large market with a 185 million population, and Armenia is capable of linking Iran to other members of the bloc like a bridge.
He also said Iranian businesspeople can use the links their Armenian peers have in the Eurasian Economic Union for the purpose of doing lucrative business with the bloc’s members.
He said Iranians are highly skilled in road and dam construction and the two sides can engage in profitable cooperation in this regard. He also noted that Armenia has a population of 3.5 million, saying his country imports $5 billion worth of goods each year. Goustanian said Iran can secure a larger share of Armenia’s imports.
https://ifpnews.com/armenian-attache-invites-iranians-to-take-part-in-his-countrys-tenders/
In an Israeli attempt to fight the Christian presence on the Palestinian territories and deny Christians their rights and status in Jerusalem, the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority sought to implement a settlement project by expanding the Jerusalem Walls Park on church lands, located near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The move was seen as an attempt to encroach on east Jerusalem by expanding Jewish residential and archaeological projects at the expense of Muslim and Christian sites and sanctities in the city. The plan was widely condemned by church heads who sought to garner international support to oppose Israeli plans, since they were seen as a deliberate attack on the Christians of Jerusalem.
According to a report published by the Times of Israel website on Feb. 20, the Jerusalem Walls Park was opened in the 1970s. When Israeli authorities were initially demarcating the project, they avoided including a large part of the Mount of Olives, where there are more than 12 Christian historic holy sites, including the Bridgettine Sisters Monastery, Viri Galilaei Church, the Grotto of Gethsemane and the Garden of the Apostles.
After nearly five decades, Israeli authorities were considering a plan to include sensitive areas of the Mount of Olives in the park. Back then, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority said that the goal of the project was to restore the lands in the Hinnom Valley, which had been neglected for years and faced vandalism and arson. She said that a large part of the 68 acres to be incorporated into the Jerusalem Walls Park are considered state land, according to the Times of Israel.
In light of reports about reviving the controversial plan, the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority announced Feb. 21 the withdrawal of the plan to expand the park on lands owned by churches in east Jerusalem, amid opposition from local church leaders who denounced it as a “premeditated attack on the Christians in the Holy Land.”
In this context, the head of the Christian National Assembly in the Holy Land, Dimitri Diliani, told Al-Monitor, “Among the Christian holy sites that were included in the Israeli plan to control and seize the Mount of Olives was the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, which was the last resting place of the Mother of Christ; the Church of Mary Magdalene, which was built by Russian Tsar Alexander III in 1888; and the Church of Gethsemane, also known as the Church of All Nations.”
He added, “The Israeli authorities deliberately target and intimidate non-Jews in the city of Jerusalem, in addition to targeting holy Islamic and Christian sites. Extremist Israeli groups receive direct support from the Israeli government protecting them and covering for their criminal acts against the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
Diliani pointed out that “the Israeli occupation aims to achieve one goal, which is to create an environment that rejects the presence of Jerusalemites in their own city, be they Christians or Muslims. They are all subjected to persecution and deliberate Israeli racism, to displace them from the city and turn it into a city with Jewish majority. This is the main reason behind the decrease in the number of Christians in Jerusalem and the migration from the city.”
He stressed that “the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem launched an international campaign in 2021, denouncing the ongoing and continuous attacks by extremist Israeli groups against churches and Christian residents in the city of Jerusalem, which are carried out under the protection of the Israeli police and their security services. The campaign aims at repelling the Israeli plan to expel Christians in Jerusalem and a number of other areas in the Holy Land.”
Diliani explained that “physical and verbal attacks on clergy and churches are many, and holy places are regularly vandalized and desecrated by these [extremist] groups, not to mention the targeting of properties, especially in the Christian quarter of the Old City and its surroundings, through deliberate and planned commercial deals. These deals are often marred by forgery, bribery and extortion, such as what happened with the properties of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate in Umar Ibn al-Khattab Plaza in Jerusalem, and Adhamiya House in the Muslim Quarter of the city.”
Christian leaders in Jerusalem have repeatedly warned that their communities are threatened with expulsion from the area by Israeli extremist groups, and have called for dialogue about preserving their presence.
Father Francesco Patton, Custodian of the Holy Land of the Catholic Church and Custodian of the Christian Holy Places in the Holy Land, wrote in an opinion article published by the British Daily Telegraph Dec. 18, 2021, “Our presence is precarious and our future is at risk.”
He said that in recent years, the lives of many Christians have become “unbearable by radical local groups with extremist ideologies,” saying that their aim appears “to free the Old City of Jerusalem from its Christian presence.”
Sacred sites, including churches, have been desecrated and vandalized, and crimes are committed against priests, monks and worshippers, he said, adding, “These radical groups do not represent the government or the people of Israel. But as with any extremist faction, a radical minority can too easily burden the lives of many, especially if their activities go unchecked and their crimes are unpunished.”
He added that while Christians used to make up 20% of Jerusalem’s population, today they are less than 2%. Patton appealed to the world for support “so that we can continue to preserve the rich diversity of this Holy Land.”
Khalil al-Tafkaji, director of maps at the Jerusalem-based Arab Studies Society, told Al-Monitor, “The Israeli settlement plan is not related to the issue of Islamic or Christian holy sites, as much as it is a process of Judaization and an attack on religious centers and holy sites all over the city of Jerusalem, to expel its Muslims and Christians and become solely for Jewish residents.”
He added, “The settlement project in the Mount of Olives targeted the Christian holy sites of the Orthodox, Armenian, Russian and Catholic churches, as these churches are located in most of the areas to be seized, in addition to a number of endowment and private properties. The Israeli authorities have frozen the seizure decision only to reactivate it later, just when the right time comes to implement that decision.”
Tafkaji pointed out that “the area that was declared as a park within Israel’s settlement plan is not Israeli. The park’s project is an implementation of the Henry Kendall zoning plan that was established before 1948 for the city of Jerusalem, which aims to make the western slopes of the Mount of Olives green areas that prevent Palestinian construction on them, whether these constructions are affiliated with Palestinian Muslims or Christians.”
He explained that “the targeted area includes large [Christian sites] such as the Church of All Nations, the Chapel of the Ascension, the Armenian Monastery and the Kidron Valley, which is considered one of the sacred valleys for Christians, as it separates the Mount of Olives and the city of Jerusalem. Christians believe Jesus crossed this valley more than once.”
Tafkaji indicated that “the city of Jerusalem is considered one of the most sacred areas for Christians who perform pilgrimage on the Way of the Cross, then head to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and finally to the Church of the Ascension. The Israeli plan is to end the Christian and Islamic presence in Jerusalem.”
In December 2020, the Church of All Nations, which is one of the oldest historical churches in east Jerusalem, was subjected to an arson attempt when an extremist settler set a fire inside the church. Some of the church’s seats and floor were damaged, but the fire was quickly controlled before it could destroy the church.
Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations and open its border with Turkey, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told state-run Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
“In general, the people of Armenia want the normalization of relations with Turkey. Polls confirms this,” Anadolu Agency cited Armenian minister Mirzoyan as saying in the Diplomacy Forum in Antalya.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made statements in the past months that they were ready to start negotiations between the two countries, Mirzoyan reminded adding that mutual special representatives were already appointed.
“I visited Antalya to reiterate once again the political will for the full normalization of relations with Turkey, the Armenian minister said insisting that it would open an era of peaceful and sustainable development in the region,” Mirzoyan noted.
“I was happy to hear from my Turkish counterpart that there is a political will in Turkey to lead the process to that end”
“The opening of the borders will have a positive effect on the connectivity trade and economic relations between the two countries, including overall stability in the region, Mirzoyan told Anadolu Agency.
Pointing out that the last high-level visit between the two countries took place more than 10 years ago, Mirzoyan maintained that mutual visits can take place if the normalization process continues.
11:20,
STEPANAKERT, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. The situation at the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact was “relatively stable” on March 13 and overnight March 14, the Artsakh military said on Monday.
“On March 13, during the day, and overnight March 13-14 the operative-tactical situation at the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact was relatively stable,” the Defense Army of Artsakh said in a statement.
It added that no “significant” ceasefire violations occurred.
12:49,
YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Chairwoman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on protection of human rights and public affairs, Taguhi Tovmasyan, has sent letters to international human rights organizations, drawing their attention on the current humanitarian crisis in Artsakh as Azerbaijan obstructs to repair the damaged gas pipeline and the residents of Artsakh have been left without gas supply since March 8.
“The humanitarian crisis in Artsakh is deepening. It’s more than a week there is no gas in Artsakh. The Azerbaijani forces ban the Russian peacekeepers even to approach the exploded section of the gas pipeline, and there is no opportunity to repair that section of the pipeline. As a result today we both have a problem with transport in Artsakh, as well as there are a number of problems in production units, people have a problem of bread production in their country. This is a very serious alarm, over which I have sent different letters to a number of international organizations dealing with human rights and asked them to focus their attention and urgently respond to the topic of the humanitarian crisis that has started in Artsakh”, she said at the committee’s session today.
According to the lawmaker, if this situation continues further, there will also be an electricity crisis in Artsakh as the system is operating in an overload mode, and that productivity volumes could not last long. Therefore, she didn’t rule out that Artsakh may face a problem of electricity supply in the future.
“In this respect I want to once again draw the attention of everyone in the world to the humanitarian crisis that has started in Artsakh”, the MP said.
13:21,
YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Vice Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan received today the delegation led by the European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, the Parliament’s press service said.
Issues relating to the Armenia-EU partnership, as well as ensuring regional stability were discussed during the meeting.
The sides also touched upon the Azerbaijani side’s attempts of making provocations and pressures against the civilian population of Artsakh, as well as the facts of creating artificial problems for the restoration of vital infrastructures.
The sides exchanged views about the normalization of the relations between Armenia and Turkey.