Category: 2022

Diyarbakır lawyers acquitted in trial over remarks on Armenian genocide, Kurdistan

Emil Lazarian
Feb 22 2022

  • Feb 22 2022 09:10 Gmt+3
  • Last Updated On: Feb 22 2022 09:14 Gmt+3

A Turkish court has acquitted administrators with the bar association of the southwestern Diyarbakir province accused of “insulting the Turkish nation” over their statements referencing the Armenian genocide and Kurdistan, Evrensel newspaper reported on Monday.

A Diyarbakır court acquitted all nine defendants in the case, including Diyarbakır Bar Association President Nahit Eren and former president Ahmet Özmen, the newspaper said.

The group was on trial for violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which makes it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish nation, Turkish government institutions, or Turkish national heroes such as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The charges levelled at the current and past administrations with the association were based on reports and press statements they signed off on between 2016- 2018, which expressed sorrow on the anniversary of the Armenian genocide and condemned a lawmaker’s temporary suspension from parliament for referencing “Kurdistan” during a speech in the national assembly.

The Diyarbakır court ruled that the references failed to constitute and crime ordered for all nine defendants in the case to be compensated some 10,000 liras ($725) each in damages.

Turkey denies the accusations of genocide over the systematic mass murder and expulsion of civilian Armenians by the Ottoman Empire government in 1915, saying hundreds of thousands of Armenians and Turks died in clashes after ethnic Armenians in Turkey sided with Russia in the war. It says any killing were not systemic or orchestrated and has strongly objected to all attempts at recognition internationally.

Ankara is highly sensitive to the word Kurdistan, with civil servants having been arrested or suspended from their positions for using it. The government links the term to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey for 40 years.

Karabakh welcomes Putin’s recognition of Donetsk, Luhansk

Eduard Nalbandian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Feb 22 2022
– 12:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has welcomed the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk – the breakaway regions of Ukraine – on Monday, February 21.

“The right of nations to self-determination and building one’s own state is inalienable for every people and is a fundamental principle of the international law,” Harutyunyan said Tuesday.

“The establishment of an independent state and its international recognition becomes an imperative especially in the face of existential dangers, as it is the most effective and civilized means of preventing bloodshed and humanitarian disaster.”

Harutyunyan maintained that Artsakh has been fighting for its freedom, security and state-building for decades, and has been exposed to many trials and genocidal actions. he argued that Karabakh, which has relevant indisputable historical, political, legal and moral bases, has earned the international recognition of its sovereign state.

The White House, meanwhile, responded to Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine, levying a number of sanctions on the region.

Azerbaijani MP claims all Armenian PoWs returned after the war

Ani Tigranian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Feb 22 2022
– 13:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijani lawmaker Soltan Mammadov has claimed in Yerevan that Baku has returned all the Armenian prisoners of war.

Mammadov and Tahir Mirkishili are currently participating in the meetings of the committees of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, which are being held in the Armenian capital.

Mammadov first thanked his Armenian colleagues for the “warm welcome”, then went on to maintain in his speech several times that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is over.

According to him, all the detainees and prisoners of war were returned to Armenia “right after the war”. The lawmaker went as far as to justify Azerbaijan’s continued detention and torture of Armenian citizens with the argument that those people were captured after the war.

Tell Aliyev Karabakh will always be Armenian, MP says at Euronest

Emil Lazarian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Feb 22 2022
– 16:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Opposition lawmaker Artur Ghazinyan has told the Azerbaijani delegation participating in Euronest meetings in Yerevan to tell their President, Ilham Aliyev, that Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) has always been and will continue being Armenian in the future too.

Soltan Mammadov and Tahir Mirkishili are currently participating in the meetings of the committees of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, which are being held in the Armenian capital.

Ghazinyan on Tuesday, February 22 reminded that Azerbaijan fought the 44-day war against Artsakh with the help of Turkey, Pakistan, and mercenaries from the Middle East.

“Turkey, Azerbaijan, with the involvement of international terrorists from the Middle East, have committed many crimes against humanity in Artsakh and Armenia and have not been punished so far. No European sanctions have been imposed on them,” the MP said.

Putin: Karabakh progress paved way for allied cooperation with Baku

Emil Lazarian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Feb 22 2022
– 17:41 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev are expected to sign a declaration on allied cooperation in Moscow Tuesday, February 22.

“Today we will sign the declaration on allied cooperation. This is, quite obviously, a new stage in the development of our relations, and, of course, this became possible, including after the progress in the resolution of the Karabakh issue, which has not yet been fully resolved in general,” Putin said, according to RIA Novosti.

Putin said he and Aliyev have achieved “certain agreements” on the development of trade and economic ties in Nagorno-Karabakh. He said disputes still remain, but Moscow will do everything so that the settlement process proceeds peacefully.

“In any event, there are already certain agreements not only in terms of ensuring the security of all the people who live there, but also in terms of developing trade and economic ties and unblocking transport communications. I know that there are still disputes, there is something to work on. But we will do everything to ensure that this process develops peacefully, and that we achieve the satisfaction of all parties involved in this process,” he added.

The Russian leader noted that economic ties between Russia and Azerbaijan are “well diversified”, with regional ties developing very actively too.

EU should make a targeted assessment of Azerbaijan and Turkey – MP Anna Grigoryan

Kalantarian Kevo
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 22 2022
, 16:52

 2 minutes read

The European Union should make a targeted assessment of Azerbaijan and Turkey, member of the Armenian National Assembly Anna Grigoryan said, addressing the EuroNewst Parliamentary Assembly.

“Security challenges in our region continue to remain acute while Azerbaijan thinks that conflicts can be solved by war. Nearly two years ago Azerbaijan decided they could put an end to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by using force, which in itself is a direct violation of the fundamental principle enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act,” she said.

“The war proved to be disastrous, but didn’t solve the conflict. The conflict is still there. The outbreak of hostility and anti-Armenianism clouded the perspectives of peace agreement in the region even after the November 9th trilateral statement,” she added.

The MP noted that it’s hard to speak about political dialogue with Azerbaijan, when until today Armenian prisoners of war and civilians are held in Azerbaijan and exposed to inhumane treatment daily.

“How can we talk about security, when on daily basis threats of use of force, cynicism, belligerent rhetoric, propaganda and xenophobia continue to be heard from Azerbaijan? Even more, while we are holding our session, Azerbaijani military continues the occupation of the sovereign Armenian territories in Syunik. Given the aggressive policy led by Azerbaijan it becomes difficult to think about security environment in our region, but the deep silence and indifference of Europe makes it even more challenging,” Anna Grigoryan stated.

“Here we have to be unflinchingly honest, when we are talking about our shared values or our red lines concerning security issues,” she emphasized.

“If the war unleashed against Nagorno Karabakh unleashed by Azerbaijan and fully supported by Turkey was not the red line to put sanctions against war criminal Ilham Aliyev and his regime, if detaining and torturing of our prisoners of war is not the red line, I have to ask you: do we stand for a political dialogue or aggression? Do we support political dialogue or policy of cohesion? If we do chose political dialogue and security, and not terrorism, aggression or xenophobia, then the EU has to make an unequivocal targeted political assessments of Azerbaijan and Turkey. Double standards, selective approaches and hypocrisy should be rejected if we honestly want to reach security in our region,” she stated.

Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan placed on Azerbaijani wanted list

Emil Lazarian

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 15:00,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani authorities have placed former Armenian presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan on wanted list, the Azerbaijani media reported citing the Azerbaijani military prosecution.

Emil Taghiyev, the Head of the Special Investigations Division of the Azerbaijani Military Prosecution, claimed in the allegations that Kocharyan and Sargsyan “organized rallies with the purpose of inciting ethnic hostility and hate between Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples since February 1988.”

Artsakh NSS responds to Azeri intentions on arresting President Harutyunyan

Manouk Vasilian

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 15:06,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. The National Security Service (NSS) of Artsakh issued a statement.

“Given the concerns in our society over the Azerbaijani prosecution’s statement on holding to account the President of the Republic of Artsakh, the National Security Service of Artsakh is assuring that it is capable of ensuring the security of both government officials, in person of the President, as well as any citizen of the Republic of Artsakh and persons who’ve visited Artsakh, by taking additional measures,” the Artsakh NSS said.

The Azeri general prosecution earlier said that they intend to arrest President Harutyunyan “as soon as possible” for what they described as the “missile attack on Gyanja” during the war.

During the 2020 war, on October 4, the Artsakh president Arayik Harutyunyan ordered missile strikes on military facilities in Ganja in response to the Azeri indiscriminate use of prohibited cluster munitions during the bombardment of civilian areas, including the heavy bombardment of Stepanakert City. On October 4, the Defense Army delivered several missile strikes with the purpose of neutralizing military facilities deployed in the city of Ganja. Then, President Harutyunyan ordered the military to stop firing to avoid possible civilian casualties.

The Azeri intentions to arrest the Artsakh president were as “void of any international legal base” by the Armenian Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan.

Azerbaijani military opens fire at Artsakh army positions

Emil Lazarian

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 15:16,

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense released new disinformation accusing the Artsakh Defense Army units in opening fire on February 20 and 21 in the direction of Azerbaijani military positions deployed adjacent to the villages of Shosh and Taghavard.

The Artsakh Ministry of Defense said the Azeri accusations are entirely false, and moreover the Azeri units themselves violated the ceasefire in the abovementioned area.

“The events described in the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s statement are entirely false. The ceasefire was actually violated by the Azerbaijani military units by opening sporadic fire in the direction of Defense Army positions. There are no victims or material damages as a result of the ceasefire violation,” the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh said.

The information on the Azerbaijani ceasefire violation was reported to the Russian peacekeeping command.

PM Pashinyan highlights necessity to ensure UNESCO access into Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone

Emil Karabekian

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 16:02,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Member of the European Parliament, Vice President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Andrius Kubilius, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.

PM Pashinyan welcomed the organization of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly bureau and committee sessions in Yerevan and noted that these are important platforms for developing cooperation and dialogue. The PM underscored that the European Union is one of the important partners for Armenia and stressed the existing partnership in the effective implementation of the democratic reforms. Pashinyan said that the agenda of developing democracy is one of the priorities of the Armenian government and that the steps in this direction will be consistent and continuous.

Vice President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Andrius Kubilius emphasized the fact of effective democratic reforms in Armenia and expressed hope that the Armenia-EU cooperation will continue to develop and strengthen.

Views were exchanged around regional and international security and stability issues.

Prime Minister Pashinyan presented Armenia’s position around the developments in the region, unblocking of the connection routes, delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Armenia-Turkey dialogue.

PM Pashinyan also addressed the results and agreements of the meetings in Brussels mediated by the President of the European Council and the President of France, as well as the February 4 quadripartite video-conference.

PM Pashinyan underscored the need for ensuring access of the UNESCO mission and international humanitarian organizations into the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone with the purpose of preserving the Armenian historical-cultural and religious heritage.