Armenia Accuses Azerbaijan Of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ In Karabakh

BARRON'S
Oct 17 2023
  • FROM AFP NEWS

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday accused Azerbaijan of "ethnic cleansing" in Nagorno-Karabakh but said he stood ready to normalise relations with Baku by the end of the year.

The broadside came ahead of planned EU-mediated talks in Brussels later this month between Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"We, the international community, have been unable to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh," Pashinyan told a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

"Nagorno-Karabakh has been cleansed of Armenians… in a matter of one week," he went on.

"Azerbaijan has clearly and unequivocally demonstrated its decision to render life for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh impossible."

Tensions remain high between the two Caucasian neighbours.

In September Aliyev's troops recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway enclave in Azerbaijan. Most of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who had been living there fled to Armenia.

Pashinyan nonetheless said the outline of a deal drawn up over this year, including at a European summit held in Spain two weeks ago, laid the groundwork for an accord between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"We have agreed that we will have a meeting in Brussels during this month.

"And if the aforementioned principles are officially reconfirmed, then the signing of a peace and normalisation agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will become highly realistic by the end of this year," he said.

The outline deal calls for Azerbaijan and Armenia to recognise each other's borders as established at the collapse of the Soviet Union, to which they had both belonged.

It also includes the exchange of prisoners and a guarantee that routes in the region are opened.

Azerbaijan says it is not seeking to rid Nagorno-Karabakh of ethnic Armenians and has invited them to return to their homes in the enclave and "reintegrate" into Azerbaijan.

No date has yet been publicly fixed for the EU-mediated talks between both sides.

European Council President Charles Michel told AFP at the Spain summit on October 5 the negotiations would happen "by the end of October".

The precise timing would be worked out in consultation with Pashinyan and Aliyev.

Michel's spokeswoman did not immediately respond on Tuesday when asked by AFP if any date had been agreed.

rmb/del/acc/gil

https://www.barrons.com/news/pashinyan-accuses-azerbaijan-of-driving-armenians-from-karabakh-4363dc34

Issue of Karabakh conflict completely settled

MEHR News Agency, Iran
Oct 17 2023

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (MNA) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that the subject of the Karabakh conflict is finally closed.

"The issue of the Karabakh conflict has been settled for good. <…> This is a great joy," he said at a meeting with representatives from the Fuzuli District in Karabakh, TASS reported.

Azerbaijan regained full control of its territory of Karabakh last month after conducting an operation.

Authorities in Baku have repeatedly said they will protect the rights and ensure the security of Armenian residents in Karabakh in accordance with Azerbaijan's law.

The EU invited the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia for peace talks in Granada, Spain, on Oct. 5, but Baku declined because France and Germany were opposed to Turkey's participation.

MP/PR

HRW: Driven by Fear from Nagorno-Karabakh: One Family’s Flight to Armenia

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Oct 17 2023

One Family’s Flight to Armenia


In September this year, Azerbaijan regained control of all of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been de facto controlled for 30 years by its majority ethnic Armenian population. Ethnic Armenian forces surrendered to Azerbaijan after one day of fighting, and nearly all of the region’s 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled. Agnessa and her family were among them.

Azerbaijani authorities have repeatedly said everyone’s rights will be protected in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani authorities have repeatedly said that everyone’s rights will be protected in Nagorno-Karabakh, yet such assurances are difficult to accept at face value after decades of conflict, impunity for alleged crimes, including against civilians during hostilities, the Azerbaijani government’s overall deteriorating human rights record, and the recent Azerbaijan-imposed, nine-month de facto blockade of the region, which left the Armenian population without enough food, medicine, and fuel.

Click to expand Image

Ariana, 11, Agnessa, 22, Melinda, 12, and Amanda, 18, in Tatev, Armenia, the day after their long journey from Nagorno-Karabakh, September 29, 2023.  © 2023 Tanya Lokshina/Human Rights Watch

Agnessa Avanesyan, a 22-year-old in a black t-shirt with a sparkly “Be Happy” inscription, smiles shyly from across the wooden table in Tatev, a mountain village in southern Armenia. She and her parents, grandpa, and four siblings arrived there from Nagorno-Karabakh on September 28. They are staying with relatives, all crammed into a small rural house for now – homeless, destitute, and still disoriented after an arduous three-day journey. Like tens of thousands of other ethnic Armenians, they fled Nagorno Karabakh when Azerbaijan re-took control.

They were driven by fear. 

Agnessa and her 18-year-old sister, Amanda, lived in Stepanakert (Khankendi in Azeri), Nagorno-Karabakh’s largest city. Agnessa, a recent university graduate, taught at school there, and in September Amanda had begun her first year at the university. In the early afternoon of September 19, when Azerbaijani forces attacked, the city lost electricity and phones stopped working. The sisters felt distraught and did not know what to do: Their family were all in Khndzristan (Almali in Azeri), a village 24 kilometers away. They spent the night in the basement shelter of a hospital, shuddering at the sounds of explosions, hungry and cold.

At 6:00 a.m. the next day, the sisters headed to the village on foot, desperate to reunite with their loved ones. They hitched a ride for part of the way, running uphill for the last five kilometers. “We didn’t think we’d make it,” Agnessa says. “The shelling was so close, the ground seemed to shake … but when we finally got there, not only our family, the entire village was waiting for us. They thought we disappeared or died. Our little sisters, they’re just 11 and 12, they were crying so hard.…”

On September 25, as soon as Azerbaijani forces opened the “Lachin corridor” – the road linking Nagorno-Karabakhto Armenia – the villagers started leaving. The head of the local de-facto administration warned that Azerbaijani soldiers would come at any moment, and no one wanted to risk staying. Agnessa’s family did not have a car, so they split up, squishing into three different vehicles driven by neighbors. Agnessa and Amanda perched on the back seat, sitting on top of the hastily packed things of a four-person family, who all squeezed into the two front seats. The car was so jam-packed the sisters could not take any of their own belongings, except a little bread and water. There was no space.

The car barely had any petrol. Since Azerbaijan’s de facto blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, petrol was a rare commodity. They heard that some petrol was available at the gasoline warehouse near the Stepanakert-Askeran highway, on the way to Stepanakert/Khandendi. And indeed, there was a huge gas tank there, provided by Azerbaijani authorities and open for all. In their desperation, people were literally storming it, no one was supervising the distribution of fuel, and a tragedy struck.

“We queued up for two hours before finally getting gas and driving on. And in another hour, when our uncle was there, also waiting for gas, the whole thing just blew up. And our uncle was right there, he was hurt so badly.… They evacuated him to a hospital in Armenia, but he is still in very bad condition, it’s touch and go.… Over a dozen of our neighbors were also hurt there. We were lucky to have left there just a little earlier,” Agnessa sighs. Later, de facto authorities of Nagorno Karabakh reported that that 220 people died as a result of the explosion, the cause of which is unknown.  

The road to Armenia was so clogged – cars, trucks, tractors, construction vehicles, you name it – that the tiny distance from the village to Stepanakert/Khankendi took three hours, not counting the time they queued up for gas. The trip onward to Goris, on the Armenian side of the border, which under normal circumstances takes less than 90 minutes, took another 42 hours. Agnessa had no idea where the cars with the rest of her family were. You could not find anyone in the colossal stand-still traffic jam on the twisted mountainous road.

“But the fear was the worst,” she said. “Seeing all those Azerbaijani soldiers on the road.… All we were thinking of was to get away.”

Agnessa describes the multiple traumas on the road, starting with the first, cold and rainy night:  

"Whatever warm clothing our family was able to pack were in the tractor grandpa was riding. We were shivering all night from the cold because the car was moving half a meter per hour. An old man died in a truck close to us. He was too sick, too frail.… Many cars broke down on the road, the brakes didn’t work, there were crashes.…

"A construction crane, in which three people were riding, fell on top of a car full of people, they all got banged up, but fortunately, no one got killed. We had a large canister of petrol, so we could fill up the tank on the way, but many did not and had to stand on the road for hours waiting for a truck which could spare some. There were also people who abandoned their cars all-together. Our bread and water ran out before nightfall. We were starving and so thirsty. Grandpa actually had water and some food with him in the tractor, but we could not get to him, and he couldn’t find us in that madness. The cold, the hunger, the thirst, we were half-dead ourselves by the time we arrived at the border."

Today in Armenia, Agnessa and her sisters talk about their native village, about their cellar full of potatoes and other produce, about their chickens, ducks, and geese. Unlike their friends in Stepanakert/Khankendi, they never had to go hungry during the blockade. But their family has left everything behind. “I don’t know what we are going to do,” Agnessa says. “If we could only go back to pick up our things, our poultry.… But how can we do this? Who is going to guarantee our safety? If it were safe for us there, we would never have left our home.” 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/17/driven-fear-nagorno-karabakh








Asbarez: France will Sell Solely Defensive Weapons to Armenia, French Minister Says

French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu


France will sell solely defensive weapons to Armenia, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu has told a commission in the country’s senate during discussions of the 2024 budget.

Lecornu has not said what type of weapons France intends to sell to Armenia since that issue must be finalized with Yerevan sometime this week, Azatutyun.am reported.

The minister, however, has emphasized that weapons that are being considered for sale are only defensive and not offensive and meant to assist Armenia in defending lives and the security of its territory.

Lecornu told the senators that France already has a working permanent defense mission in Armenia. Its attache, the minster said, is an experienced general and is overseeing “an important effort.”

During a visit to Armenia earlier this month, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Armenia needed to be able to defend itself weeks after Azerbaijani forces invaded Nagorno-Karabakh despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.

She said Paris has agreed to deliver military equipment to Armenia.

After visiting displaced Artsakh residents, including burn patients injured in a Stepanakert fuel depot station explosion, the minister pledged military support.

“I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense. You’ll understand that I can’t go into more detail at the moment,” Colonna said on October 3.

Colonna’s pledge of military support to Armenia has further angered Baku, with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan complaining to European Council President Charles Michel about what he called the “anti-Azerbaijan” posturing by Paris and the EU.

Asbarez: Pashinyan Accuses ‘Security Allies’ of Plotting Regime Change in Armenia

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses the European Parliament on Dec. 17


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an address to the European Parliament on Tuesday, accused Armenia’s “security allies” of plotting regime change in the country, while more than 100,000 Artsakh residents were being displaced as a result of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing campaign.

In an overt pivot toward Europe, Pashinyan said that while he and his government have been working hard to sustain Armenia’s democracy, others, specifically Armenia’s allies, have been plotting to overthrow the government.

“Democracy in Armenia continues to sustain strong blows which act in nearly the same scenario: foreign aggression, followed by inaction of Armenia’s allies, then attempts to use the war or humanitarian situation or the threat of foreign security to overthrow Armenia’s democracy and sovereignty, which are manifested by incitements of domestic turmoil with hybrid technologies guided by foreign powers,” Pashinyan said.

Armenia underwent such realities several times since 2020, with the most major one happening in September 2022, when Azerbaijan attacked Armenia and occupied sovereign territories.

“The most recent and most tragic incidents of this kind took place very recently, when Azerbaijan, fulfilling its long-standing policy of ethnic cleansing, carried out a large-scale attack on Nagorno Karabakh. At the time when 100,000 Armenians were fleeing Nagorno Karabakh to the Republic of Armenia, our allies in the security sector not only did not help us, but also made public calls for a change of power in Armenia, to overthrow the democratic government,” Pashinyan stressed.

“But the people of the Republic of Armenia consolidated for their own independence, sovereignty, democracy, and another conspiracy against our state failed. The government and the people of the Republic of Armenia combined efforts to solve the problem of accepting and sheltering more than 100,000 Armenians who were victims of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, and I must record that we did it with dignity, so that our international partners admit that they have not seen a case when 100,000 refugees enter a country in a week and that country can accept all of them without establishing refugee camps and tent settlements,” Pashinyan claimed.

While not naming the so-called “security allies,” Pashinyan on several occasions during his remarks alluded to Armenia’s membership in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization and cited the group’s inactions when Azerbaijan attacked and later invaded swaths of Armenia’s sovereign territory since he, along with the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan, signed the infamous November 9, 2020 agreement.

Pashinyan told European lawmakers that Armenia is ready foster stronger ties with the European Union.

“The Republic of Armenia is ready to be closer to the EU, as close as the EU would consider it possible,” Pashinyan said during his speech.

“Our joint statement with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says ‘in these difficult times, the EU and Armenia stand shoulder to shoulder.’ Let’s continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with a commitment to make the times better. As I said, I am convinced that democracy can ensure peace, security, unity, prosperity and happiness. Let’s prove this together,” Pashinyan added.

He said that the EU has become one of Armenia’s key partners over the past years.

Pashinyan also expressed his readiness to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan by the end of this year. However, he said, Azerbaijan has been derailing the process, despite numerous warnings his government presented to the EU and other international bodies.

“The Government of Armenia and the European Parliament have repeatedly warned about the imminent ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Government of Armenia has sent many calls to the UN, OSCE, EU to send a fact-finding team to the illegally blocked Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh, but no organization made a relevant decision. We initiated three discussions related to the issue in the UN Security Council, but the discussions did not have any practical results and here, Nagorno Karabakh is already depopulated. In the conditions of inactivity of the Russian peacekeeping force, more than 100,000 Armenians left their homes and homeland in Nagorno Karabakh within a week, another 20,000 had been forced to abandon Nagorno Karabakh immediately after the 44-day war, and a part of them had no chance to return to Nagorno Karabakh due to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, which started in December 2022,” explained Pashinyan.

“And today some are pretending that they do not understand why the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh left their homes en masse. This is cynicism in and of itself, because the answer is more than clear. Azerbaijan clearly and unequivocally demonstrated its decision to make the life of Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh impossible,” emphasized Pashinyan.

“Since December 2022, during the period of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have been deprived of external supplies of gas, electricity, fuel, food, baby food, medicine, hygienic and other essential goods, while civilians engaged in agricultural work have been targeted by the Azerbaijani armed forces,” said Pashinyan.

“Since December 2022, we have alerted dozens of times about Azerbaijan’s plan: close the Lachin Corridor, starve people, increase military, informational and psychological pressure, then open the Lachin Corridor, forcing all Armenians to leave,” added Pashinyan.

He said that, after vocally discussing this issue throughout 2023, there was no tangible action by the international community.

“ I do not accept the surprised reaction of some international officials over the depopulation of Nagorno Karabakh that took place in September. At the same time, I must thank the European Parliament for calling what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh by its name. This is important in terms of protecting the future rights of people who have been deprived of their motherland,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister also said that Armenia is willing to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan by the end of the year.

“We are ready to sign a treaty on peace and normalization of relations with Azerbaijan by the end of the year,” Pashinyan said, adding that Azerbaijan’s refusal to attend a planned meeting earlier this month in Granada, Spain “did not make our work easier.”

Signing a peace treaty by year’s end would be strongly realistic if the principles adopted during meetings in Brussels were officially reaffirmed, Pashinyan said, referring to the agreement he and Aliyev made to recognize each other’s territorial integrity.

ANCA-WR to Honor Longtime Activist Michael Mahdesian with ‘Vahan Cardashian’ Award

BY KATY SIMONIAN

The Armenian National Committee of America –Western Region will honor the highly esteemed, prolific work of activist and Servicon Systems Chairman, Michael Mahdesian with the Vahan Cardashian Award at the 2023 Awards event, which will be held on Sunday, November 12th at The Omni Hotel in Los Angeles.

Following nearly ten months of Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of Artsakh and its military onslaught which resulted in the forced depopulation of Artsakh, the ANCA-WR Board seriously considered canceling this year’s Awards Gala. However, remembering the inspiring words of Artsakh Foreign Minister and last year’s Freedom Award honoree David Babayan, who is currently unlawfully imprisoned in Baku, the ANCA-WR Board decided that it must not cower in the face of Azeri aggression and that it must forge ahead in a show of unity and resilience against the injustices inflicted on our people, pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds toward humanitarian assistance for Artsakh genocide survivors.

For his unwavering dedication to promoting human rights for the Armenian community and beyond, Michael Mahdesian exemplifies the spirit of organizing collective efforts in the name of speaking truth to power, inspired by the award’s namesake, Vahan Cardashian himself. The fearless spirit of Cardashian is something all Armenians from around the world need now more than ever as the unspeakable horrors of genocide and forced displacement continue to plague the over 100,000 Armenians of Artsakh while Armenia remains under threat by Azerbaijan.

“It is with great pride that the ANCA-WR salutes Michael Mahdesian for his lifetime of brave, impassioned service to the advancement of the Armenian Cause and to humanitarianism at home and abroad. His knowledge and experience in public policy and human rights has inspired generations of activists,” says ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

“His fierce commitment to giving a voice to those in need is an example for all Armenians, as we stand in solidarity with people throughout the world who seek democracy and a better life. His impact on the Armenian American community continues to grow, as we embrace a new era of activism through the principles of thoughtful action Michael has lived by throughout his years of public service,” Hovsepian added.

Heralded for his tireless efforts to establish Armenian independence, Cardashian single-handedly lobbied the United States for support in creating an independent Armenian state in the aftermath of World War I and the Armenian Genocide.

As the founder of the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), he assembled a group of respected American scholars and diplomats with broad spheres of influence to elevate the Armenian Cause to the most powerful figures in the US government. In doing so, he created the first Armenian American lobbying group, which served as the predecessor for what would become the modern-day ANCA.

It is fitting and deeply poetic to know that the advocacy Cardashian spearheaded in the early twentieth century to fulfill his vision for a powerful Armenian nation and Diaspora was carried on by Michael Mahdesian, as he helped establish and advise the ANCA and ANCA-WR, beginning a new, prosperous era for the Armenian community in the United States.

Armenians around the world know well the haunting silence of an international community that fails to intervene in preventing injustice and crimes against humanity. It is that deafening silence that first inspired Michael Mahdesian to devote his life to taking action in the service of those without a voice and become an indefatigable advocate for peace.

Born in Los Angeles, he began his collegiate career as a film student at the University of Southern California. After a transformative trip hitchhiking across America and backpacking throughout Europe, Mahdesian turned his focus to public and foreign policy, completing his Master’s degree in Urban Planning and International Economic Development at UCLA.

After completing his education, his entry into public service began in spectacular fashion, when he worked for legendary political activist Tom Hayden’s successful campaign for California State Assembly, serving as his Policy Director and Press Secretary. Mahdesian went on to contribute to the Campaign for Economic Democracy, by winning a contract to train Vista Volunteers in community organization. The grassroots organization led by Hayden and wife Jane Fonda, which helped achieve progressive goals in California, such as protecting renters, unions, and women’s rights throughout the 1970s and 1980s, made a profound impact on the political landscape of California, inspiring generations of activists to take part in causes that initiate, promote and maintain peace and prosperity for all people.

It was also during this era that Mahdesian became a prominent leader in the Armenian American community in Los Angeles, where he helped to establish the ANCA as an effective, political advocacy group. For decades, he has served as a most gracious supporter and advisor to ANCA and ANCA-WR, applying his energy, perspective and years of advocacy to fulfill his commitment to ensuring the Armenian community has a voice within American politics in the local and national arena.

In the early 1980’s, Mahdesian was able to apply his experience with CED and the ANCA to become a top aide, strategist, and fundraiser for the DCCC in Washington DC under the leadership of Congressman Tony Coelho. Here, he not only helped the Democratic Party retain its congressional majority despite the popularity of President Reagan, but also met his future wife, Natalie.

The couple returned to Los Angeles to start a family, and Michael started a Janitorial Supply Company that eventually became the Supply Division of Servicon, his father Richard’s company.
In 1989, after the devastating earthquake in Armenia, Mahdesian took action, organizing an air lift which led the disaster relief efforts out of the United States, helping secure vital aid for the suffering people of Armenia. It is poignant to think that it was his service to the homeland of his ancestors that ultimately led to his future role in President Bill Clinton’s administration.

His extensive experience in the field led President Clinton to appoint him to serve as the Bureau Deputy of USAID in the State Department, where he was tasked with overseeing international humanitarian aid and post-conflict transitions to peace and democracy.

During his tenure in the State Department, he became a high-ranking operational diplomat on the ground during many international crises. He was helpful immediately following the Rwandan Genocide, developed programs on the ground in coordination with the Good Friday Accords in Northern Ireland, led the first US team into the heart of the Congo after the overthrow of Mobutu, as well as administering humanitarian aid to those in need during conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

It is difficult to measure the impact of his humanitarian work, as countless people have been helped by his diplomatic efforts and time in the field.

In 2000 he returned to Servicon as Chairman of the Board, leading the company and custodial industry to new heights. He pioneered Green Cleaning and efforts toward sustainability, worked with lawmakers in Sacramento to root out sexual harassment in the industry as well as crack down on the underground market, which depressed wages and benefits for workers.
In 2001, he was appointed Commissioner on the Planning Commission by Los Angeles Mayor Jimmy Hahn, where he served four years in the position, building better infrastructure throughout the city.

During the pandemic, he founded ServiconCares, a philanthropic foundation that both donates to and partners with groups in Southern California to sustainably improve the communities where Servicon employees reside. He has remained active in progressive politics throughout his entire career, devoting his life to making sure the people of California, the United States, and the world have better opportunities for prosperity and peace.

He recently received one of the state’s highest honors, when in July, the State of California and the California Assembly conferred an official resolution commending him for his career of service to the country, California, humanity, and the Armenian community.

The opening of the resolution states: “Michael Mahdesian, a respected California civic, community, and humanitarian leader, has brought credit and distinction to himself through his many notable achievements and has significantly improved the quality of life for people around the world through his efforts, and it is appropriate at this time to highlight his many accomplishments and extend to him special honors and the highest commendations.”

Upon receiving this recognition, Mahdesian reflected on his father and the lessons he learned in living a life of helping people in need, stating “My father was a first generation American who came of age during the Great Depression. He knew the value of hard work. He also valued treating others with respect and helping elevate the people, community, and industry he so loved. He passed these values along to me. This recognition encourages me that I have carried on his traditions and helped in some small ways to make this world a better place.”

Empathy is one of the greatest hallmarks of the Armenian spirit. The ability to see our shared humanity and extend a hand to people across cultures represents the best of who we are as Armenian Americans. As an advocate for the Armenian community and for all who seek justice, Mahdesian continues to honor Vahan Cardashian’s legacy while building an inspiring legacy of his own as a champion of human rights. Michael Mahdesian has embodied the virtues of public service throughout his life and work, motivating generations of people to raise their voices in the name of promoting, securing and preserving justice, peace, prosperity and a better life for all people.

For more information about Michael Mahdesian’s extraordinary humanitarian efforts in Los Angeles, the US, and around the world, and to purchase tickets for the 2023 ANCA-Western Region Awards event, please click here. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s gala will be donated to support Artsakh Genocide survivors.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

Katy Simonian is a member of the 2023 ANCA-WR Awards event.




RFE/RL Armenian Service – 10/17/2023

                                        Tuesday, 


Armenia Not Democracy, Says Ex-President

        • Anush Mkrtchian

Armenia - Former President Serzh Sarkisian and his supporters visit the Komitas 
Pantheon in Yerevan, March 25, 2022.


Former President Serzh Sarkisian on Tuesday brushed aside government claims that 
Armenia became a democratic country after he was forced to resign during the 
2018 “velvet revolution.”

“If this is democracy, then nobody needs it,” Sarkisian told reporters, citing 
existential threats facing the country now.

“If there are more than 20 political prisoners now, if 150,000 people were 
simply expelled from a part of our homeland [Nagorno-Karabakh], then what 
democracy are you talking about?” he said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, who swept to power as a result of the 2018 mass 
protests, again claimed to have turned Armenia into a democracy when he 
addressed the European Parliament earlier in the day. He said his country “would 
have lost its independence and sovereignty had it not been democratic.”

Opposition groups, including Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) accuse him of 
jailing political opponents, suppressing judicial independence and issuing 
political orders to law-enforcement bodies. The ex-president faced similar 
accusations when he governed Armenia from 2008-2018.

The “political prisoners” mentioned by him presumably include individuals 
arrested and prosecuted during last month’s anti-government protests in Yerevan 
sparked by the Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. The 
protesters accused Pashinian of selling out Karabakh and its ethnic Armenian 
population that has fled the region. Sarkisian also held the Armenian premier 
responsible for the fall of Karabakh.




Karabakh Leader ‘Forced To Dissolve Republic’

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Ethnic Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh embrace upon their arrival 
in the Armenian border village of Kornidzor, September 26, 2023.


Nagorno-Karabakh’s president accepted Azerbaijan’s demands to dissolve all 
Karabakh government bodies to allow the region’s ethnic Armenian population to 
safely flee its homeland, exiled Karabakh officials in Yerevan said on Tuesday.

Samvel Shahramanian signed a corresponding decree on September 28 just over a 
week after a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped an Azerbaijani military 
offensive. Under the terms of that agreement, Karabakh disarmed and disbanded 
its army, paving the way for the restoration of full Azerbaijani control over 
the territory.

Shahramanian’s decree said that the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, 
set up in September 1991, will cease to exist on January 1. Some prominent 
Karabakh Armenians challenged the legality of the decree, raising more questions 
about the circumstances in which it was signed.

Shahramanian, one of the last ethnic Armenians to leave the region, has avoided 
any contact with the press since arriving in Armenia along with more than 
100,000 Karabakh residents.

Hunan Tadevosian, the spokesman for the Karabakh interior ministry, said his 
decree was demanded by Azerbaijan and Shahramanian signed it in order to “save 
human lives.” “There was no other option,” Tadevosian told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service.

Aram Harutiunian, a lawmaker representing Karabakh’s largest party, confirmed 
that. He said Baku warned that Azerbaijani troops will enter Stepanakert if 
Shahramanian rejects the “ultimatum.”

The decree in question has still not been publicized in full. Some Karabakh 
politicians and public figures have said that it must be declared null and void 
now that Karabakh has been almost fully depopulated. Several opposition figures 
in Armenia have echoed their calls.

The Armenian government is unlikely to back them. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
pointedly declined to congratulate Shahramanian when he was elected president by 
the Karabakh legislature in early September.




Pashinian Addresses EU Parliament, Blasts ‘Armenia’s Allies’


France - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses the European 
Parliament in Strasbourg, .


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian denounced Russian peacekeepers for not preventing 
the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh and seemingly accused Russia of using Armenia’s 
conflict with Azerbaijan to try to topple him in a speech delivered at the 
European Parliament on Tuesday.

Pashinian addressed the European Parliament’s legislative body amid Yerevan's 
deepening rift with Moscow, its longtime ally locked in a geopolitical standoff 
with the West.

“Democracy in Armenia … continues to receive strong blows that follow an almost 
exactly repeated scenario: foreign aggression, then the inaction of Armenia's 
security allies, then attempts to use the war or the humanitarian situation or 
external security threats to subvert Armenia's democracy and sovereignty by 
inciting internal instability with hybrid techniques directed by external 
forces,” he said.

Pashinian pointed to Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive in Karabakh 
which caused a mass exodus of the region’s ethnic Armenian population and 
sparked renewed anti-government protests in Yerevan.

“As hundreds of thousands of Armenians were fleeing from Nagorno-Karabakh to the 
Republic of Armenia, our security allies not only did not help us but also made 
public calls for regime change in Armenia,” he said. “But the people of Armenia 
united for their own independence, sovereignty, democracy, and another 
conspiracy against our state failed.”

Pashinian already implicitly accused Moscow of fomenting the angry street 
protests against his rule in the immediate aftermath of the Azerbaijani assault. 
Their organizers and participants blamed him for Baku’s takeover of Karabakh, 
saying that he precipitated it with his recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty 
over the region.

Pashinian again sought to shift the blame to Moscow, saying that the Karabakh 
Armenians fled their homeland due to the “inaction of the Russian peacekeeping 
contingent.” President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have defended 
the peacekeepers.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Pashinian late last month of seeking to 
ruin Russian-Armenian relations and reorient his country towards the West. 
Earlier in September, it deplored “a series of unfriendly steps” taken by 
Yerevan.

Moscow has also been critical of Western efforts to broker an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal, saying that their main purpose is to drive 
Russia out of the South Caucasus. Putin offered last week to host fresh talks 
between Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Pashinian signaled on Tuesday that he still prefers the Western mediation and 
hopes it will result in an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty soon. He noted that 
he and Aliyev are due to meet in Brussels together with EU head Charles Michel 
later this year.

Pashinian further stated that he wants to deepen Armenia’s ties with the EU “as 
much as the European Union finds it possible.”



Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

 

"Armenia’s democracy continues to receive blows from outside forces" – Pashinyan

Oct 17 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Pashinian’s speech at the European Parliament

“Some pretend not to understand why the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh left their homes en masse. Such questions seem cynical in themselves. The answer is more than simple. Azerbaijan has clearly and unambiguously demonstrated its decision to make life impossible for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh,” said the Armenian Prime Minister in the European Parliament.

According to Nikol Pashinyan, the Karabakh Armenians left their homes and their homeland in one week, and this happened “in the conditions of inaction” of the Russian peacekeeping contingent called to ensure their security.

“At a time when 100,000 Armenians fled from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, our security allies not only did not help us, but also made public calls for a change of power in Armenia, for the overthrow of the democratic government,” he said.

Pashinyan emphasized that “another ‘plot’ against the Armenian state failed as a result of the unity of the people.”

During his speech in the European Parliament, the Prime Minister touched upon the problems related to the resettlement of Karabakh Armenians in the country, the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, as well as the challenges and threats facing democracy in Armenia.

Main points of the Armenian Prime Minister’s speech in the European Parliament.


  • The Armenian Parliament ratifies the Rome Statute. What was it for?
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Pashinyan emphasized that “surprised faces” of some representatives of international structures in connection with the exodus of all Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh are unacceptable to him.

He reminded that he himself warned about the threat of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh for several months in a row, and various organizations and countries made statements, appeals, adopted resolutions on the issue, including in the European Parliament. But even the decision of the UN International Court of Justice did not change anything.

This is Pashinyan’s opinion both about the work of the government, which provided housing for compatriots arriving from NK, and the ordinary residents of Armenia, who welcomed them into their homes.

“Our international partners confess that they have not seen a case when 100 thousand refugees entered the country in a week and this country could accept all of them without creating refugee camps and tent settlements,” European deputies applauded after this statement of the Prime Minister.

He informed that Armenia is implementing a $100 million program to support IDPs. He thanked the EU and the countries that have already provided financial aid, noting that the country needs “budgetary support” to overcome the humanitarian crisis.

JAMnews tells about those who have resettled in Armenia. What they came with, what they left behind in their homeland and what they expect

The Armenian Prime Minister announced that the region needs peace and he came to the European Parliament with this very message:

“There is a need for a situation when all countries of the region will live with open borders, will be linked by active economic, political and cultural ties, with accumulated experience and traditions of solving all issues through diplomacy and dialog.”

According to Pashinyan, he considers it his political commitment to support the establishment of peace in the region.

Since 2020, Pashinyan said, Armenia has received more than one blow to its democracy, and each time it happened according to a recurring scenario:

“Namely, the following happened: external aggression, then inaction of Armenia’s security allies, then attempts to use war or humanitarian situation or external security threat to overthrow the democracy and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia – using hybrid technologies provoking internal instability directed by external forces.”

According to him, the most serious of such strikes was Azerbaijan’s invasion of Armenia’s sovereign territory in September 2022. “The last and most tragic” he called the military actions that Azerbaijan initiated in Nagorno-Karabakh in September this year.

He believes that “from the inevitable in many ways ordeals that have fallen to Armenia’s share in recent years, the country would have been simply paralyzed, would have lost its independence and sovereignty if it had not been democratic.”

At the same time, the Prime Minister is sure that democracy is going through hard times not only in Armenia:

“The events taking place in Armenia and elsewhere in the world raise the following question: whether democracy is capable of ensuring security, peace, unity, well-being and happiness. I didn’t come here to ask that question, I came here to answer it. My answer is unequivocally yes.

Conflictologist Arif Yunusov does not exclude that in case of the beginning of military actions on the part of Azerbaijan on the territory of Armenia, Western partners may resort to sanctions against Baku

According to Pashinyan, this can be quite realistic if official Baku officially confirms the previously developed principles of the settlement of relations during the upcoming meeting in Brussels. This refers to the agreements that were reached during earlier meetings. In particular, Pashinyan spoke about the meeting held in Prague on October 6, 2022, and the Brussels talks organized this year.

The sides, according to Pashinyan, reached the following agreements and worked out the following principles for the settlement of relations:

  • mutual recognition of the countries’ sovereignty, inviolability of borders and territorial integrity,
  • demarcation of borders on the basis of the latest maps of the USSR General Staff, which should also become the basis for mutual withdrawal of troops,
  • unblocking of regional communications on the basis of full respect for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass, as well as equality and reciprocity.

He assured that Armenia “has the will to move toward peace.” But Pashinyan expects that the international community, the EU and the countries of the region will provide support to make this chance a reality.

He emphasized that there was a serious opportunity for a breakthrough in the peace process at the Granada meeting, but Aliyev refused to participate in it.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Council President Charles Michel held a quadrilateral meeting in Granada within the framework of the third summit of the European Political Community. The President of Azerbaijan refused to participate in this meeting, citing France’s biased position.

Pashinyan said that the President of Azerbaijan, unlike him, did not declare that he would recognize Armenia’s territorial integrity within certain borders, i.e. on the territory of 29.8 thousand square kilometers. Only recently he made a statement without indicating specific figures. In his opinion, Aliyev avoids specifying in order to put forward Armenia’s territorial claims:

“At the same time, Ilham Aliyev declares that there is no border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but according to the Alma-Ata Declaration, the administrative borders of the former Soviet republics have become the state borders of these countries.”

The Armenian Prime Minister also called ambiguous the statements made by Baku regarding the maps on which the border should be demarcated.

At the end of this topic, he announced that Azerbaijan puts forward one more demand that has no grounds, namely the provision of an extraterritorial corridor through the territory of Armenia.

Main provisions of the statement adopted at the end of the Pashinyan-Macron-Scholz-Michel quadrilateral meeting, as well as a commentary by an Armenian political scientist

Touching upon the topic of the so-called “Zangezur corridor”, the Prime Minister said he had not made such a promise:

“There are analytical studies that Baku manipulates the corridor terminology in order to provoke a new war in the region, occupy new territories of Armenia and continue the blockade of Armenia.”

Meanwhile, he re-emphasized that there is an agreement to unblock regional communications in compliance with the legislations of the countries through which they pass:

“We are ready to make such decisions a day earlier, we are ready to restore the Meghri railroad.”

The Armenian side, as Pashinyan said, calls this program “Armenian Crossroads”, but it can become regional and be called “Crossroads of Peace”. He assured that Yerevan is ready to unblock the highways as well, to ensure the safety of people and goods passing through them.

Main provisions of the statement adopted at the end of the Pashinyan-Macron-Scholz-Michel quadrilateral meeting, as well as a commentary by an Armenian political scientist

At the end of his speech, Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia is ready to establish even closer relations with the EU “as far as the EU considers it possible”. According to him, the European Union is Armenia’s key partner and economic ties are getting stronger. The Prime Minister listed the directions of cooperation with European partners: economic and investment programs, reforms in the spheres of education, state administration and judicial system.

In addition to economic and investment programs, he also mentioned reforms in education and public administration, judicial, police and rescue systems.

“But for the first time, the EU was also involved in Armenia’s security agenda,” he emphasized, referring to the EU civilian observer mission monitoring the border with Azerbaijan.

https://jam-news.net/pashinians-speech-at-the-european-parliament/

Armenia says it is ready to make peace but Azerbaijan says process undermined

Reuters
Oct 17 2023

TBILISI, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday said he was ready to sign a peace deal with Azerbaijan by the end of the year, even as Baku accused Yerevan of undermining the process of normalising their relations.

Russia's state-run TASS news agency cited Pashinyan as telling the European Parliament in Strasbourg that Armenia was ready to end more than three decades of hostilities, and to guarantee the safety of ethnic Azeris in Armenia.

But in a statement later on, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry accused Pashinyan of undermining the peace process with "aggressive rhetoric". It said Armenia as a country had a reputation for "blunt falsification of facts and history".

The two countries have in recent weeks stated their willingness to sign a treaty to end decades of intermittent conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that Azerbaijan recaptured last month, prompting most of its population of some 120,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.

Armenia describes the Karabakh Armenians' flight as ethnic cleansing driven by the threat of violence after a nine-month blockade of essential supplies, the latest chapter in a conflict between Christian Armenians and Turkic Muslim Azeris that goes back more than a century.

Azerbaijan says the Karabakh Armenian civilians were welcome to stay and be integrated in Azerbaijani society, but left voluntarily.

Beyond Karabakh, the two countries' shared border is riddled with small exclaves surrounded by the other side's land – sovereign territory that is in effect occupied by the other side – complicating a final peace deal. Exchanges of fire across the frontier, sometimes fatal, are a regular occurrence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said he believed a peace deal was achievable if both sides showed goodwill, playing down the difficulty of reaching an agreement on their shared border.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday made his first visit to the territories retaken by Azerbaijan last month, and was filmed raising Azerbaijan's flag in the region's capital and treading on the flag of Karabakh's dissolved ethnic Armenian authority.

Reporting by Felix Light in Tbilisi and Nailia Bagirova; Editing by Kevin Liffey

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/armenia-ready-sign-peace-deal-with-azerbaijan-by-year-end-tass-cites-pm-2023-10-17/

Syunik Province: The New Epicenter in Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

Oct 17 2023
By Momen Zellmi

In the shadow of towering mountains, the residents of Armenia’s southern province, Syunik, are living in the echo of a conflict that refuses to conclude. The specter of Azerbaijan, circling with a rapacious gaze, instills a palpable fear as the region becomes the new epicenter of a long-standing territorial dispute between the two nations.

(Also Read: Raising the Flag: Azerbaijani Sovereignty Asserted in Karabakh)

With the ink barely dried on the ceasefire agreement ending the violent six-week war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is stoking the embers of discord. He contends that the southern province of Syunik, a part of Armenia, is historically a region of Azerbaijan – a claim that has become a chilling foreboding of potential military aggression.

The United States, an active observer of the region’s complex dynamics, has denied circulating reports suggesting that Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned lawmakers of an imminent Azerbaijani invasion. Yet, the denial offers little comfort to the anxious Armenians, who feel the specter of the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh looming large.

As political tensions simmer, the human cost of the conflict is mounting. Over 100,000 refugees, homeless and traumatized, have sought shelter in Armenia following Azerbaijan’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian government, initially prepared for 40,000 displaced individuals, is grappling with the overwhelming influx of refugees.

While the Armenian government is providing relocation payments and monthly support, the UN High Commission for Refugees has called for international aid. The United States, in response, has pledged over $11.5 million in humanitarian assistance.

Amidst the chaos, hope persists in the form of various organizations and churches, both at home and abroad, extending their helping hand. Frontline Therapists, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, and the Armenian Missionary Association of America are among those organizations providing aid and support to the displaced individuals, offering services ranging from food and shelter to mental health support.

(Also Read: Azerbaijani President Raises National Flag in Disputed Karabakh Region)

The situation in Armenia’s southern province remains fraught with tension. A lasting resolution to the conflict requires careful diplomacy and a commitment to peace from both parties, a challenge made more complex by the deep-seated historical and political animosities between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The international community, including the United States and the European Union, has insisted on a peaceful resolution and urged Azerbaijan to respect Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Yet, these calls echo in an environment where fear and uncertainty are the only constants, as the people of Syunik wait, caught in a geopolitical crossfire with no end in sight.

Momen Zellmi, a prominent political analyst, researcher, and diplomatic advisor, calls Iraqi Kurdistan home. He has earned a PhD in Language Policy and served as the editor-in-chief for a number of local news organizations, including KomalNews, Shrova Agency, and Zanko Kurd. Zellmi's extensive writing portfolio has garnered international attention and acclaim. He has also penned two significant books: "Islamic Jihadists in the Middle East" and "ISIS: Origins and Trajectory." These works provide crucial analysis on the rise and influence of extremist factions in the region, delving into their underlying motives and strategies. Zellmi's deep knowledge of the subject matter makes him an indispensable asset for any newsroom seeking to comprehend the intricate political dynamics of the Middle East.