Category: 2023

ANCA-WR to Honor L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian with ‘Advocate for Justice’ Award

Garnik Tadevosian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Community, Latest, News, Top Stories

BY KATY SIMONIAN

The Armenian National Committee of America–Western Region will salute L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian with the prestigious “Advocate for Justice” Award for his decades of outstanding leadership for the City of Los Angeles and for his bold efforts to stand in solidarity with the people of Artsakh in the name of genocide prevention and justice.

The Armenian-American community will have the opportunity to honor Krekorian and his history making achievements at the 2023 Awards Banquet which will take place on Sunday, November 12.

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.

On August 23,  Krekorian and his colleague Councilmember Traci Park unveiled the “Republic of Artsakh Square,” on the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue, in front of the building that houses Azerbaijan’s Consulate to Los Angeles.

A poetic act of defiance, full of substance and clarity, Council President Krekorian’s move serves as a reminder to Azerbaijan and to all people that Artsakh is the center of Armenia’s ancestral lands and that Los Angeles stands in solidarity with the Armenians of Artsakh and with this fundamental truth.

His leadership in calling for the United States to recognize and protect the people of Artsakh from genocide is another act of political courage, adding to the decades of excellence with which Paul Krekorian has served his community.

“The ANCA-WR is proud to stand alongside L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian as he continues to advocate for the local Armenian-American community as well as the people of Armenia and Artsakh,” says ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

“He has made history as the first Armenian to hold elected office in the City of Los Angeles and we are confident that because of his transformative leadership, many others will follow in his footsteps. He is a formidable ally who has created an unshakeable space of support for Armenia, as his presence continues to prove impactful across the local, national and global political sphere in the fight for justice,” added Hovsepian.

While the crisis is critical, as threats against Armenia continue, Krekorian’s commitment is strong, clear and unwavering.

“I am deeply moved to receive this honor from the ANCA Western Region,” said Council President Krekorian. “The opportunity to serve the people is an honor in itself, but I am grateful for this recognition of my service, which I consider my duty to the people I represent.”

As the first Armenian-American to hold elected office in the City of Los Angeles and the first to serve as Council President, Krekorian continues to make history as a leading voice for justice for the Armenian Genocide as he maintains his support for relief measures to aid the besieged Armenians of Artsakh.

Krekorian has represented the second district on the Los Angeles City Council since 2010. He was previously a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 43rd Assembly district, serving the largest Armenian-American constituency in the Assembly.

A first-generation college graduate, he received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Southern California and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Before entering politics, he enjoyed a successful 20-year career as an attorney in the private sector. Born in the San Fernando Valley, Krekorian was raised with an appreciation of public service from his mother JoAnn and father Erwin, a World War II veteran who served in the Marine Corps. As a man of immense integrity, heralded for the respect he commands from all political parties, Krekorian continues to inspire young generations of Armenians and people of all walks of life to embrace the rich diversity of Los Angeles and the opportunity to give back in service to others.

As Chair of the City Council’s powerful Budget and Finance Committee for the past ten years, Krekorian led the city to recovery from two fiscal calamities – the Great Recession and the economic collapse caused by the strain of 2020’s COVID-pandemic, completing 11 balanced budgets and building the strongest reserves in the City’s history.

In 2022, Krekorian was unanimously elected by his fellow Councilmembers to serve as the 26th President of the Los Angeles City Council, demonstrating leadership across the political aisle to unite the city in a time of great crisis and strife. In an era of deep political disillusion, which causes people to lose faith in their elected officials and the political process, Paul Krekorian has stood as an example of exceptional leadership. 

For his years of service to the City of Los Angeles and the Armenian community, he received the Gratitude Medal of Armenia in recognition of his work to stand in solidarity with Armenia and Artsakh to build a peaceful future. As his wife Tamar and children Andrew and Lori proudly watched as he received the medal from Armenia’s Consul General Armen Baibourtian, Krekorian felt the presence of the many generations of his family who came before him. 

In 2023, he was awarded the St. Nerses Shnorhali Medal, by order of His Holiness Karekin II, in recognition of his advocacy for the Armenian people in the Diaspora and in Armenia and Artsakh. As the people of Artsakh have been forced to leave their homes to escape impending genocide, Krekorian continues to unite officials across Southern California, most notably L.A. Mayor Karen Bass to raise their collective efforts calling upon the Biden Administration to act to prevent further crimes against humanity through recognition and crucial humanitarian assistance.

In 2013, Krekorian joined an official delegation of the ANCA-WR on a legislative trip to Armenia and Artsakh. Throughout his tenure, he has hosted many leaders of Armenia and Artsakh in Council chambers, welcoming and solidifying the relationship between the city and the Armenian homeland and the Sister City relationship between Los Angeles and Yerevan.

He has also spearheaded the USC Policy Fellows Program with the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, hosting scholars from Armenia who receive training in local government from the City of Los Angeles.

In 2015, along with then-Mayor Eric Garcetti, Krekorian ensured that city resources were generously allocated to the Armenian community’s March for Justice in commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide which turned out 166,000 peaceful protesters who marched six miles within the city toward the Turkish consulate.

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” His words offer a call to action for those who would remain silent while witnessing the suffering of their fellow man.

Council President Paul Krekorian’s career in public service has answered that call, amplifying the voices of the Armenian American community, showcasing that injustices committed against Armenia and the Armenians of Artsakh are in fact a threat to justice prevailing in the United States of America and around the world. He has dedicated himself to magnifying the most sacred connection between our local Armenian community and the people of Armenia and Artsakh, as the way forward depends on shared policies of action, for the sake of justice and peace.

For more information about L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian’s many contributions to the Armenian-American community as well as the people of Southern California and Armenia, and to purchase tickets for the 2023 ANCA-Western Region Awards Banquet, 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-Western Region Awards Banquet/Gala Committee.

Yerevan tells U.S. International Community Failed to Prevent Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh Armenians

Mike Maghakian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

U.S.'s top envoy to the Caucasus Louis Bono (left) meets with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan on Oct. 11


Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Wednesday said that Azerbaijan, in fact, subjected the Artsakh population to ethnic cleansing despite warnings from several world international players, including the United States.

Mirzoyan made the statement during a meeting with the United States’ senior advisor for Caucasus Louis Bono, who traveled to Yerevan after holding talks in Baku.

Armenia’s top diplomat told Bono that the international community’s failure to prevent the mass displacement of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh from their homeland in the 21st century “once again attests to the imperative for clear steps by international stakeholders.”

Touching upon the process aimed at establishing lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus and of normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, Mirzoyan stressed the need to restrain threats against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia.

In the event that Azerbaijan refuses to refrain from such threats its “constructive engagement” in the process will be needed.

The talks with Bono are taking place after Azerbaijan has told European Union leaders of its intention to invade eight villages in Armenia, which it says are being “occupied.”

The two also exchanged views on addressing current humanitarian challenges and rights of more than 100,000 forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Bono also met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with whom he discussed a meeting in Granada, Spain last week that included President Emmanuel Macron of France, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Council President Charles Michel.

Following the Granada meeting, an announcement was made regarding the imperative for Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect each other’s territorial integrity. Concerns were also voiced about the mass displacement of Armenians from Artsakh.

Aliyev complained to Michel that the statement was “anti-Azerbaijani” and said that the leaders of France, Germany, the EU and Armenia had no right to issue a statement that pertains to Azerbaijan without his presence at the meeting.

Aliyev opted out of the Granada meeting one day before it was scheduled to take place. Pashinyan, nevertheless, attended the talks and on Wednesday was chastised by the Azerbaijani leader.

During his visit to Yerevan, Bono also met with Armenia National Security chief Armen Grigoryan.

Politico revealed last week that Bono was among top diplomats from the EU and Russia who held secret talks in Istanbul two days before Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack on Artsakh that forcibly depopulated its residents.

Asbarez: ANCA Chairman Calls Out ‘Vile and Corrupt’ U.S. Policy on Artsakh

Maral Takmazian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories, Videos

ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian

WASHINGTON – Armenian National Committee of America Chairman Raffi Hamparian issued a scathing rebuke of the Trump and Biden administrations’ policies on Artsakh that aided and abetted Azerbaijan’s genocide of 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenians.

In powerful remarks delivered at the ANCA Eastern Region’s “We Stand United for Artsakh” October 9 gathering in Boston, Hamparian outlined the evolution of the disastrous US policy on Artsakh – from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration.

“To be clear – President Biden did not fail on Artsakh. Just the opposite. He got exactly what he wanted – what Trump started, and he finished. The genocide of Armenians from their ancient, indigenous Artsakh homeland,” said Hamparian.

Hamparian saluted the work of the ANCA Eastern Region and issued a clarion call to stalwart advocates for Artsakh and the Armenian Homeland to rebuild, restore, and renew – “to ensure that we have a dynamic and vibrant Diaspora that can stand strong for our Hairenik – all of our Hairenik.”

Raffi Hamparian’s call to action is available here, with the text of prepared remarks provided below.

“U.S. Policy on Artsakh is Vile and Corrupt”

Remarks by ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian
ANCA Eastern Region “We Stand United for Artsakh” Gathering
October 7, 2023
Boston, MA

We are here tonight in Boston, Massachusetts, at this ANCA Eastern Region gathering, with love in our hearts, resolve in our minds, and strength in our bones.

We gather here as happy warriors.

Happy warriors for a cause that belongs to us, to our parents, to our grandparents, to generations before, and to generations yet unborn.

In these dark and forbidding times – times that twist your stomach and torture your soul, times that make you question all that you believe in – it is fitting that we honor individuals who represent rays of light in the darkness.

Individuals of honor, of character, of strength, of dignity. Individuals who serve causes and principles that are the best of us – the very best of us.

Communities are built on the strong – seemingly indestructible – backs of men and women like Barkev Kaligian, Houry Boyamian, and Joseph Dagdigian. These are members of our volunteer army – our “gamavor panag” – who seek nothing more and nothing less than a strong and vibrant Diaspora in service to the cause of freedom and liberty for the Armenian Nation.

This evening – with the hour being late – I will focus my remarks on three key points.

First, I want us all to be clear about the true nature of America’s foreign policy with respect to Artsakh.

Second, I want to express how proud the ANCA is of the exceptional work of the ANCA Eastern Region – under the leadership of Dr. Ara Chalian – during these most trying of times for our common cause.

And third – I want to remind us all that during these dark and forbidding times, we must summon the strength – strength that we must be able to find – to keep the faith alive – certain in the knowledge that Artsakh lives.

To my first point – America’s policy on Artsakh was and is – and I would like to be precise here – both vile and corrupt.  Let me explain why.

Back in 2018 and 2019 – President Trump’s then National Security Advisor John Bolton, began a reassessment of U.S. foreign policy in the Caucasus – with a specific focus on Artsakh.

As part of this review, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Vindman – who worked at the National Security Council under Bolton – summoned a senior Armenian diplomat to the White House to convey that Armenia must prepare its population for peace. In plain English – preparing populations for peace and specifically preparing the people of Artsakh for peace was a code word for integrating Artsakh into Azerbaijan. In effect – a death warrant for the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh.

The Trump Administration backed up its death sentence by shipping tens of millions in military aid to Azerbaijan, and cutting off U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh – even as Aliyev openly announced his plans to destroy Artsakh. Our U.S. Ambassador to Armenia at the time, Lynne Tracy, was, sadly, but not surprisingly, especially enthusiastic in this effort.

What started as a new policy on Artsakh – actually against Artsakh – under the Trump Administration continued and was compounded under the Biden Administration, even after Azerbaijan’s 44-day war in 2020.

In the wake of Baku’s aggression, President Biden twice waived Section 907 – continuing to provide direct American military aid to Azerbaijan. His Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan further deepened ties with the Aliyev regime, well aware of its genocidal intentions – as part of cynical geopolitical games and corrupt oil politics. Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, despite decades of human rights rhetoric, was told to stand down and did just that, failing to lift a finger to help as Artsakh’s population was starved to death by Azerbaijan’s blockade. And the State Department’s Yuri Kim – who testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that “the United States will not countenance any action or effort—short-term or long-term—to ethnically cleanse or commit other atrocities against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh” – was silent as Azerbaijan moved, just days later, to attack and ethnically-cleanse Artsakh.

And finally, on this topic – America’s vile and corrupt policy on Artsakh could only be fully implemented with the complicity of the Republic of Armenia’s present leadership – which, against all reason, recklessly recognized Azerbaijan’s legal sovereignty over Artsakh.

When, in the end, Azerbaijan had depopulated Artsakh, President Biden sent “flowers to the funeral” – by issuing a cruel letter to Armenian authorities that is not worth the paper it was printed on.

So to be clear – President Biden did not fail on Artsakh. Just the opposite. He got exactly what he wanted – what Trump started and he finished. The genocide of Armenians from their ancient, indigenous Artsakh homeland.

As a proud Armenian American – as the son of a father who proudly served this nation in World War II and the Korean War – this pains me. As I know, it pains each of you. We must work to reverse these policies, to roll back their destruction. The John Boltons and Antony Blinkens of Washington do not represent either U.S. interests or American values – and must be stopped before they aid and abet Azerbaijan and Turkey’s longstanding campaign to eradicate the Armenian homeland.

My second point this evening is to salute the remarkable – the heroic work of the ANCA Eastern Region and its brilliant volunteers across the Eastern United States.

This remarkable volunteer army – from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Garden State, from Maine to Florida, from the Keystone State to North Carolina, from Detroit to Chicago, from Providence to Baton Rouge, worked furiously to defend our cause and people of our Hairenik.

They worked tirelessly, in a bipartisan manner, to stop or slow down the Executive Branch – specifically the State Department – hell-bent on “integrating” Artsakh into Azerbaijan. They worked to stop this death sentence.

For this work – for the honorable and effective leadership of Dr. Ara Chalian – ANCA Eastern Region Chairman – for the work of the ANCA Eastern Region Board – for the remarkable efforts of the ANCA Eastern Region chapters, staff, and volunteers – we should all be grateful.

I salute the work of the ANCA Eastern Region.

Finally – and with a clear understanding of all that we face – I want to conclude with these words.

In this time of crisis – we must summon new strength to rebuild, to restore, and to renew.

Rebuild our own faith that Artsakh – against all odds – will be free again.

Restore our commitment to keeping Artsakh alive – in all ways – until we return – our “veratartz” – to a land that has been ours for millennia.

And renew – renew our commitment to our communities here in the Eastern United States – with the work of shining points of light like Barkev Kaligian, Houry Boyamian, and Joseph Dagdigian – to ensure that we have a dynamic and vibrant Diaspora that can stand strong for our Hairenik – all of our Hairenik.

Let me close with the words of an American President:

“Greatness comes not when things go always good for you. But the greatness comes when you’re really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes. Because only if you’ve been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.”

My fellow Armenians – today we are in the valley of death – enduring a genocide conducted against the heroic people of Artsakh.

For this reason – we must, together, rebuild, restore and renew.


CEO of AJR Trucking Elected as New President of the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association (NSRMCA)

Janet Ekmekjian 

PRESS RELEASE
AJR Trucking Inc
435 E Weber Ave,
Compton, CA 90222
Contact: Siranush Zakaryan
Tel: 213-952-5800
Fax: 562-989-9525
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: https://www.ajrtrucking.com

CEO of AJR Trucking Elected as New President of the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association (NSRMCA)
The National Star Route Mail Contractors Association (NSRMCA) elected Jack Khudikyan, CEO of AJR Trucking, as its new President. For the first time in 11 years, NSRMCA has a new president, who was elected by delegates to NSRMCA’s 84th annual National Convention that took place on August 6-9 in Washington D.C. 
Many of the United States Postal Service leaders attended the National Convention, including Governor Ronald A. Stroman, Member of the USPS Board of Governors, Kelly Abney, USPS Chief Logistics Officer and Executive Vice President, Robert Cintron, USPS Vice President of Logistics, and Peter Routsolias, USPS Vice President of Transportation Strategy.
The election of the new president is expected to set the wheel of change in motion in the Association, especially in pursuit of its strategic goals. Since 1935, the NSRMCA has represented and advocated for the interests of transportation companies that contract with the United States Postal Service. These transportation companies are the backbone of the U.S. Postal Service’s surface transportation network, enabling efficient delivery to 161 million locations.
Jack Khudikyan has been in the transportation and logistics industry for nearly two decades. He is known for his resilient leadership, creativity, fostering a culture of innovation, effective negotiation skills, bold style of decision-making, and advocacy for sustainable business practices. His company - AJR Trucking - was established in 1984 (incorporated in 1990) and has been providing transportation services to the USPS for over 30 years. It’s a California-based company having operations nationwide. The company is a three-time recipient of the “Eagle Spirit Award” from the USPS for “Outstanding Management of Time Sensitive Transportation”. The Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) magazine acknowledged AJR Trucking as one of “HDT’s 2022 Top Green Fleets” leading the green revolution in the U.S. trucking industry. AJR Trucking was honored with two USPS top awards at the National Postal Forum (NPF) in May 2023: 2022 Supplier Excellence Award and 2023 Transportation Partner of the Year Award.

Regards, 
Siranush
 

www.YourTeam.marketing
T. 747.272.0707


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CEO of AJR Trucking Elected as New President of the National Star Route Mail Contractors Associatio.pdf

Azeri enclave narrative has no legal grounds, says cartographer

Ani Basmajian

 14:43, 9 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani narrative that it has enclaves inside Armenia is void of any legal grounds, cartographer Ruben Galichyan has said.

Azerbaijan itself has stated in its independence declaration that it is the successor of the 1918-1920 Azerbaijan, and back then no enclaves existed.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has again falsely claimed that eight enclaves are “under Armenian occupation” which must be “liberated”.

Speaking at a press conference, Galichyan showed a 1926 Soviet map verified by the then-ministry of interior, which doesn’t show any enclaves, neither in Armenian nor Azeri territories. Furthermore, territories with an area of 1,200 square kilometers of the Armenian SSR stipulated in this map were later handed over to the Azeri SSR. The Aghavno River was the only division line between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh by that map. More adjacent areas where then handed over to Azeri control.

Moreover, a 1932 map also shows no enclaves.

These enclaves first appeared in a 1940 map, two in Tavush, one in Ararat, and Artsvashen in Azerbaijan. Although these enclaves were drawn up, no documents pertaining to these areas exist, i.e., there’s no legal ground proving their stipulation.

And despite this, in 2014 Azerbaijan published an atlas, showing enclaves located in Armenian territory, but without any note of Artsvashen.

“Two years ago, the Azeri foreign ministry said that if Armenia claims the enclaves to be its territory it should present an official document. But basically, this is a contrary approach, because since these territories are within Armenia, thus they belong to Armenia. And if Azerbaijan has any aspirations for these territories, then it is the one that should present legal grounds, which, basically, do not exist. By the way, the total area of the three enclaves located in our territory is 45 square kilometers, whereas Artsvashen alone is 44 square kilometers. Two years ago, speaking about the topic of enclaves, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about exchanging them, which is the required path for resolving the issue,” the cartographer said.

If Azerbaijan intends to sign any treaty, it must first of all return to Armenia the territories that it captured since 2021, which include around 240 square kilometers, Galichyan said.

According to the USSR general staff, the representatives of the Armenian and Azeri SSRs ratified the maps in 1960-1970s, which was the basis for the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration. But now Azerbaijan is circulating fake maps.

The territories occupied by Azerbaijan are recognized as sovereign Armenian territory by Azerbaijan itself under the 1991 declaration.

“If the Azerbaijani side is not withdrawing from individual parts of our country’s sovereign territory, then how should we negotiate? The long-term goals of Azerbaijan are clear. If they were to have enclaves in Armenian territory, they would then demand a corridor to have land connection with the enclaves, which would have the same role as the so-called Zangezur corridor. On the other hand, it is clearly visible that the Azeri enclaves are on strategically significant highways, and if these were to be connected with Azerbaijan through [extraterritorial] corridors, Armenia would lose its direct connection with its southern provinces, and the Ijevan-Noyemberyan road would be cut off in the north,” the cartographer said.

And now Azerbaijan is hinting that it wants to take over these territories by force.

He warned that any concessions would simply make Azerbaijan want more.

No food, no water: I saw Azerbaijan’s blockade up close. Armenians need our help — now

Garo Vardanian
Detroit Free Press
Oct 9 2023

OPINION

Gary Peters  |  Detroit Free Press
9 hours ago

Two weeks ago, I stood with Armenian officials on a steep overlook near the border of Azerbaijan. Rugged hills surrounded us on all sides. The barren landscape was covered with harsh boulders and dirt paths, and military outposts dotted the terrain. A lone electrical tower sprang up a few feet away. It was eerily quiet — the only sound came from the gravel beneath our boots.

Through binoculars, we inspected a bridge down the hill. The paved passage and military tents seemed innocuous at first glance. But this nondescript road — the Lachin corridor — has become a weapon of the Azerbaijani government and the focal point of a deepening humanitarian crisis. 

That single bridge separates Nagorno-Karabakh — an ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan — from the rest of the world. Last December, the Azerbaijani government closed it down. Their purpose was clear: to eliminate the ethnic Armenian presence in the region.

They are succeeding.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, visited the Armenian border last month. Peters says the U.S. must provide aid to embattled Armenians and levy consequences on Azerbaijan. 


Azerbaijan’s blockade, the subsequent military campaign, and the dissolution of the self-declared Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh are all part of a plan.

Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are facing an existential threat — and we must come to their aid.

Over several months, Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor deprived 120,000 residents of food, water, fuel and other essential supplies. Pregnant women were forced to walk miles to medical clinics. Fuel shortages shut down schools and sidelined emergency vehicles. People got sick from untreated water, then visited pharmacies with empty shelves. Starving citizens lined up for bread in the street, wondering how they would find their family’s next meal. 

From our vantage point above the border, we could see a line of close to 20 trucks, filled with the supplies that Armenians so desperately needed, sitting idle on the side of the road. The Azerbaijani government had kept them from entering Nagorno-Karabakh for months.

Our Armenian counterparts made it clear that the crisis is getting worse. Increased military aggression from Azerbaijan has already claimed hundreds of lives. In this chaos, dozens and possibly even hundreds more — mainly civilians – were killed or injured in an explosion at a gas station. They were getting fuel in order to flee — just a few of more than 100,000 people who have left their homes to seek safety in Armenia over the last week. The cause of the explosion is still unknown — but its deadly toll was a result of the Azerbaijani campaign to force Armenians out. 

Although these stories were deeply disturbing, so too was the lack of information. Until international observers are allowed unimpeded entry into Nagorno-Karabakh, we will be forced to speculate about the extent of these crimes. But almost the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh has already fled — they would not do so unless it was their only choice.

We cannot bear witness to these atrocities in silence. We cannot let these stories fall on deaf ears. The Armenians I met did not want to hear just words — they wanted action, and we must come to their aid. 

The U.S. must help ensure that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh receive the humanitarian assistance they desperately need. Critically — given the history of this region — we must do everything we can to bring in neutral observers to shine a light on the conditions that the Azerbaijani government has created.

But there must also be consequences for this violence. We must halt all U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, and empower President Joe Biden to impose harsh sanctions. I am working to pass legislation that would hold Azerbaijan accountable and prevent taxpayer dollars from financing Azerbaijani aggression. There must be a price paid for these crimes against the Armenian people. 

The day after seeing the border, I paid my respects at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide. The monument is a reminder of a devastating history, and the deep resonance of genocide across generations of the Armenian people. But as I lay flowers near the eternal flame, I also saw it as a call to action, urging us to do everything in our power to stem the tide of ethnic violence. If we are to truly heed that call, we must stand firmly beside the Armenian people. 

Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) has represented the state of Michigan in the United States Senate since 2014. He currently serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee.

https://eu.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2023/10/09/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-ethnic-threat/71076065007/

Russian and Iranian emigres find haven in old Armenian factory

Arbi Tashjian
Reuters
Oct 9 2023
By Roman Churikov
  • Derelict textile plant repurposed as shelter and art space
  • Charity invites artists to small town in northern Armenia
  • Locals welcome new venture after years of post-Soviet decay

TUMANYAN, Armenia, Oct 9 (Reuters) – A disused Armenian textile factory has become a sanctuary for artists and other emigres from Russia, Iran and Ukraine whose lives have been turned upside down by war or political turmoil.

Abandoned workshops that once produced Soviet knitwear have been turned into a creative space for painters, puppet-makers and photographers in a venture that is helping to revitalise a town in decline.

Launched in 2022, the project is called Abastan – "shelter" in Armenian – and is open to participants and guests from around the world.

Polina Ivanova, a co-founder of Abastan, said locals in the northern Armenian town of Tumanyan were at first bemused by the strangers in their midst.

"I think that for many people this was really incomprehensible: who are those people? Why are they here?…

"And slowly, sometimes through public events like theatre performances, sometimes through personal relationships, we get to know the people and people get to know us."

Arghavan Majd, a painter from Iran, said she found the atmosphere "more free" in Abastan and it was easier to make personal connections.

Since Majd left Iran, the country has been convulsed by protests over the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody, and she said she had no intention of going back.

Torfeh Ekhlasi, a puppet maker also from Iran, said she had felt "completely paralysed by bad news" there, "but here all the people are so alive".

Danil, a software engineer from the Russian city of Perm, said he left after President Vladimir Putin called up 300,000 men last year to fight in the war in Ukraine.

"I simply didn't agree with the political agenda in the country and thought that it was dangerous to stay in Russia given my views," he said.

Abastan was established as a charity with funds from an American-Armenian philanthropist who has chosen to remain anonymous. When Reuters journalists visited last month, there were a couple of dozen people in residence – three Iranians, two Ukrainians, an Armenian, a Georgian and the rest from Russia.

Some live on savings or money from relatives, others sell their art or work online – though one Russian said that source of income had dried up.

"At first I worked remotely. And then my company was told that it was undesirable for staff to work from abroad, so they rehired me as a freelancer. Since then I haven't received any salary yet," Danil said.

Timofey Moskovkin, a Russian now working in a cafe funded by the charity, said local people in Tumanyan, a town of about 1,000 people, had treated him warmly.

"In spite of the general context of what's happening in the world, and with Russia, people here are still very welcoming," he said. "I feel good here."

Ararat, a local Armenian man who declined to give his last name, said the arts venture had brought joy to a place that had seen factory closures, unemployment and emigration since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

One evening, he and his wife were walking past the factory. "We looked and saw the lights were on, it was beautiful, there was music and young people dancing," he said.

Writing by Mark Trevelyan Editing by Gareth Jones

As an Azerbaijani, I have to speak out about my country’s ethnic cleansing of Armenians

Emma Jilavian
The Guardian, UK
Oct 9 2023

Ruslan Javadov


We are raised to hate and fear each other, but I want my voice of hope to reach the displaced children of Nagorno-Karabakh

The world has just seen an end to centuries of Armenian existence in Nagorno-Karabakh. All ethnic Armenians have left the disputed region, travelling in a caravan of cars over the border to Armenia. The Armenian children now displaced will hate the Azerbaijanis, just as I once hated the Armenians for what they did to me. I was a victim of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in the 1990s, when it was Armenia that was victorious, and it ethnically cleansed all Azerbaijanis from its lands. I am speaking out, hoping to be a small pebble, lodged in this endless cycle of violence.

Before the first war, inside Azerbaijan’s borders there existed the “Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous oblast”, a majority-Armenian island, so to speak, of mountainous land, with the culturally significant, majority-Azerbaijani citadel Shusha right in the middle. Concentric circles of alternating ethnicities radiated outward from Shusha; Azerbaijanis surrounded by Armenians surrounded by Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijani Kurds and so on – a great inconvenience for emerging nationalist narratives. Being Armenian and Azerbaijani became oppositional and mutually exclusive. Neighbour went against neighbour, and eventually state against state, with their armies wreaking havoc on the other.

Nagorno-Karabakh votes to secede from Soviet Azerbaijan – archive, 1988
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During that war my first childhood memories were formed. I remember walking down a dirt road in my father’s village at dusk when the sky suddenly turned bright as day – bullets flying above my head. I remember attending the burial of my 18-year-old uncle, and being scared of the graveyard, where the eyes of the dead stared at me from pictures on their gravestones. He had been drafted into the war and had died there. I came to understand from the adults’ conversations that he had stepped on a landmine and had his legs blown off. He had then shot himself in the temple before his friends could get to him to stop him.

My mother’s family, Azerbaijani Kurds, hailed from the mountainous district of Lachin. I was told we had a big, beautiful house there, with many windows. My mother fondly remembered how my great-grandmother would take her on horseback up the rugged cliffs. It felt like flying, she would say. Armenian forces ended our ancestral existence there, ethnically cleansing everyone who was not Armenian. I never saw our house, never got to fly on horseback, and never saw Lachin, except in the news with its new Armenian name, “Berdzor”.

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh arrive in Kornidzor, Armenia on 29 September. Photograph: Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters

In school, I learned that the Armenians were villains responsible for all our tragedies; this was not hard to believe given what my family had been through. The Russian empire, we were taught, had transported them into our country as a loyal Christian population from Iran after the conclusion of the Russo-Persian wars in 1828. We learned that the Armenians were conniving tricksters never to be trusted. On TV, I heard Armenians described as “the abominable enemy” and “vandals”. The horrifying pogroms Azerbaijanis committed against the Armenians in our major cities were denied, minimised or explained away as being organised by the Armenians to make themselves look like victims, garner international sympathy and justify starting a war of occupation. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians by Azerbaijani and Soviet troops during the infamous events of 1991 was never even mentioned. Nor did we ever hear about the wilful and systematic destruction of Armenian heritage in Azerbaijan.

I have since come to learn that the Armenians were fed the same types of messages about the Azerbaijanis. We were labelled “Turks”, with obvious traumatic associations with the Armenian genocide, which made us guilty for a crime in another land by another people. The cultural, religious and linguistic differences between the Caucasian Azerbaijanis and Anatolian Turks, who had in fact fought wars with each other, did not concern the Armenian nationalists. We were nothing but barbarian invaders from central Asia with no history and no culture.

After our horrible fate in the 1990s, hatred seized Azerbaijan, and destroyed us. The current president, Ilham Aliyev, took power in 2003 and curtailed free speech, with the notable exception of hate speech against the Armenians. An Azerbaijani is always welcome to hate the Armenians a little more and to blame them for all our problems. The first family has been accused of benefiting from state contracts and business deals; Aliyev has even benefited from the plight of those in Karabakh, using our suffering to legitimise his endless repressions.

‘It’s a ghost town’: UN arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh to find ethnic Armenians have fled
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Aliyev would have you believe that the Armenians are leaving Nagorno-Karabakh of their own free will – a lie. The Armenians know well what sorry destiny awaits them if they stay. This process is, of course, ethnic cleansing.

I left Azerbaijan 15 years ago, displaced this time not by the Armenians but by the cruelty of those who were supposed to love me and protect me. I fled domestic violence after my father tried to kill me for being gay, and there was no person or institution in Azerbaijan that could protect me. I am as displaced as a person could be, and, through my words here, I may never be able to visit Azerbaijan again for fear of persecution. But I am compelled by my conscience.

I want Armenian children being forcefully displaced from their homes to hear the words that would have once meant everything to me: I am sorry we failed you. One day, when you understand what happened to you, hatred will start to drip into your heart, and you will want to seek vengeance. In that moment, take my outstretched hand and let me guide you back to our shared humanity. For the only true “us” and “them” lies between the perpetrators of violence, and those who reject it.

  • Ruslan Javadov is a pseudonym

 

Armenpress: President of the Senate of Czech Republic expresses support to Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty

Karlen Baghdasarian

 09:41,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Vice Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan is leading a delegation to the Czech Republic at the invitation of First Vice President of the Senate of Czech Republic Jiří Drahoš.

The Vice Speaker’s delegation includes MP Arman Yeghoyan, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration Affairs, and MP Hasmik Hakobyan, member of the Armenia-Czech Republic Parliamentary Friendship Group.

On October 9, Arshakyan met with President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miloš Vystrčil.

Arshakyan briefed Vystrčil on the situation resulting from the September 19 Azeri attack in Nagorno-Karabakh that has led to the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population.

The Azerbaijani aggressive policy against Armenia’s territorial integrity, as a result of which nearly 150 square kilometers of territory of Armenia is under occupation, was also discussed.

“There’s no alternative to the peace agenda in our region, we’ve adopted the path of peace and democracy, we are resolute in our choice and we expect support from international partners,” the parliament’s press service quoted Vice Speaker Arshakyan as saying.

The support programs for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh and the cooperation with international partners in this direction were also discussed. Hakob Arshakyan thanked the Czech government for the assistance.

President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil welcomed the latest European Parliament resolution condemning the Azeri attack in Nagorno-Karabakh. He expressed support to Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and democracy.

Civil Contract nominates Tigran Avinyan for Yerevan Mayor at first City Council session

Emil Lazarian

 10:20,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. The Civil Contract party’s faction in the new Yerevan City Council has nominated Tigran Avinyan for the position of Mayor of Yerevan.

Only 37 city councilors (24 from Civil Contract, 5 from Public Voice party and 8 from Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party) are in attendance. The Public Voice and Hanrapetutyun did not formally nominate any candidate.

The Mother Armenia bloc and National Progress party are boycotting the session.  

A confirmation vote will take place for Avinyan’s candidacy.