Category: 2024

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Edward Markey (D-MA), and six Senate colleagues introduced a resolution to require that the U.S. Secretary of State provide a report on Azerbaijan’s human rights practices, including concerning allegations of human rights violations committed against ethnic Armenians, such as unlawful killings, torture, restrictions on freedom of movement, the illegal detention of political prisoners, and ethnic cleansing.

“Azerbaijan has already been bulldozing holy sites and starving Armenian communities. This is the type of country the Biden administration wants supplying LNG to Europe instead of Louisiana natural gas?” said Dr. Cassidy.

“The need to hold Azerbaijan’s government accountable and forge a peaceful path forward is long overdue,” said Senator Markey. “Military action has never been the solution to peace and stability in Nagorno-Karabakh. This resolution puts pressure on Azerbaijan’s government to uphold human rights and stop committing crimes against ethnic Armenians in the region. We must protect the will, the rights, and the bedrock freedoms of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.”  

Since Azerbaijan’s large-scale military offensive on September 19, 2023, against the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled to Armenia in fear of further persecution. Before the attack, Azerbaijani forces blockaded the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world, to prevent imports of essential goods, humanitarian convoys, and all passages of food, fuel, and medicine from the Red Cross to the ethnic Armenians that lived in the territory.  

Cassidy and Markey were joined by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The resolution would require the State Department to produce a report that includes: 

• A description of all steps the State Department has taken to promote the protection of human rights by the Azerbaijan government, including any steps taken to discourage practices that are inimical to the protection of human rights and to publicly or privately call attention or disassociate the U.S. and its security assistance to any Azerbaijani violations of human rights;
• An assessment of whether any extraordinary measures exist that necessitate the continuation of security assistance to Azerbaijan and, if such circumstances do exist, the extent to which assistance should be continued;
• An assessment on the likelihood that U.S assistance has or will be used in support of Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, or in relation to the conflict with Armenia;
• A description of U.S. government efforts to adhere to section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prevents U.S. assistance to any security unit against credible allegations of human rights violations; and
• A determination of whether Azerbaijani officials found responsible in human rights abuses have met the criteria for sanctions and a description of any action the U.S. government is taking to implement sanctions under the Globa Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. 

The resolution is endorsed by Freedom House, Human Rights Foundation (HRF), the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), National Council of Churches (NCC), the Arms Control Association (ACA), Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), Center for International Policy (CIP), Peace Action, Common Defense, Action Corps, Foreign Policy for America (FP4A), Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), National Iranian American Council (NIAC) Action, Women for Weapons Trade Transparency, Church of the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding & Policy, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), In Defense of Christians (IDC), American Friends of Kurdistan (AFK), and the Anglican Office for Government & International Affairs. 

“This resolution marks an important step toward Congress reclaiming its long-neglected civilian protection oversight responsibilities when it comes to U.S. arms transfers and military aid.  In Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor and subsequent armed attacks brought about a humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of civilians as well as mass displacement. Congress is right to invoke Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act to ask serious questions about Azerbaijan’s human rights and civilian protection record and the impact of US arms transfers,” said Annie Shiel at U.S. Advocacy Director of Center for Civilians in Conflict. 

“Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s entire indigenous Armenian population last year was a modern-day genocide the U.S. had every opportunity to prevent – but instead enabled through the reckless provision of military assistance to Baku’s authoritarian regime. The ANCA joins with coalition partners in welcoming Senator Markey’s leadership in restoring much-needed Congressional oversight of U.S. military assistance through the enforcement of Section 502B(c) – an underutilized statute that can help reassert human rights to its rightful place at the center of U.S. foreign policy,” said Aram Hamparian at Executive Director of Armenian National Committee of America. 

“The Human Rights Foundation supports the U.S. Senate resolution requesting the U.S. Secretary of State to produce a comprehensive report scrutinizing the dictatorial regime of Azerbaijan’s dismal human rights record.  For three decades, the Aliyev dynastic dictatorship has systematically rigged elections and committed gross human rights violations, including the persecution and wrongful imprisonment of opposition figures and journalists, as well as the torture and extrajudicial killing of Armenian POWs and civilian detainees in the context of the armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. It’s long overdue that the United States reassess its military assistance to the Aliyev regime,” said Javier El-Hage at Chief Legal and Policy Officer of Human Rights Foundation. 

“CIP applauds Senator Markey and his colleagues for seeking accountability for U.S. arms sales to Azerbaijan, whose government has an abysmal record of human right violations, including a military campaign resulting in the forced displacement of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh. The U.S. government must take the enforcement of its own arms laws and our security partners’ obligations under international humanitarian law seriously in order to achieve President Biden’s own stated goal of upholding human rights and a rules-based order in our foreign policy,” said Nancy Okail at President and CEO of Center for International Policy. 

“Women for Weapons Trade Transparency urges Congress to invoke section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act via this resolution in light of Azerbaijan’s dismal record of human rights violations and war crimes. Congress must utilize their oversight powers to prevent U.S. assistance from being used in such violations and to ensure that U.S. weapons and funding are not hindering freedom of _expression_, threatening the operations of independent media, or aiding in arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecution,” said Lillian Mauldin at Board Member of Women for Weapons Trade Transparency. 

“This resolution is an important effort to uphold U.S. laws requiring an end to military aid to abusive governments like Azerbaijan. It’s imperative that our government consistently and comprehensively enforce its own laws to all recipients of U.S. military aid,” said Sarah Leah Whitson at Executive Director of Democracy for the Arab World Now.        

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as its main defence and military partner because Moscow has repeatedly let it down so Yerevan must think about forging closer ties with the United States and France, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

Armenia, a tiny former Soviet republic bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, has long relied on Russia as a big power ally, though Pashinyan has angered the Kremlin by questioning the foundations of the alliance.

"We need to understand who we can really maintain military-technical and defense relations with," Pashinyan told Armenian Public Radio when asked about reform of Armenia's armed forces.

"Previously, this problem was simple because there was no such question and there was no difficulty in creating a concept. Previously, 95-97% of our defense relations were with the Russian Federation. Now this cannot be for both objective and subjective reasons," he said.

Pashinyan said Armenia should think about what security ties it should build with the United States, France, India and Georgia.

Since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has faced competition from the United States for dominance of what were once Soviet republics and before that parts of the Russian empire.

Pashinyan says Russia failed Armenia when Azerbaijan launched a lightning-fast military operation that took back control over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, triggering an outflow of ethnic Armenians living there.

Russia says that Pashinyan's own failure to navigate the complex rivalries of the South Caucasus was to blame for the 2023 defeat of ethnic Armenian fighters in Karabakh.

Azerbaijan has accused France of sowing the seeds of a new war by supplying arms to Armenia, which is also being courted by the United States.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Last year’s earthquakes on February 6 and 20 undoubtedly changed the routines of intra-city travel in Hatay.

Most of the city's roads are in ruins not only because of the earthquakes but also due to the heavy machinery and trucks involved in debris removal. If you are driving from Antakya to Samandağ, you need to be careful along the way. The road, usually two lanes, can suddenly narrow down to one, and construction machinery and trucks can appear any time.

Vakıflı is a small village, approximately 5 kilometers from Samandağ and 25 kilometers from Antakya districts. Nestled at the foot of Mount Musa, overlooking the Mediterranean, it is surrounded by orange, tangerine, lemon, and grapefruit trees, emanating the fragrance of citrus. It is the last Armenian village in Turkey.

Vakıflı is located in southern Hatay. (Wikimedia Commons)

Journalist and author Serdar Korucu, in his 2021 book "Sancak Düştü" (The Sanjak Falls), writes about the Armenians of Mount Musa, once part of the "İskenderun Sanjak" during the Ottoman era:

"Out of the six villages on Mount Musa – Hıdır Bek/Hıdırbey, Yoğunoluk, Kebusiye (now known as Kapısuyu), Hacıhabibli (Eriklikuyu), Bityas (Batıayaz), Vakıf (Vakıflı) – many Armenians 'preferred' leaving Hatay. The ones who stayed gathered in Vakıflı, affectionately termed by the media as Turkey's 'only Armenian village' (actually the 'last Armenian village'). These migrations were not limited to Mount Musa. In 1936, the Armenian population, constituting 11% of the Sanjak's population, dwindled to a symbolic number."

While the earthquakes on February 6 did not cause destruction in the village of about 35 households and 135 residents, the earthquakes centered around Defne and Samandağ in the Hatay-centered quake on February 20 resulted in nearly half of the church and houses being either damaged or collapsed. The heavy rainfall the day before filled small potholes on the damaged village roads with water, making our journey to Vakıflı a bit challenging.

Vakıflı is a special case for women. The women's cooperative, established long before February 6, re-engaged in regional production activities shortly after the earthquake. We visited Vakıflı to see the women's production workshops and discuss the period before and after February 6.

After the collapse of its bell tower and damage in its walls, Surp Asdvadzadzin Church will undergo restoration.

We call Kuhar Kartun when we arrive at the Vakıfköy Patriarch Mesrob II Cultural Center. A minute later, she greets us from a short distance: "Come, come, we are downstairs, in the production workshop."

The lower floor of the cultural center, located just behind the Surp Asdvadzadzin Church, is the Mihran Ulikyan Production and Food Workshop. The center consists of two separate three-story buildings, including a guesthouse, lodge, and museum.

Kuhar Kartun is from the Vakıfköy Women's Cooperative management and has been living in Vakıflı for about 30 years.

"Unfortunately, Vakıfköy has been the last Armenian village in Turkey since 1938. I say 'unfortunately' because we are the only village left from thousands of villages in these lands," says Kartun. 

They make a living through agriculture, with citrus being the most important product, she says. "At a time when agriculture and production were declared over, we said, 'No giving up.' We came together in 2005 under the name 'Vakıfköy Women's Club.' In December 2021, we formed a cooperative. The goal is for every woman to earn an equal share. We said this village belongs to all of us. There were about 30 women. We, the women, united, sold whatever we could produce, and supported our family budgets. We educated our children."

When we ask her about the February 6 quake,. She says, "I have very, very bad memories of those days." Her mother, living in İskenderun, lost her life under the rubble. She mentions being in İstanbul at that time, with her husband and son in the village.

After the earthquake, the village tea garden became a refuge for all families. Men and women, old and young, everyone lived there for a while, all together. She says, "I couldn't see those here, but I knew what they were going through, what they felt, that they couldn't enter their homes because of their fears. I returned from Istanbul in March. After coming back, I felt relief."

The tea garden became a shelter for the village people after the earthquake. Nowadays, it is a 'spare time' area for the village men; playing backgammon, watching others play… The owner Garbis says they are economically in a difficult situation, mentioning that either the mandarins stay on the trees or they can be sold for next to nothing.

During those days, they received orders upon orders for solidarity purposes, and they quickly consumed the products they could save from the earthquake. Kuhar, who tells us that they rolled up their sleeves afterward, says, "Working became therapy for us."

However, many women had to leave the village after the earthquake. "Why? For the education of their children," says Kuhar Kartun. "Some sent their children to another city, and those whose children were young had to leave themselves. Because transportation to schools from here is difficult; no vehicles, no services, nothing."

Still, hopeful Kuhar says, "I'm sure they will all come back." A short moment of silence. Then, with a confident _expression_ on her face, she says:

"Hatay will rise again. Antakya, Samandağ will rise again. Any place touched by a woman's hand will recover, I'm sure. Just let's unite."

Orange peels carefully arranged are gently placed into two large pots where the sherbet is boiling. A pleasant aroma fills the entire workshop. Elena Çapar, one of the most diligent members of the Vakıfköy Women's Cooperative, slowly stirs the orange peels with a large ladle.

Elena, who was in the village during the earthquakes on February 6 and 20, had her house destroyed, and they had to live in a tent for a long time. Nowadays, they stay as a family in a container provided by the patriarchate and installed by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. "My three sons, my husband, and my 92-year-old father-in-law. We're all together."

Her "workday" begins at home early in the morning, then she deals with cooperative tasks. If she's not cooking, she's at her desk, taking notes on orders with her phone in hand. At the end of the day, she returns "home," and the work cycle continues.

"As Vakıfköy women, we all participate in the production processes. Some of us use our hands, some our eyes, some our noses; everyone has a different role," says Elena.

"For example, today, the syrup for orange jam is boiling. Tomorrow is the day to fill the jars with jams. Orange jam is one of our main products. Walnut jam, orange jam, pomegranate molasses, concentrated syrups, olives, laurel soap. 

“These are our other main products. We make all of these with what we obtain from our own lands. We also have an agricultural cooperative in our village. We process the products we receive from them here."

"They say, 'It's being forgotten,' but it's not forgotten," says Elena. "As long as we live, this fear, this pain will live with us."

Nilgün Aşkar, co-chair of the Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES) Hatay Branch and a psychologist, believes that the solidarity networks established and the cooperatives formed since February 6 have been positive for earthquake-affected women. However, she thinks that these efforts are not sufficient.

Meeting with Aşkar in the park area next to the Zeynelabidin Tomb in Armutlu Neighborhood, where the SES Hatay Branch container is located, Aşkar emphasizes that both women's organizations and labor-professional and democratic mass organizations sensitive to women have been trying to support women through solidarity networks and meet their needs since the beginning of the earthquake.

Psychologist Nilgün Aşkar, noting that earthquake-affected women have dealt with many problems over the past year, says, "Having to deal with so much deprivation, lack, and workload, taking care of household responsibilities such as children, disabled individuals, and the elderly in large families have greatly exhausted women."

Aşkar says that they have formed psychosocial support groups as SES, and women's organizations have carried out similar activities. "Yes, these are breath-giving activities, but they do not reduce this burden. A year has passed, but there has been no change in terms of women's workload, and perhaps paid work has been added, along with financial difficulties."

Aşkar points out that some of the civil society activities for women in Hatay have evolved into the process of cooperativization by the end of the year:

"In these cooperatives, work is being done on the production of local products and their marketing. Of course, these are positive and valuable developments. Unfortunately, they are not enough."

Aşkar, despite these supportive activities, emphasizes that a heavy labor process continues for women in tents, containers, and homes, saying:

"Yet, what is needed here is the rapid opening of care centers and nurseries, the implementation of supportive activities for people with disabilities, and making schools as serviceable as possible. And these can be done by the state. 

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to meet all these needs through palliative methods, projects, and various organizational efforts."

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On February 6, 2023, earthquakes with epicenters in the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Maraş, registering magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5, respectively, resulted in destruction in 11 provinces in Turey’s eastern Mediterranean, Southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Anatolia. The earthquake also caused significant damage and losses of life in Syria and the tremors were felt in almost the entire Turkey, as well as in various parts of the Middle East and Europe.

Maraş, Hatay and Adıyaman suffered the heaviest destruction. In addition to these cities, a three-month state of emergency was declared in Adana, Antep, Elazığ, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Urfa.

According to official data in Turkey, 50,783 people lost their lives, more than 100,000 people were injured, and 7,248 buildings, including public buildings, collapsed during the earthquake. Approximately 14 million people were affected by the disaster. After the disaster, more than 2 million people faced housing problems, and at least 5 million people migrated to different regions.

Hatay was hit by two more earthquakes, measuring 6.4 and 5.8 magnitudes, on February 20, 2023, with the epicenters in the Defne and Samandağ districts. Some buildings heavily damaged on February 6 collapsed due to these earthquakes.

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https://bianet.org/haber/turkey-s-last-armenian-village-stands-strong-with-its-women-after-earthquakes-291348

What was initially greeted with community protests has now become a source of distress, as the hotel’s construction inflicted significant damage upon the church’s foundation and compromised its remarkable architectural value. The proximity of the hotel has raised questions regarding the preservation of this iconic religious and historical landmark.

To make matters worse, recent developments including the installation of a security booth and a parking lot have further escalated concerns about the church’s integrity and the possibility of irreparable harm being done. The Armenian community fears that if immediate action is not taken, Shamkhoretsots Surb Astvatsatsin could be left in ruins.

In a plea to the Georgian government, the Armenian community implores authorities to prioritize the preservation of historical and cultural treasures. The church is not merely a place of worship for the Armenian community but also a symbol of shared heritage and identity.

“Shamkhoretsots Surb Astvatsatsin holds immense historical and cultural significance for our community. Its deterioration would represent a significant loss not only for us but also for the rich tapestry of Tbilisi’s architectural heritage,” expresses Aram Sarkisian, a prominent member of the Armenian community.

Efforts by the Armenian community to draw attention to the plight of the church have intensified. They have called for the Georgian government’s urgent intervention to prevent any further damage and to ensure the long-term preservation of this revered site.

The controversy surrounding the church has sparked conversations about the need for increased regulations and sensitivity towards protecting cultural and historical monuments in Georgia. The incident serves as a reminder to balance development and progress with the preservation of precious heritage.

As the discussions continue, all eyes are on the Georgian government to take immediate steps to safeguard this important piece of history from potential destruction. Time is of the essence, and the Armenian community passionately awaits a resolution that will protect Shamkhoretsots Surb Astvatsatsin, allowing future generations to appreciate its beauty and significance for years to come.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2024/02/03/armenian-community-in-georgia-worries-over-fate-of-historic-church-amidst-construction-controversy/

Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)

630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Contact: Chris Zakian

Tel: (212) 686-0710

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.armenianchurch.us

February 3, 2024

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