The delegation headed by Greek Minister of National Defense Panagiotis “Panos” Kammenos will arrive in Armenia for an official visit today.
The official greeting ceremony will take place later today. The Meeting of the Defense Ministers of the two countries will be followed by a press briefing.
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
For over two decades, the international community, led by OSCE Minsk Group mediators representing the United States, France and Russia, has been trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict.
The main obstacle is Azerbaijan’s persistence in shooting while negotiating, and intensifying its attacks on the eve of every crucial meeting for settlement of the conflict. Such unconstructive behavior is totally unacceptable for everyone involved in the peace process. Azerbaijan intentionally escalates the violence on such occasions in order to pressure the international community to force Armenia into making unfair concessions on Artsakh.
To make matters worse, every time Azerbaijani forces launch attacks on Artsakh or Armenia, the Minsk Group mediators issue a routine statement urging both sides to stop firing, thereby equating the violator with the victim. In addition, the mediators cover up their irresponsible statement by claiming that they are not certain which side initiated the shooting.
In October, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R–CA) and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel of New York, initiated a letter signed by 85 House members, to U.S. co-chair, Amb. James Warlick, urging him to take all necessary steps to withdraw snipers from the border, deploy gunfire locator systems along the Line of Contact, and increase the number of field monitors. These measures were accepted by Armenia, Artsakh, the US Congress, and the Minsk Group co-chairs, but rejected by Azerbaijan because of its intent to conceal and continue its warmongering initiatives. Under these untenable circumstances, the three mediators may consider placing gunfire locators on the Artsakh side of the border to record the source of incoming fire. If the mediators are unwilling to take such action, Armenia should go ahead and purchase gunfire locators from US manufacturer Raytheon and recruit independent NGOs to monitor and report the results to the international community.
Once the source of the shooting is identified, the mediators would then be obligated to condemn the perpetrator; otherwise, they would be encouraging Azerbaijan to escalate the attacks on Armenia and Artsakh.
Meanwhile, the mediators must warn Azerbaijan’s autocratic President Ilham Aliyev that should he not cease and desist from making threats and shelling Armenia and Artsakh, they will be forced to submit Azerbaijan’s violations to the United Nations Security Council, to mandate economic sanctions against his country.
The mediators could also temporarily suspend their peacemaking activities by announcing that they are prevented from seeking a negotiated settlement to the conflict, while Azerbaijan keeps on shooting. Surely, it is not possible to fight and talk at the same time!
Since Azerbaijan is not ready to go to war — if it were, it would have started it already instead of merely threatening — it has no choice but to heed the call of the mediators to cease firing and start negotiating in earnest. Freezing the negotiations would be a serious setback for Azerbaijan because that is the only way it can hope to reach some accommodation with Armenia and Artsakh. Armenians, on the other hand, have already accomplished their objective of liberating Artsakh from Azeri occupation and have nothing to gain from further negotiations.
Should the mediators decide not to freeze the peace talks, the Armenian government may decide to suspend its participation in these unproductive negotiations, thus sending a clear message to Baku that shelling Armenia and Artsakh undermines Azerbaijan’s own interests.
If the negotiations are not suspended and Azerbaijan continues its attacks, the Armenian government may eventually respond with a “massive and asymmetrical retaliation,” as it has repeatedly warned. While some may be concerned that such an action would further escalate the violence, in fact it would diminish, if not halt the endless border skirmishes, once Azeri leaders realize that they have more to lose by fighting than talking. It is unfortunate that Pres. Aliyev is exploiting the deaths of young Azeri soldiers on the frontlines to distract his people’s attention away from massive violations of civil rights, corruption at the highest echelons of his government, and abysmal economic conditions due to diminishing oil revenues.
I had the opportunity to discuss some of these issues last week with various officials in Washington, D.C., while Artsakh’s Foreign Minister Garen Mirzoyan was in town to meet with members of Congress and US mediator Amb. Warlick. Two receptions were held to honor the visiting Foreign Minister at the Armenian Embassy and on Capitol Hill, the latter co-hosted by the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, Armenian National Committee of America, Armenian Assembly of America, and the U.S. Office of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic. Several House members, Amb. Warlick, and other dignitaries attended the congressional reception to the chagrin of Azerbaijan’s Embassy which had dispatched a small group of Azeris to protest the event. Chairman Royce announced during the reception that he had asked Amb. Warlick to come to the House of Representatives this week for a briefing on the Artsakh conflict.
A large number of ANCA activists from throughout the USA, including this writer, joined Foreign Minister Mirzoyan in Washington last week, to share a message of peace and democracy for Artsakh with dozens of House and Senate members, urging them to recognize its independence from Azerbaijan.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree today, appointing Armen Amiryan member of the Council of Public Television and Radio Company of Armenia for the term of six year.
The President took note of Articles 27.1, 27.2 of RA Law on Television and Radio and the decision of the ad hoc competition commission formed on November 26, 2015 upon the instruction of the President of the Republic of Armenia.
Born on July 29, 1967, Armen Amiryan graduated from the Armenian State Pedagogical Institute after Khachatur Abovyan. He has worked in the field of television and radio since 1984, has hosted a number of programs on TV.
Armen Amiryan founded the “Ar Radio Intercontinental” Radio Company and the “ArmenAkob” cultural center in 1996.
He worked as Executive Director of Public Radio of Armenia from 1997 to 2015.
In 2006 Armen Amiryan was awarded Movses Khorenatsi Medal. According to a presidential decree, he was granted the Title of Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Armenia in September 2015.
On Tuesday December 15 the president of the Argentine football club Racing Victor Blanco confirmed that they rejected the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines, reports.
The move was hailed from the Armenian community of Argentina. In a statementent titled “Turkish Airlines tried to sponsor Racing to wash the image of the authoritarian government of Turkey,” Armenian Youth Federation of South America organization welcomed the decision. “For several years, Turkish Airlines became the main weapon of Turkish diplomacy around the world sponsoring important sports figures like Kobe Bryant or Lionel Messi. They exhibited their brand with recognized and admired figures to hide the reality of what is currently living the Turkish people,” said the Armenian youth organization.
“The persecution of the Kurdish people and the Peoples Democratic Party, which reached a new limit in November with the murder of human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi, the harassment of opposition media that intensifies whenever there are elections in the country, the repression of peaceful demonstrations of the civil society, the imprisonment of opponents or simply those who ‘insult’ President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the harassment to those who challenge the official story about the Armenian Genocide, the censorship and blocking of Twitter and other social networks and the complicity with the Islamic State to intensify the conflict in Syria, are some of the many reasons that the Turkish diplomacy has to hide their true intentions,” added the Armenian Youth Federation of South America.
“In football, the shirt and the colors are immaculate,” said Alfonso Tabakian, director of the Armenian National Committee of South America. “They are the identity of supporters of a club. Therefore, no fan of world would like their club to be sponsored by a government that violates human rights.” Last year, another Argentine club San Lorenzo de Almagro rejected a millionaire sponsorship offer from Azerbaijan. Racing and San Lorenzo are two of the biggest clubs in the country.
15 December marked the start of a new EU-funded project in Armenia. The Organic Agriculture Support Initiative (OASI) will help to develop the potential of the Armenian organic agriculture sector over the next three years. The project is co-funded and implemented by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation.
Agriculture is a major source for employment in Armenia and contributes to almost 20% of its GDP. The country has high potential for organic agricultural production, which is believed to contribute significantly to improve rural livelihoods in a sustainable manner in the future. “Organic agriculture development is a priority defined in the Sustainable Agriculture Development Strategy of the RA Ministry of Agriculture. It aims to support farmers and agribusinesses to invest in organic agriculture; increase production; explore new international markets and ensure availability of organic products locally,” said RA Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mr. Armen Harutyunyan.
“We are happy to support the Organic Agriculture Support Initiative. It confirms our commitment to the rural sector in Armenia, and will be complement support that is already being provided through the EU funded ENPARD Programme, where we also cooperate very successfully with the Austrian Development Agency,” said the Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador H.E. Piotr Antoni Świtalski.
This project specifically aims at increasing local value-added of Armenian organic products as well as assisting higher efficiency of relevant public and private institutions. It will support the RA Ministry of Agriculture with creating a clear and enabling legal environment for organic producers and processors in line with international standards. OASI will also strengthen extension services for the promotion of organic technologies and support educational institutions through curricula development. The project has a budget of € 3.3 million and will be implemented over the course of three years.
A big portion of the project support will be rolled out directly to Armenian producers and processors through a call for grant applications. Small grants are available for smallholder farmers seeking to start, diversify or expand organic production, while bigger grants will be available to already established organic farmers, co-operatives and processors for enhancing productivity and market access.
To convince Armenian farmers and consumers about the benefits and value-added of organic agriculture, an awareness raising campaign will be carried out. “Austria has a long standing history of organic agriculture and today almost 20% of agricultural crop land is cultivated organically. We strive to contribute with this experience to our projects that support small-scale farmers in enhancing agricultural production and marketing. Organic agriculture allows for an optimal use of natural resources while preserving the environment and biodiversity at the same time”, said Robert Zeiner, Director Programmes and Projects International of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).
EU assistance to Armenia has reached over € 500 million since 1992, with annual support growing progressively over the years. The Austrian Development Agency has been supporting Armenia since 2011 as a priority country for development cooperation with a specific focus on improving the agricultural sector.
More than 20 years after the ceasefire agreement, families still do not know what happened to relatives who went missing during the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says.
As part of efforts to find answers, the ICRC has handed the parties to the conflict an updated list containing the names of 4,496 people registered as missing by its delegations in Baku and Yerevan and its mission in Nagorno Karabakh.
The previous edition of the list dates from 2004, and since then the ICRC has worked closely with the Commissions on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People and with families of missing persons, registering and following up the cases of people who disappeared during the armed conflict.
Under international humanitarian law, the parties to a conflict must do all they can to clarify the fate of missing persons. The ICRC believes that the new version of the list will help the authorities to consolidate information and intensify their efforts towards this objective. As a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization, the ICRC will continue to support the parties with its expertise, and by acting as a neutral intermediary between the sides.
The ICRC has been active in the region since 1992, and clarifying the fate of people missing in relation to the conflict is one of the organization’s priorities.
Photo: Sasha Arutyunova for The New York Times
World-known pianist Evgeny Kissin said in an interview with that he would not perform in Turkey until its government acknowledges that the mass murder of Armenians in 1915 was a genocide.
“I personally believe that if people in such countries learn that some musicians refuse to play there because they are dismayed by what their rulers do, that will make intelligent-thinking people more aware,” he said.
He hastened to add that he does “not judge or condemn colleagues who perform in totalitarian countries. — it’s a personal choice.”
Kissin will perform in a concert devoted to Jewish composers on Wednesday at Carnegie Hall.
Turkey’s statements on Nagorno Karabakh are destructive, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich has said.
Ankara declared earlier it would do its utmost to ensure the “return of territories in Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan.”
“The attempts to defend one of the parties to the Karabakh conflict are destructive and cannot have any continuation,” Lukashevich said, speaking to Rossiya-24 TV Channel.
Photo: AP Photo/ Alexander Kots
The Syrian Armed Forces, assisted by Russian warplanes, have been on a roll in northern Latakia, taking two strategic highways under control, destroying scores of terrorists and forcing militants out of key border areas with Turkey, the Fars news agency reported, citing an unnamed Syrian officer.
The Qastal Ma’af road and Lattakia-Kassab highway, which were not operational for at least two years, have now been reopened.
“The recapture of Turkmen mountain (Jabal al-Turkmen) by the Syrian forces played a significant role in reopening the [Lattakia-Kassab] highway,” the media outlet quoted the source as saying.
The Qastal Ma’af road connects the provincial capital of Latakia and Kassab, a checkpoint on the border with Turkey. The town of the same name, located some 7 miles to the south of the border, is predominantly populated by the Turkmen.
Militants are reported to have fled to the town of Rabia following the government offensive. Damascus-led forces are planning to focus their efforts on liberating the town.
The Syrian Arab Army also pushed terrorists out of Height 713 and al-Koz mountain after Russian warplanes launched airstrikes against militant targets in the area.