Category: News

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, held a meeting on 24 September with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, and a separate meeting on 25 September with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov.  They also met jointly with the two Foreign Ministers to discuss the immediate need to reduce tensions along the Line of Contact and international border, to advance negotiations on a lasting settlement, and to implement confidence-building measures.  The Ministers agreed to continue preparations with the Co-Chairs on the next presidential summit, which is expected to be held before the end of this year.

The Co-Chairs called for the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to accept an OSCE mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations.  Without such a mechanism, the sides will continue to blame each other for initiating deadly attacks on the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border.  Armenia has agreed to discuss the details of the mechanism, and we urged Azerbaijan to do the same.

The Co-Chairs condemned in strong terms the use of artillery that caused additional casualties in the last twenty-four hours. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. An escalation of violence is not in the interest of Azerbaijanis or Armenians, or a negotiated settlement.

The Co-Chairs encouraged the sides to implement people-to-people programs to build trust between societies affected by the conflict.

Divisions among world leaders on Syria have been laid bare in speeches at the UN General Assembly.

The US and France insisted Syria’s President Assad must go, but Russia said it would be an “enormous mistake” not to work with him to tackle Islamic State (IS) militants, the BBC report.

However, the US and Russia did hint at compromise. Barack Obama said he would work with any nation and Vladimir Putin called for a “broad coalition”.

In his speech, Mr Obama said compromise among powers would be essential to ending the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced four million to flee abroad.

“Lasting stability can only take hold when the people of Syria forge an agreement to live together peacefully,” he said.

“The US is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict. But we must recognise that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo.”

Speaking soon after, Mr Putin said it was an “enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to-face”.

He also called for the creation of a “broad anti-terror coalition” to fight IS, comparing it to the international forces that fought against Nazi Germany in World War Two.

President Serzh Sargsyan will leave for New York on September 27 to participate in the 70th session of the UN General Assembly and will make a speech.

President Sargsyan will meet with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and  participate in a summit dedicated to UN peacekeeping operations.

Within the framework of the visit the President will hold a number of bilateral meetings. He is also expected to meet with large investors and representatives of business circles.

In Washington President Sargsyan will participate in a dinner organized by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundationand at the UN Congress and will offer a speech. The President will meet with representatives of the Armenian community, as well.

Some of the top chess masters in Canada will compete in Toronto during a memorial tournament held in honour of the victims of the Armenian genocide, reports.

The “Chess to Remember,” hosted in Toronto on Sunday, is meant to raise awareness of the death of 1.5 Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman government.

It’s being held as part of the commemoration of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, which began on April 24, 1915.

More than 80 participants have registered to take part in the event, including a grand chess master, four international masters and two women international masters. An additional five FIDE (World Chess Federation) masters and seven national masters will be in attendance.

The event will be broadcast .

The tournament takes place at the Toronto Armenian Community Centre. A total of $2,500 is up for grabs in prizes, trophies and medals.

In a statement adopted today, the State Commission Coordinating the Armenian Genocide Centennial Events expressed gratitude to the peoples of the Middle East, who sheltered the Armenian Genocide survivors 100 years ago. The statement reads:

“Now that the life of the peoples of the region, the existence of the ethnic and religious communities is endangered, we consider it a moral obligation to stand by them.

On these days the attention of the world is focused on the tragic events in the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq, the fate of the refugees that flee terrorism and civil war.

Armenia has opened its doors for Armenians of Syria and Iraq and has accepted more than 16 thousand refugees so far. All Armenian state structures are involved in solving their problems and accelerating their integration with the society.

The Armenian Diaspora structures, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund have initiated and implemented a number of programs to ease the condition of Armenians of Syria and Iraq.

• Deeply concerned by the events in the Middle East;
• Interested in the soonest establishment of peace and stability in the region;
• Strongly condemning the crimes committed by terrorist organizations, which claim the lives of thousands of innocent people, destroy holy places and cultural values;
• Assessing these barbarities as crimes against humanity and civilization;
• Aware that the defense of the peoples of the region requires combined efforts and comprehensive support, including provision of humanitarian aid both to the refugees and the endangered communities;

The State Commission Coordinating the Armenian Genocide Centennial Events applies to:

• All inter-governmental and international humanitarian organizations, countries implementing programs targeted at solving refugee problems to provide soonest comprehensive support to the people of Syria, who have found themselves in a disastrous situation, to take corresponding measures to provide assistance to all states that have taken practical steps to accept refugees, including Armenia;
• All state institutions, public and private organizations in Armenia to take comprehensive steps to ease the solution of problems facing the Syrian Armenians;
• All community organizations and individuals to take all possible means to support and provide comprehensive assistance to the community in Syria and those who have moved to Armenia.

The worrying situation of Syrian Armenians is a challenge facing the whole Armenian nation and requires urgent combination of the powers and capacities of Armenia and Diaspora to coordinate all actions to solve the problems of compatriots with joint efforts.”

The State Commission concluded that assisting any Armenian in need is a sacred duty and responsibly, pledging the willingness of the Republic of Armenia and the Diaspora to maintain support for any Armenian in an emergency.

Prior to discussing the items on the agenda of the 6th session of the State Commission on Coordination of the Events for the Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide which has started today at the RA Presidential Palace and continues at the Government Reception House, Serzh Sargsyan touched upon the grave ceasefire violation cases of Azerbaijan during the last two years and assured that the Republic of Armenia will do everything consistently reveal, disclose and persecute each committer of such crimes. In his speech, Armenia’s president said the following:

“Before going on to the agenda items, I have something to say about the events of the last two days.

On the eve of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly and amid the regular peacemaking efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs, before the eyes of the entire world, confident in is impunity, and inspired by the practice of numerous international players to put an equals sign between the conflicting sides’ actions, Azerbaijan again impenitently violated its very obligations to maintain the ceasefire. As a consequence of the ceasefire violation, we have suffered painful losses: 4 Armenian young soldiers, the guardians of their motherland’s tranquility, soldiers who were very far from the immediate danger zone and were engaged in their everyday activities 5 km away from the frontline, were killed. And one day ago, in their own house, in their own garden, in front of their beloved people were killed 3 women, a mother, a sister and a daughter, who would take care of their family with their peaceful work.

They were killed because an entire world can’t make Azerbaijan understand that the path of human losses, bloodsheds, sufferings and tortures, and of drowning out the voice of its own citizens does not lead to peace, does not lead to prosperity, and does not lead to stability and security.

As demonstrated by the modern history of human kind, the path chosen by Azerbaijani authorities, the path of crimes against humanity either results in an international punishment or leads to the scaffold put up by own people completely run out of patience.

By deviating from the path to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, Azerbaijan is also deviating, gradually and steadily, from the path of other norms of international law. Gradually and steadily, Azerbaijan’s criminal regime is further plunging into the swamp of crimes against humanity.

The law of the civilized world calls upon humanity to put an end to the impunity of crimes against humanity. The Republic of Armenia is committed to this position. We will consistently reveal, disclose and persecute each committer of such crimes, starting from the private solider executing an order to the commander issuing such an order. Lacking alternatives, we ourselves will be humanity’s retributive sword against committers of these crimes. We will do it on our own as long as the civilized world is not able to find a more effective mechanism.

These are not mere words when we say that we are afraid of war, but are not afraid to fight. Armenia and by Armenia I also mean Nagorno-Karabakh as its inseparable part, is one of the most militarized zones on the earth. As you know, our grandfathers would say that no pilaf is given out during a battle. And throughout more than 20 years of the imposed ceasefire, which has been impossible to transform into peace on account of Baku’s authorities, we have tried our best to avoid a new confrontation. We will continue in the same vein, and that also includes retributive actions so that the opponent does not think that his impertinent behavior is remained unpunished.

Without a doubt, we will certainly force Azerbaijan’s government to give an account to its people for causing them continued suffering. This much for now”.

The Gothenburg Intenational Book Fair, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, kicked-off on September 24.

Armenia was presented at the fair for the first time with a separate pavilion dedicated to the Armenian Genocide Centennial. The latest publications about Armenia were showcased with a separate section of books on Genocide in Armenian, Swedish, English, Turkish and other languages.

On September 25, the Armenian exhibitors held a seminar titled “The Armenian Genocide of 1915: Contemporary Perspectives and Analysis”. The speakers of the seminar were the Professor of History of the Lund University, author of the book “Those Innocent Today May Be Guilty Tomorrow” Klas-Göran Karlsson, Professor of International Law Ove Bring and the author of “Genocide of Armenians through Swedish Eyes” Göran Gunner.

On September 24, the «Artos & Norma» publishing house arranged a workshop titled “Genocide and Denial” with a presentation of the book “I cannot: Alma and the Armenians” by Swedish writer and journalist Janne Carlson and the monography “Cultures of Denial. Compering Holocaust and Armenian Genocide Denial” by the PhD student of Lund University Maria Karlsson based on her academic research.

Janne Carlson will have a separate seminar on September 26 under the title “The Witness of Genocide”, and one of Sweden’s leading daily newspapers, the Svenska Dagbladet will also hold a seminar-discussion at its pavilion with participation of its cultural editor Anders Q Björkman, Professor of Lund University Svante Lundgren and journalist of the Sydsvenskan newspaper Rakel Chukri.

The Gothenburg International Book Fair will be open until September 27.

On September 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian, who is in New York on a working visit, held a second meeting with the Co-chairs of the Minsk Group, Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

Edward Nalbandian condemned and characterised as unacceptable the gross violations of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan with the use of heavy artillery, which claimed human losses. He said that “to divert attention from the outrageous human rights situation in Azerbaijan and the growing criticism of the international community in towards this, Baku escalates the situation on the Line of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh and the border with Armenia with considerable unforeseen negative consequences. With this provocations Baku demonstrates its disregard both for  human life and its own commitments”.

Then upon the proposal of the Co-chairs and in their presence a meeting took place with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov.

Referring to the  September 25th statement of the Co-Chairs, Minister Nalbandian said: “It is Azerbaijan that continuously rejects the proposals on confidence building measures and the initiatives aimed at the stabilisation of the situation and therefore, it is obvious to whom the messages of the statement are addressed. But it leads to an impression that Baku deliberately doesn’t pay attention to what the international community calls upon through the mediator states.

Minister Nalbandian attached importance to the reaffirmation by the Co-chairs of the proposal on the creation of an investigative mechanism on the ceasefire violations to which Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have expressed their agreement on numerous occasions. It would allow to determine with more certainty the side responsible for the ceasefire violations and incidents. “Azerbaijan refuses this, because it wants to have its hands free, and without scrutiny of international scrutiny to continue its provocations on the Line of Contact and borders”.

The Minister stated that “Baku refuses not only the initiatives of the Co-chairs on confidence building measures and rejects the proposals of the mediators on the conflict resolution, which have been made public in five statements of the Heads of the Minsk Group Co-chair countries, but also casts aside any reference to them, which once again was vividly demonstrated during the EU eastern Partnership summit in Riga”.

The Co-chairs expressed their deep concern about the rise of tension of the situation and stressed that the further escalation is unacceptable.

The plans on Co-chairs next visit to the region and the upcoming meetings were discussed.

There are very few prospects for an improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations at the moment, former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans said in an Internet press conference with Armenian media representatives.  

Artak Barseghyan
Public Radio of Armenia

Public Radio of Armenia: Mr. Evans, the situation in the Middle East and the world as a whole has sharply escalated with the advent of ISIS. In your opinion, to what extent this group may become dominant in the Islamic world as compared to the Taliban and al-Qaeda?

John Evans:  Islam is one of the world’s great religions, but I think the extremism, fundamentalism and intolerance displayed by these groups have greatly tarnished the reputation of Islam with peoples of other faiths. I cannot believe that the majority of Muslims want to see ISIS become the face of their religion.

Public Radio of Armenia: How do you see the future of the Armenian-Turkish relations under the incumbent Turkish leadership?

John Evans: At the moment I see very few prospects for an improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations. The Protocols, at this point, have clearly failed. I personally think they were flawed and that their architects attempted to achieve too much at one time. Rather than attempt to solve all problems at once, I would suggest one simple step: enter into full diplomatic relations. This would provide for reliable communication and would not compromise the legal position of either side. I have made this suggestion in person to the foreign ministers of both countries.

Public Radio of Armenia: Recently, an escalation can be observed in the zone of the Karabakh conflict. How likely is the resumption of a large-scale war in the region?

John Evans: I hope that both sides to the conflict, and particularly Baku, will exercise restraint. There is always the chance that an incident might escalate into a serious conflict and lead to a resumption of full-scale war, which, under current conditions, could be vastly more destructive than the war of the early 1990s. No one needs that, least of all the people of Karabakh. All the more reason the Minsk Group negotiations are so important and should be taken seriously.

 

 

 

Representatives of different structures came together at a conference titled “I remember and demand” to sum up the results of the events held within the framework of the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and to discuss the future steps.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan, we have had serious achievements so far. “It’s enough to say that five more countries recognized the Armenian Genocide, bringing the total number to 24.”

The Deputy Minister said “of great importance was the US General Assembly Resolution proclaiming December 9 as the Day of Commemoration of All Genocides.” The bill was authored by Armenia and co-authored by 84 other countries.

Another significant step was the recognition of the genocide of Greeks and Assyrians by Armenia, Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

Vigen Sargsyan, Head of the President’s Staff, who coordinated the Armenian Gneocide centennial events, said that “the symbol of the centennial – the forget-me-not – served its purpose.”

The live streaming on April 22-24 allowed 1.3 billion people worldwide to follow the centennial events. Most prestigious media provided coverage of the events, which enabled us to convey the messages we wanted to convey to the world.

“Although it’s still early to sum up the results of the passing years, serious progress is apparent with regard to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on the political level and the cultural events, which continue to raise awareness about the Genocide,” Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute Hayk Demoyan told reporters.

“We do not aim to discredit Turks, we want the propaganda to influence the Turkish society so that they at least start thinking of what happened,” he said.

“The most inspiring is that the number of Turkish visitors to the Museum is increasing day by day,” he said. He added that their silence at the Museum is the most impressive.