Yet another former leader of Nagorno-Karabakh jailed in Azerbaijan has accused Armenia’s leadership of being indifferent to the fate of Armenian prisoners.
Major-General Davit Manukian, who had served as a deputy commander of Karabakh’s Armenia-backed army, challenged Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to publicly comment on “fabricated and false” accusations levelled against himself and seven other former Karabakh Armenian leaders remaining in Azerbaijani captivity.
“Sadly, those [prisoners] who are held here do not feel the breath of the Republic of Armenia,” he said in an audio message communicated to his family by phone and publicized on Monday.
The former Karabakh leaders were captured right after the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive that restored Baku’s full control over Karabakh and forced the region’s Armenian population to flee to Armenia. They all denied a long list of war crimes charges levelled against them. Five them, including Manukian, were sentenced to life in prison, while the three others received 20-year prison sentences in February this year in trials denounced by Amnesty International as a “travesty.”
They all deny the accusations that including the planning, preparation and conduct of the 2020 war in Karabakh.
Appealing to Pashinian, Manukian said: “Since you were Armenia’s prime minister and at the same time commander-in-chief at that time — and the planning of the war starts precisely from that level — I urge you to present your position on these specific accusations,” he said. “Failure to respond will mean that you agree with the false accusations, thereby making not only you but also the entire Armenian people, complicit.”
Two other Armenian prisoners — billionaire Ruben Vardanyan and former Karabakh parliament speaker Davit Ishkhanian — have likewise lambasted Pashinian in their statements from an Azerbaijani prison. Ishkhanian charged earlier this year that Armenia’s leadership does not want Baku to free the 19 Armenian prisoners. Pashinian, who is currently on vacation, has not reacted to the claims.
The Armenian premier and other officials insist that Yerevan has been doing its best to try to secure the release of the prisoners. Their critics dismiss these assurances.
—
RFE/RL – UN Experts Question ‘Terror’ Case Against Armenian Archbishop
- Robert Zargarian
UN human rights experts have questioned the credibility of coup charges that were brought against an outspoken Armenian archbishop and his supporters last year amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to depose Catholicos Garegin II.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian was arrested along with his 15 supporters in June 2025 on charges of plotting “terrorist acts” in a bid to seize power. They as well as two other individuals went on trial in August, denying the accusations.
Shortly after the arrests, Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian claimed that Galstanian and his supporters wanted to assassinate Pashinian and other senior officials. None of the suspects faced corresponding murder charges, however. That did not stop Pashinian and his political allies from branding the suspects as terrorists.
In a report sent to the Armenian government on May 11 and publicized by one of Galstanian’s lawyers on Monday, experts from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed concern at the violation of their presumption of innocence and said their arrests may not have been justified. The experts also cats doubt on the coup charges, arguing that international law defines terrorism as actions designed to kill or seriously injure people.
“We are concerned that the measures taken appear not to be consisted with Armenia’s international human rights law obligations,” they said.
The accusations are essentially based on excerpts from the audio of Galstanian’s wiretapped conversations with his associates which were publicized by investigators following the arrests. Defense lawyers gained full access to the recordings during the subsequent investigation. They accused the authorities of doctoring, distorting or taking the audio out of context to substantiate the “trumped-up” charges and mislead the public.
The government replied to the OHCHR experts last week, defending the arrests and denying any political motives behind the high-profile case.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals moved Archbishop Galstanian to house arrest on June 4. The other defendants were set free or placed under house arrest months ago. One of Galstanian’s lawyers, Tatevik Soghoyan, linked the court order to the OHCRHR criticism which she said took Pashinian’s administration off guard.
One day after Galstanian’s arrest, Pashinian threatened to forcibly remove Garegin from his Echmiadzin headquarters if the supreme head of the Armenian Church continues to ignore his demands to resign. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, another vocal critic of the prime minister, was arrested and charged the next day with calling for a violent regime change.
As Pashinian stepped up the pressure on the Catholicos, two other high-ranking clergymen were arrested later in 2025 on different charges also denied by them. They and Ajapahian were moved to house arrest early this year. Ajapahian was set free altogether late last month after the Court of Appeals overturned a two-year prison sentence given to him by a lower court.
—
Asbarez: ANCA Next Gen Hosts First Summer Social, Drawing Record Turnout in Sa
SAN FRANCISCO — The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region’s ANCA NextGen program drew one of the largest gatherings of young professionals the Bay Area has seen to date, with its Summer Social on June 26, nearly doubling the turnout of its previous work.
The evening was held in coordination with AGBU Young Professionals of Northern California, giving ANCA NextGen the opportunity to expand its network of civically engaged young professionals and reach new corners of the broader Armenian-American community in Northern California.
But the night’s turnout was, above all, a reflection of the momentum ANCA NextGen has built across the Bay Area over the past year – a sign that its model of pairing advocacy with community and career-building continues to resonate with a new generation of Armenian-Americans.
Attendees spent the evening building relationships, exchanging ideas, and connecting with ANCA NextGen’s growing base of diverse young professionals across the region.
The atmosphere throughout the night reflected something organizers say they’ve seen building for months: a rising appetite among young Armenian-Americans for spaces that combine social connections with a deeper sense of civic purpose.
Conversations ranged from career paths and industry trends to the advocacy priorities currently animating the broader Armenian-American community, from congressional engagement to grassroots organizing across the Diaspora.
“Bringing our community together showed just how much energy and interest there is among young Armenian-Americans in the Bay Area to connect, organize, and grow together,” said NextGen committee representative Henry Agajanov. “We’re excited about what this means going forward.”
For many attendees, the Summer Social offered a first introduction to ANCA NextGen’s work in the Bay Area; for others, it was a chance to reconnect with a network they’ve been part of since its earliest gatherings.
Either way, organizers say the size and energy of the crowd underscored a simple point: the appetite for civically engaged Armenian-American community space in Northern California is only growing.
ANCA NextGen organizers described the night as a meaningful step forward, with plans to build on its momentum by hosting future events that bring together even more of the region’s Armenian-American young professional community.
Organizers say upcoming gatherings will continue to blend the social energy of Friday’s Summer Social with ANCA NextGen’s broader mission of civic engagement, positioning the Bay Area as one of the program’s most active hubs on the West Coast.
ANCA NextGen is the young professionals arm of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region, engaging the next generation of Armenian-Americans in advocacy, civic engagement, and community building. The Summer Social marked another milestone in ANCA NextGen’s continued growth across Northern California.
—
CC: Oldest sword in the world in St. Lazar Armenian Mekhitarist Monastery in I
A sword was mislabeled in a museum on Lazarus Island in Venice. It was labeled as belonging to the medieval collection. It is approximately 5,000 years old. According to a new study, it is one of the oldest swords in the world. The extremely rare sword does not resemble most ancient weapons. It was made around 3000 BC and originates from eastern Turkey. It is speculated that this sword was used as a ceremonial object, but possibly also in combat. Another theory suggests that it was made for a burial and then unearthed by townspeople.
The ancient Anatolian weapon.
—
Lucine and the Doll That Walked to Aleppo: Preserving Armenian History for a N
BEIRUT — Author and educator Dr. Shoghig Kaloussian has published Lucine and the Doll That Walked to Aleppo, the first book in the Apricot Tree Tales series—a collection of children’s books that introduces young readers to Armenian history through stories of hope, resilience, and remembrance.
The story follows Lucine, a young Armenian girl, whose beloved rag doll, Aghavni, accompanies her on the journey across the Syrian desert to Aleppo during the Armenian Genocide. Thoughtfully crafted for young readers through a gentle and age-appropriate narrative and brought to life through beautiful, full-color illustrations, the book introduces this chapter of Armenian history while fostering empathy, understanding, and meaningful discussions. It is an ideal resource for schools, libraries, and families seeking to introduce children to this important part of history in an accessible and engaging way.
Each book is fully bilingual, with both English and Western Armenian presented side by side on every page, allowing children and families to read together in either language while helping preserve the Western Armenian language for future generations. One of the project’s central goals is to foster a sense of ownership among young readers so that children become the next custodians of these stories, ensuring that the memory of the Armenian Genocide endures for generations to come.
The second book in the series, Annie and the Old Photograph from Marash, is scheduled for publication in July 2026, continuing the mission of preserving Armenian heritage through children’s literature.
For review copies, interviews, or school visits, members of the media are welcome to contact the author.
About the Author
Dr. Shoghig Kaloussian is an Assistant Professor at Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and Education and is a researcher specializing in language education and multilingualism. Through her Apricot Tree Tales series, she combines historical research with storytelling to preserve Armenian cultural heritage and introduce younger generations to the stories, values, and resilience of the Armenian people.
Power to the Public Where the Market Ends and the Republic Begins
Armenia’s decision to take control of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) marks one of the country’s most consequential economic and strategic interventions since independence. More than a dispute over ownership or the prosecution of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, it raises a fundamental question: who should control the infrastructure that powers the country?
To understand what this seizure actually means for Armenia, we need to better understand how Armenia’s electricity infrastructure is organized, how its composition compares to other countries around the world, and what the takeover practically changes. With a full term in office on the horizon, Armenia has the opportunity not only for sweeping and historic reform to better the lives of its population, but to truly gain economic and strategic independence from the imperial shadow cast over the country by Moscow.
What Is an Electricity System?
An electricity system consists of infrastructure that generates, transports and delivers electricity from power plants to homes and businesses. It starts with energy production; this could be a hydroelectric dam, wind turbines, a coal power station, or in Armenia’s case, a nuclear power plant. From here the energy gets transformed and travels through a transmission network, the huge metal towers holding up power lines we see in the countryside, to a smaller network called a distribution network, sort of like arteries and veins respectively. This smaller network then takes the power directly to homes and businesses within a specific locality.
Beyond the physical infrastructure, electricity systems also include retailers, which sell electricity to customers, manage billing, and handle customer contracts. Increasingly, they also incorporate energy storage, such as batteries, which help balance supply and demand by storing excess electricity for later use.
Who Owns the System?
In Armenia, ownership of the electricity system is divided between the state and private actors. Generation is the most diversified component: the state owns the country’s nuclear power plant and one thermal power plant, while Karapetyan’s Tashir Group jointly owns a gas-powered thermal plant with Gazprom Armenia, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned energy company. Electricity is also produced by numerous smaller hydropower and solar facilities, including privately owned rooftop solar installations. The result is a mixed ownership model, in which public and private producers operate alongside one another.
The transmission network itself is state-owned, which is logical given that there is only one transmission network, making it a natural monopoly asset. As discussed earlier, the distribution and retail components began moving into state hands in June 2025. The system is also overseen by the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), which regulates prices and the system generally. For all practical purposes, however, little has changed since the takeover began. Armenia’s government intervened in ENA, placed it under state-appointed management, moved to revoke its licence, and is proceeding toward full nationalization of its shares.
The government’s pretext for nationalization, that it would lower electricity prices, appears unconvincing. The state already had some level of control over regulation, and a year since the takeover prices have been revisited and not reduced. Many economists also warned the seizure would create a loss of international investor confidence. So far, those concerns have not yet materialized. On the contrary, Armenia has secured unprecedented commitments of support from the European union and the United States. On July 2, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to €52 million of investment in trade-related investments and proposed granting Armenia tariff-free access for 80% of its exports to the EU market.
What Are the Stakes?
With the removal of Karapetyan’s ownership, new opportunities to introduce greater competition into the market become possible. Armenia’s competition watchdog concluded that Karapetyan’s monopoly control of distribution effectively prevented competition from emerging, since any new retailer would inevitably have to rely on ENA’s infrastructure, solidifying ENA’s dominance over retail electricity sales. Basically, ENA had created a privately controlled chokepoint with close associations to the Russian state. At a time when Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to use economic leverage against Armenia, it is understandable that the government would view control of the distribution network as a matter of national security.
How Does Armenia Compare to Other Systems?
It is difficult to compare Armenia directly to any other country, however, there are some key strategic considerations which Armenia could learn from. Many countries in Europe have their electricity systems publicly owned to some degree: public ownership allows the state flexibility to make decisions about its major infrastructure, which is both a strategic asset and increasingly critical as the world turns to renewables to avoid the disasters of climate change. Investor finance has shown, time and time again, that it will not pivot away from fossil fuels at the rate needed.
In 2023, the French state completed its full renationalization of Électricité de France (EDF), the country’s dominant electricity producer and operator of its nuclear fleet. Like Armenia, France’s key power generation comes from nuclear energy, which was made more acute since the invasion of Ukraine. France’s system isn’t wholly owned or managed by the national government, likely due to the size of the country. Municipalities own the distribution networks at the local level. France’s retail electricity market is formally liberalized, meaning open to private market competition, but the state-owned EDF remains central. As of March 2026, 52% of electricity sites were still supplied under regulated tariffs chiefly by EDF and local distribution companies (Commission de Régulation de l’Énergie, 2026).
Denmark has a very different model from France, shaped by its own circumstances and advantages. Unlike France, Denmark’s electricity generation is highly diversified, with an estimated 81% coming from renewable sources, primarily wind, solar and biomass. While the largest electricity producer is state-owned, more than 52% of the country’s wind generation is owned directly by citizens. This is made possible through Denmark’s system of energy cooperatives, in which groups of citizens jointly own generation assets. In this way, Denmark has transformed its energy sector without fully nationalizing it, instead decentralizing ownership through public participation.
The state of South Australia took a very different direction. From 1946 to 1999 the state had owned, produced, transmitted, distributed and retailed 99% of the electricity in South Australia. Consumers saw affordable and falling prices, an advanced and maintained infrastructure, and a single retailer culturally attuned to its responsibility as the provider of essential human infrastructure. In 1999, the full privatization and liberalization of the system, including the transmission and distribution lines, was a disaster. Turning a monopoly asset private led to poorer service, a convoluted regulatory environment, and some of the highest electricity prices in the world.
California is another example that shows the more extreme danger of fractured accountability through sweeping private ownership. Not only did the state already have a privately owned and managed system, the addition of deregulation caused a swift catastrophic collapse of California’s electricity grid in the early 2000s, with the need for emergency state intervention affecting more than 1.5 million consumers over only two days.
What Can Armenia Learn?
Like France, Armenia has good reason to make state-owned nuclear energy its centrepiece and to create more power plants. For a landlocked country with limited domestic energy resources, expanding nuclear generation would strengthen long-term energy security while gradually reducing dependence on Russian energy. The government has announced it is undertaking a preliminary feasibility study for the construction of a second nuclear power plant.
Like Denmark, Armenia can speed up its already fast-paced transition to renewable energy. Expanding solar and hydropower, while encouraging greater citizen participation through distributed generation and community ownership, would further diversify the country’s energy mix and deepen its energy independence.
Armenia’s small size also creates opportunities that are unavailable to many larger countries. With relatively few population centres and a single national distribution network, a more integrated electricity system, similar in principle to South Australia’s model before privatization, is achievable. Strong public oversight of the grid, combined with robust regulation and a diverse mix of public and private generation, provides a sensible long-term direction.
It would not only lead to a strategically solid electricity system but would also become a jewel for the citizens to enjoy and be proud of. This would help cultivate more civic participation and develop the public’s trust in government, acting as evidence of legitimacy and competence. This is unlikely to be pursued in the short term, as Armenia is looking to further liberalize its production and retail sectors; but it’s important to remember that in a small country with approximately one national-scale distribution system, retail competition can become superficial. Companies may not actually produce cheaper electricity; they just compete over billing, contracts and customer acquisition.
What Comes Next?
Armenia is not simply nationalizing electricity. It is reclaiming the monopoly infrastructure that decides who controls the country’s energy future. Unlike South Australia, which privatized its only transmission lines, and unlike California, which fractured accountability through deregulation and plunged its population into darkness, Armenia’s strongest path is a public-grid model that takes lessons from its European partners: market participation around the edges of the system, with public control at the center.
Thus far, the seizure of the assets from Karapetyan have not created any immediate major problems for the government. If the current climate holds, the government has a once in a lifetime opportunity to reimagine Armenia’s electricity system and set the country up for many years of growth, prosperity and true independence.
CC: Nutrition 101: Carbohydrates Or Carbs
By Armine Koundakjian
Part II
These are the macromolecules of readily available cheap source of energy for brain and muscles. They are composed of sugar molecules stung together with carbon back bone, with branches of hydrogen and oxygen. They are divided into 2 groups: simple and complex. Simple sugars are glucose and fructose. The complex ones are disaccharides and polysaccharides like starches and dietary fiber. The word literally means “hydrated carbon”.
The chemical formula of glucose is 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms Andy 6 oxygen atoms. The end product of everything we eat is glucose, whether it is protein or fat or starches. Glucose is absorbed through the intestine wall and reaches all tissues of the body via blood.
Don’t avoid carbs. Aim for high quality carbohydrates and limit low quality options like sugar—sweetened beverages and foods high in added sugars and salt; baked goods made with refined white flour; processed potato products (like chips and instant potatoes); and high-sugar, low- fiber ready-to-eat cereals.
High Quality, Complex Carbohydrate Sources are:
Here I want to strongly suggest to apt for WHOLE WHEAT bread because the white flour is composed of no essential nutrient other that starch. White flour French pastries look very pretty and delicate but have zero vitamins. The nutrient rich skin of the wheat grain where the vitamins and the fiber is, especially folic acid, has been removed. This process came about towards the end of 1900s due to demand for cheap flour, resulting in widespread white flour products. The starch becomes converted to sugars that raise the blood sugar to sudden high levels pushing he Pancreas to overdrive in insulin production. A surge in sugars (glucose) raises the glycemic index, (this is a system that ranks carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 based on how quickly and significantly they raise your blood sugar levels compared to pure glucose).
The inner wall of the small intestine is lined with millions of finger-like projections called villi. Their function is to drastically increase the surface area available for absorbing nutrients from digested food into the bloodstream. The surface of each villi is covered in even tinier hair-like projections called microvilli which creates a “brush border” that further increases surface area.
There is a theory that the sudden surge of glucose pushes the pancreas to high gear in insulin production that may overwhelm the proper metabolism of sugars.
The obvious benefit of consuming whole wheat breads and the like is to slow down and regulate the glucose quantity. Besides, there is the added benefit of the vitamins present naturally in the skin of the wheat grain called Bran. The multi-layered, hard outer skin of the wheat is rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, and B vitamins.
Some food companies are suggesting to supplement the white flour with folic acid
the synthetic man–made version of the naturally occurring nutrient in whole wheat.
It is totally absurd to go through such extra expense. The best course of action is to encourage the public to use whole wheat flour instead of white flour which is rich in calories but empty of real nutritional value.
Anyone wishing to learn more about this subject can refer to Whole Grain Guide by The [email protected].
168: “Can you guess how much money was brought into the budget from property expropriation?
July 20, 2026
Artur Danielyan, founder of Adekvat Congregation he writes on his Facebook page. “According to the plan, the state property management committee was supposed to sell 5 billion drams worth of state property in the first half of the year. Roughly speaking, he would have to sell property, including and first of all the properties returned by Pashinyan “penny by penny”. The property should be seized, sold, and the money brought to the budget. Let’s put aside the seizure, the volume of the seizure and the fact that the law enforcement officers spent more on the seizure than the value of the seized property. Can you guess how much money went into the budget from property expropriation? Hard to do. The number is zero. Exactly zero. Around 5 billion were planned for the semester, they made around zero. The picture of the past eight years is not much different from this indicator.
There are several reasons, the main of which is that there is no one who wants it. And the problem is not that Pashinyan attributes some unimaginable market values to it after taking away that property, in practice people are not ready to buy that property even significantly cheaper than the market price.
And people are not ready because they know very well how that property was taken. They are caught in the trap that tomorrow, if not the old owner, then a new official will come after that property, who will claim that it was taken illegally.
For example, Araratcement was seized, claiming that the factory sold cement with cash, which is true by the way. But that truth has a continuation: the cement with cash was sold to the builder who can afford to build a building with cash, and that is without exception the government bribers in all cases. In the morning they go to work, fight against corruption with a brave face, and in the afternoon they build a yukya district with money of unknown origin.
And since they can’t put the money in the bank, so that they don’t declare what they do, they do it in cash. It is natural that the taxman will never reveal to whom that cement was sold for cash.
Now imagine a conventional person named Nalbandyan Narek appears and buys Araratcement. Suppose a year passes and the government changes in the country. According to you, what will be the situation of that “good faith” buyer… The owner will come after every stolen property, the owner will come, the boy will be one of the bullies. And any next normal government will stand on its back. This is the basis of economics.
Not to mention that there are a lot of such properties under the management of the state property, which have been raskulachit for a long time during these years before being put up for auction.
There is no field where these have not been hacked. And they dug so much that even if the state is saved by some miracle, it will have to be cleaned with shovels for decades, and the big question is what will remain under it…”.
—
Kurdish Press: Armenian Commander: July 19th Revolution led to 1st Armenian Mi
It is worth noting that an Armenian commander indicated that the July 19 Revolution witnessed a critical phase in the organization of the Armenian community in the region by opening the door for the formation of the first military battalion for the Armenians. The battalion was established to protect the Armenian identity and culture and the unity of the Armenian community and their women.
The recruitment of young Armenian men and women into military forces during the years 2019-2024 witnessed an important phase in the organization of the Armenian community in Rojava and North and East Syria.
Discussions have taken place in those years about the necessity of forming a military battalion specifically for the Armenian community for the sake of unifying them, raising the level of their activity, and protecting their identity and culture.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the July 19 Revolution, which has been announced in Rojava and North and East Syria since 2012, we had an interview with Talin Sarkis, a commander of Armenian Women Forces, on the Armenian community within the military forces.
“Building a military force was an idea that came to life as a result of the massacres and atrocities suffered by the Armenian people, mainly the genocide of 1915. It has left deep marks on Armenian society; hence the decreasing usage of the Armenian language and separation from traditions due to policies of cultural extinction and assimilation.”
“The need arose for building a structure where Armenian youth could come together, learn more about their history and culture and have a place where they could keep alive their language and identity.”
Martyr Noubar Ozanyan battalion: The start of organization
Tel Tamr saw, in 2019, the beginning of the first military unit devoted to Armenians called Martyr Noubar Ozanyan Battalion. It included Armenian youth from all of Rojava and North and East Syria.
But the activities of the battalion were not limited only to military service. It became a place of education of the members about Armenian history, massacres committed against Armenians, restoration of the Armenian language, traditions, and culture.
Talin explained that the battalion helped many recruits reconnect with their Armenian identity. It also played an important role in organizing Armenian women, many of whom had been affected by decades of attempts to erase their culture and compel them to adopt customs and traditions disconnected from their own heritage.
Presence on the frontlines
Since its establishment, the Martyr Noubar Ozanyan Battalion has fought alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in confronting Turkish attacks on Serê Kaniyê (Ras al-Ain), Tel Tamr, and the Tishreen Dam, as well as participating in defending the region against attacks by armed factions affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government.
Talin noted that several Armenian fighters were martyred during these battles, emphasizing that members of the Armenian community continued defending their areas alongside various military forces across the frontlines stretching from Tel Tamr to the city of Al-Hasakah.
Formation of the Armenian women’s forces
As the participation of Armenian women expanded, the need emerged to establish a dedicated women’s organization. Consequently, at the end of 2024, the Armenian Women’s Forces were officially announced in the city of Al-Shaddadi, alongside the formation of the Martyr Media Battalion, which joined the Martyr Noubar Ozanyan Battalion.
The women who joined underwent military, cultural, social, and civic training aimed at preparing Armenian women to participate in various fields while strengthening their role within society.
From confronting criticism to leading the struggle
Nevertheless, the involvement of Armenian women in military combat led to social issues for female combatants due to the traditional stereotypes of women’s role in society. On the other hand, the involvement of Armenian women in battles helped change perceptions of society about the role of women as active participants in defense and protection.
Talin Sarkis noted that the main task of Armenian Women’s Forces is not only related to carrying weapons but also consists in organizing women and helping oppressed and violent women to be freed from the patriarchal mentality that prevails in many aspects of life of women today.
“As long as Armenian women were persecuted and subjected to numerous atrocities throughout the history, they do not renounce their right to defend their people and their rights,” she noted.
A call to Armenian women
Concluding her remarks, Armenian commander Talin Sarkis emphasized that the Armenian Women’s Forces will continue fulfilling their role alongside other military forces, regardless of opposition to women’s participation in military service.
She called on all Armenian women to join the Armenian Women’s Forces and contribute to protecting the Armenian community while preserving its identity and culture. She also revealed that efforts are underway to open the door for women from Armenia to join the force in the future.
ANHA
—
Armenian captive in Baku appeals to Pashinyan
PanARMENIAN.Net – Major General Davit Manukyan, speaking from a prison in Baku, has appealed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, urging him to publicly state his position on the charges brought by Azerbaijan, warning that remaining silent would amount to agreeing with what he called false accusations, according to Pastinfo.
“I am addressing my remarks to Armenian citizen Nikol Pashinyan. One of the false accusations brought against us under Articles 100.1 and 100.2 of that country’s Criminal Code concerns the planning and preparation of an aggressive war in September 2020. Despite all the irrefutable evidence we have presented, I urge you, as the Prime Minister of Armenia and the Commander-in-Chief at the time, to publicly state your position specifically on these charges. Failing to respond would mean that you agree with these false accusations, thereby making not only yourself but the entire Armenian people complicit.
I hope the inscription on your former hats has not been forgotten.
I also expect you to clarify Armenia’s official position regarding the status of those held here. It is regrettable that those imprisoned here do not feel Armenia’s presence, but unfortunately this is the reality,” Manukyan said.
He also stated that he and his colleagues continue to defend themselves in court against what they describe as fabricated and false charges, “preventing the humiliation of our rights, as well as of the Armenian people and Armenian statehood.”
Meanwhile, the judicial proceedings continue before the Baku Court of Appeal, which is considering appeals filed on behalf of 15 Armenian citizens.
The Baku court sentenced Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. Former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan received a life sentence. Life imprisonment was also imposed on former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, former first deputy commander Davit Manukyan, former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh Davit Babayan, and former National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan. Former Artsakh presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were each sentenced to 20 years in prison. Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan received 19-year sentences, Garik Martirosyan 18 years, Davit Alahverdyan and Levon Balayan 16 years each, while Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan and Vasily Beglaryan were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Source: PanArmenian.Net
—