1536 replies to this topic

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

WE NEWS

April 25 2024

 

 

Armenian Police Detain Dozens in Anti-Government Protest in Yerevan

Thu Apr 25 2024

 

YEREVAN, Armenia: Armenian police detained dozens of individuals participating in an anti-government protest in Yerevan late on Wednesday, as reported by local news sources. Russia’s Interfax news agency cited police figures, putting the number at 96 detainees.

The protesters had blocked traffic in the city center and reportedly refused to comply with police orders, leading to the forceful dispersal of the rally, according to News.am.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced domestic criticism following an agreement to cede several border areas to Azerbaijan as part of a peace deal. This decision has sparked discontent among segments of the Armenian population.

Armenia, a treaty ally of Russia, has traditionally been closely aligned with Moscow in the South Caucasus region. However, bilateral relations have strained recently due to Yerevan’s efforts to strengthen ties with the West and its criticism of Russia’s role in the conflict with Azerbaijan.

Furthermore, Armenia has sought to distance itself from Moscow’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, contributing to the evolving dynamics in the region.

https://en.wenews.pk...est-in-yerevan/

[MosJan]

it don't look good at all. 

now the Naxkinner Serjin Rubik+++ Dashnaks  have placed them self next to locals in tavush, imitating unrest and provoking police.. this don't look good at all. some might use the momentum to take Nicol out  

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

it don't look good at all. 

now the Naxkinner Serjin Rubik+++ Dashnaks  have placed them self next to locals in tavush, imitating unrest and provoking police.. this don't look good at all. some might use the momentum to take Nicol out  

That's exactly what I thought that they are behind this. But the question is do they have a solution? Or they will do nothing, just like when they were in power over twenty years.

[Yervant1]

yahoo!news

April 26 2024

 

 

 

'We will shed blood': Armenians vow to fight land transfer to Azerbaijan

Angry at their government agreeing to cede territory to arch-foe Azerbaijan, dozens of Armenian protesters have blocked major highways and vowed to fight the transfer of land they say is rightfully theirs.

About 10 kilometres from the border with Azerbaijan in the northeastern Tavush region, locals parked their cars across the road, shouting as they set up tents along the winding mountain pass to block the traffic.

They included 96-year-old Lena Ghardashyan.

"We will not give up even one centimetre," she told AFP at the roadblock.

"We will shed blood, but we will not give up. At my age, I will go on my knees, but I will not give up."

The protesters are hoping to thwart Armenia's plans to return control of four abandoned Azerbaijani villages -- seized during the 1990s -- as part of wider talks on securing an elusive peace deal with Baku.

The two Caucasus rivals have been locked in tension and bloody conflict since the break-up of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.

They fought two wars -- in the 1990s and 2020 -- for control over Nagorno-Karabakh, territory internationally recognised as Azerbaijan's but controlled for 30 years by Armenian separatists.

Baku recaptured it in a lightning offensive last September, and talks over a broader border agreement have since intensified.

- 'Serious threat' -

The two sides started physical work to delimit part of the border earlier this week, triggering a new wave of protests across Armenia that spread to the capital Yerevan.

Locals in settlements near to those being handed back say they could end up cut off from the rest of the country.

They accuse Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of unilaterally giving away territory without any guarantees in return.

"People realise that the solutions offered by our authorities today pose a serious threat to the locals' daily lives and existence," said Hovik Beranyan, a 31-year-old protester from the village of Kuti.

Demonstrators this week have also blocked a major highway leading to Georgia -- a vital trade route for landlocked Armenia -- and streets in the capital Yerevan.

"We are fighting specifically for our land and our water, we want our land to stay as it is," said driver Eghish Maghsudyan from Voskepar, a village the locals say will be cut off by the land transfer.

The region where Armenia has agreed to hand back some villages is of strategic importance.

Along with sections of the highway to Georgia, it is also near a Russian gas pipeline and has advantageous military positions.

- 'Prevent a war' -

Pashinyan -- a former opposition lawmaker who swept to power in 2018 in a bloodless revolution -- has defended his decision in the face of protestors.

"To get what legitimately belongs to Armenia, we must be ready to cede what is not legitimately ours," he said during a mid-March visit to Voskepar.

"Our policy is to prevent a war," he said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday a peace deal between the countries was "closer than ever before".

Several countries, including Russia, the United States, Iran, France and Germany, have all tried to mediate between the two countries in search of a lasting solution.

Analysts say Moscow's historic influence in the region has waned amid its war in Ukraine.

Fears of a renewed conflict continue to run high.

Both sides have unsettled territorial claims and shootouts between soldiers stationed on the border are frequent.

But protestors insist they will not back down.

"We will fight to the end for our land," protestor Shaliko Yeghiazaryan told AFP.

"Every centimetre of our historic land belongs to us."

str-im/jc/oc/rlp

https://www.yahoo.co...-115548955.html

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

That's exactly what I thought that they are behind this. But the question is do they have a solution? Or they will do nothing, just like when they were in power over twenty years.

I think Puttin has made a trade for Ukraine territories, using Armenia as a it's trading card like always ,we get the shorter end of the stick.

Europeans / USA would forced Pashinyan to do anything, since there would be no counterbalance in the aria.. not that putin was doing much but still 

[MosJan]

no one is in favor of the old regime especially the Europeans or Americans, but still this SOB's could be just like a chameleon. 

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

no one is in favor of the old regime especially the Europeans or Americans, but still this SOB's could be just like a chameleon. 

The people of Armenia are leaderless, Pashinyan is West's fool and Serjik, Robertic were the fools of Russia. God help us!

[Yervant1]

The Guardian, UK
April 30 2024

 

Armenia turns towards west in search of allies amid Azerbaijan tensions

Series of traumatic defeats has prompted a rethink in what was once seen as the most pro-Moscow of the ex-Soviet republics

Patrick Wintour in Yerevan

With its waterfall, hot spring, orchards full of apricot blossom and a gorge through which the swollen Arpa River races, the town of Jermuk since Soviet times has been one of the most visited in Armenia. That was until just after midnight on 12 September 2022 when Azerbaijani forces surged over the border, advancing about 4 miles in a two-day push that left them in full control of the long mountain ridge overlooking the town.

“It was truly frightening. The forest was set on fire. It was like lightning coming down on us. It went on for two days. We did not know how it would end, and how to get our families out,” recalled Rubik Avakelyan, 69, sitting on a park bench.

 

The initial three-hour attack included mortars, heavy artillery and drones. The whole town now lives in fear of a further attack. “We did not know which way to turn, but I do not see much future here,” Avakelyan said.

Closer to the frontline, buildings and a fish farm lie abandoned, adding to the sense of foreboding and decay that contested borders can bring.

“The Azeris are fortifying their positions and we think when the snow is over they are planning something else,” said Vahagn Arsenyan, the mayor of the 9,000-strong town. “We expect a new aggression at any time, and right now and here where we are sitting in this office is a visible target for them. They have damaged us economically and psychologically. The hotel rooms were usually 90% occupied.”

 

Tourism income is down 60% as visitors are put off by the presence of Azerbaijan’s forces only 3 miles away. “If there is no economy, families want to leave,” Arsenyan said.

The quest for suitable allies is a constant in Armenia’s history, as testified to by a statue of a 17th-century Armenian diplomat, Israel Ori, on the outskirts of town. Ori dedicated his life to the country’s liberation from the Persian and Ottoman empires. He travelled through Europe fruitlessly in search of countries willing to help liberate Armenia, before finally arriving at the court of Peter the Great to plead: “We do not have another hope, we hope for God and your country.”

Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, is caught in a similar predicament. He has invested hope in building alliances to fend off the “Turks”, as many Armenians call the Azeris. However, it is not to a distracted Russia that he has turned but to the west, a gamble for this lonely democracy in a region of authoritarianism.

It is a remarkable turnaround for a country that used to get 98% of its arms from Russia and was seen as probably the most pro-Moscow of the former Soviet republics at the time of the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991.

Pashinyan came to power in a velvet revolution in 2018. Faced with intractable conflicts, he did not initially seek to break the security partnership with Russia. Landlocked, with two of its four borders – with Turkey and Azerbaijan – closed, Pashinyan could hardly afford to alienate Russia in what Moscow regarded as its back yard.

But a rethink has been prompted by a series of traumatic defeats at the hands of the better trained and better armed Azerbaijan in 2020 and 2022, followed by the expulsion of more than 100,000 Armenians from the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. On the latter two occasions, Russia, burdened by the war in Ukraine, failed to come to Armenia’s protection, in effect trashing security guarantees.

Popular anger at the perceived betrayal by Russian peacekeepers, especially among some of the expelled refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, is intense.

Sitting in a rudimentary government-provided flat in the capital, Yerevan, Ruslan Hayrapetyan, a former police officers, said he repeatedly went to the Russian peacekeepers with carefully documented incidents of Azeri attacks on farmers, only to be told by the Russians: “Do you think we are here to die for you?”

His wife, Nina, said that as Azerbaijan pushed into the enclave after an eight-month food blockade, her family spent two days hiding from the shelling in shelters and were then told that the best that Russians could do was open a road out of their town, Martuni, to the capital, and from there they would be taken on buses through the Lachin corridor to Armenia.

She said the town administrator told them: “In 10 hours the Azeris will enter the town. You may stay, but I will remind you of the massacres of 1915. You will be tortured, raped and beheaded.”

Ethnic Armenians fled what had been their homeland for generations, in what they regarded as a piece of ethnic cleansing, and some of their captured political leaders still languish in jails in Azerbaijan. Pashinyan, in an interview with a group of British journalists, admitted he believed the refugees now scattered around Armenia would never be able to return.

 

The episode caused the rupture in Armenian-Russian relations and further polarised an already divided Armenian society. Russia’s peacekeepers have this month left Nagorno-Karabakh ahead of schedule. In a sign of an ideological chasm, the speaker of the Armenian parliament this week attacked Russia’s Ukraine policy, leading to claims of Russophobia from Moscow.

National assembly members complain that Azerbaijan seems unconstrained and determined to raise more demands. “My profession, international law, is dead,” said Vladimir Vardanyan, the chair of the legal affairs committee. He warned of a new era of imperialism in which countries such as his own were squeezed.

“Each and every empire has been interested in increasing its land, and since we currently have a situation where the traditional alliances built at Potsdam [and] Yalta are no longer operating, sovereignty becomes ever more vulnerable,” he said. “It’s important we build a consensus about the future of this region because if we do not, we will have a more imperialistic world than in the 19th century.”

In his tiny office in Yerevan, Tigran Grigoryan, an articulate thinktanker, blamed the “fiasco” in Nagorno-Karabakh on the fact that the war in Ukraine had distracted and weakened Russia. He said: “Relations with Azerbaijan turned out to be more important for Russia than fulfilling its obligations to Armenia. President Ilham Aliyev [of Azerbaijan] has seen this power vacuum and the military imbalance between the two countries to make threats and extract ever more unilateral concessions.”

This month Pashinyan ceded four unoccupied border villages in the north-eastern province of Tavush back to Azerbaijani control after three decades. It was billed as the first step in the negotiated process of defining the borders between the two countries along the boundaries that existed at the time of the Soviet Union’s dissolution.

Accused by the opposition of endless capitulation, Pashinyan insisted the alternative would have been war. The deal sparked days of protests by villagers, leading to as many as 80 arrests in the capital.

View image in fullscreen

Police detain a protester during a rally against land transfer to Azerbaijan in Yerevan on Saturday. Photograph: Karen Minasyan/AFP/Getty Images

 

Emotions had already been running high since it was the anniversary of the Armenian genocide, a time when tens of thousands of Armenians, carrying carnations and roses, process to the monument that commemorates a genocide that not all countries, including the UK, recognise.

“Virtually everyone in Armenia has one ancestor or relative who was either killed in the genocide or forced to leave its ancestral home,” Rubinyan said.

The most visible example of the pivot has been since February 2023 the deployment of a 200-strong unarmed EU civilian monitoring mission that has already amassed more than 2,000 patrols from six bases on the Armenian side of the border. With their blue flags, Jeeps and binoculars, they observe Azerbaijani troop movements and send copious daily reports back to Brussels. The staff seem convinced they provide reassurance when tensions and disinformation flourish.

Markus Ritter, the mission’s director, defended its limited objectives. “We can calm things down. We have become a stabilising factor,” he said. “If you compare the situation before the deployment and afterwards, there is a difference.”

But in parts of southern Armenia, Russia blocks his observers from operating. Ritter admitted: “This is a country that is desperately looking for friends and allies.”

Armenia is now buying weapons from India and France, and on 5 April the EU and the US pledged to provide Armenia with €270m and $65m respectively.

The new partnership is designed to start easing Armenia’s heavy dependence on the Russian markets and energy. But it is a very modest package, prompting one Armenian diplomat to complain privately: “I fear we are being led like lambs to the slaughter.”

 

https://www.theguard...baijan-tensions

[Yervant1]

May 1 2024

 

 

"The negotiations between Yerevan and Baku should continue in the region." Opinion

• JAMnews

• Yerevan

“I don’t see a peace process. I don’t see any peace or any significant process. These are toxic negotiations, where Azerbaijan has taken a maximalist position and demands endless concessions,” said political analyst Richard Kirakosyan.

In his opinion, Yerevan has the wrong approach to the situation. It complies with and reacts to every demand from Baku. Meanwhile, the analyst believes that the stage of unilateral concessions from Armenia should come to an end, and it’s time for Azerbaijan to “offer something in return for its demands.”

In an interview with Radio Azatutyun (Liberty), he expressed his opinion on the proposal to hold Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in Kazakhstan, the assistance offered to Armenia by the US and the EU, as well as the likelihood of a new war.

• “The border demarcation process with Azerbaijan is an adventure.” Opinion from Yerevan
• “Armenia did not decide to align itself with the West just today,” – Pashinyan to British media
• ‘Moscow knows the fire will be lit not in Yerevan, but in Baku’ – Armenian analysts

Kazakhstan – an unreliable partner

“Agreeing to negotiations in Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, would be a mistake for Armenia. Because Turkey is a covert supporter, a behind-the-scenes partner, who backs Azerbaijan with the aim of uniting it with Central Asia as part of its pan-Turkist plans.

Kazakhstan is neither a sincere nor a reliable partner to provide a meeting place. Moreover, based on historical and geopolitical considerations, the most effective way to advance negotiations is to continue them in the region.

In fact, the most suitable place for signing a peace agreement is Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Involve Georgia [addressing the Armenian authorities] as a balancing party and to restore the region’s identity.

Azerbaijan does not want a third party to intervene in the conflict, to maximize pressure on Armenia.

Armenia is clearly seeking support from the EU, the West. Although real progress has been achieved only through negotiations between the official representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the border of the two countries, I believe it is necessary to involve the West more often and to a greater extent. This will contribute to establishing a balance of power. As a weaker side, we have no leverage, so we need to create a balance.”

Baku needs an ‘enemy’ to address its internal issues

“Azerbaijan puts forward demands, many of which are not only hypocritical and unrealistic but also unserious. For example, narratives regarding the return of Azerbaijanis to their ‘historical homeland,’ ‘Western Azerbaijan‘ [referring to the entire territory of Armenia]. In other words, this involves territorial encroachment on Armenia itself. Most of these narratives are directed at the domestic audience in Azerbaijan.

From the perspective of domestic politics, Azerbaijan needs a conflict. Baku needs an enemy to maintain its corrupt authoritarian rule.

Armenia must do a very good job not to feel obligated to respond to every [such] demand and should seek certain agreements.”

"Baku does not recognize Armenia's territory": opinion on the "West Azerbaijan" narrative

Commentary by political scientist Suren Surenyants on the statement adopted by the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan on the “return of Western Azerbaijanis to their historical homeland”, i.e. to Armenia

Economic interaction as a mechanism to restrain conflict

“The Indian defense systems acquired by Armenia largely reflect what the country wants, what it needs. French military technology is only what France wants to transfer to Armenia. These are different things. However, the goal in both cases is to focus on common defensive, rather than offensive, capabilities. This is very important for strengthening Armenia’s defense.

But from a strategic point of view, for real deterrence at a higher level, economic interaction, interdependence is much more effective for changing calculations and setting a higher price for Azerbaijan in case of resumption of hostilities.

In other words, road and rail communication, the restoration of trade and transport will lead to economic interdependence, similar to the interdependence between France and Germany after World War II.

I also consider it reasonable and expedient to reform the defense sphere, gradually transitioning from a conscription-based army to a professional army.”

"Apart from Armenia, no one needs the Crossroads of Peace." Opinion from Yerevan

Principles and Details of the Armenian Government’s Project on Unblocking Regional Communications, Commentary

The U.S. retreat is a positive step

“Armenian-American relations and U.S. assistance are much more effective when they support Armenia rather than acting as mediators or facilitating negotiations with Azerbaijan.

For the simple reason that U.S. intervention triggers a more negative reaction from Russia than EU intervention. It turns out that Europe’s involvement is more effective and less provocative.

The U.S. retreat is positive because their focus is on consolidating the day after the peace agreement is signed. That’s when we will need their support the most, to prevent Baku from resuming the threat of using force.

There is a real danger of the re-election of former president Trump, which would greatly affect Armenia due to potential changes in U.S. relations with Turkey, Russia, and Iran. At the same time, U.S. support for Armenia has never been disputed, regardless of who was leading the White House. Support for Armenia from the United States is promoted and directed by Congress.”

There won’t be a war, but there will be local military escalations

“I don’t expect real risks of war resumption, large-scale military actions. I think it’s more likely that we will face small, local military campaigns from the Azerbaijani side in specific directions. They will aim to pressure Armenia, seize the moment, and support military advantage on the ground. But they won’t escalate into a full-blown war.

Another reason why war is unlikely is that the Azerbaijani army is not the same as it was in 2020. It’s weaker now. Turkish military presence is also significantly reduced.

Armenian armed forces are also not the same as they were in 2020. And this time Armenia won’t make the mistake in military terms, thinking it will receive support from Russia. It’s adapting to the new painful reality.

Another possible scenario is a significant escalation of tension between Azerbaijan and Iran. This is largely related to Netanyahu’s return and conditioned by Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan. In fact, we should be prepared for potential escalation between Iran and Azerbaijan.”

https://jam-news.net...n-negotiations/

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

May 2 2024

 

 

Armenia Cedes Territory Near Border to Azerbaijan in Attempt to Normalize Relations

 

5/1/2024 Armenia/Azerbaijan (International Christian Concern) — Amid ongoing tensions after the fall of Artsakh in September 2023, the Armenian government agreed to cede territory to Azerbaijan along the border in an attempt to normalize relations.  

Official media from the Armenian government announced yesterday that “more than half of the planned works have been carried out: 35 border posts have been installed.” Azerbaijani government sources reported that the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “extended his congratulations on the recent agreement regarding the border delimitation” and “reiterated the readiness of the U.S. to continue supporting the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” 

On April 19, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release stating that “the process of delimitation will be based on the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991.” The Alma-Ata Declaration (or Protocols) of 1991 formally established the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprising 11 Eastern European and Central Asian states formerly part of the USSR. However, the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in an interview that the Azerbaijani government is “still reluctant to make concrete and strong reference to the Alma-Ata Declaration in the draft of the peace treaty.” 

During a meeting in Italy on April 19, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. addressed the South Caucasus by urging Armenia and Azerbaijan to remain “fully committed to the peace process,” calling on Azerbaijan to “fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,” and reiterating “the importance of the commitment to the Alma Ata 1991 Declaration.” 

Protests erupted in Armenia, denouncing the territorial cession to Azerbaijan months after the Armenian government failed to defend its people and land during the Azerbaijani siege and conquest of Artsakh in September 2023. The ceded territory contains four villages in the Armenian Tavush Province, formerly part of the Azerbaijani Gazakh (Qazax) district before the first armed conflict over Artsakh in the late 1980s/early 1990s. A previous report from International Christian Concern (ICC) covered the details of the territorial disputes arising in early April over the border delimitation process between the two nations. 

https://www.persecut...lize-relations/