Nagorno Karabakh -=- ARTSAKH

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Oct 11 2023

‘They Taunted our Children with Knives’: Armenia’s Exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh

Joseph Draper talks to some of the hundred thousand refugees fleeing the blockade and then invasion by Azerbaijan

Joseph Draper

When the drumbeat of artillery began on 19 September, six-year-old Robert Khosrovyan was ambling home from school. Instead of taking the usual path, he fled down a rocky embankment to reach his house in Chartar, a town in the self-declared Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan.

His parents, mad with worry, went in search of him when his classmates returned without him. Unbeknown to them, Robert had crept into an outhouse on their property and crawled into a fridge to hide from the Azeri soldiers he had learned to fear, refusing to show himself even when his loved ones screamed his name. He stayed there for hours before they found him.

Days later, when Azeri soldiers swarmed their settlement, Robert’s mother, Arevik Grigoryan, a caretaker at a local school, watched them laugh as they brandished their knives at the children who cowered at the edge of the town square. Then they went door to door, Arevik said, looking through the bundles that families had hastily packed and tearing open the women’s handbags, helping themselves to whatever they wished. This encounter, while terrifying, might have been far worse if not for a curt bark from a unit commander telling the soldiers to sheave their weapons.

An abandoned municipal schoolbus was a blessing for Arevik and her family. Ernest (left) with Robert, grandmother and siblings. Photo: Joseph Draper

Arevik and her husband Ernest Khosrovyan, a construction worker, found an abandoned school bus which they filled with their nine children and 24 other locals before collecting relatives at the Karabakh capital of Stepanekurt and fleeing for the Armenian border, stopped along the way by Azeri soldiers who searched their vehicle and took photos of the men. They had survived a nine-month blockade, when Azerbaijan closed the only road to Armenia from Karabakh, choking those inside of food and supplies from the outside world. Now they were leaving their homeland forever, along with over 100,000 others, almost the entire population of Artsakh – the Armenian name for Karabakh.

“Peace developments and bright days are close in Karabakh”

When Azerbaijan launched its brutal blitzkrieg to reclaim the mountainous enclave, killing over 200 people, including at least 10 civilians, according to estimates by Karabakh officials, stories of atrocities followed the tide of refugees. While these claims have not yet been verified, they have a precedent; In 2020, when Azeri forces captured land around Karabakh, they were known to mutilate Armenian soldiers and behead elderly civilians who had not fled.

An exhausted Karabakh refugee sleeps in Goris. Photo: Anoush Baghdassarian, Rerooted Archive

Anoush Bagdassarian, an American human rights lawyer collecting evidence of Azeri war crimes, spent days interviewing refugees flooding into the Armenian border town of Goris. She told me of Maria, a middle-aged woman from Martakert whose relative, an elderly grandmother in the town, died with her nine-year-old grandson in her arms when a bomb struck their home.

“People feel scared, incredibly vulnerable and traumatised,” Anoush said.

A Karabakh refugee with her belongings in Goris. Photo: Anoush Baghdassarian, Rerooted Archive

“The majority of people I asked answered ‘how can we live together when they have beheaded us, killed our children, and made very clear their intentions about ridding the world of Armenians?’”

Then there were the deaths caused by months of deliberate deprivation. As one man who spoke to Anoush described it, “they choked the very air to breathe.” Parkev Aghababyan, a father of two from Askeran and his wife, Anush, witnessed one child die of an epileptic fit after he ran out of medication and another boy, just 10 years old, perish after being shoved to the ground where he struck his head on the concrete pavement when a fight broke out over bread in the final days of the Azeri blockade. “He died right there, within minutes,” Anush said in her testimony.

Such stories imbue the seemingly harmless text messages, sent by Azeri authorities to Kharabakh Armenians during their offensive, with a cruel and sinister irony. These texts, which supported Azerbaijan’s claims that they wanted the local populace to stay, added to the fog of confusion after they hijacked the communications infrastructure, preventing locals from connecting with the outside world or with each other. “Peace developments and bright days are close in Karabakh,” read one, while another read: “Azerbaijani government guarantees your safety.”

“It will be impossible to talk of peace in the South Caucasus” – Tigran Grigoryan, founder of the Regional Centre of Democracy and Security

In his office in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, Tigran Grigoryan, an analyst on the conflict with Azerbaijan who grew up in Karabakh before leaving in 2020, struggled to articulate the grief felt by his people. “Psychologically, emotionally, Artsakh is like an Armenian Jerusalem,” he said.

“There won’t be any homes left for these people to return to – they will be settled by Azerbaijanis.

“This is a catastrophe which will stay with us until our final days. There is no forgiving, there is no forgetting.”

The international community had planted the seeds of another conflict with their timid response to the crisis, Tigran said, emboldening Azerbaijan’s authoritarian president, IIham Aliyev, and increasing the odds that he will strike Armenia proper. This would not be the first time. Since 2020, Azeri soldiers have made several incursions into the province of Syunik.

“The international order isn’t working anymore,” Tigran said.

“We are living in a very dangerous time. There is a significant risk of an attack and there are no deterrents on the ground. Aliyev sees this as a weakness. He sees a unique window of opportunity.

“This is a jungle – whoever is strong can take what they want. It will be impossible to talk about peace in the South Caucasus.”

“We need to be like Sparta, ready to fight at any time” – Serena Hajjar, an aid worker at All For Armenia

In the immediate term, Armenia must grapple with a humanitarian crisis as its population of less than three million absorbs thousands of traumatised refugees. Already, the country’s housing prices are inflated, Tigran told me, after a wave of Russians left their country following the invasion of Ukraine.

In Yerevan, one school had been turned into a makeshift refuge, while an army of volunteers at the Armenian General Benevolent Union delivered around 2,000 meals a day to refugees throughout the region. Arevik and her family, meanwhile, have found shelter at a farmhouse outside the city, packed six to a room with dozens of people from Karabakh including two other families.

I sat with them in their smoky living room as they crowded around a roaring iron stove. We were joined by Arevik’s sister, Nune Hovsepyan, and her three children, including her 22-month-old daughter. They had buried their father Artur just a day before. A soldier in the Karabakh military, he was shot defending his comrades on September 19, just a week before his 41st birthday. Among the small number of items they grabbed before fleeing was his military cap which they laid at the foot of his grave in Yerablur, a hilltop military cemetery overlooking Yerevan.

“He was told to go and get his other weapons”, Nune told me as her mother-in-law quietly wept beside her. “But he said, ‘no, I’m staying with my friends – I go wherever they go.’ If he’d listened he wouldn’t have been shot.”

Outside, Ernest showed me the yellow bus which saved their lives. Arthur played with his siblings, stopping occasionally to consider me before bursting into flight again and skirting by with a roguish grin.

In the liquid haze of late evening the snowy peak of Mount Ararat, floating above it all, caught the pink gaze of the setting sun. The Armenians who look longingly at the biblical resting place of Noah’s Ark, now on the farside of the Turkish border, have a phrase for it: “Ours but not ours.” It is a reference to another mass tragedy: the genocide of 1915 to 1916 when over a million Armenians were killed and thousands more expelled from their homes in the ailing days of the Ottoman Empire.

“When I heard about Artsakh, I suddenly felt I didn’t live in Armenia anymore,” I was told by Serena Hajjar, an American aid worker of Armenian descent. Serena, 26, relocated to the country after the 2020 war where she met her Karabakh husband and started a family.

“It doesn’t feel like the same place. We are a peaceful people but we became complacent,” she said.

“We need to be like Sparta, ready to fight at any time.

“Aliyev will come for Syunik next. If he does, that will be the end for Armenia.”

Before I left Arevik and her family, they insisted I stay to break bread and drink homemade vodka, made with the mulberries they shook from the bushes around their Karabakh home. Toasting to better times, they had found a measure of happiness. For how long, I wondered, will it last?

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/10/11/they-taunted-our-children-with-knives-armenias-exodus-from-nagorno-karabakh/

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Open Democracy

Oct 12 2023

How a community fought for survival amid Azerbaijan's bombs

Azerbaijan said Armenians left Nagorno-Karabakh of their own accord. The story of one village proves otherwise

Olivia KatrandjianSiranush Sargsyan

• Trigger warning: Contains descriptions of violence and death

It was the afternoon of 19 September on a late-summer school day for Gurgen that the carnage erupted with sudden ferocity. The seven-year-old had just returned from classes when explosions sounded in Sarnaghbyur, his small village in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus, known to Armenians as Artsakh.

Azerbaijan, which had blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh for over nine months, starving the 120,000 ethnic Armenian inhabitants, had launched a massive assault across the region, which lies just east of Armenia proper, within the official borders of Azerbaijan. After 100,000 people fled the attack, MEPs in the European Parliament have said the attack amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Garik Aleksanyan, the mayor of Sarnaghbyur, attempted to control the situation and prevent panic in the village, directing residents to what he thought was a safe place behind a hill in the hope of escaping the shelling from Azerbaijani positions a few kilometres away.

“Three very large shells exploded, throwing the whole earth from under our feet into the air,” Gurgen said from his hospital bed in the regional capital of Stepanakert, 30km away from his village. Speaking to openDemocracy with the permission of his mother, he was eerily calm as he gestured to demonstrate the bomb blast.

Shrapnel cut into Gurgen’s hand, leg, and forehead. Other children around him were even more severely wounded. His aunt was dead.

“Rozig’s cheeks were pierced by shrapnel, and Ashot’s eyes were damaged,” he said, speaking of two other children. “Mikael’s throat was severely damaged, and the son of the village mayor’s son had shrapnel piercing through his nose. Auntie Gohar’s nose was severely injured by shrapnel, she passed away.”

Aleksanyan, the mayor, had walked away from the group to try and find phone service – the shelling was relentless, and the villagers had no way to escape. He needed to ask officials in Stepanakert to send immediate help. But the phone lines had been cut.

“By the time I returned, the villagers had been shelled again. I found my son there, bleeding,” said Aleksanyan, who also discovered his mother-in-law and father dead and his wife and daughter wounded.

After nine months under siege from Azerbaijan, which surrounds the enclave, no one but the mayor had enough fuel to drive to the hospital. So Aleksanyan gathered his 15-year-old son and the other wounded children into his car.

Though he was injured, Gurgen helped his younger siblings into the car. “I took my sister first, and then my brother,” he said proudly.

The mayor’s son’s condition was so critical that there was no time to reach the largest hospital in Stepanakert. Instead, Aleksanyan took him to the nearest hospital in the town of Askeran along the border with Azerbaijan, hoping his son could be treated quickly at the understaffed, rundown facility.

“They promised me they would operate on my son and bring him back,” Aleksanyan said.

Leaving his son at the Askeran hospital, Aleksanyan proceeded through incessant bombing, past fires and burned vehicles, to a far more well-equipped children’s hospital in Stepanakert, about 20km to the east, where he handed over the wounded.

“In that moment, I received the news that my son was no more,” Aleksanyan said in shock, his voice empty.

The methods used to attack Sarnaghbyur also played out in other villages across Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory that had operated as a self-governing entity since Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the region in the early 1990s. Azerbaijan captured part of the territory in a 44-day war in 2020, after which Russian peacekeepers were deployed in the area. But that didn’t stop occasional attacks by Azerbaijan.

Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blockaded what remained of the autonomous enclave, cutting off the supply of food, medicine, fuel, and basic necessities. That action, designed to starve the population into submission or flight, drew charges of genocide from an array of international experts and watchdog groups.

On 19 September, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s defence minister had said in a statement that this so-called ‘anti-terrorist operation’ targeted “only legitimate military installations and infrastructure” “using high-precision weapons.”

But according to eyewitness accounts by residents and officials to openDemocracy, Azerbaijan’s military attack included indiscriminate shelling not only along the line of contact, but also residential neighbourhoods in Stepanakert, as well as towns and villages throughout Nagorno-Karabakh.

Within a day, Azerbaijani forces quickly overwhelmed local defences, killing over 200 people, including civilians.

A ceasefire was signed in which Azerbaijan agreed to stop the bombing if the local unrecognised government surrendered and disarmed. Days later, without the intervention of any outside powers, Nagorno-Karabakh president Samvel Shahramanyan was forced to sign a decree dissolving state institutions by the end of the year. “The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases its existence,” the declaration read.

According to local officials, of the 76 residents of Sarnaghbyur village, five were killed, including three children, and 15 more were injured in the attacks. Half of the six children who attended the village's elementary school died. Four people were also captured, three of whom are women.

Thousands of forcibly displaced people spent over a week on the streets of Stepanakert, transforming the city into an open-air refugee camp, where people wandered in obscurity like ghosts, desperately seeking food, medical aid and warm clothing. Without fuel, trucks were not able to collect rubbish, and the streets reeked of rotting garbage.

Finally, on 24 September, Azerbaijan allowed the first group of refugees to enter Armenia, after they spent days camped outside Russian military bases. According to Armenian government officials, by 30 September, 100,417 forcibly displaced people – almost the entire population – had been evacuated to Armenia.

Aleksanyan was evacuated from Stepanakert to Goris, Armenia, with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), along with his wounded wife and daughter and the bodies of his mother-in-law, father and son.

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev has publicly promised to guarantee the rights and security of ethnic Armenians living in the region, claiming that those who fled did so of their own choosing. Yet international experts, including a former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, have said there is “reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed” against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Like many Karabakh Armenians, Gurgen said he desperately wants to return to his village, but cannot imagine living there safely under Azerbaijani rule.

After a 30-hour journey, Gurgen, his mother and four siblings, reached Goris as well, with only the clothes they were wearing when they fled the bombardment. As refugees, they have been given temporary housing at a hostel in a nearby town, having left behind everything in Sarnaghbyur.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-attacks-evacuation/

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inch kta ??? NOTHING

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Oct 12 2023

Origins of the Armenian Genocide trace back to the early 1900s

By Gerry Chidiac | Oct 12, 2023

The deep-rooted history behind the Artsakh-Karabakh conflict and the Armenian Genocide

While there is no internationally agreed-upon definition of the term ethnic cleansing, a United Nations commission has described it as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”

It would be difficult to argue that Azerbaijan is not now engaged in ethnic cleansing in the enclave Armenians call Artsakh and Azerbaijanis call Karabakh.

After a nine-month-long Medieval-style siege of this small part of the Caucasus, the Azerbaijani military launched an attack. Once a tentative truce was achieved, roughly 100,000 people, almost the entire region’s population, gathered what they could carry and left. The world is now dealing with yet another refugee crisis as Armenia, a country with a population of less than three million, is dealing with an influx of traumatized ethnic Armenians.

The reasons for the tensions over Artsakh/Karabakh go back to the early 20th century, to the Ottoman and Russian empires, Josef Stalin, the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and regional and global tensions that have persisted since that time. Ultimately, however, we need to look at the Armenian Genocide and the two countries that virtually surround the current Republic of Armenia.

World-renowned genocide expert Gregory Stanton has stated that genocide denial is “among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres.” The Ottoman Empire, the remains of which formed the foundation of modern-day Turkey, systematically killed 1.5 million Armenians under the cover of the First World War.

Today, educators typically present what happened to the Armenians as a case study to illustrate the meaning of the word genocide. In both Turkey and Azerbaijan, one would be criminally prosecuted for doing so. Taner Akçam, who is Turkish and is also considered the foremost authority on the Armenian Genocide, is living in exile and has even had his life threatened.

In the meantime, Azerbaijani and Turkish citizens are fed a revisionist history that demonizes Armenians and justifies crimes against humanity.

Before the current round of ethnic cleansing, the most recent armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan occurred over 44 days in 2020. Russia was the chief negotiator in a settlement between the two countries and agreed to keep peacekeepers in the region.

Azerbaijan, however, has taken advantage of Russia’s weakened status resulting from its invasion of Ukraine. Beginning in December 2022, it cut off the enclave of Artsakh/Karabakh from Armenia and the rest of the world. This siege stopped the flow of medical, fuel, and food supplies, thus weakening the population and resulting in the ethnic cleansing we now witness.

To their credit, Armenians living in the global diaspora have persistently lobbied the governments of the territories where they now find themselves to get them to recognize the vulnerability of the ethnic Armenians who remain in the Caucuses. As a result, countries like France and the United States have become more actively involved in the peace negotiation process and have worked to ensure that international aid is given to the newest refugees in the region.

For the time being, it will be necessary for UN peacekeepers to stabilize the region and prevent further aggression, as they have done successfully in Cyprus for the last 50 years.

For a long-term solution, we need to look at countries that are healing and moving forward peacefully after ethnic cleansing and genocide. For example, Germany, Canada, and New Zealand have been transparent about the crimes they have committed, and all are now healthy democracies where the rights of minorities are protected.

Nothing will be more effective in bringing about long-lasting peace in the Caucasus than unearthing and teaching the truth about the Armenian Genocide. Therefore, this needs to be a central focus point in all international interactions with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The safety of millions of people depends on it.

Gerry Chidiac specializes in languages, genocide studies and works with at-risk students. He is the recipient of an award from the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre for excellence in teaching about the Holocaust.

For interview requests, click here.

The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.

© Troy Media

https://troymedia.com/lifestyle/origins-of-the-armenian-genocide-trace-back-to-the-early-1900s/

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Sept 24 2023

Artsakh burns while Western leaders fiddle

By Susan Korah | Sep 24, 2023

Extermination by starvation is clearly Azerbaijan’s first weapon of choice for cleansing Artsakh of its Armenian population

In the pre-dawn hours of yet another tranquil Ottawa morning – Sept. 19 – my cell phone buzzed. With a sense of foreboding and apprehension, I speed-read the message that popped up.

“Azerbaijan is hitting Artsakh (as Nagorno-Karabakh is known in Armenian). It’s war again. Artillery in the capital (Stepanakert). Calls for Armenia to join. If war starts here too, it’s the end of Armenia. We are surrounded by enemies that are hundreds, if not thousands of times stronger than Armenia.”

Silent words on a small screen, but I could hear my Armenian friend’s panic-stricken voice from the countryside outside Yerevan, the country’s capital, echoing across the ocean and reverberating over the South Caucus mountains.

The notes of anguish and fear of impending doom seemed eerily audible in his panic-stricken message, like a piercing shriek that shattered the silence of that Ottawa morning.

Media reports confirmed the staccato sentences on my digital device.

Claiming it was an “anti-terrorism operation,” Azerbaijan had begun pounding Artsakh, with its majority Armenian population, with heavy artillery and drone strikes, shelling military and civilian targets and securing strategic mountain passes.

Like my friend, who broke the news to me, I was momentarily numb with shock.

This was despite the fact that as a journalist with an eye on Christian persecution around the world, I had followed the Artsakh story closely. I had reported on what several human rights watchdogs and senior ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo had confirmed as an unfolding genocide against Christian Armenians orchestrated by Azerbaijan and its allies.

The military assault had been hanging like a Damocles sword over the 120,000 Christian Armenians of Artsakh, who had been first subjected to a brutal nine-month-long blockade imposed by Azerbaijan. This was achieved by blocking the Lachin Corridor, the six-km mountain highway, land-locked Artsakh’s only supply route to food, medicine and life-sustaining supplies, all of which have to be imported from Armenia.

Extermination by starvation was clearly Azerbaijan’s first weapon of choice for cleansing the region of its Armenian population.

By Sept. 20, Azerbaijan’s military assault brought the starving people of Artsakh to their knees, and a ceasefire was declared on terms that spelled doom for the Armenian population.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Baku had restored its sovereignty (over Artsakh) “with an iron fist” in a 24-hour offensive.

It was mission accomplished for Azerbaijan, but for thousands of Artsakh Armenians, it was farewell to their ancient homeland, leaving behind their possessions, their ancient churches and monasteries and the graves of their loved ones who had fallen in battle.

Thousands are crowding the airport in Stepanakert, fleeing in terror before the “iron fist” strikes again.

“Tragic and barbaric,” another Canadian Armenian friend texted me from Yerevan.

It was indeed a catastrophe on par with two global tragedies of the last nine years. The first was the fall of Mosul on June 10, 2014, to ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) after the extremist organization had unleashed a genocidal campaign against Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians. Two hundred thousand fled their ancient homeland in a panic-stricken exodus, leaving Mosul empty of Christians for the first time in two millennia.

The second was the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on Aug. 15, 2021, which launched a reign of terror for the Afghan population in general, but particularly for women and religious minorities such as Christians and Shia Muslims.

Betrayal in one form or another by Western powers is the common theme that runs through these epic tragedies.

Platitudes and statements of concern, accompanied by appeals to Azerbaijan and Armenia, two countries of vastly unequal military strength to settle their differences “peacefully,” proved to be the most ineffective strategies to counter Azerbaijan’s aggression. Indifference and lack of any decisive action to end the barbaric blockade that isolated, trapped and starved Artsakh residents for nine months was another fatal blow that led to the current humanitarian crisis and political imbroglio.

Perhaps the ultimate irony and most glaring example of Canada’s and the world’s blindness to the ongoing tragedy was the statement issued by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sept. 21, the date of Armenia’s 32nd anniversary of independence from Soviet rule.

“Today, we join Armenian communities in Canada and around the world to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

“The recent military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh exemplify the need for commitments and measures to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus and encourage continued progress in the dialogue for durable peace in the region.

“The Canada-Armenia relationship is rooted in warm ties between our peoples. Almost 70,000 Canadians of Armenian descent call Canada home, and they are tightly woven into our national fabric.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I extend my best wishes to everyone celebrating Armenia’s Independence Day.”

Too late, Mr. Trudeau! Armenians are in no mood to celebrate.

Now their most urgent need is humanitarian assistance, not best wishes and pious platitudes about “dialogue for durable peace.”

Susan Korah is an Ottawa-based journalist. This article was submitted by The Catholic Register.

For interview requests, click here.

The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.

https://troymedia.com/world/artsakh-burns-while-western-leaders-fiddle/

 

By the same author, Sept 13:

The invisible genocide of Armenians in Artsakh

https://troymedia.com/world/the-invisible-genocide-of-armenians-in-artsakh/

[Yervant1]

Asbarez.com

PACE Condemns Azerbaijan for ‘Clear Disregard’ of International Norms; Warns of Ethnic Cleansing

by Asbarez Staff

October 12, 2023

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, News, Top Stories

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Thursday adopted a resolution strongly condemning the military operation launched by the Azerbaijani army in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, as well as what it called Baku’s “clear disregard” for international norms. It also warned Azerbaijan that “the practice of ethnic cleansing, may give rise to individual criminal responsibility under international law.”

In its resolution, the PACE noted the lack of acknowledgment on the part of the leadership of Azerbaijan for the very serious humanitarian and human rights consequences stemming from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor. The factual situation today, with the massive exodus of the almost entire Armenian population from this region, has led to allegations and reasonable suspicion that this can amount to ethnic cleansing.

“The Assembly notes in this respect that the practice of ethnic cleansing, may give rise to individual criminal responsibility under international law, in so far as it has the characteristics of specific war crimes (ordering the displacement of civilian population) or crimes against humanity (deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution against any identifiable group), in accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and general international law. The Assembly notes the strong statements of Azerbaijan refuting such allegations and suspicions and calls upon the authorities to spare no efforts in proving in deeds and words that this is not the case,” emphasized the resolution.

“The Assembly notes that this military operation took place after a ten-month period during which the Armenian population of this region has been denied free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor, the only road allowing it to reach Armenia and the rest of the world, leading to a situation of extremely acute food and supply shortages and high vulnerability of all inhabitants,” said the resolution.

“This was in clear disregard of the provisional and interim measures addressed to Azerbaijan by the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, whose decisions also noted the obligation of Azerbaijan under the 2020 Trilateral Statement to ‘guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions,’” the PACE emphasized.

“The Assembly deeply regrets that just at a time when the situation concerning the transport of the humanitarian supply to the population seemed to improve and a glimpse of hope was emerging, Azerbaijan took the decision to launch this show of force. Indeed, the combination of acute food and supply shortages for the population over a period of months, followed by a military operation and the opening of the corridor towards Armenia for departures, following each other in such short succession, could be perceived as being designed to incite the civilian population to leave the country,” added the resolution.

“The Assembly strongly believes that this long-standing and tragic conflict can only be resolved peacefully, through dialogue and unambiguous signals of goodwill, and on the basis of the applicable international law, fully respecting the human rights of everyone living there,” the PACE observed.

“Strongly regretting that almost the entire Armenian population of the region – more than 100,600 persons at the time of the adoption of this resolution – has left its ancestral homeland and fled to Armenia, certainly out of genuine fear and a lack of trust in their future treatment by
the Azerbaijani authorities, the Assembly recognizes the huge responsibility now placed upon Armenia to cope with the refugee crisis underway,” the text of the resolution said.

“It [PACE] welcomes the declarations of support and solidarity clearly expressed in Armenia for the refugees and calls on the Council of Europe member States to accompany Armenia in this endeavor by providing not only financial support but also expertise, in particular in the area of mental health and psychological support for this traumatized population. The Council of Europe member States should also be ready to demonstrate European solidarity in welcoming a part of the refugee population, should those persons wish to settle elsewhere,” the resolution said.

“The Assembly regrets the human tragedy unfolding today, as well as the long-standing and continuing failure on the part of the authorities of Azerbaijan to reassure the Armenian population of this region of their safety and the full respect of their rights, and to guarantee an approach to their future, free of acts or expressions of reprisals or revenge for the events which took place in the 1990s and during the 2020 war,” the assembly said.

https://asbarez.com/pace-condemns-azerbaijan-for-clear-disregard-of-international-norms-warns-of-ethnic-cleansing/?fbclid=IwAR3BrJZ35ppieae8kv7lqq2APwjvlbr7qp-cExscnq68XgnVC63ARzfXGX0

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Oct 15 2023

First Person: ‘A handful of soil’ – refugee stories from Armenia

People who have fled to Armenia from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan have been talking about how their lives have been shattered by the recent escalation in hostilities there. Some 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since the end of September and many have received support from the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Here are some of their stories.  © IOM/Joe Lowry Ophelia Aghajanyan **Ophelia Aghajanyan:**

We are pensioners. My husband, who used to be a soldier, is a disabled man. My son as well. My sister's only child was brought here in a closed coffin. We buried a lot of our relatives. I have left my holy dead, and I don't blame myself; I have brought a handful of soil with me. What are we going to do? I don't know. Who cares about pensioners? ![Andranik Harutyunyan]

(https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/11-10-2023-IOM- Armenia-02.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg) IOM/Joe Lowry Andranik Harutyunyan **Andranik Harutyunyan:**

The same day as they started striking our village, our whole community moved into to a cave. When it was time for all of us to leave the village, no one took anything from Berdadzor. Some people were able to get their family out by car, at least. But some were not. If anyone can help anyone in our community with a place to live, the rest will be taken care of by us. We all are working families. We all will work to provide for our families. ![svetlana Lazaryan]

(https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/11-10-2023-IOM- Armenia-04.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg) © IOM/Joe Lowry Svetlana Lazaryan **Svetlana Lazaryan:** (previously living in Armenia)

When I decided to return back to Karabakh, the woman who I was living with asked me a question: 'Where are you going? You have no residence, no possessions. I said, 'I don't know where, but I'm needed there.' I don't know... The call of the heart... The call of blood. My parents are buried there. I have left my brother's grave. I have left my father's grave. We understand our own pain. We must support each other and not wait for some external assistance. Why does no one want to hear and see us, understand our pain? ![Edgar Yedigaryan]

(https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/11-10-2023-IOM- Armenia-03.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg) © IOM/Joe Lowry Edgar Yedigaryan **Edgar Yedigaryan:**

I am engaged, and my fiancée is currently displaced in Hadrut region. We had decided to get married, but unfortunately this tragedy happened. But again, we are not breaking apart, we are not falling into despair. We will be able to overcome this and stand up again. In terms of finding a job, if there's no vacancy in state institutions, we will definitely do agriculture, farming, and take care of our family. We are working folk; we all can create something. ![Marianna Grigoryan]

(https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/11-10-2023-IOM- Armenia-05.jpg/image1170x530cropped.jpg) © IOM/Davit Gyumishyan Marianna Grigoryan **Marianna Grigoryan:**

My mum and grandma fled in the 1990s and we don't have a house. I am unaware of the concept of owning a house. And to be honest, I don't even want to know what that is. Because I have seen how people build up those walls, put bricks on each other, make a home to live in and then be obliged to destroy what they have worked on for 30, 20, 15 years, in one second. On the 19th, when that massive war situation started, people flowed to Stepanakert. Under bombardment and shooting, we started running from basement to basement. We figured out the amount of people per place and started quickly collecting blankets, shoes, everything we had. What's happening here (aid distributions), we were doing the same things under bombing.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/headlines/2650885-first-person-a-handful-of-soil---refugee-stories-from-armenia

[Yervant1]

Aleteia

Oct 15 2023

Pope urges respect of Armenian monasteries, cultural sites

Pope Francis says the many churches, cemeteries, monasteries in Nagorno-Karabakh are "part of the local culture, expressions of faith and a sign of a fraternity that makes it possible to live together despite differences."

Pope Francis is drawing attention to another issue in the former Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which in mid-September was taken over by Azerbaijan. Now some 100,000 of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who lived there have fled the area.

After praying the midday Angelus this October 15, Pope Francis noted:

My concern for the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh has not waned. In addition to the humanitarian situation of the displaced people – which is serious – I would also like to make a special appeal for the protection of the monasteries and places of worship in the region.

I hope that, starting with the Authorities and all the inhabitants, they can be respected and protected as part of the local culture, expressions of faith and a sign of a fraternity that makes it possible to live together despite differences.

ANTONI LALLICAN | Hans Lucas via AFP

The Caucasus Heritage Watch released a special report already months before the take-over noting the situation of these cultural sites: “with 6 confirmed destroyed, 7 confirmed damaged, and 17 threatened just since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War began in September 2020.”

Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity, around 300 AD, before the Edict of Milan. According to tradition, the region was evangelized by the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus.

https://aleteia.org/2023/10/15/pope-urges-respect-of-armenian-monasteries-cultural-sites/

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

Los Angeles Times

High School Insider

Oct 16 2023

Opinion

John Marshall High School

Opinion: Not just a border dispute. Armenians lose their ethnic lands and treasures amid conflict

Thousands of ethnic Armenians have been forced to flee their homes, leaving behind cultural monuments and historic sites in the hands of Azerbaijani forces executing ethnic cleansing.

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Anush Mkrtchyan

October 16, 2023

Life has ended in Artsakh as countless families are forced to abandon their homes, leaving behind cherished memories and tokens of their existence. The Azerbaijan offensive in Artsakh is a direct attack on innocent children, families, and the cherished lands and sites they hold dear. Armenian families, facing starvation, are being forcefully displaced and left homeless after enduring a year-long blockade imposed by Azerbaijan’s military.

As an Armenian residing in the United States, I felt overwhelming fear and despair for my family in Artsakh after hearing of the bombing in their city, Stepanakert. As a human rights advocate, I deeply mourned the global ignorance surrounding this tragedy.

The war is taking place in Artsakh (also called Nagorno-Karabakh), a region with an ethnic connection to Armenia but falsely claimed by Azerbaijan.

Armenia, a historic nation with roots dating back thousands of years, rests in the mountainous regions of the Caucasus. However, the Armenian community extends beyond this region, with a prominent diaspora in Los Angeles.

For decades Armenia has experienced numerous land disputes, a modern one emerging in the 1920s when Joseph Stalin signed Artsakh over to Soviet Azerbaijan’s border.

Since then, multiple wars have erupted in the region. From 1988-1994, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War took place, resulting in the occupied lands being victoriously returned to Armenia. In the war of 2020, a ceasefire was signed. However, up until a few weeks ago, Artsakh had been under a deadly siege since December of 2022, cutting off all necessary supplies from entering Artsakh. In mid-September, after a bombing attack by Azerbaijan, Armenian forces surrendered in hopes of preserving peace, and nearly 100,000 Armenians fled the region of Artsakh.

Among those fleeing is a professor from the Artsakh State University who describes the situation with honest concern, stating, “This is the end, this is the end of the world, a big tragedy. Life had ended.”

The forceful removal of Armenians from their ethnic lands is a step in the process of erasing Armenian history in the region to develop Azerbaijani propaganda regarding the occupation by Armenians. It’s absurd that the UN fails to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its war crimes. Therefore, it’s up to Armenian Americans and those who care about human rights to pressure and demand action from the United States government.

It is inaccurate to identify motivations other than ethnic cleansing as a reason Azerbaijan has taken over this land since Artsakh has been recognized as a part of Armenia long before the Turkic group migrated from Central Asia.

Here is a comparison between the map of the Kingdom of Armenia and the map of Armenia today.

During the past conflicts, the Azerbaijani offensive destroyed historically valuable buildings and churches that date back thousands of years. These heritage sites are essential not only to Armenians but to the world because they serve as a window into the evolving cultures of the past and provide valuable lessons and connections for future generations to learn from.

The Armenian people have lost their homes and the right to own and preserve their cultural heritage. Here’s what has been lost:

Amaras monastery, dating back to the 4th Century. This is one of the world’s oldest Christian monuments and a significant religious site for Armenians. This monastery played an essential role in the spread of Christianity in Armenia. The sacred site is also the place where St. Mesrob Mashots, the inventor of the Armenian Alphabet, opened his very first school in 406 AD.

Gandzasar monastery, which is a very important regional cathedral, founded in the 13th century.

Tigranakert of Artsakh is an Armenian city dating back to 323 BC-32 BC. It is a historic site and the ruins are reminiscent of the once vast city founded by Tigranes the Great, one of the most significant kings in Armenian history.

As a manifestation of Armenian civilization, these sites belong under Armenian control. Armenians possess a deep reverence for them, and will maintain the sites.

This is beyond just a war. Armenians lost their loved ones, homes, and the right to live on their ethnic lands. As an Armenian living in Los Angeles, I feel deep sadness and regret for not visiting Artsakh and admiring its beautiful sites and lands.

It is an ominous reality that these sacred treasures have fallen into the hands of the aggressor, and it is heartbreaking that they hold the same fate as other heritage sites.

It’s important to be educated on this issue and comprehend the significance of this land and its historic value. Through acknowledgment and awareness, we can preserve and hold on to these historic sites and appreciate the beauty of this historic culture. In support of human rights and peace, we must take action now by spreading awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh and urging politicians to take measures against Azerbaijan’s invasion.

 

https://highschool.latimes.com/john-marshall-high-school/opinion-not-just-a-border-dispute-armenians-lose-their-ethnic-lands-and-treasures-amid-conflict/

[Yervant1]

Oct 17 2023

"When will world push back?": Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian appalled as Artsakh flag gets trodden over amid Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict

BySreeja Banik

Serena Williams' husband, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, was deeply disturbed when he witnessed the flag of the Republic of Artsakh being trampled upon during the ongoing Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.

The Republic of Artsakh, also known as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, is a region in dispute. While it is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, it is predominantly inhabited by Armenians.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians have fled from Nagorno-Karabakh ever since the territory surrendered to Azerbaijan on September 20. This conflict has evolved into a matter encompassing civil rights, human rights, and various other concerns.

Across the globe, ethnic Armenians are fervently advocating for the preservation of their ancestral lands, which are gradually being encroached upon by Azerbaijan.

Alexis Ohanian, who has Armenian roots from his father, Chris' side, recently took to social media to express his deep dismay after witnessing a person disrespecting and trampling upon the flag of the Republic of Artsakh.

Ohanian voiced his fears that Azerbaijan may continue its aggressive expansion into Armenian territories in the upcoming months if the international community doesn't stand up against this injustice and provide assistance to the Armenians during this challenging period.

"They're not even trying to be diplomatic about it. Watch Azerbaijan press on to conquer even more Armenian land in the coming months. When will the world push back?" Ohanian posted on X (formerly Twitter).

https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-when-will-world-push-back-serena-williams-husband-alexis-ohanian-appalled-artsakh-flag-gets-trodden-amid-azerbaijan-armenia-conflict

[Yervant1]

Religion Unplugged

Oct 18 2023

‘Ethnic Cleansing’ Of Armenian Christians: Time For The Press To Rethink Persecution?

(ANALYSIS) What with Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine raging unabated and now Israel’s retaliation after extensive Hamas terror attacks from Gaza, it’s understandable that journalists, their audiences and politicians have paid little attention to a massive ongoing humanitarian crisis in interior Asia, where Western media lack observers on the ground.

Beginning Sept. 19, Azerbaijan’s military crushed the self-proclaimed (and not internationally recognized) Artsakh republic in the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh enclave within its borders.

The attack panicked and drove out at least 100,000 ethnic Armenians — now forced to cope as refugees in neighboring Armenia. This followed Azerbaijan’s cutoff of the crucial transit corridor from Armenia that had resulted in dire shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies. One factor here is the erosion of Russia’s history of providing Armenia’s security and regional peacekeeping because of its Ukraine entanglement.

The September takeover of the population’s ancient homeland is a straight-up case of “ethnic cleansing,” according to the European Parliament and a Council on Foreign Relations analysis. “In one fell swoop, one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships destroyed one of the world’s oldest Christian communities,” writes Joel Veldkamp, the head of international communications with Christian Solidarity International.

The vanishing ethnic enclave dated back to 1,722 years ago, when Armenia became the first state to collectively adopt the Christian religion. As geography evolved, the Nagorno Armenians found themselves caught in a sector within Azerbaijan.

The latest “World Christian Encyclopedia” edition reports that Azerbaijan is 96% Muslim, while most of the Nagorno population and 84% of the population in neighboring Armenia belong to the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church. Tensions were contained when the entire area was controlled under the Soviet Union, but that regime’s collapse led to the ongoing religio-ethnic struggle between newly independent Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Nagorno collapse is historically important in its own right, but importantly, it raises how religious liberty should be understood and championed. The problem is posed in an Oct. 3 article in First Things by Veldkamp (who is reachable at Solidarity’s Switzerland headquarters info@csi-int.org or 41-0-44-982-33-33).

Veldkamp believes that the “almost complete silence” among Christians about the Nagorno takeover is “shameful” but also “strange” in light of the rise since the 1990s of “a robust and vocal movement on behalf of persecuted Christians abroad,” especially among conservative western churches.

He proposes that this movement is misguided in one fundamental way. “Religious freedom” is framed in terms of individual human rights. That’s important, to be sure, but too many Christians dismiss Nagorno-type crises when they do not involve official actions against things like holding worship services, building of churches, Christian education of youngsters or Bible distribution, as in Communist or Muslim countries.

Instead, as with the “Armenian Genocide” in Turkey a century ago, governments seek to “exterminate a Christian people (whether practicing or not)” under a hostile regime that may see a threat to its hegemony. In other words, persecution can be aimed at populations as well as individuals, which is not how Christians in the American political system think about such matters.

Veldkamp adds that this conception allows “the U.S. foreign policy establishment” to define persecution as “primarily a problem of individual liberty rather than a question involving ethnic identity, peoples or even nations.” This can mean broader American foreign policy avoids questioning.

According to this Solidarity specialist, potential crises currently loom for a Christian population facing threats of foreign “oppression, military attack and ethnic cleansing” in Armenia’s southern Syunik province, and similarly for sectors within India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria and Sudan.

In addition to the aforementioned genocide, Armenia across history has all too rarely enjoyed national independence. It has been dominated over the centuries by Arabs, Persians, Byzantine Greeks, Ottoman Turks, Russians and, finally, the Soviets.

An ecclesiastical point for writers to keep in mind: The Armenian Apostolic Church is part of so-called Oriental Orthodoxy, also prominent in Egypt, Ethiopia and Syria, as opposed to the Eastern Orthodoxy of Russia, Ukraine, Greece and others.

As such, Armenians believe in the divine and human natures in Jesus Christ as defined by Christianity’s first three ecumenical councils, but not the further doctrine proclaimed by the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. See this detailed explanation.

Resources:

* Armenian Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic church leaders in the U.S. issued this appeal last week.

* Congressional Research Service’s 2021 backgrounder on the Nagorno-Karabakh situation (click here).

* Council on Foreign Relations analysis can be found here.

* This Google search contains several essential terms, leading to additional resources and news reports.

This piece first appeared at GetReligion.org.

https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/10/16/ethnic-cleansing-of-armenian-christians-time-for-the-press-to-rethink-persecution

[Yervant1]

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://providencemag.com/2023/10/to-reinforce-the-rules-based-order-the-west-must-back-armenia/__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!vf_FEppMHhuLKHSoYHZA6c36yp5Br6B8Y70qWZo8Oamd-cWEqCSV90rItfZq09dNZffg7tVoMElzfFQWNg$


Reinforce the Rules Based Order, the West Must Back Armenia
By Len Wicks on October 18, 2023

read10 min
Azerbaijan, noted by Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders as having
a poor track record on human rights, has committed ethnic cleansing against a
group of indigenous Armenians while the world has remained silent. Former Chief
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo reported that
Baku’s siege of the former Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) is deemed illegal by the
International Court of Justice, as being consistent with Article II © of the
Genocide Convention:

Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

Why should people care? Besides inflicting suffering on the innocent Armenians
of Artsakh, this egregious act has also essentially undermined the so-called
‛rules-based international order’ and has emboldened dictators to use force to
solve political conflicts. The Caucasus could now face a regional war, sucking
in Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Israel while China is undoubtedly taking note with
Taiwan in its sights.

The authoritarian Azerbaijani regime that invaded Armenia in 2021 and 2022, and
which illegally holds Armenian Prisoners of War, has committed sadistic war
crimes like beheadings and bombing of churches and inculcates state-sponsored
racism against Armenians, is trying to justify its actions. It falsely portrays
people subjected to a starvation-inducing blockade as akin to the 1930s
Ukrainian Holodomor and the September 19, 2023 military attack as leaving lands
where they lived for thousands of years “voluntarily.”

Until now, Azerbaijan has been able to control the narrative, using tools like
the infamous Azerbaijan Laundromat bribery scheme of politicians and media, to
avoid the West’s scrutiny of the fact that it is a Russian ally, and even helps
Russia to avoid sanctions by re-selling Russian gas. Baku calls Armenians
“separatists,” and “rebels.” Even Western media use inappropriate terms to
describe Artsakh as “breakaway” or “separatist.” This is an injustice because
Artsakh’s bid for democracy and freedom from Azerbaijan’s human rights abuse was
not a case of separatism.

The First Republic of Armenia was established in 1918 during the Russian
Empire’s collapse. Artsakh was part of the predominantly Christian nation
Armenia, which was recognized as a de jure sovereign state by the Great Powers
in 1920. Unlike Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 1918-20 was not
recognized as being sovereign (not even by the Ottoman Empire, nor by the League
of Nations). As a self-declared de facto entity without recognized territory,
Baku had no legal claim to Armenia or Artsakh.

Following the illegal Soviet invasion of sovereign Armenia in late 1920, in 1921
Stalin transferred Artsakh, populated 95% by Armenians, from the Armenian Soviet
Socialist Republic (SSR) to the Azerbaijan SSR as an autonomous oblast. This is
despite the fact that on November 30, 1920, the Azerbaijan SSR had already
recognized Nagorno Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan as being part of Soviet
Armenia! Stalin’s “divide and rule” policy has caused conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan ever since.

During Stalin’s reign, he ignored multiple racist-based pogroms and massacres,
including the Armenian genocide-era 1920 Shushi massacre by Azerbaijanis that
killed 20,000 Armenians and the ethnical cleansing of this Artsakh city.
Armenia’s longstanding wariness of their eastern neighbor is therefore
understandable.

However, there are two critical points as to why Stalin’s decision to transfer
Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan is irrelevant to Artsakh’s sovereign status:

The Azerbaijan SSR was only a non-sovereign province of the Soviet Union, and as
such had no right to claim territory by itself under Westphalian sovereignty (no
rule by another party); and
Azerbaijan itself did not claim any sovereign rights from the Azerbaijan SSR
period; instead on August 30th, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan enacted a
Declaration On the Restoration of the State Independence of the Republic of
Azerbaijan on the basis of the unrecognized and non-sovereign Azerbaijan
Democratic Republic of 1918-20!
The first time that Azerbaijan became a sovereign, de jure state able to claim
internationally recognized “territorial integrity” was on December 26, 1991, at
the fall of the Soviet Union. According to the UN Charter, “territorial
integrity” is only relevant to external threats such as invasion and does not
conflict with the self-determination rights of people. This was a pivotal moment
in history, three years after Nagorno Karabakh had legally separated from the
Azerbaijan SSR province by formal referendum. It was also after a vote of 99.9%
in a 1991 referendum (82.1% voter turnout) to support an independence
declaration for Artsakh (and the Shahumyan region) from the USSR itself on
September 02, 1991, in accordance with USSR Secession Law (Articles 3 and 5).

When the Soviet Union and its laws were declared void on December 26, 1991, two
legal entities emerged from the former Azerbaijan SSR’s territory. Both had
“clean sheet” rights under Westphalian sovereignty, consistent with the
Montevideo Convention. Thus, the territory and people that each controlled were
a vital aspect prior to the final step before sovereignty – international
recognition.

Unfortunately, and despite the July 7th, 1988 European Parliament’s support for
Artsakh’s reunification with Armenia due to ongoing pogroms and massacres
against Armenians, the West ignored Article 1 of the ICCPR international law on
self-determination that it has since granted to many others. This can only be
explained as Western ignorance or self-interested geopolitics, as there can be
no logical reason for denying the democratic Artsakh people their rights under
international law while recognizing others such as Montenegro (recognized by
Turkey and Azerbaijan), South Sudan (recognized by Azerbaijan), and Kosovo and
Timor-Leste (Recognized by Turkey).

With the exception of Montenegro, these are all cases of “separatism” from a
parent sovereign state that still existed. As noted, Artsakh is not a case of
separatism, as the parent state (the USSR) no longer existed when it attempted
to reunify with Armenia. Therefore, Artsakh had exactly the same rights to
declare independence as Azerbaijan, under the relevant former Soviet and
international laws.

Of course, Azerbaijan would have everyone believe that once a state is
sovereign, then there can never be any changes to its internationally recognized
borders. If that were the case, then Azerbaijan would not exist, as it was part
of a sovereign Persian Empire (now Iran). Some might also assume that because
the former Nagorno- Karabakh’s borders were within Azerbaijan’s borders, then it
must be part of Baku’s territory, but they have obviously never seen a map of a
sovereign Lesotho!

Moreover, when post-Soviet leaders agreed to the December 21, 1991 Alma-Ata
Protocol’s (non-binding) Preamble that recognized the ‟…territorial integrity of
each other and inviolability of the existing borders” the “existing borders”
must, by definition, include the legally established borders of Artsakh!

The failure of the world to recognize Artsakh in 1991, and to take
Responsibility to Protect action (R2P), led directly to the First Artsakh War.
Tens of thousands needlessly lost their lives after Baku’s invasion, aided by
Soviets during the first years of the war. Azerbaijan committed multiple war
crimes and spread disinformation during this war, including, as the evidence
strongly indicates, the massacre of its own Khojaly citizens near the Azeri-held
city of Aghdam, so it could falsely blame Armenians.

UN Security Council resolutions did not address the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
or even determine the extent of the territory concerned, as the UN Security
Council had mandated the OSCE Minsk Group to facilitate a peaceful settlement of
the conflict in this officially disputed territory. Azerbaijan has repeatedly
ignored its responsibilities under these Resolutions and the 1994 Ceasefire,
including cessation of blockade, rendering them virtually redundant. It seems
that nothing has changed.

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities were officially signatories for all ceasefire
agreements, which means Azerbaijan de facto recognized Artsakh as an entity – a
key step to sovereignty.

Azerbaijani President Aliyev had agreed to the Lachin Corridor allowing
unhindered access in both directions as part of the Russian-brokered November
9th, 2020 ceasefire. However, Russian “peacekeepers” empowered by the ceasefire
effectively became jailers, supporting Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade by not
intervening to ensure Baku’s compliance. Refugees interviewed by the author even
confirmed that Russia was given a day’s notice of Azerbaijan’s September 19th,
2023 invasion, while the Kremlin misinformed the world that they only had a few
minute’s notice!

Of deep concern are allegations of possible mass executions of civilians by the
Azerbaijani Army in four villages on September 19, 2023, which may have been
witnessed by Russian peacekeepers at Dzhanyatag. The Russians were reportedly
killed, for reasons that have been downplayed by the Kremlin. These Bucha
massacre-like war crime allegations must be fully investigated by an independent
body.

Azerbaijan’s goal is not just the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, but the
occupation of Armenia. Azerbaijani authorities have openly communicated this for
decades. For example, in 2005 the mayor of Baku at a meeting with German
officials stated: “Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. You,
Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and 40s, right? You should be
able to understand us.” In 2004, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister’s spokesperson
stated: “Within the next 25 years there will be no state of Armenia in the South
Caucasus.” President Aliyev has also been consistently vocal about his genocidal
intentions against Armenians.

The 2020 Artsakh War had significant geopolitical implications and affected
regional stability, even drawing Syrian mercenaries transported by Turkey.
Emboldened with their victory in 2020, Azerbaijan now seeks to force, by
military means, a sovereign corridor through southern Armenia, with regional war
implications, as this would cut off a vital trade route for India and Iran.

The proclamation by an unelected Artsakh authority that Artsakh would cease to
exist on January 1st, 2024, was made under duress without the democratic will of
its people and is therefore illegal. Artsakh had a stronger legal case to be
recognized as independent than separatist examples like Kosovo. However, the
international community’s cynical silence on the genocide by starvation for
nearly ten months followed by the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh Armenians and its
tacit support of Azerbaijan’s genocidal dictatorship for its polluting oil and
gas money as well as transferring Russian gas to Europe is testimony to the
failure of the “international order.” Even the UN and the Vatican were
shamefully silent.

The world’s R2P failure has also allowed the Kremlin to treat Armenians as pawns
in its geopolitical games once again. In response, Armenia ratified the Rome
Convention that created the International Criminal Court, which has indicted
Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is clear that Russia is no longer an ally
of Armenia; quite the reverse, in fact.

As the “Leader of the Free World,” the United States has shamefully done no
better than the Kremlin. It has funded Azerbaijan to support a proxy war with
Iran, while successive presidential administrations have presented these actions
to Congress as preventing terrorism in order to justify a Section 907 waiver,
opening the door to direct US aid to Azerbaijan where previously Azerbaijan was
ineligible. The United States and its allies must now protect Armenia against
the consequences of its actions, which effectively supported ethnic cleansing
and coerced a naïve Armenian government to abandon Armenians of Artsakh.

Magnitsky-style sanctions must be imposed on Azerbaijani officials in charge of
orchestrating war crimes and genocide against Armenians to signal the
unacceptability of ethnic cleansing, as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim said just five days before Azerbaijan
ethnically cleansed Artsakh. Internationally experienced lawyers should
immediately work on the case of investigating and prosecuting Azerbaijan’s
dictator Aliyev for committing genocide at the International Criminal Court.

In order to undo the grave injustice perpetrated against Artsakh’s Armenians,
the civilized world must first recognize their immense loss of life, economic
viability, and irreplaceable cultural heritage. Crimes such as these demand
substantial compensation and a pathway to restoration.

Azerbaijan is a corrupt and unstable dictatorship that oppresses its own people
and is potentially threatened by both Iran and Russia, with Russia having lost
influence in the region due to Turkish infiltration into the South Caucasus.
Artsakh met all legal provisions for international recognition, given what
should have been Azerbaijan’s actual legally claimable territory at the USSR’s
fall.

Therefore, Artsakh’s people should never give up the hope of returning to their
ancient homeland as a free and independent nation with international
peacekeepers, if the opportunity permits, by establishing a government-in-exile.
The West must restore confidence in the international order by recognizing the
egregious error committed by allowing Azerbaijan’s illegal annexation of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Otherwise, the world will stand on the abyss of a global
conflict, where the law of the jungle prevails.

Armenia | Azerbaijan | Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh | Europe & Eurasia | Genocide
| The Latest
Armenian Genocide | Azerbaijan | Christians | Ethnic Cleansing | Genocide |
International Court of Justice (ICJ) | Nagorno-Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh)

Dual national Australian/New Zealander Len Wicks has a background in aviation
management, aviation safety audit and management, tourism, and international
conventions and relations, having worked in New Zealand, Oman (during the 1st
Gulf War) and Thailand (for the United Nations).

The Singaporean government engages Mr. Wicks as a special advisor. He is the
co-owner of a resort complex in Armenia, which is a base for the charity he
founded (Adopt-a-Village).

Mr. Wicks authored, inter alia, the trilogy novel Origins: Discovery and an
expose on the Khojaly Massacre, which was published by the Armenian National
Academy of Science. He also has two patents and an interest in renewable energy,
with new designs for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine and a green hydrogen system
intended to decarbonize seawater.

In his private life, Mr. Wicks is a human rights activist focused on genocide
awareness. He vlogs on YouTube under Straight Talk from the Homeland and on X at
@OriginsD.

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

 

Oct 20 2023

 

Council Of Europe Statement Calls For Amnesty For All Karabakh Armenians

October 20, 2023 0 Comments

By PanARMENIAN

The European Union expects a comprehensive amnesty for all Karabakh Armenians, according to a statement adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Wednesday, October 18.

Azerbaijan has a clear primary responsibility for the fate of the population. Tangible, concrete and transparent guarantees must be provided. As an important confidence-building measure, we expect a comprehensive amnesty for all Karabakh Armenians, including their representatives, and restraint by all sides from harsh rhetoric.

The statement reads:

1.The European Union continues to follow with concern the extremely difficult situation arising from the mass exodus of Karabakh Armenians following Azerbaijan’s military operation on 19 and 20 September and the nine months-long blockade on the Lachin corridor. Nearly the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh, over 100,600 persons, have found refuge in Armenia.

2.It is imperative to ensure continuous unimpeded humanitarian support to those who are still in need in Karabakh, as well as to those who have left. The European Commission last week announced an additional package of humanitarian aid of EUR 10.45 million on top of the EUR 20.8 million already provided since 2020.

3.Azerbaijan has to ensure the human rights, fundamental freedoms and security of the Karabakh Armenians, including their right to live in their homes in dignity, without intimidation or discrimination, as well as to create the conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and displaced persons to Nagorno-Karabakh with due respect for their history, culture and human rights. In addition, the cultural heritage and property rights of the local population need to be effectively protected and guaranteed.

4.In this regard, we remind that Azerbaijan must comply with the interim measures indicated by the European Court of Human Rights on 22 September, i.e. to refrain from taking any measures which might entail breaches of their obligations under the Convention, notably Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment).

5.We took note of President Aliyev’s public remarks about willingness to live in peace with Karabakh Armenians and preserve their rights. Azerbaijan has a clear primary responsibility for the fate of the population. Tangible, concrete and transparent guarantees must be provided. As an important confidence-building measure, we expect a comprehensive amnesty for all Karabakh Armenians, including their representatives, and restraint by all sides from harsh rhetoric.

6.International access to Karabakh is crucial when it comes to providing much needed assistance and ensuring an independent monitoring of the situation on the ground. The European Union has taken note of the two recent UN visits. We praise the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, who provides support and assistance to the Armenian authorities in handling this massive exodus on its territory, and look forward to the Council of Europe fact-finding mission led by Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović and its subsequent recommendations.

7.The EU reiterates its support to the sovereignty, inviolability of borders and territorial integrity of both Azerbaijan and Armenia. We call on Azerbaijan to reaffirm its unequivocal commitment to the territorial integrity of Armenia, in line with the 1991 Almaty Declaration.

8.The EU remains committed to facilitating dialogue between both sides in order to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable peace for the benefit of all populations in the region.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/20102023-council-of-europe-statement-calls-for-amnesty-for-all-karabakh-armenians/

[Yervant1]

Oct 19 2023

OPINIONS

Is the UN Whitewashing Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh?

Opinion by

Representatives of United Nations agencies based in Azerbaijan, acting on instructions from that government, hopped into their four-wheel drives on Oct. 1 and proceeded from Baku, the capital, to Stepanakert/Khandendi, the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh region known to Armenians as Artsakh. They were joined by a senior official from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

The UN team was also accompanied by Azerbaijani government handlers who were meant to ensure that the UN personnel strictly adhered to the protocols agreed for the mission on where it could go, with whom it could speak and similar matters.

By the time the mission left for Nagorno-Karabakh, virtually all of the enclave’s estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenian population had fled to neighboring Armenia. The largest forced population displacement in the post-Soviet South Caucasus region came on the heels of Azerbaijan’s full-scale assault on the area on Sept. 19. The offensive was preceded by a nine-month blockade of the region through the Lachin Corridor, cutting its access to vital supplies, including food and medication. The restrictions were also accompanied by the severance of gas and electricity and frequent sniper shootings of farmers working their fields and bombings of towns.

On Oct. 1, the UN team arrived in a Stepanakert that had been nearly emptied, with the central square littered with the belongings of people who escaped for their lives. Television reports showed the eerie silence of a once-thriving city, now inhabited only by roaming packs of shell-shocked dogs and horses.

The following day, in a most efficient manner by UN standards, the team issued its assessment mission report. It may as well have been written by the Azerbaijani government officials who had laid out the terms of the visit. In essence, it was. Its author, a national communications officer working for the UN resident coordinator’s office in Baku, formerly worked for Azerbaijan’s state broadcaster, ATV.

While the author and his photo were initially featured in the report, they have since been removed from the UN Azerbaijan website. Posting the report on the social media platform X (Twitter), the UN in Azerbaijan promptly tagged Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its permanent mission to the UN in New York City and Hikmat Hajiyev, an assistant to the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, whose X handle says that a repost is an “endorsement.” No Armenian government officials were tagged.

It is not surprising that the short UN assessment mission wrote: “In parts of the city that the team visited, they saw no damage to civilian public infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and housing, or to cultural and religious structures.”

Although the report noted that “the team heard from interlocutors that between 50 and 1,000 ethnic Armenians remain in the Karabakh region,” this did not stop it from concluding that “the mission did not come across any reports . . . of incidences of violence against civilians following the latest ceasefire.”

Although “the mission was struck by the sudden manner in which the local population left their homes and the suffering the experience must have caused,” it saw no reason to elaborate on what had caused the “sudden” exodus of nearly the entire Armenian population in the city. Yet it gave assurances that the “UN in Azerbaijan plans to continue to regularly visit the region.”

The mission that produced the report was the first time the UN had accessed the region in 30 years from either Armenia or Azerbaijan. Repeated pleas for humanitarian aid by the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh during the nine-month starvation siege earlier this year had faced Azerbaijan’s refusal to allow any aid from entering the region, except sporadic deliveries by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Attempts by the UN during those three decades to access the region were unsuccessful, given the lack of agreement with all parties to the conflict. For 30 years, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh was the longest-running frozen conflict in the South Caucasus. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, about 80 percent of the region’s population were ethnic Armenians, with ethnic Azeris constituting the rest. Armenians of the region had called Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh home for millenniums. During the Soviet period, Nagorno-Karabakh had the status of an autonomous region, administered by Baku. With years of discriminatory laws imposed on Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians by Baku, the Armenians held two referendums: one in 1988 calling for unification with the Soviet Republic of Armenia and another in 1991 calling for independence from Azerbaijan.

In both instances, Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians voted overwhelmingly for the motions, and in both cases their will was crushed, first by Moscow, then by Baku. Two wars were fought over the enclave, in the early 1990s and 2020, with devastating death, destruction, human suffering and population displacements on both sides. While in the 1990s, Armenia emerged victorious, the 2020 war launched by Azerbaijan on the area witnessed the reversal of its territorial gains. The most recent military assault by Azerbaijan, on Sept. 19-20 this year, saw the final resolution of the Armenian question in Nagorno-Karabakh: the comprehensive elimination of the Armenian presence in the region through what can only be described as ethnic cleansing.

Until last year, I worked for the UN for 30 years and served in some of the most complex conflict zones in Cambodia, Tajikistan, Iraq and Somalia as well as for the UN envoy for Syria in Geneva. I was proud of the work the organization did in those countries and offices to alleviate human suffering and its efforts to mediate an end to conflicts. At no time had I witnessed the flouting of its principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence as was demonstrated in the recent sham assessment mission and statement by the UN Azerbaijan team on Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is difficult to compare the UN country team’s and OCHA’s compliance with Azerbaijani government demands with OCHA’s work in Syria earlier this year, without seeing different standards applied. When the UN Security Council failed in July to renew the UN cross-border humanitarian operation for Syria that had been in place since 2014, the Syrian government proposed that the UN continue cross-border humanitarian assistance “in full cooperation and coordination with the Syrian Government.”

The UN rejected this condition. In a note circulated to Security Council members, OCHA raised objections to Damascus’s control, arguing that the UN “must continue to engage with relevant state and non-state parties necessary to carry out safe and unimpeded humanitarian operations.”

Indeed, OCHA resumed its cross-border work only after its humanitarian principles were agreed on by Syria. So why didn’t the UN in Azerbaijan apply the same standards to its assessment of Nagorno-Karabakh? Instead, it appears to have complied with the demands of Baku, thus discarding core UN humanitarian principles and contributing to the whitewashing of Baku’s possible war crimes against the enclave’s ethnic Armenian population.

This stain on the UN’s reputation in Azerbaijan has a precedent, such as the 18-year tenure of Merhiban Aliyeva as a Unesco Goodwill Ambassador. Aliyeva is the spouse of Azerbaijan’s president, who not only inherited his office from his father but also created the post of vice president to appoint his wife to the job. The circumstances of her Unesco appointment in 2004 by a former Unesco executive director, Irina Bokova, were mired in scandal from the start and have been well documented. The goodwill ambassador resigned in late 2022, following international petitions calling for her dismissal.

It is astounding, too, that only one day before the UN-Azerbaijan team conducted its mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, it announced a $1 million allocation by President Aliyev to UN-Habitat, to “support the expansion of beneficial cooperation towards the development of sustainable cities in the world,” the Azerbaijan state news agency reported.

I believe some of the reputation harm recently incurred by the UN in Azerbaijan can still be reduced. At a minimum, UN Secretary-General António Guterres should launch an immediate review as to how the assessment mission was carried out in clear violation of the organization’s core humanitarian principles. Guterres should also distance himself publicly from the UN Azerbaijan’s mission statement.

Without taking these steps, the UN will appear complicit in Azerbaijan’s whitewashing of its crime of forced population displacement.

This is an opinion essay.

We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on the UN's assessment of Nagorno-Karabakh?

Hasmik Egian

Hasmik Egian was chief of staff in the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria from 2014-2016 and director of the UN’s Security Council Affairs Department from 2016-2022.

https://www.passblue.com/2023/10/19/is-the-un-whitewashing-azerbaijans-ethnic-cleansing-in-nagorno-karabakh/

[Yervant1]

Oct 20 2023

New Armenian Ethnic Cleansing Is Bad for the World

Azerbaijan has conducted ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Sadly, the world has ignored this act of resolving a frozen conflict by force. This damages the rules-based international order, sets a damaging precedent and makes the world a more dangerous place.

BY TIMUR NERSESOV

We are currently living in the most multipolar and unstable period the world has seen since August 1914. It took two world wars to undo the consequences of the last period. The rules-based international order as we know it today is being challenged, and for the first time in the 80 years since the end of World War II, wars are being fought that take no notice and don’t bother with the pretense of that order. The events that began unfolding in the countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2020 were the first unvarnished challenge to the legitimacy of that world order, and the Western world has not answered that challenge.

While the history of the conflict goes back for centuries, its relevance for the West begins in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union what is now known as the first Karabakh war ended in April 1994 with a negotiated ceasefire between the Azeris and the indigenous ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. The ceasefire was followed by commitment from all parties to a mediated settlement under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mink Group. The terms of that ceasefire were to freeze the line of contact that would leave just under 20% of what was Soviet Azerbaijan’s territory under control of the local Armenians who were supported by the Republic of Armenia, pending a negotiated settlement on self-governance status, resettlement of refugees, and any exchange of territories.

Make Sense of the Old and New Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

From frozen conflict to ethnic cleansing

Within the OSCE framework, Azerbaijan and Armenia along with three mediators composed of the United States, France, and Russia, proceeded to conduct many rounds of negotiations over the next 27 years. The lack of substantive progress led the conflict to take on the ominous status of a “frozen conflict”, with occasional clashes along the line of contact. In September 2020 the situation changed. On September 27,2020 Azerbaijan launched a war to retake Karabakh in what became known as the 44-day war or the second Karabakh war.

Russia negotiated a ceasefire in November 2020, which was followed by nearly three years of clashes and blockades and an ineffective Russian peace-keeping mission. Azerbaijan justified the war as a resolution to the frozen conflict. It completed its conquest to take over Karabakh with a week-long campaign beginning on September 19 this year. At the conclusion of this crusade, Azerbaijan had established total control of the region of Karabakh and the expulsion of the entire Armenian population of 120,000 people.

The immediate consequence of the failure to respond to Azerbaijan’s rejection of its international commitments with the support of Turkey, a NATO member, and Israel, a NATO partner, have been earth shattering. First, it is the complete eviction of all 120,000 remaining Armenians in the region that has been populated by ethnic Armenians for more than two millennia. Azerbaijan committed an ethnic cleansing within essentially one week. The speed of the events was such that the Western powers did not have time to issue reactions through their bureaucratic processes before the ethnic cleansing was complete.

Moreover, the very public support of a NATO state and NATO partner made any Western intervention a minefield. With Turkish troops directly involved and Israeli weapons on the front line, both of those states had the power to block most any coordinated effort from Western powers to react. For the first time, Western-aligned states were explicitly on the side of undermining an international conflict resolution process.

A terrible precedent for the future

The consequences of this profound failure to protect the rules-based international order will reverberate in generations to come. The September 2020 Azerbaijani military offensive against ethnic Armenians was executed summarily. Azerbaijan made no effort to seek international legitimation or had any concern that an international reaction would follow. The lack of Western response emboldened Russia to leverage the same pseudo-legalistic language used by Azerbaijan to legitimize its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia did not drum up support for Armenians through the UN. It did not activate Russia’s own alliance structure under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). This alliance of six post-Soviet states — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan — formed in 2002 proved to be useless for Armenians. Russia did not even make a serious propaganda effort focused on the international community to identify a clear casus belli. In essence, Russia did not bother with a single step to legitimize its invasion. Even in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was done under the auspices of an intervention in a civil war, like the justification used by the United States for its engagement in Vietnam.

Every setback to the legitimacy of the institutions the West relies upon to provide peace and order increases danger. The biggest danger is that state actors start bypassing the international system to pursue their goals. Rules-based orders give us predictability. They create a sandbox, which limits the realm of the possible. If things cannot be confined within that sandbox, then we are increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This VUCA world is dangerous in the age of nuclear weapons.

The rise of VUCA at a time globalized economies upon which billions depend for food, water, fuel and basic goods, such unpredictability is frightening. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is a humanitarian disaster. The fact that it has gone completely unopposed is a terrible precedent. Azerbaijan’s decision to wage war to resolve the frozen conflict sets an example for others that it will be nearly impossible to walk back without a unified front from the West. This precedent will continually be used to embolden the use of violence to resolve conflict, without regard to international norms and will make the entire world worse off in the process.

[The views expressed in this article are the authors and do not represent the views of the US Government or any company.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

https://www.fairobserver.com/world-news/new-armenian-ethnic-cleansing-is-bad-for-the-world/

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Samvel Shahramanyan meets group of NK protesters

14:51, 20 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Dozens of Nagorno-Karabakhi protesters gathered outside the Nagorno-Karabakh Representation in Yerevan demanding a meeting with Samvel Shahramanyan, who held the position of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) President at the time of the Azeri takeover of NK and moved to Armenia along with over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons.

The demonstrators breached into the building to confront Shahramanyan. He then held a meeting with a group of the forcibly displaced persons.

After the meeting, Shahramanyan revealed details of what’s been discussed.

“Most of the questions pertained to social issues, accommodation, employment and salary,” he said.

“Not everything depends on us, but we will try to give solutions to your issues,” the Shahramanyan told the crowd of demonstrators outside the building.

“The next question pertained to our political future. I’d like to apologize to everyone, but there are questions that I don’t consider appropriate to disclose because it could contain dangers for us,” Shahramanyan said without elaborating.

The demonstrators sought to find out under what circumstances Shahramanyan signed the order on dissolving the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1122411.html?fbclid=IwAR0yI-IyHNmi1C-S9Ro1g5WWEXd8HwFiBVVjrfDEOp8Wi4uneyVEFjhaifc