cease-fire violations by azeris

Yervant1 · January 30, 2021

Forbes

Jan 28 2021

Child Of War Chronicles Horrors From A Bunker In Artsakh

I cover women social entrepreneurs, peace builders and change agents.

Journalist Lika Zakaryan considers herself “a child of war” born in 1994 in the capital city of Stepanakert, in the war-torn, predominantly Armenian populated, autonomous region of Artsakh within Azerbaijan, neighboring Armenia. Last September 27, the Turkish-backed Azerbaijan army unleashed a major bombardment on Artsakh violating the global ceasefire due to the pandemic. As heavy bombardment using banned weapons continued, the world stood silent, while in early October NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for a ceasefire.

“These brutalities, underscored by Erdogan’s promise to ‘fulfill the mission of our grandfathers in the Caucasus’, and his reference to Armenians as “leftovers of the sword,” demonstrate that we are on the verge of another Armenian Genocide,” wrote David L. Phillips last October. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peacebuilding and Rights (PBHR) at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) that is documenting “Human Rights and Foreign Terrorist Activities in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)” and has served as a Senior Advisor and Foreign Affairs Expert to the State Department during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations.

Like thousands of residents who couldn’t be evacuated, Zakaryan took refuge in a makeshift bunker, living through the horrors of a 44-day war, watching her birthplace transform into rubble. Her father, who had lost one eye in the 1994 war, and brother, were at the frontline. She saw her mother, a nurse at a local hospital, a few times during the war and rarely communicated with her younger sister who was evacuated to neighboring Armenia. Having just joined the news team at CivilNet, Zakaryan’s regularly published war journals earned her the title of the ‘Armenian Anne Frank’.

An Alumnus of Peace Work Institute, a volunteer in YMCA-Artsakh NGO where she trained in conflict resolution, peace work and critical thinking, Zakaryan is a graduate of Artsakh State University with a major in conflict resolution/transformation and peace. I held a virtual interview with Zakaryan following the trilateral peace agreement which Russia facilitated between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Jackie Abramian: Tell us about your childhood in Artsakh–you lived with your grandmother while your parents and brother, Albert, moved to Russia to earn an income.

Lika Zakaryan: I felt the effects of war all the time. I understood my parents are gone, not from a good life. I was always feeling lonely. Those were difficult times for simple people of Artsakh: no jobs, no money, no opportunities. My grandparents worked hard to make me feel fine–to have bread to eat. Everything was limited–food, clothes, etc. but there was a lot of love. I think that made me appreciate everything in this life.

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Abramian: Did you anticipate a major war in your lifetime?

Zakaryan: No. I knew it was possible, but I didn’t even want to think about it. Especially after the four-day war in April 2016, I thought 21st century wars stopped on the 4th day.

My university studies helped me distinguish fake news–what to believe, what to do in which situation. I was also teaching myself Turkish, so that helped me understand a lot in Azeri websites and so on. Critical thinking helped me to have my eyes open and realize that we are losing the war.

960x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=4896&cropY1=24

Lika Zakaryan considers herself “a child of war” born in 1994 in the capital city of Stepanakert.

LIKA ZAKARYAN

Abramian: Does the cloud of the ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan play a role in your psyche–and for all the Artsakh youth?

Zakaryan: This war changed my life in all possible senses. Like anyone else, my family started to live, create, renovate the house. Our life level and conditions became better, only due to our hard work, of course. But the war made everything worthless. We are not sure that our home will belong to us. I wanted to give my mother a microwave as a Christmas gift–but now I can’t buy it, because we see it as paying for a dead horse. Because one bomb can destroy everything, and the bombings are not gone for us yet. Also, I started to feel fear all the time. I’m even afraid to go to the toilet at night because it seems to me that the enemy is under my balcony.

Abramian: Where were you and your family members when the first bombs fell on September 27?

Zakaryan: I was home–sleeping with my family. We woke up from the sound of bombings. We were very scared. The whole day, I didn’t believe that it was a war. The first week we thought it would stop soon, but it didn’t.

Abramian: How did you start reporting for CivilNet–what were your intentions of keeping a war journal, published by CivilNet?

Zakaryan: I started to work at CivilNet in August 2020. Since December 2019, I had attended journalism classes and loved it a lot. I always thought about journalism, but never tried it. And here I was given a chance to try it, and I decided to do it. I felt I will find myself in journalism. I had worked only for two months as a journalist when the war started. I could say that the war was my teacher.

Keeping a journal wasn’t a planned action. On October 11, my cameraman, who is also my boyfriend, was called to the frontline. Before that I didn’t have a lot of time to be alone with my thoughts, but when he left, I felt very lonely and needed to write and share–it helped me a lot. People started calling it “a war diary” I didn’t name it. I felt my journal was helping people–they liked reading the chronicles. I felt useful and continued writing. And I continue it even now, sometimes.

Lika Zakaryan started working for CivilNet in August 2020, nearly two months before the start of the ... [+]

LIKA ZAKARYAN

Abramian: How many days did you take shelter in a bunker? And what was life like in a bunker–where did you sleep, shower, how did you find food?

Zakaryan: I can’t say for sure. Probably over 35 days I was in a bunker which was a storage space of a school. There were 3 or 4 people with me. My cameraman, his parents, and CiviliNet staff when some of them were here in Artsakh.

Showering was a problem, actually. I can’t even tell you what it exactly looked like. (she laughs). Going out depended on the bombings. If they were quiet for some hours, I would go out, take pictures, or go home to see my family. My father and I would go to the municipality to get some food since shops were closed. We did it even under the bombs. We took food to other people who don’t have a car.

Abramian: Were there days that you didn’t think you would survive the war?

Zakaryan: Every day.

Abramian: How often did you write in your diary?

Zakaryan: Every day after the 11th day, except for one day, I guess.

Abramian: How does it feel to be known as the Armenian ‘Anne Frank’ which someone called you. In your diary on Day 15 you wrote:

It already looks like Groundhog Day. I woke up at midnight because I couldn't sleep all night from yesterday's heavy bombings. We can already distinguish the sounds–when it’s a Smertch, when it’s a drone, when it’s cluster bombs, and when ours hit the drone. It is very sad that we can all distinguish this. But what can we do? This is our reality today.

I keep track of days only when I am going to write the day's post. We rarely look at the clock. It seems that for half a century I have not gone to the office, have not cooked vegetarian pizza, have not eaten Nutella on a crepe and have not seen children in the city. Today a friend suggested saving all this as an archive, like Anne Frank's diary. We decided to do so and call it a diary. It helps to dispel the fear, thanks to a friend for the idea. In a few years, we'll watch and read, tell the children and grandchildren.

This war changed my life in all possible senses, says Lika Zakaryan.

LIKA ZAKARYAN

Zakaryan: I hoped the world would care about it as they care about Anne Frank. But I think they don’t. I hoped to bring attention to the Karabakh conflict from the Armenian side.

Abramian: On Day 25 your diary speaks of the endearment for your family–missing your brother Albert fighting at the frontline…you recall your childhood, how you saved your lunch money to get him a toy limousine while he lived in Russia.

If he was reading this now, I would like to tell him one thing - If the war made you sad, come back soon, I will give you a million limousines, I will heal all the wounds in your soul. You just come back as soon as possible.

Zakaryan: Albert is fine, thank God–he’s alive. He is in Stepanakert, working in a window-making company. I was missing him a lot–we are very close to each other.

Abramian: Your diary on Day 30 chronicles the hours and the human losses very systematically. What was it like to count the hours, the casualties who were more than just numbers? You wrote:

For 744 hours we have been living and going through war. We have lost 1006 of our best men. We've lost almost a whole generation of men born between 2000 and 2002. Thirty-nine civilians who were living their lives have died, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Ninety thousand people (60% of Artsakh's population) were forced to leave their homes and find refuge. More than 20,000 children are deprived of their right to education. Mothers lost their sons, who they carried for nine months, and then protected them through all their lives. Children are left orphans.

Zakaryan: I felt we are the only humans in the world, and we are getting less and less. It was awful to read the lists of the dead soldiers–born in 2000-2002. They’re children. I felt guilty for breathing and existing in this world.

Abramian: You wrote about losing a close friend and not being able to cry. Have you cried yet? Were there any outlets for the immense trauma you experienced?

Lika Zakaryan says "Artsakh is not an area, it’s a home for people. It’s not even home, it’s PEOPLE ... [+]

LIKA ZAKARYAN

Zakaryan: I didn’t cry, I was like a stone. I wish I cried. That still remains in me and will remain if I don’t let it go, I know. But I’m still like a stone.

Abramian: You write resentfully about how others took pity at the displaced Artsakh children. How do you want the world to look at Artsakh children–what’s unique about them that the world should know?

Zakaryan: That they are no less clever or less talented, they are not victims; they are children who need love and care, like everyone else. That they deserve the same opportunities as others do.

Abramian: You make no secret of your resentment against the international community. What would you tell the international community and the human rights organizations that ignored Artsakh’s calls for help? You wrote:

We learned the true face of the international community and all organizations that constantly deliver big words, speak about values, human rights, peace... We learned that people in this conflict zone are not human beings, because their lives have no value, unlike those who live in a powerful state. We realized once again that our only defenders are the 18-year-old boys standing in front of the fire. How can we live to be worthy of them?

Zakaryan: I think that was a vivid failure of international law, organizations, order, and ideals. If an aggressor wants to kill many civilians, he will kill many civilians, and nobody can do anything.

I would say that the world is small, and one day life can build for them these kinds of challenges, and they will get what they did themselves–the ignorance. Maybe then they will understand how it feels to be alone in the whole civilized world.

Abramian: Amidst the “chaos and grief” you said you listened to Joan Baez’s song ‘Donna Donna’ as your “friend in war.” Do you know that this Yiddish folksong is about a calf being led to slaughter which some consider a metaphor for the Jewish Holocaust–symbolic of genocidal war of Artsakh?

Zakaryan: Yes, I still listen to Baez’s song, that is still my favorite, my friend in war. I think it has a connection with all these issues about genocides, even if I didn’t realize it fully then.

Abramian: After living through the tumults of war, on Day 35 you left Artsakh to join your sister in Armenia, and described your refugee status most descriptively–reflective of what over 80 million refugees in our world must’ve lived through. You wrote:

It's an indescribably awful feeling. It seems that a dangerous moment has passed, security is ahead. But you don't want to go ahead. How can this be? Doesn't man act instinctively? On the one hand, this thrust back into the fire, and on the other, the vagueness of where you are going. Where to go? Who should I go to? I don’t even want to bother other people with my war... But the car is going, and no one asks you. Build your whole life and lose it in a moment. Today has been my worst day since the war began. I will continue to write about refugee life and tell a story from the last war, but now I will only say one thing: no security can replace my cozy basement if the enemy shells my house…

Zakaryan: Actually, I was forced to leave Artsakh, but wasn’t allowed to write about it. I was afraid that I would make trouble for the authorities with my statement of evacuation. But I didn’t want to leave… I think many refugees in the world felt these exact emotions.

Abramian: On Day 1 Peace you write about the “revised map of Artsakh.” What would you like to tell those “men in suits” who remapped your homeland? You wrote:

I lived 44 days in ignorance of who is where, who controls what. Who am I? The citizen of which country? Where will I live? I ponder that there is a corridor between Armenian and Artsakh with a view to Karvachar. Men in suits decided that they’ll give it away on November 15.

Zakaryan: I still can’t believe my eyes. I can’t accept it. I think I live in Stepanakert now and try not to see what happens. I travelled to the new borders to make myself believe, but even that didn’t help. I can’t accept it, not now…

I wouldn’t like even spending a word for the men in suits. I realized that pink sunglasses have to be broken, people's lives are not interesting for decision-makers, only fuel, gas, Dollars. I don’t know what to say about my identity. I still don’t know a citizen of which country I am now. But one thing I know for sure–I am a Karabakhian Armenian. I am happy for that, even though I had to go through all this.

Abramian: Have you shed tears and mourned your territorial loss which you compare to losing your grandmother who was your “mom, dad, grandmother, and friend. She was everything to” you, yet you couldn’t cry until you saw her in a coffin.

Zakaryan: I still don’t accept it. For me, it didn’t get to the ‘’coffin time’’ yet.

Abramian: What do you want the world to know about Artsakh and its significance?

Zakaryan: Artsakh is not an area, it’s a home for people. It’s not even home, it’s PEOPLE ITSELF.

Abramian: What are your future plans? Will you publish your diary?

Zakaryan: Yes. I am new in all of this, so I will need help and support to see how it has to be done. I’m planning to do a fundraising for it. I am still in Artsakh and planning to stay here yet. It depends on the situation. We cannot plan out ‘tomorrow’ nowadays.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackieabramian/2021/01/28/the-armenian-anne-frank-lika-zakaryan-chronicled-artsakh-war-from-a-bunker/

Yervant1 · January 31, 2021

Public Radio of Armenia

Jan 30 2021

Azerbaijani military regularly fire in the immediate vicinity of Armenian villages – Ombudsman

The Azerbaijani military fire from small and large-caliber weapons in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Chakaten, Nerkin Hand, Shikahogh, Yeghvard, Agarak, Uzhanis in the Syunik province of Armenia, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan says.

Civilians and community bodies of all these villages have informed the Human Rights Defender that shootings take place regularly, both during the day and at night.

According to the alarms, the shootings are clearly heard in the villages, aimed at intimidating civilians and, first of all, children and women.

At the same time, the villagers observed that the Azerbaijani servicemen fire when they are drunk. The shooting is usually from large-caliber weapons and more intensive in these cases.

The delegation led by the Human Rights Defender was informed about these shootings on January 9, 2021 during their visits to Tshakaten and other villages of Kapan. At that time, it was directly reported that the shootings were causing tension in villages.

“These criminal, absolutely condemnable acts must be completely excluded. They have become a real threat to the rights to life and health, physical and psychological integrity and other rights of civilians of Armenia, recognized internationally and guaranteed by the Constitution of Armenia. These shooting grossly violate best interests of the children as well,” the Ombudsman says.

“The mentioned fact further reinforces the Human Rights Defender’s assessment that the presence of Azerbaijani armed forces in the immediate vicinity of Armenia’s civilian border communities, on inter-community and interstate roads is a real threat to the lives and other vital rights of civilians,” Tatoyan adds.

Reports on these facts will be sent to international organizations, including the OSCE, the UN and the Council of Europe. Separate reports will also be sent to special mechanisms of intergovernmental organizations.

https://en.armradio.am/2021/01/30/azerbaijani-military-regularly-fire-in-the-immediate-vicinity-of-armenian-villages-ombudsman/

Yervant1 · January 31, 2021

News.am, Armenia

Jan 30 2021

Pashinyan: We can’t say Shushi with 96% Azeri population is under our control without clarifying Karabakh status

12:18, 30.01.2021

One of the recent scandalous headlines is that I allegedly stated that Shushi is not an Armenian city. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this Saturday during a live broadcast on Facebook, entitled "About Shushi," also directly quoting his statement during the recent parliament-government question and answer session that, "There has never been such an option of discussion, not only now, but during the whole negotiation process, that the refugees from Azerbaijan do not return to Shushi, and Shushi had 90 and more percent of Azerbaijani population before the [Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)] conflict and the liberation; that is, do you mean to say that the city of Shushi, with a population of 90 and more Azerbaijanis, is Armenian in its status?”

According to the PM, using this _expression_, some say that he claimed that Shushi is not an Armenian city. Pashinyan noted that he had referred to that topic while answering the question of one of the MPs that the Russian president had proposed to stop the recent Artsakh war in much more favorable conditions for the Armenian side, and Shushi would remain under Armenian control.

"During the war, there was talk of options for stopping the war, and the Azerbaijani side posited a condition for the return of Azerbaijani refugees to the city of Shushi. In fact, it was about the possibility of restoring the demographic status quo in [19]92. When we had already agreed that we should stop the war, a new condition arose that the Azerbaijani refugees shall return to the city of Shushi in accordance with the status quo that existed in 1992," Pashinyan said.

He added that when the above-mentioned fact became clear, many people publicly accused him that there was an option for Shushi to remain Armenian in status, but he did not make use of that opportunity.

"I have responded to the reality of who and how they think that when there will be a 96 percent Azerbaijani population in Shushi, the city with that status will be considered under Armenian control, as the MP says," Pashinyan emphasized.

According to the Armenian PM, the condition for stopping the war in the context of Shushi is to have 90 and more percent of Azerbaijani population.

"It is about its current status, not about the origin; that is, we have not discussed a historical issue. We discussed a specific situation when the return of Azerbaijani refugees to Shushi in accordance with the demographic status quo existing in 1992 was proposed as a condition for stopping the war. In no way could it be considered that there is a 96 percent Azerbaijani population in Shushi without clarifying the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and we can say that it is under Armenian control," said Nikol Pashinyan.

According to him, this matter only shows an example of media manipulation.

https://news.am/eng/news/626217.html

Yervant1 · February 2, 2021

NOVOSTINK

Feb 1 2021

Polish politician sends first copy of publication on Azerbaijani war crimes against Armenians to Aliyev

1 February 2021, 10:53 - NovostiNK

Polish politician Tomasz Lech Buczek has sent the first copy of the publication about the crimes of Azerbaijan against the Armenians in Artsakh to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

He has enclosed a letter addressed to Ilham Alijev and urged him to free free the Armenian prisoners.

The letter reads:

Your Excellency!

As announced, I am sending to Your Excellency the number 1 (0001) publication about Azerbaijan’s war crimes against the Armenians – Karabakh 2020.

First of all, I appeal to Your Excellency for the RELEASE of the Armenian prisoners of war imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Desperate families of their mother, wife and children await them at home. Their release would become a fact of great historical importance, showing the pursuit of peace in the world.

I also request the exact number of detained Armenian prisoners of war and, through international organizations, to provide information on their health condition.

It also I calls for legal steps to be taken against the criminals of Azerbaijani citizens who committed war crimes during the Karabakh conflict in violation of international conventions and law, as well as the laws of Azerbaijan.

Yours faithfully
Tomasz Lech Buczek

Tomasz Lech Buczek said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia last week that he had received thousands of threats from Azerbaijan for his intention to publish a brochure on Azerbaijani war crimes against Armenians. Numerous attempts had been made to hack his social media accounts.

https://en.novostink.net/3756-polish-politician-sends-first-copy-of-publication-on-azerbaijani-war-crimes-against-armenians-to-aliyev.html?fbclid=IwAR1Uj0BrpWxUvqtqZ9OpiYYNYoNVySDzMzx3GfcVW9Oq7wye48UQSpWkDbw

Yervant1 · February 2, 2021

Panorama, Armenia

Feb 1 2021

Armenian historian Hamlet Petrosyan reacts to another Azerbaijani slander

Armenian Doctor of History, Professor Hamlet Petrosyan, who leads the archeological excavations in Artsakh’s Tigranakert, reacted to another slander by Azerbaijan in a statement on Sunday. The full text of the statement is below.

"In the Azerbaijani media domain, they post pictures from my Facebook page, which show, among others, the packaging of the materials of the Tigranakert Archaeological Museum. The Azerbaijanis present the materials of the excavations in Tigranakert as "the result of illegal excavations", describing the evacuation of these items from the war zone as "theft of Azerbaijani cultural heritage".

I would like to remind the semi-literate propagandists of the aggressive state that the archeological excavations in Tigranakert were carried out at the official invitation and with the permission of the Artsakh authorities, that they were financed from the Artsakh state budget. The Tigranakert Archaeological Museum was established, operated by the decision of the legitimate authorities of Artsakh, with funding of the government of Artsakh. The archeological research of Tigranakert was carried out on a full legal basis, with high professionalism, the results of the research were regularly presented to the international scientific community. It's just ridiculous to talk about a secret process.

Let me mention that Azerbaijani archaeologists, who worked in the area in the 60s and 80s of the last century, did not see the archeological traces of the old city. I urge them not to be so jealous of what they have not been able to find.

During the 44-day war, Tigranakert became an area of enemy shelling, about which we have warned more than once. As a result, the Tigranakert archeological site were completely destroyed. The Artsakh authorities and I, our research team, could not allow the Tigranakert Archaeological Museum to suffer such a fate. The archeological findings of Tigranakert are the property of the people of Artsakh, the issues of its protection are not within the competence of Baku, but Stepanakert. In case of peace, they will be returned to Stepanakert and will be exhibited in the museum to be created for it.

The fact that Artsakh is not politically recognized does not deprive its indigenous people of their right to culture. Including the right to research and promote cultural heritage. So, the archeological research of Tigranakert was carried out on an absolutely legal basis.

The Azerbaijani ideology of depriving the people of Artsakh of their cultural heritage is a continuation of the genocide of the Armenian cultural heritage. Genocide, which we have witnessed for decades, genocide, which culminated in 2005-2006 by destruction of thousands of khachkars in Jugha, the genocide that gained momentum during Azerbaijan's and Turkey’s recent aggression, continues every day. And it can not be justified by false political statements and false accusations.

My colleagues and I will continue the research of Artsakh's cultural heritage, its popularization and the revelations of Azerbaijani vandalism. Aggression, military domination, defamation of international bodies are not competent and cannot deprive the people of Artsakh of the right to preserve their identity with their cultural heritage."

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2021/02/01/Hamlet-Petrosyan/2444339

Yervant1 · February 4, 2021

Greek City Times

Feb 3 2021

Azerbaijan won the war in Nagorno-Karabakh but reduced its sovereignty

by Paul Antonopoulos

Azerbaijan Won The War In Nagorno-Karabakh But Reduced Its Sovereignty - Greek City Times

Although Azerbaijan won the war against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, both countries have in fact lost part of their sovereignty.

Azerbaijan won the war and expanded territorially after it captured or received the districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh proper that Armenian forces captured in the first war (1988-1994). The status of Nagorno-Karabakh proper remains undetermined but is protected by Russian peacekeepers and is still governed by Armenians.

Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Despite this territorial expansion, Azerbaijan has in fact partly lost its sovereignty. During the war, reports began emerging that Azerbaijani military leaders were becoming increasingly frustrated with the level of control that Turkey had over their fighting forces. These reports were quickly dismissed and denied by Azerbaijan as Armenian attempts to create division through misinformation. But if this was just misinformation, then there would be no risk of division to begin with, meaning it would not be worth giving attention to, suggesting there was certainly an element of truth to it.

Azerbaijan’s military success lays with two key factors: the Armenian political and military incompetency and lack of will, and Turkey’s contribution with drones, special forces, intelligence and transfer of Syrian jihadists.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan never truly committed to the war effort as Armenian forces were never fully mobilized, powerful Iskander missiles infrequently used, the Armenian Air Force mostly grounded, Armenian diaspora and foreign volunteers rejected from fighting, and local Armenian militias not equipped with enough ammunition, maps and communication devices, nor were the militias assigned commanders – yet this was supposedly a “war for survival,” as Pashinyan termed it.

None-the-less, despite the incompetency of the Armenian leadership, Azerbaijan’s rapid success in Nagorno-Karabakh would not have been possible without significant Turkish support. Even Azerbaijan’s success is limited as it did not achieve its main war aim – the capture of Nagorno-Karabakh.

More importantly, Ankara’s footprint in the country massively expanded through the deployment of more Turkish troops to Azerbaijan, control of more military bases, and the establishment of a joint observation center with Russia in the Agdam region.

As said, reports circulated during the war that divisions in the Azerbaijani military and political circles were emerging between a pro-Turkish faction and another faction in opposition to Turkey’s dominant role in the war effort. These reports have only intensified in recent days as Turkish troops are now deployed in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani politicians and military leaders are beginning to worry about Ankara’s strong influence in the country, with critics commenting that Azerbaijan has become the 82nd province of Turkey. Although Azerbaijan now controls most of the formerly Armenian-held territory, it cannot exercise control over it without Turkish and Russian oversight.

In fact, even Iran has greater opportunities to influence Azerbaijan that it was not able to do before the war. Azerbaijan’s capture of the districts to the south of Nagorno-Karabakh proper means that it shares external borders with only Armenia and Iran. Effectively Iran has great opportunities to be one of the leading foreign investors in the region as Armenia and Azerbaijan have not normalized their relations. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan, the region wedged between Armenia, Turkey and Iran, to boost regional cooperation through new railroad and transportation routes.

In turn, it will be inevitable that Iran will attempt to gain influence through pan-Shi’ism, but this may prove difficult to gain a foothold as pan-Turkism has become the dominant ideology of Azerbaijan because of Turkey’s own soft power manoeuvers. Russia will utilize its influence through its peacekeepers in the region, and also soft power through economic exchanges.

Although Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will relish his country’s long-awaited victory after his father Heydar Aliyev signed a humiliating ceasefire in May 1994 to conclude the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the long-term repercussion means that Turkey dominates the Azerbaijani military and wields great political influence over Baku. Also, there is limited Azerbaijani governance in the territories it controls because of Russia’s watchful eye through the deployment of peacekeepers. And finally, we can see much stronger Iranian influence as it aims to penetrate the region through economic and religious means.

Azerbaijani flags may be flying over the captured territories, but it certainly has come at the price of reduced sovereignty – militarily, economically, politically, and perhaps even religiously and culturally.

Source: InfoBrics

https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/03/azerbaijan-war-nagorno-karabakh/

Yervant1 · February 4, 2021

The Organization for World Peace

Feb 3 2021

All Azerbaijani Captives Returned Under Karabakh Deal, While Some Armenian Captives Still Await Return

February 3, 2021 in Current Events by Chloe Jackson (updated on February 3, 2021)

As of January 18^th, 2021, Armenia has returned all Azerbaijani prisoners from the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The six-week struggle last year ended with a ceasefire agreement initiated by Russia, says Reuters. An end to the violence required both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces to exchange all prisoners. However, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov reports that progress has stalled on the return of Armenian prisoners. Armenia claims many of its prisoners remain in Azerbaijan well after the 2020 conflict ended. Lavrov clarified that the reason Armenian prisoners have yet to be returned is due to lack of communication between the two sides and Armenia’s failure to produce a list of prisoner’s names in a timely manner. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan announced the return of four Armenian captives on December 28^th, 2020 through mediation by the International Committee of the Red Cross of the Russian Federation, but many still await their release. Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region are working to uncover the location of remaining Armenian prisoners and ensure their safe return. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, an effort established in 1994 to resolve the land dispute, is aware of the Armenian prisoners that remain in unlawful captivity.

The sluggish exchange of prisoners reflects the inefficacy of previous ceasefires. The peace agreement in November 2020 “leaves many key aspects of the simmering conflict unresolved,” says the Washington Post. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan labels the agreement as “incredibly painful both for me and for our people.” The November truce was a triumph for Azerbaijan but caused outrage and protests against Prime Minister Pashinyan in Armenia. According to the Washington Post’s recount of a January 11^th meeting with Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the Russian-brokered deal also worked out the reopening of transport routes in the region. Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey shut their borders to Armenia at the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and land-locked Armenia will now supposedly be able to improve their economy with reopened borders. The new border policies will likely contribute to resolving the issue of Armenian prisoners that remain in Azerbaijani captivity. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues “the implementation of those agreements will benefit both the Armenian and Azerbaijani people and the entire region” and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agrees, stating “it opens completely new perspectives that we couldn’t even imagine in the past.” Prime Minister Pashinyan disputed these claims by maintaining that the region’s status is unclear, but also recognized the reinstated transit routes.

Productive dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan must continue to reach peace in the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Both sides struggle with communication, a crucial element in negotiating disagreements in the region. To arrive at a permanent solution to the violent outbreaks, both sides must agree upon a resolution that ends the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for good.

Conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has persisted for several decades. During the 20^th century, fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan was kept in check under Bolshevik rule. However, as the Soviet Union began to dissolve, the autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh region declared independence and war between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted soon after. As stated by the Council on Foreign Relations, fighting over the region spanned from 1988 to 1994, resulting in 30,000 casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees. In 1994, Russia brokered a ceasefire that remains in place. Though Nagorno-Karabakh has been classified a frozen conflict since 1994, breaches of the peace agreement have occurred in recent years. The most intense fighting since the ceasefire broke out in early April 2016, effecting dozens of deaths and over 300 casualties. Following four days of violence, the two sides consented to a revised ceasefire agreement.

Tensions heightened again in July 2020, and fighting then escalated in late September 2020, resulting in deaths of over 1,000 soldiers and civilians. The United Nations, United States and Russia encouraged new peace agreements in light of the violence, but both parties rejected such advice and continued to fight. The struggle intensified when Azerbaijani and Armenian forces transitioned from cross-border shelling to heavy weaponry, including long-range artillery. As of October 2020, several new ceasefires have been negotiated via communication with France, Russia and the United States. Infringements of the truce continue as fighting persists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. While both opposing sides accuse each other of breaking the ceasefire, Russian peacekeepers argue the arrangement is working thus far.

The exchange of Azerbaijani and Armenian captives is a step toward peace in the region. However, future relations between the two sides remain uncertain. Putin deems the November 2020 peace deal as a “necessary basis for a long-term and full-format settlement of the old conflict,” says the Washington Post. While mediators like Putin are optimistic about relations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, current resolutions may not bring an end to struggles between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Chloe Jackson

Chloe has been involved with the OWP since 2020 and is currently working as a Correspondent reporting on world peace issues. Chloe is interested in global human rights debates and inequalities among marginalized groups. She believes that progressive solutions to conflicts regarding world peace are possible through dedication and collaboration.

https://theowp.org/all-azerbaijani-captives-returned-under-karabakh-deal-while-some-armenian-captives-still-await-return/

Yervant1 · February 6, 2021

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 5 2021

Polish politician Tomasz Lech Buczek sends brochure on Azerbaijani war crimes against Armenians to Biden

Polish lawyer and politician Tomasz Lech Buczek has penned a letter to US President Joe Biden, urging him to take steps to free Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

Buczek also attached a publication on Azerbaijani war crimes against Armenians. He had earlier sent a copy to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The letter reads:

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you, first of all, as an ordinary person, a Polish citizen by chance born on July 4, on a day so special for the history of the United States.

I am fighting for the truth to prevail. Artsakh, who fought for Independence, this small piece of Armenian sacred land.

On February 3, I received a very personal letter from Mrs Armine of Stepanakert, an Armenian mother.

During the Nagorno-Karabakh war, she lost her son and husband, and the youngest son, 19, was taken prisoner by Azerbaijan. In this letter, she stated that this letter was a Great Hope for Her, because as a simple woman she did not know who to turn to for help.

Then I remembered the letter. The Bixby letter a brief, consoling message sent by President Abraham Lincoln in November 1864 to Lydia Parker Bixby, a widow living in Boston, Massachusetts, who was thought to have lost five sons in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam, I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully, Abraham Lincoln

I replied to Ms Armine quoting this letter and added one sentence – only one that I would do everything to free the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.

In the twenty-first century, the world cannot accept the violation of fundamental human rights. The world must take steps to free the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.

To this letter, I attach my evidence-based publication on the Azerbaijani War Crimes against the Armenians in Karabakh 2020.

https://en.armradio.am/2021/02/05/polish-lawyer-tomasz-lech-buczek-sends-brochure-on-azerbaijani-war-crimes-against-armenians-to-biden/

Yervant1 · February 6, 2021

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 5 2021

Armenian MP appeals to women leaders in Europe to force Azerbaijan to release Maral Najarian from captivity

Member of the Armenian National Assembly Naira Zohrabyan has appealed to women leaders in Europe, requesting to call on Azerbaijan to release Lebanese Armenian Maral Najarian from captivity.

Maral Najaryan moved to Berdzor, Artsakh, after the explosion in the port of Beirut. She was taken captive on the Goris-Stepanakert road on her way to Berdzor to transport her personal belongings to Yerevan before the region would be handed over to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan has officially confirmed the fact of Maral’s captivity, and she is supposedly kept in the Gubistan prison, about 70 km from Baku.

Naira Zohrabyan from the opposition Prosperous Armenia faction has appealed to European women leaders, human rights activists and all organizations dealing with women’s issues to force Azerbaijan to return Maral and all prisoners of war.

“I have appealed to all women at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to call on Azerbaijan and Aliyev’s wife, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, to return Maral Najaryan, a civilian, to Armenia immediately,” Zohrabyan said in a Facebook post.

“I have appealed to UNESCO, which gives the title of a goodwill ambassador to the wife of the president of a war criminal country, so that UNESCO demands within its mandate that its Azerbaijani goodwill ambassador not spit on international humanitarian law and keep Armenian prisoners of war and Maral Najaryan as a “political currency,” to immediately return all prisoners of war to Armenia under the 3rd Geneva Convention,” Zohrabyan said.

https://en.armradio.am/2021/02/05/armenian-mp-appeals-to-european-woman-leaders-to-force-azerbaijan-to-release-maral-najarian-from-captivity/

Yervant1 · February 9, 2021

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 8 2021

Polish politician pens letter to Macron, asks to help hold Aliyev liable for war crimes against Armenians

Polish politician pens letter to Macron, asks to help hold Aliyev liable for war crimes against Armenians – Public Radio of Armenia

Polish politician and lawyer Tomasz Lech Buczek has sent a letter to French president Emmanuel Macron, asking to intervene to hold Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev liable for the war crimes against Armenians committed during the Artsakh War.

In addition, he has attached 150 copies of the brochure on Azerbaijan’s war crimes.

The letter reads:

Dear Mr. President,

I am asking you to intervene in the case of bringing to criminal liability the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who, as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, committed documented crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Armenians during the Karabakh conflict in 2020 on the basis of: Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims (1949) with Additional Protocols (1977), The Hague Declarations on the Prohibition of Gaseous Missiles and Expanding or Flattening in the Human Body (1899), Fourth Hague Convention on the Principles of War on Land (1907), Protocol on ban on the use of chemical and gas weapons (1925).

I am asking Your Excellency, the President, to designate a place for trial of Azerbaijani criminals on French territory.

I am also asking for a ban on İlham Aliyev, his entire family and Azerbaijani dignitaries to enter France and the European Union.

To the letter I adds a few copies of my publication about Azerbaijan’s War crimes against the Armenians – Karabakh 2020.

Tomasz Lech Buczek earlier sent letter and brochures to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

https://en.armradio.am/2021/02/08/polish-politician-pens-letter-to-macron-asks-to-help-hold-aliyev-liable-for-war-crimes-against-armenians/

Yervant1 · February 10, 2021

MEMRI

Feb 9 2021

Pakistan's Military Involvement In The Nagorno-Karabakh WarFebruary 9, 2021 | By Tufail Ahmad

On October 2, 2020, the government of Pakistan sought to deny media reports that Pakistani soldiers were aiding the Azeri military against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh war (September 27-November 10, 2020). The Pakistani newspapers of the next morning, October 3, quoted Zahid Hafeez Chaudri, the spokesman of the Foreign Office in Islamabad, as saying that such media reports were "speculative and baseless" and "irresponsible."[1]

After this official denial of involvement, Pakistani journalists came under increased pressure not to write about the Pakistani military's role in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. In this paper, I will examine the Pakistani view of Pakistan's role in this war in which Azerbaijan defeated Armenia with the military help of Turkey and Pakistan. The Nagorno-Karabakh is a region where about 1,000 mujahideen from Afghanistan went to fight in the early years of the 1990s, according to the Pakistani media.[2]

This regional war of 2020, carried out when the international community's attention was consumed by the Coronavirus outbreak, is a key part of an emerging trilateral alliance in this region. Recently, MEMRI has published a series of research papers on this subject, notably: "A New Alliance Rising In The East – Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, China – And Its Enemies – The U.S. and India;"[3] and "Under The Emerging Turkey-Pakistan Strategic Alliance, Pakistan May Provide Turkey With Nuclear Weapons Capabilities."[4]

Pakistani, Turkish, and Azeri flags on a wall in Karabakh after capture by Azerbaijan.[5]

On October 1, a day before Pakistan's denial, the Urdu-language daily Roznama Ummat wrote: "After the beginning of the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Pakistan and Turkey are siding with the brother-Islamic country of Azerbaijan."[6] Noting that Turkey is "openly" aiding Azerbaijan, the daily wrote further: "Being a close ally [of Turkey] and a Muslim country, Pakistan has also announced clearly support for Azerbaijan."[7]

Syed Ali Haider, a senior journalist and host with Pakistan's leading TV channel Samaa, posted a video about Pakistan's role in the Nagorno-Karabakh war on YouTube which was highlighted in Urdu as "Pakistani air force ki tarbiyat kaam dikha gayi" – i.e., "Pakistani air force's training worked" wonders against Armenia.[8] The video includes a clip of a MiG fighter jet flown by a young Azeri pilot who later died fighting Armenia and whom Haider celebrates as a "martyr," recommending that Azerbaijan honor him with their highest military award.[9]

However, the video's primary purpose is to celebrate the Pakistan air force's role in training Azeri pilots during the war. The clip included in the video could not have been obtained without access to the Pakistani military. In English, the YouTube video is titled: "Pakistan's training to Azerbaijani Pilots."[10] Haider's video, which does not appear to have been telecast on his Samaa television channel, was posted to YouTube five days after Pakistan's official denial.

Haider had also posted, two days after Pakistan's official denial, another video on YouTube. In this video, Haider sought to find out "the reason for Azeris' love for Pakistan, which they have begun to express clearly for the past few days."[11] He says: "One big important thing they have done is this: in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where these days tourism has begun walking, Pakistanis have started going in large numbers there in Baku, and tourism there is cheap, and visas for Pakistanis arrive stamped just in days, there is a large number of Pakistanis going there; and Allah willing, even I intend to go there once the clouds of war stop..."[12]

Haider's video was posted on October 2, and the preceding nine to ten months saw lockdowns and international travel restrictions across the world due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So, it is surprising how large numbers of Pakistanis were visiting Azerbaijan in the period before October 2020 and after, unless of course they had official authorization from the government of Pakistan, most likely from the Pakistani military. This is process of Pakistanis visiting Azerbaijan in significant numbers seems, as discussed below, to have begun much before the Nagorno-Karabakh war began on September 27, 2020.

So, how was Baku for Pakistanis? Haider asks and responds: "Viewers, the Azeris there had hung flags of Pakistan and Turkey on their buildings, their residences, their offices. You see, at this time, Azeris are in a state of war, there is a conflict with Armenia, a war is underway formally. Armenia has, for several decades... occupied 30 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, their people are getting killed in war, they too are hurt; but think, in such a situation, what would have been the need for Azeris to raise the flags of Turkey and Pakistan on their buildings, to unfurl Pakistan's flag in their homes?"

The television journalist answers: "Pakistan must have done something. Friends, I will tell you what Pakistan has done for Azeris, not only Pakistan as a state, but that you Pakistanis have done something too I will tell you for which all Azeris are thankful."[13] After these introductory remarks, Haider discusses the background to the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and why the war is underway. Noting that Pakistan has always supported Azerbaijan, he begins to draw a parallel with the Kashmir situation.

"Friends, if Azerbaijan can wrest its share [of territory] from Armenia, a stronger power than itself, by military muscle, by fighting, which we call by sword, which we call by the strength of arms, here I am not endorsing a war, but Pakistan too should not be afraid of India. If Azerbaijan can make Armenia eat chickpeas through the nose, then Pakistan's army is many times better than that of Azerbaijan [to do this to India in Kashmir]," he says.[14] Toward the conclusion, Haider adds: "Viewers, this is such a war in which, even unwillingly we are part of it, and as part of our own wish we are with Azerbaijan."[15]

Pakistanis and Turkish flags hang over the balconies of a residential building in Baku

On October 8, Roznama Ummat published a report titled as "Pandemonium among enemies after Azerbaijan's _expression_ of gratitude to Pakistan – Pakistan's ambassador in Baku given a briefing on Armenian missile attacks..."[16] The report also noted that a webinar was held by the Azeri Embassy in Pakistan with the support of Pakistani officials on the defense of Azerbaijan.[17]

Among other things, the Urdu daily observed: "Many people had claimed that 'jihadis' from Pakistan and Afghanistan were being transferred to Azerbaijan. To some extent, this commotion is not without reason. An article was published in the Azeri-language newspaper Daily Telegraph on October 4 in which the armed forces of Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Turkey were called 'a power.' In this article, the size of the armed forces of Pakistan, Azeri forces, and the armed forces of Turkey was discussed. The article also referred to the military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan..."[18]

Pakistan's military relationship with Azerbaijan is not new. Another report in Roznama Ummat discussed the use of missiles and drones in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. It also noted: "This war is different from the conflict in 1994 when Azerbaijan's military stood demolished and being helpless after Armenia's invasion, the Azeri government sought help from the government of Pakistan and the mujahideen of Afghanistan."[19]

Although the Nagorno-Karabakh war began on September 27, it appears that Pakistan's support to Azerbaijan might have begun much earlier. In mid-August 2020, the Pakistani vlogger Moin Qazi posted a YouTube video titled, "Which Country Loves Pakistan Most?" The location of posting for the video is Baku. Qazi shows how he is overwhelmed by the love he gets as a Pakistani in Baku – a woman enables him to enter metro when he cannot speak Azeri, a shopkeeper refuses to take money for groceries, a youth shocks him when he says, "Pakistan and Azerbaijan are friends" by responding: "No friends, brothers, brothers."[20]

In the end, Qazi, who is surprised by the adulation he gets as a Pakistani in Azerbaijan, asks: "But the question arises: why do Azerbaijani people have so much love for Pakistan?" Qazi, being an ordinary Pakistani, is not well placed to answer this question, but Haider, being a journalist and knowledgeable about Pakistan's military involvement in Azerbaijan, was well placed to do so. Qazi says it is due to Pakistan's having been is among the first to recognize Azerbaijan in 1992 as the USSR fell apart. Qazi's vlog was tweeted by the Azeri Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Alizada on January 24, 2021.[21]

December 12, 2020: a photo tweeted by Ambassador Alizada. His tweet reads: "The relief assistance for some of the needs of military personnel and others working in recently liberated territories of #Azerbaijan was delivered to #Baku by Pakistan."[22]

Roznama Ausaf – an Urdu daily published from six Pakistani cities, and London – carried a report titled as "Conflict with Armenia – Pakistani military's support for Azerbaijan."[23] According to the report, the Azeri ambassador to Islamabad Ali Alizada went, on October 9, to the Joint Staff Headquarters of the Pakistani military in Rawalpindi where General Nadeem Raza, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, told him: "The armed forces of Pakistan support completely Azerbaijan's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."[24]

On October 8, a day before the Rawalpindi meeting, a YouTube channel, which reports on Pakistani defense preparedness, noted: "A big delegation group will reach Islamabad today. This group will hold meetings with Pakistan's secret institutions and higher military officials. During this, it will discuss the purchase of all weapons necessary in the war in Azerbaijan. And the delivery of these weapons will be made available on an emergency basis."[25]

On the day Ambassador Ali Alizada was meeting General Nadeem Raza, Roznama Ausaf published an editorial titled "The Dream Of Making Pakistan An International Power And The Responsibilities."[26] The editorial, referring to a statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan about turning Pakistan into a global power, praised the role of Pakistan's nuclear weapons status achieved against numerous odds, adding: "Countries raising questions on the security of our nuclear assets today consider it a matter of pride to take lessons from our 'center of excellence.' If we can achieve excellence in this difficult technology, then why not in other fields?"[27]

After Azerbaijan won the war, there were celebrations in Baku and elsewhere in Azerbaijan. It is not incidental then that the Pakistani national flag, along with the Turkish and Azeri flags, were seen in these celebrations as well as in the liberated areas of Karabakh. On January 17, Ambassador Alizada shared a video of a street in the vicinity of Baku lined with the flags of all three countries, something that cannot be achieved without governmental support.[28] On January 28, Alizada shared a photo of a wall in a freed area of Karabakh with flags of Turkey, Pakistan, and Azerbaijan.[29] After victory, Alizada tweeted that "during the war" Azerbaijan showed strong unity and "was also supported by several countries" that were "with us on these days..."[30]

Haider's video shows the Pakistani flag in Karabakh after Azerbaijan's victory

This analysis does not consider accusations of Pakistani military involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh war from non-Pakistani sources, such as the Armenian and Indian media. Pakistan has officially denied its role, but there is more here than meets the eye. After Joe Biden became the president of the United States, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi declared in an interview: "You have to engage with this new Pakistan."[31] Pakistan is new. Pakistan is bold.

In the same interview, Qureshi sought to explain why the Pakistani flag was seen in Azerbaijan's celebrations: "We had not handed them (flags), this was the people's emotions, acceptance and tribute to Pakistan."[32] This answer is at best a camouflage. Haider is more forthcoming. After Azerbaijan's victory, the Samaa television host returned to his YouTube channel. In his video, Haider reminds the viewers that they would have got the details of Azerbaijan's victory, "But I am going to tell you something different. That is, how Azerbaijan has decorated the tiara of its victory to the head of its friend-nation Pakistan, to the head of Turkey; how a Pakistani's respect has grown in Azerbaijan now, Pakistanis are now going to Baku, not Dubai..."[33]

Haider splashes photos of Pakistan's flags shown in Azerbaijan's supermarkets, streets, and victory celebrations, and offers his assessment of the situation: "You can imagine from this how much respect Azeris have begun giving to you and us. Its credit goes to the Pakistani military. This is the Pakistani military's success, viewers."[34] He also shows a photo of the Pakistani flag in Karabakh tweeted by Ambassador Alizada and his tweets. Haider notes how Alizada thanked Pakistan for its victory – in his tweet stating "Many thanks @ForeignOfficePk, @OfficialDGISPR & @GovtofPakistan"[35] – and singles out the fact that the Azeri ambassador has especially mentioned @OfficialDGISPR, which denotes the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, i.e., the Pakistani military.[36]

* Tufail Ahmad is Senior Fellow at MEMRI

[1] Dawn.com (Pakistan), October 2, 2020.

[2] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), September 29, 2020.

[3] MEMRI Daily Brief No. 256, A New Alliance Rising In The East – Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, China – And Its Enemies – The U.S. and India, February 3, 2020.

[4] Daily Brief No. 254, Under The Emerging Turkey-Pakistan Strategic Alliance, Pakistan May Provide Turkey With Nuclear Weapons Capabilities, January 19, 2021.

[5] Facebook.com/pakarmyislam, January 25, 2021.

[6] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), October 1, 2020.

[7] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), October 1, 2020.

[8] YouTube.com/watch?v=jKGLoi_achE, October 7, 2020.

[9] YouTube.com/watch?v=jKGLoi_achE, October 7, 2020.

[10] YouTube.com/watch?v=jKGLoi_achE, October 7, 2020.

[11] Youtube.com/watch?v=BSpE7-lrB2Y, October 4, 2020.

[12] Youtube.com/watch?v=BSpE7-lrB2Y, October 4, 2020.

[13] Youtube.com/watch?v=BSpE7-lrB2Y, October 4, 2020.

[14] Youtube.com/watch?v=BSpE7-lrB2Y, October 4, 2020.

[15] Youtube.com/watch?v=BSpE7-lrB2Y, October 4, 2020.

[16] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), October 8, 2020.

[17] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), October 8, 2020.

[18] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), October 8, 2020.

[19] Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), October 12, 2020.

[20] YouTube.com/watch?v=suuzNpIUCQc, August 13, 2020.

[21] Twitter.com/ali_f_alizada, January 24, 2021.

[22] Twitter.com/ali_f_alizada, December 12, 2020.

[23] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), October 10, 2020.

[24] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), October 10, 2020.

[25] YouTube.com/watch?v=mL8WqrDO_4A, October 8, 2020.

[26] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), October 9, 2020.

[27] Roznama Ausaf (Pakistan), October 9, 2020.

[28] Twitter.com/ali_f_alizada, January 17, 2021.

[29] Twitter.com/ali_f_alizada, January 28, 2021.

[30] Twitter.com/ali_f_alizada, November 10, 2020.

[31] Pakistan Today (Pakistan), January 24, 2021.

[32] Pakistan Today (Pakistan), January 24, 2021.

[33] YouTube.com/watch?v=XFiNkVcnCqE, November 11, 2020.

[34] YouTube.com/watch?v=XFiNkVcnCqE, November 11, 2020.

[35] Twitter.com/ali_f_alizada, November 10, 2020.

[36] YouTube.com/watch?v=XFiNkVcnCqE, November 11, 2020.

https://www.memri.org/reports/pakistans-military-involvement-nagorno-karabakh-war?fbclid=IwAR0r9Q_4tJ1bboWqthYB0SK9DNhthPiU_J0NwlROFMq_4luAxp1sPA69IoQ

Yervant1 · February 10, 2021

Armenpress.am

Azeri authorities block Christian pilgrimage from Armenia to Dadivank, demand extra paperwork

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15:48, 9 February, 2021

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani authorities have barred a group of Armenian Christian pilgrims from entering the Dadivank monastery, demanding that from now on they should receive a manifest listing the identities of pilgrims beforehand.

“Previously, the Azerbaijani side was demanding only the number of pilgrims heading to Davdivank, and the number was to be no more than 30 persons,” the Prelate of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostlich Church Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan told ARMENPRESS. “Now they are demanding us to present nominal lists beforehand. Therefore, on Sunday we will provide the list of pilgrims with the peacekeepers in order not to have other difficulties in entering Dadivank,” he said.

Pilgrims from Armenia are visiting Dadivank accompanied by Russian peacekeepers.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1042852.html?fbclid=IwAR2XzBawY8O8vU0ccCu3V1lvXMvshc-fsQUhWUUA2-sATQ4gkDGmIYSuNyc

Yervant1 · February 10, 2021

Middle East Eye

Feb 10 2021

Lebanese-Armenian family searches for woman who disappeared in Nagorno-Karabakh

Maral Najarian has been unaccounted for since November, with relatives worried about her fate and angry about the inaction of authorities in Lebanon and Armenia

Najarian's siblings suspect she’s in an Azerbaijani prison and fear for her life - as they accuse authorities both in Lebanon and Armenia of not doing enough to help get her released (Social media)

By

Kareem Chehayeb

in

Beirut

For Maral Najarian, moving to Armenia was supposed to be a dream come true.

The 49-year-old Lebanese-Armenian moved last August from economically shattered Lebanon, hoping to find a better future and financial stability in a place she felt an attachment to.

But on arrival to Yerevan, Armenian authorities encouraged her to sign up to a settlement programme in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, which soon after she set up home there became embroiled in a ferocious six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Both sides agreed to a Russian-brokered ceasefire on 10 November - but that same day, Najarian and family friend Viken Euljekian went missing on their way out of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Three months later, her siblings both in Beirut and Yerevan suspect she’s in an Azerbaijani prison and fear for her life - as they accuse authorities both in Lebanon and Armenia of not doing enough to help get her released.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-woman-missing

Yervant1 · February 16, 2021

The Torch | Boston College's Catholic Newspaper

Feb 15 2021

Finding Peace in Uncertainty: The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

February 15, 2021

Max Montana

On Sept. 27, 2020, Azerbaijani forces began bombarding and invading the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, a mountainous, Armenian territory situated in the Lesser Caucasus. Armenia and Azerbaijan, both located between the Eurasian nations of Turkey, Russia, and Iran, have a long history of conflict and have seen heightened tensions that led to a full-scale war last fall.

The Nagorno-Karabakh territory is a historically Armenian-inhabited area that was turned over to Bolshevik-Azerbaijani governance during the early Soviet period, despite over 90 percent of the region’s population being Armenian. Armenian citizens are 97.9 percent Christian, with adherents of the Armenian Apostolic or Orthodox Church consisting of the vast majority of that group, while 96 percent of Azerbaijani citizens are Muslim. Religion, as well as ethnicity, are often cited as large sources of rivalry and distrust between the two countries.

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After many years of tension during the 20th-century, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms to expand liberties and democracy for the USSR in 1986, which led many Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to call and demonstrate for full integration with then-Soviet Armenia. In response to this, then-Soviet Azerbaijan instituted various anti-Armenian pogroms in its controlled land, which entailed brutal murders, assaults, and expulsions of many ethnic Armenians lasting from 1988 until 1990.

After violence had continued escalating in the Nagorno-Karabakh region during this period and afterward, in 1992, after both Azerbaijan and Armenia had left the Soviet Union, full-scale war broke out between the two powers. A Russian-brokered, tentative peace would be reached in May 1994, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh controlled by Armenia, about 30,000 soldiers and civilians killed on both sides, and hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis displaced in the region.

Until that day in September 2020, with the exception of a minor, four-day conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2016, the territory had not suffered large-scale conflict since the 1990s. Nearly all of the fighting took place in the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, with Turkish military personnel and weaponry assisting the Azerbaijan forces in taking and occupying the region.

On Nov. 9, 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a ceasefire negotiated with the Russian Federation, but only after six-weeks of intense warfare that saw Azerbaijan capture significant portions of territories in the region. During that time, over 5,000 Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers perished, at least 143 civilians of both nationalities have died, and more than 130,000 civilians on both sides have been displaced.

With this tentative peace deal, Azerbaijan has gained control of the vast majority of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, with Russian peacekeepers, for the time being, backing the Armenian government in the central portion of the territory. Important religious and culturally significant Armenian landmarks are now under the control of Azerbaijan, including the Armenian Apostolic Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, which experienced shelling and alleged vandalism since the 2020 conflict started.

“It’s more of a recent [cathedral], but it’s become a big symbol for the region as a whole in terms of religion just because it is the region’s cathedral,” Raffi Toghramadjian, an ethnic-Armenian American and CSOM ‘21, said referring to the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral. “As for these monasteries, now that they’re being brought back in the public attention, you feel the most connected to things when they’re at risk of being taken away; so I think that might help people feel a greater call to go visit or help rebuild them.”

Despite increased tensions and uncertainty from civil authorities regarding the prospect of many Armenians not being able to return to their homes in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a reliance on God is bringing about interior peace and freedom.

“During the Soviet era, the Soviet government imposed atheism on everyone and a lot of Armenians, even if they still identified themselves as Christian or believed in Christian doctrines, they weren’t really all too active… So I think during the [2020] war there was some element of turning back towards the Apostolic Church for support and comfort,” Toghramadjian said. “You can see really cool videos of soldiers right before they’re going to battle being baptized by priests. I think the priests were pretty active in supporting the soldiers and being there with them… It could help going forward if people feel a greater call to be connected with the Apostolic Church and Armenian identity.”

Pope Francis prayed for peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Sept. 27, 2020, during his Sunday Angelus prayer and, with the war still raging, did so again on Oct. 11, 2020 and Nov. 1, 2020. During his “Urbi et Orbi” address on Christmas Day, the pope asked Christ for a tentative peace agreement in the territory.

“May the Son of the Most High sustain the commitment of the international community and the countries involved to continue the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the eastern regions of Ukraine, and to foster dialogue as the sole path to peace and reconciliation,” Pope Francis said.

On Dec. 8, 2020, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholicos Karekin II, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, addressed the war-weary nation and its former inhabitants now living abroad.

“These are hard days of pain, distress, and anxiety we are living through, after confronting the horrors of war. We have suffered the martyrdom of thousands of our heroic children; endured the loss of a significant part of the historical realm of Artsakh; and witnessed the greatest of external threats to our existence,” Catholicos Karekin II said. “The conviction shared by all is that this destructive situation must be resolved in an exclusively constitutional way, under conditions of national solidarity and common sense… We now call on Armenia’s National Assembly to act responsibly at this critical juncture for our homeland: to listen to the calls of the general public; to elect a new Prime Minister in consultation with the political parties; and to form an interim government of national unity.”

There are multiple ways to help bring about a just and peaceful solution in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to Toghramadjian.

“Obviously prayer is one of the most important things that we can all do. There are various charities that are helping out. I think the International Red Cross is doing a lot of good work in helping the civilians get back to normal and receive medical treatment,” Toghramadjian said. “The other important thing that people need to do, especially in the U.S., is to contact their representatives to make sure our elected officials know about this issue and people want the U.S. to move forward in helping create a just solution for everyone.”

Toghramadjian is skeptical about a permanent and peaceable resolution to the dispute in the near future.

“The ultimate solution has to be something between the two governments… If nothing changes, I think there will be another war in the future, because both sides are not satisfied right now. Definitely, there needs to be some sort of diplomatic solution. I’m not too hopeful that will happen, basically the two sides seem too far apart,” Toghramadjian said. “Maybe if Russia, the United States, France, and Turkey got together and put intense pressure on the two sides to come to an agreement, there might be something. But right now it seems there’s not much real diplomacy between Armenia and Azerbaijan… There’s a worry that maybe in five years, Azerbaijan will ask the Russians to leave and then there will be, maybe not a full war, but more violence along the border.”

In Georgia, a country in the Caucasus mountain region, communities of ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis live close together and have strong economic and social ties, which Toghramadjian sees as an impressive example for peaceful and mutually beneficial living between the nations at a larger level. Toghramadjian also understands and appreciates the theological values that can bring Muslims and Christians together throughout the world.

“The Muslims appreciate the concept of the Christians as fellow people of the Book and that they’re to be treated with some respect at least. And obviously, Christians are really focused on not being violent against anyone, especially not persecuting people religiously,” Toghramadjian said. “There have been accounts of some pretty horrible atrocities that have come out of the [2020] war in all these videos and pictures more so from the Azeri side, but also I’ve seen a couple of Armenian soldiers doing that. There’s room for greater respect on a personal level that needs to come from some sort of religious, ethical basis.”

On Jan. 11, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders in Moscow to further discuss the details of the peace agreement reached in November and find ways to develop economic and communal harmony in the region.

Max Montana

World News Editor
Max Montana is a sophomore studying political science and theology: religion & public life. He is from Jacksonville, Florida so he has a vested interest in seeing the Jaguars win a Super Bowl. While not covering the Vatican, the Catholic Church in America, and happenings on campus for The Torch, Max enjoys getting to know people over coffee, learning more about the Catholic faith, and advocating for the unborn and mothers in need.

https://bctorch.com/2021/02/15/finding-peace-in-uncertainty-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict/

Yervant1 · February 16, 2021

Aysor, Armenia

Feb 15 2021

Armenia’s authorities should have recognized Artsakh independence during the war – Armenia’s ex-president

The incumbent authorities of Armenia should have recognized Artsakh independence during the war, Armenia’s third president Serzh Sargsyan stated in the interview to Armnews TV Channel.

“I cannot understand why during those 44 days these authorities did not recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh. They should have done it,” he said, adding that if co-chairs, international community considered that the recognition of NK independence would have taken negotiations to the deadlock and result in war what bothered to do it when the war was already unleashed.

He noted that sooner or later the Armenian side will succeed and it is just necessary to find right time and tell the world that we recognize the NK independence to save its people from annihilation.

https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2021/02/15/artsakh-independence/1801520

Yervant1 · February 16, 2021

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 15 2021

Azerbaijani troops firing from large caliber weapons in the vicinity of Armenian villages (video)

Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has shared footage depicting the firing by Azerbaijani armed forces of both small and large caliber weapons in the immediate vicinity of villages in Armenia’s Syunik province.

The video was recorded two days ago, at different times of the day, in the middle of Agarak and Yeghvard villages of Kapan community; the footage was captured by the border guards at the line of contact.

The distance from the place of these shootings to Agarak village is only one kilometer.

The Armenian Human Rights Ombudsman periodically receives alerts from residents of Kapan villages on shooting by the Azerbaijani military.

“All of these once again confirm that in the immediate vicinity of Syunik communities, and on the roads connecting those communities, there should not be any Azerbaijani military forces. The presence of these forces seriously endangers the rights of Armenian civilians, disturbs their peace and peaceful life,” the Ombudsman says.

https://en.armradio.am/2021/02/15/azerbaijani-troops-firing-from-large-caliber-weapons-in-the-vicinity-of-armenian-villages/

Yervant1 · February 19, 2021

Panorama, Armenia

Feb 18 2021

Politics 10:53 18/02/2021NKR

Azerbaijan now at war with Armenian cultural property in Artsakh: statement

Azerbaijan is now at war with Armenian cultural property in the Artsakh territories controlled by it, Artsakh’s State Service of Historical Environment Protection (Artsakh Monuments) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The monitoring of the state institution and testimony of eyewitnesses have revealed extreme forms of vandalism against Armenian monuments dedicated to the Artsakh Liberation War in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war.

“Barbaric acts are committed against the graves of the fallen freedom fighters. They have broken and destroyed the monument in honor of the victims of World War II in the village of Tog, the tombstones of Vigen Grigoryan, a prominent figure of Artsakh liberation war, a knight of the "Battle Cross" order of the second degree of Artsakh and Armencho, an active participant in the Liberation War and a knight of the "Battle Cross" order of the first degree.

“The cemetery of the Mets Tager village of the Hadrut region has been leveled to the ground. In Talish, Karin Tak, Mokhrenes, monuments to the Artsakh Liberation War were ruined, and in Zardarashen and Avetaranots they were desecrated, individual khachkars were destroyed in different villages.

“The enemy is now at war with our cultural property,” the statement said.

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2021/02/18/cultural-property-Artsakh/2453746

Yervant1 · February 19, 2021

Armenpress.am

As Azeris destroy WWII memorial in Artsakh, newspaper warns of fascism rebirth and new Hitler’s rise

17:18, 18 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Multiple cases of vandalism are recorded in the territories of Artsakh that have gone under Azerbaijani control after the 2020 war.

Infoteka24, a leading online news portal, labeled the Azeri vandalisms as a “rebirth of fascist ideology”.

“The memorial honoring the heroes of the Great Patriotic War wasn’t chosen coincidentally by the brutes. Today, a rebirth of fascist ideology is taking place in Azerbaijan, against which the entire world fought in the 20^th century. The silence of the international community will soon lead to two new Hitlers emerging in the world, in person of Erdogan and Aliyev,” Infoteka wrote in an article, referring to the desecration of the WWII memorial in the village of Avetaranots.

It mentioned that international organizations, politicians, including the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, have all condemned the vandalisms committed by Azerbaijanis in Artsakh, but no actions followed.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1043842.html?fbclid=IwAR1s64IVHVI438co06LCd8Z2ywuLbP_KEq9tC44YCKry5tofHoo9qXdx4wQ

Yervant1 · February 20, 2021

eKathimerini, Greece

Feb 19 2021

David Phillips: The reality of Turkey’s occupation in Syria, and human rights violations in Nagorno Karabakh

David Phillips: The reality of Turkey’s occupation in Syria, and human rights violations in Nagorno Karabakh | eKathimerini.com

Expert David Phillips joins The Greek current to explain why a recent New York Times article is being called out by a number of experts who say it whitewashes Turkey’s occupation of Afrin in Syria. We also explore David Phillips’ latest article on the international community’s failure to protect civilians in Nagorno Karabakh from human rights abuses.

Phillips is the Director of the Program on Human Rights and Peace-building at Columbia University. Phillips is also a former senior adviser to the UN Secretariat and US State Department, and the author of the books The Great Betrayal: How America Abandoned the Kurds and Lost the Middle East, and An Uncertain Ally: Turkey Under Erdogan's Dictatorship.

Listen to the interview at the link below

https://www.ekathimerini.com/multimedia/podcasts/1155508/david-phillips-the-reality-of-turkey-s-occupation-in-syria-and-human-rights-violations-in-nagorno-karabakh/

Yervant1 · February 20, 2021

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 19 2021

Anti-Armenian billboard in Philadelphia taken down

The Philadelphia community succeeded in the removal of an Azerbaijani billboard spreading misinformation, reports the Armenian National Committee of Pennsylvania.

Lamar Advertising, the company that owns the billboard space, confirmed the ad was removed.

The ad was purchased by MUSIAD USA, a Turkish organization.

The positive outcome is a testament to the Armenian community in Philadelphia and its ability to stand united against acts of hate and any attempts at distorting history. Armenia has and will always want peace.

https://en.armradio.am/2021/02/19/anti-armenian-billboard-in-philadelphia-taken-down/

Yervant1 · February 24, 2021

Aysor, Armenia

Feb 23 2021

Armenia's PM says they used Iskander but it did not work

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan speaking in an interview today answered the question on why the Armenian side did not use Iskander during the war.

Q: Serzh Sargsyan said “I am surprised why on the 3d or 4th day of the war Iskander was not used. Is this addressed to you?”

A: May be it is addressed to me, but I think the “rejected” [serzh Sargsyan] should know answers to numerous questions and not give questions the answers to which he knows. So, may be they will answer why the used Iskander did not explode or exploded by 10% for example.

Q: Does it happen so?

A: I don’t know.

Q: It was news… it was interesting news.

A: May be it was weapon of 80s?

https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2021/02/23/pashinyan-iskander/1804750

MosJan · February 24, 2021

https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2021/02/24/gabrelyanov-gasparyan/1805043

Russian reporter, president of Izvestia paper’s Board of Directors Aram Gabrelyanov revealed the details of conversation with the head of the Chief of Staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan.

He said he decided to do it after the circulation of Iskander issue.

“About a month ago in Moscow I had a hard and long conversation with head of the Chief of Staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan. I cannot tell about everything but after Nikol raised the issue of this unique weapon, I will almost word to word quote what Onik said and you later decide,” Gabrelyanov wrote in his Telegram channel and quoted Gasparyan’s words:

“On the third day of the war as head of army’s headquarters I decided to use Iskander on two strategic sites – Baku-Ceyhan oil pipe and another one. Pashinyan expressly forbade, though the Russians made it clear that it is our matter, our war. Three days before Shushi’s falling, I requested permission from Pashinyan to hit with two Iskanders on the huge gathering of manpower at the foot of Shushi. Pashinyan expressly forbade, saying that the world community would curse us if we killed few thousands of enemy soldiers at once. The only time I was allowed to use Iskander was toward Shushi town. I used it. We used it and managed to bring few tanks to the town. Two days later I received order to leave Shushi and retreat.”

Yervant1 · February 25, 2021

I'm having a hard time to believe anyone anymore, it seems the truth lies somewhere that is not known to us. There are a lot of politics going on devoid of truth. Very sad indeed!

Yervant1 · February 25, 2021

Morning Star, UK

Feb 23 2021

Anti-fascist forces blast Turkish president over plans to open Grey Wolves school in Nagorno-Karabakh

AP21046499372371.jpg?itok=bwdSbAe6&c=cef

ANTI-FASCIST forces in Turkey blasted authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s links to right-wing paramilitary death squads today after reports that he will open a new Grey Wolves school in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

He will lay the foundation for the building alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in the city of Shushi, which was taken by Azeri forces in November 2020 after a three-day battle.

Turkey’s neofascist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli pitched the idea earlier this year, but the school’s construction is seen as a deeply provocative move as the Grey Wolves have been responsible for the extrajudicial killings of minorities, including Armenians. Until the Azeri invasion, the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh had been run by its Armenian majority since 1994.

A spokesman for Turkey’s United Fighting Forces (BGM), a newly formed coalition of communist and leftist parties that includes Figen Yuksekdag’s Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Partizan and the Revolutionary Party, condemned the move.

“The Grey Wolves are a dark stain on Turkey’s blood-soaked history and responsible for the massacre of thousands of Kurds, Alevis and minorities, and attacks on trade unionists, communists and progressives,” he said.

“Tayyip Erdogan and his fascist alliance will be defeated by a united struggle of all layers of the oppressed, There is a big explosion of anger against fascism seen in the struggle at Bogazici [university] — but also at the deepening economic crisis which is pushing more into poverty.”

The Grey Wolves organisation is seen as the paramilitary wing of the MHP, responsible for thousands of deaths in Turkey. Funded and trained by the CIA as part of the Operation Gladio “stay behind movements” after World War II, it targets leftist movements and those that deviate from its strict Sunni Islamic ideals.

The group’s most notorious attack came in December 1978, when more than 100 of the country’s Alevi community were killed in a 10-day pogrom known as the Maras Massacre, which led directly to the 1980 military coup.

Grey Wolves founder Alparslan Turkes had strong links with the so-called “founding father” of the World Uighur Congress, Isa Yusuf Alptekin. They both campaigned for the eradication of communism among the Turkic populations of Soviet Central Asia and Xinjiang.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Grey Wolves set up training camps for young people in central Asia, but having failed to attract support, the group moved to China’s Xinjiang province, where it targeted recruitment among the Uighur community and supported the East Turkestan independence movement.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/erdogan-slammed-amid-reports-he-will-open-grey-wolves-fascist-school-occupied-artsakh

Yervant1 · February 27, 2021

Washington Post
Feb 26 2021

One woman’s bomb-filled garden in Nagorno-Karabakh points to lingering perils from war

A member of the Halo Trust team places a danger sign in front of an unexploded rocket in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, on Oct. 14, 2020. (ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

By Jack Losh
Feb. 26, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. GMT+2

KAGHARTSI, Nagorno-Karabakh — After last year's war, 79-year-old Mila Babayan expected to come home without much fuss and resume her quiet life.

Then she looked in her garden. She found 32 unexploded shells from one of the cluster bombs that rights groups and other war monitors say were used in the fighting across Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave at the heart of a decades-long feud between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“One of them had hit a beehive,” she said. “And there was a hole where my garlic grew.”

Babayan’s garden is no isolated case. Thousands of unexploded munitions — cluster bombs, mortar rounds, rockets, shells and other weapons — now dot the region in streets, backyards and homes, said experts in ordnance removal.

While fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh lasted just 44 days, its repercussions will persist for decades.

“It’s shocking to come back, having spent three years clearing land mines here, and see the whole region littered with these items yet again,” said Nick Smart, regional director for the Halo Trust, a Britain-based organization that removes explosive remnants of war.

Russian peacekeepers, deployed under the Moscow-brokered cease-fire, and Nagorno-Karabakh’s rescue services also are involved in ordnance disposal in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely under pro-Armenian control but within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan.

Why Nagorno-Karabakh has pitted Armenia and Azerbaijan for decades

Authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan deny using cluster munitions — which can eject hundreds of smaller “bomblets,” or submunitions, over a wide area. The two countries also reject witness reports of military strikes against civilian areas.

A representative from Armenia’s foreign affairs ministry told Human Rights Watch that Armenia does not have cluster munitions in its arsenal. Azerbaijan, which is widely believed to have such weapons, denied that their forces used them in Nagorno-Karabakh.

But reports by groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch describe use of cluster munitions and other weapons on both sides in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mila Babayan, pictured by her beehives and vegetable patch in Kaghartsi, Nagorno-Karabakh. (Jack Losh)

Neither country has signed up to the treaty that prohibits the use of cluster bombs. Amnesty estimates that between 5 and 20 percent of the bomblets can fail to explode, allowing them to kill or maim civilians long after a conflict has ended.

Babayan, an ethnic Armenian, scoured her single-story home for more explosives, but found none.

“Still,” she added, “I must be careful.”

Amnesty International said Armenia has Russian-manufactured 9N235 submunitions and Azerbaijan’s arsenal appears to include the Israeli-made M095. Distinctive for their pink ribbons, which stabilize and arm the device in the air, the M095 bombs are particularly attractive to children.

On a cloudy morning in December, a Halo team arrived at Babayan’s home in Kaghartsi, about 16 miles east of the regional capital, Stepanakert.

First they surveyed the site, walking cautiously around the vegetable patch. They counted an initial 10 M095 submunitions strewn among soft clods of earth. Five others lay around a single beehive. More were scattered through a surrounding orchard.

Azerbaijan’s drones owned the battlefield in Nagorno-Karabakh — and showed future of warfare

One deminer began planting red-tipped markers into the ground to show the location of each bomb, while another scanned for more with a metal detector. Two others team members shoveled earth into sandbags to stack around the bombs.

Babyan — wearing a floral dress, woolen cardigan and headscarf — ambled with ease over slippery mud to watch.

“Grandma, we’re going to sort this out so you can garden again,” said one team member. “We’re filing these sandbags so your beehives and home won’t be damaged by the explosion.”

As she walked farther up the garden, another sapper called after her: “Grandma, look where you’re walking!”

A member of a survey team from the Halo Trust mine-clearing organization passes by unexploded items at a storage area near Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, on Nov. 23, 2020. (Sergei Grits/AP)

Babayan suggested they take a break. “Let’s have a cup of tea,” she said.

“No, no,” replied one team member. “Thank you.”

“But I’ve already set the table! Everything is ready. You haven’t drunk a single cup.”

“Okay,” he grinned. “We’ll drink it all. Don’t worry.”

Babayan dashed inside to put the kettle on.

Besides the fighting, the rhythms of daily life had changed little since she was born in 1941 in Nagorno-Karabakh. “I love this land,” she said. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

After Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, fearful ethnic Armenians on the move

A peace agreement in November returned to Azerbaijan some areas lost in warfare in the early 1990s. Babayan’s son-in-law, a father of three, was among that war’s 20,000 to 30,000 fatalities.

Mila Babayan, center, and her niece with deminers from the Halo Trust team in Kaghartsi, Nagorno-Karabakh. (Jack Losh)

Her grandchildren fought on the Armenian side in last year’s war. She waited out the conflict with relatives in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, and returned after the cease-fire.

“Look around you,” she said, gesturing at farmhouses, fields and fruit trees. “Does this look like a military target?”

Outside, the deminers finished stacking the sandbags, then laid a detonation cord that connected to TNT placed by the bombs.

Babayan headed to her basement. After a 15-minute wait, the call came — “Fire!”

A single, powerful blast echoed through the hills.

The team regrouped. Babayan appeared relieved — she could finally treat her guests to lunch.

Jars of pickled beans and peppers were opened, served along with bowls of stewed eggplant and toasted flatbreads smeared thick with honey.

“Eat, eat,” she insisted. “Take as much as you like.”

Thousands more bombs lay in the surrounding land. But, for Babayan, a good harvest could be reaped.

After Nagorno-Karabakh war, a bomb-filled garden points to wider perils - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/nagorno-karabahk-war-bomb-removal-armenia-azerbaijan/2021/02/25/c8126f3a-73bb-11eb-8651-6d3091eac63f_story.html

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