cease-fire violations by azeris

[Yervant1]

Family in Los Angeles receives threatening note for hanging Armenian flag

11:22, 15 Apr 2016
Siranush Ghazanchyan

A threatening note was left for a family in Tujunga because they hung
an Armenian flag from their home, according to detectives with the Los
Angeles Police Department, ABC 7 reports.

Hasmik Chatalyan contacted police at about 12:30 p.m. on Thursday
after the threatening note was discovered in her family’s mailbox.

The married mother of two said she hung the flag on her house in the
10000 block of Pinyon Avenue in honor of her fallen heroes in Armenia.

At one point, the note reads, “You will be hurt.”

“Being threatened in my own home, it was shocking,” Chatalyan said.

Detectives took the note into evidence and said they would test it for
fingerprints.

Officials said the act was being investigating as a “hate incident”
and that hate crime charges could potentially be brought in the
future.

“My kids are home and I don’t know who is going to come up to my house
and try to put the flags down or break-in and hurt me, because in the
letter it says, ‘You’re going to get hurt,'” Chatalyan said.

Neighbors on the same block said their car was egged last year after
they put an Armenian flag on their vehicle.

“Violated, angry and frustrated,” Tujunga resident Adelaida Yian said.
“Why do people have so much hate in their hearts?”

In response to the suspect’s threats, the Chatalyan family kept the
Armenian flag up and hung a second flag as well.

They also called on other Armenian families to place flags on their homes.

“I grew up here, but I’m also from Armenia and I’m proud of my country
and I will not let anybody put that down,” Chatalyan said. “I will not
let anybody tell me how to love my country.”


https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__abc7.com_news_lapd-2Dinvestigates-2Dthreatening-2Dnote-2Dover-2Darmenian-2Dflag-2Das-2Dhate-2Dincident_1292473_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=nbGfZ7hlUiRzyZ7L7iZy5yZm8iygTipCVTgWxdXReSw&s=4kqLj1oO9Ln6kcIPX3XHkL9K0jlbKGwRrHnxIX-9Of0&e=


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[Yervant1]

Nazik Avdalyan: Our soldiers on the border gave me the strength


SPORT 14:33 15/04/2016 ARMENIA


European champion, Nazik Avdalyan spoke about her victory with
excitement and pride, reports the press service of National Olympic
Committee of Armenia.

Avdalyan dedicated her victory to Armenian soldiers on the border.

“I became a European champion 8 years ago. I’ve left the sport after
the car accident. I started training in 2015. I wasn’t thinking about
becoming a European champion. I haven’t felt this way about winning
any competition, perhaps I was a child at that time and wasn’t fully
enjoying the victory. Many people doubted I would make a major result.
Frankly speaking, our soldiers on the border gave me the strength.
They were fighting a life-or-death battle without fear. Why would I be
afraid? Those thoughts were constantly on my mind: Azerbaijani
soldiers have more weapon yet we are winning. There are all the
necessary conditions for athletes. Why wouldn’t we win? I can only
thank Armenian soldiers on the border,” said Avdalyan in her
interview.

Concerning her plans for the future, Avdalyan didn’t want to run ahead
of time, yet she also didn’t deny having plans about the Olympics.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.panorama.am_en_news_2016_04_15_Nazik-2DAvdalyan_1563168&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=CLwtOCmz1nJSGpRM8EIKTujxGfgu9QEOF5clkjSrjrk&s=r9FsvYWPvN2kQtwj1LcTFOZl0-TJoMK0EFG16XAWJOU&e=

[Yervant1]

Garry Kasparov: Heydar Aliyev instructed Ilham to threaten with war,
but not to war

by David Stepanyan

Friday, April 15, 14:13

"I think Heydar Aliyev instructed Ilham to threaten with war, but not
to war. And he will not war," the Russian politician, 13th World Chess
Champion Garry Kasparov told Turan.

"Status-quo is in favor of both Baku and Yerevan, as in both countries
war is used for the same purposes. The authorities in Armenia came to
power thanks to war and they want to retain their power. Azerbaijani
and Armenia leadership now use the conflict to improve their positions
and accumulate more wealth. A democratic Azerbaijan would be closer to
the solution than it is now. The settlement will become possible only
when the current political elites leave and people with democratic
views come to power," Kasparov said.

In his words, if war is launched in Nagorno-Karabakh, it will not be
of local nature. The politician does not believe that liberation of
the lands may lead even to provision of autonomy to the Karabakh
Armenians.

"Any new bloodshed will protract the settlement. Therefore, I am
against war," he said.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.arminfo.am_index.cfm-3Fobjectid-3DAFA81BF0-2D02F2-2D11E6-2DB2810EB7C0D21663&d=CwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=Ainv2j1Q4vwoNbWYpETVhxOc01hztIkbWy97tX6-EYY&s=UUekMtVxxPESgx0jVmsqt8aDPIK_Ttonnzb6gq_E6t0&e=

[Yervant1]

Is Russia Really Armenia’s Ally?

13:44, April 15, 2016

By David Boyajian

Azerbaijan’s recent military attacks on Artsakh/Karabagh and Armenia
call into serious question the Armenian-Russian defense pact and
relationship.

Russia has been selling Azerbaijan billions in advanced weapons that
Azerbaijan is using against Armenians.

Russia has repeatedly failed to rebuke Azerbaijan for breaking the
ceasefire that it agreed to two decades ago.

Russia has done nothing substantive to stop Azerbaijan’s frequent
shelling of towns within Armenia itself.

In 2013, Col. Andrey Ruzinsky, commander of Russia′s 102nd military
base in Armenia, said that Russia “may” not permit Azerbaijan “to
restore jurisdiction over Nagorno-Karabakh by force.” Russia has yet
to take any such actions.

Indeed, Russia may not care whether Azerbaijan overruns Artsakh as
that, by itself, would not create a Turkish-Azeri corridor across
Armenia that would threaten Russia’s position in the Caucasus.

What would Russia do if Azeri soldiers advanced into Armenia and swam
in Lake Sevan? We don’t know.

More Armenian reaction needed

To their credit, Armenia’s top leaders and some MPs have expressed
their dismay to Russia. As of this writing, however, Armenian citizens
and diasporan organizations have been virtually silent about Russian
duplicity. Twelve days after the initial Azeri assaults, there has
been but one demonstration at the Russian Embassy in Yerevan. This is
incomprehensible. Though Armenians do care deeply, the Kremlin may be
concluding the exact opposite.

Armenians often express appreciation for and solidarity with Russia.
Similar sentiments, however, are seldom returned by Russians. The
popular, flashy Russian TV network, RT.com, staffed by Western and
Russian journalists, rarely reports anything—especially anything
positive--about Armenians. These should be warning signs to Armenians.

Some Russians and Armenians argue that their defense treaty is only
with Armenia, not Artsakh. Yet Russia has not countered Azeri attacks
even on Armenia itself. Does the defense pact exempt Russia from
acting against Azeri attacks? We don’t know. And the belief is
widespread that Russia is secretly making deals with Azerbaijan at
Armenians’ expense.

True, Armenia must be extremely careful because it is highly dependent
upon Russian natural gas, the Russian-controlled Metsamor nuclear
power plant, advanced weapons, Russian-manned bases near the
Armenian-Turkish border, and more. Yet without Armenia, Russia would
ultimately be surrounded, and perhaps even destroyed, by NATO.

Armenia goes NATO, Russia goes under

Georgia and Azerbaijan are hostile to Russia, have close relations
with the US and Europe, and wish to join NATO. Azerbaijan and NATO
member Turkey already call themselves “one nation, two states.”

Suppose Armenia, voluntarily or otherwise, left the Russian orbit.
Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia would soon be sucked into the NATO
alliance. Separating the Muslim north Caucasus from the Russian
Federation would become a top NATO priority.

NATO would create a Baku-based navy in the gas and oil-rich Caspian
Sea. Reaching across the Caspian, NATO would link up with Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. This is Pan-Turkism under a
NATO fig-leaf.

Virtually surrounded by NATO and China, Russia would be ripe for
destruction. The Kremlin may not totally understand this.

Armenians know that Soviet Russia gifted Armenian territories to
Turkey and Azerbaijan in the 1920s. As Armenia once again perceives
Russia as unreliable, it will naturally look elsewhere. The West has,
however, historically always broken its promises to Armenians and
ultimately favored Turkey. So while Armenia’s someday joining NATO
might be dangerous and improbable, it’s not impossible. Russia can
twist Armenia’s arm and support its adversaries only up to a point.

Russian naïveté

Russian strategy is to ingratiate itself with Azerbaijan and pull it
back into the Russian orbit. Throughout the past decade, Russia has
tried the same misguided strategy with Turkey.

Predictably, the Russian–Turkish love affair crashed and burned last
year when Turkey shot down a Russian jet over Syria. This, declared
President Putin, was the “betrayal of a friend.” Putin’s belief that
President Erdogan and Turkey were truly his “friends” is
breathtakingly naïve. It tells us that the Kremlin is delusional about
Turkey and, by extension, its Azeri kin.

The Putin-Lavrov-Aliyev ménage à trois will culminate in a similar
disaster for Russia, but not before Armenia is damaged, perhaps
fatally.

Some Kremlin circles have been influenced by Aleksandr Dugin’s Eurasia
Movement which espouses a grand union of Slavs/Russians and Turks.

No one, including me, is suggesting that Armenia separate itself from
Russia at this time. It is impractical and unwise. But the current
relationship lacks symmetry. The people of Armenia, Artsakh, and the
Diaspora must not remain silent while Russia implicitly supports Azeri
aggression.

Rebalancing Armenia-Russian relations

Rebalancing Armenian-Russian relations must begin with large and
continuing protests against Russian betrayals, similar to the
pro-Artsakh demonstrations of the late 1980s. Moscow will respect
this. Moscow does not respect people who, while being kicked in the
teeth by a “friend,” pretend that they’re being kissed on the lips.

Yerevan must take bigger steps towards economic and political
independence from Moscow and a more evolved relationship with the
West. The Armenian Diaspora could help Armenia and Artsakh immensely
more if only Armenia’s leaders, including its lethargic “ambassadors,”
saw diasporans as kindred spirits rather than as interlopers.

The West, too, must confess its own horrendous transgressions against
Armenians. The leaders and citizens of Armenia and Artsakh must be
blunt about the West’s past and present betrayals and sickening
Turkophilism. Why no Armenian protests in front of Western embassies?
Why the hesitation to speak the plain truth? Yet what is the West
offering Armenia? Very little.

A more balanced path involves risks for Yerevan, but so does
subservience to Moscow as recent events have shown.

The author is an Armenian American freelance journalist. Many of his
articles are archived at www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/David_B._Boyajian.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__hetq.am_eng_news_67324_is-2Drussia-2Dreally-2Darmenias-2Dally.html&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=G6bbUpliKmiAALAZui8RjrDX5_dlFwkL0dW6BqOLumw&s=SIsrcwznf_GhYDLU3p8pQo3ywvYHRKIvSUeiZ3-EXTU&e=

[Yervant1]

Basque Parliament condemns Azeri aggression against Nagorno Karabakh

14:12, 15 Apr 2016
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Basque Parliament has adopted a statement, condemning the recent
Azerbaijani attempts to solve the Karabakh conflict in a military way.

The statement was adopted unilaterally by all political forces
represented in the Parliament.

The statement notes that on 2 April 2016, Azerbaijan unilaterally
launched an unprecedented attack along the entire line of contact with
Nagorno Karabakh. This attack has caused dozens of deaths, including
four civilians, one of them a child.

The Basque Parliament shows its deep concern at the breakdown of the
ceasefire in force since 1994 in Nagorno-Karabakh and expresses sorrow
for the victims that the attack has caused.

The Parliament welcomes the resumption of truce the two sides
announced on April 5 and hopes it will be respected.

The lawmakers demand to implement an international mechanism for
investigation of border incidents proposed by the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs.

They reject the use of force to resolve the conflict and call on the
parties to take practical steps to immediately cease military actions
and withdraw the troops to the positions held prior to April 1, 2016.

The Basque Parliament also supports the need to return to the
negotiation process mediated by the Minsk Group of the OSCE where
Nagorno Karabakh must have a place, as already agreed this Parliament.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.armradio.am_en_2016_04_15_basque-2Dparliament-2Dcondemns-2Dazeri-2Daggression-2Dagainst-2Dnagorno-2Dkarabakh_&d=CwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=3ov2IQ1c-r-GRx-1UzroZN6jIMhbvRy2Lf6CSd-k78Y&s=mdq4_eAQ27CEExwBdAH7RBAXnwbGNlrKnhBpbJ9wa_o&e=

[Yervant1]

This was a real war and everything was competently planned – says
wounded capitain (video)

18:05 | April 15,2016 | Politics


This was a real war, it was not another sabotage-reconnaissance
infiltration attempt by Azerbaijan, says Capitan Azat Stepanyan who
continues to receive treatment at the Central Clinical Military
Hospital in Yerevan when he was taken ten days ago, the 26-year-old
was wounded in April 2 during the hostilities on the
Karabakh-Azerbaijani border.

Everything was competently planned and calculated. They [Azeris]
attempted to infiltrate from all sections of the border. They did not
expect that Armenian soldiers aged between 18 and 20 might repulse
their attacks,” Azat Stepanyan says.

He keeps in touch with his friends on the frontline. Azat says he
would join his friends if he were in good health. “Azeris might have
better equipment and weapons than we have but they have neither the
knowledge nor the courage to use them. they lack the courage and
belief that we Armenians have,” he said.

Details in the video
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_f2vkA0-2DCk0A&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=B50cXVM0lHAo61DBYgTvrIJjbw9sQzfoUTyNlPJmBug&s=EjajQ6G6C2BXo2oktrzEiYH89XDzgRfSJqeWzbCHY44&e=


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[Yervant1]

Italian TV channel covers Azerbaijani soldiers’ cruelties against
civilians of village Talish

POLITICS 19:09 15/04/2016 NKR

Italian TV channel Sky TG24 prepared a reportage about the cruelties
and murders of civilians in the village Talish of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic (NKR) by the Azerbaijani armed forces .

The report starts with an interview with LevonHakobjanyan, a soldier
of the Defense Army of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, who was at the
hospital. He told the Italian journalist about the attack of the
Azerbaijanis and the murders of the civilians.

According to the Italian journalist, LevonHakobjanyan serves in the
region Talish, and Nagorno Karabakh is Armenia’s Christian “enclave,”
which has been fighting against Azerbaijan for its independence for a
quarter-century.

Abelyan, a Talish resident, told the journalist how the Azerbaijani
soldiers had begun to fire the village when the inhabitants were still
asleep. He said the residents first evacuated children and women.
“Azerbaijani missiles leveled everything to the ground,” Abelyan said.
He showed the reporter his house, which was entirely destroyed as a
result of the firing. He told him how difficult it had been for him to
save the children when several missiles fell on the roof of the house.

The journalist drew the audience’s attention to the traces of blood of
the residents wounded as a result of firing by the Azerbaijani armed
forces.

Another Talish resident, Vanik, also showed his destroyed house and
told the journalist that he did know what his family would do. Vanik
said the Azerbaijani reconnaissance officers had broken into his house
after that and turned everything upside down.

Then the crew of the Italian TV channel visited the house of the
elderly couple Valeri and RazmellaKhalapyans, who were shot by the
Azerbaijani soldiers. The journalist notes that the photos demonstrate
the Azerbaijani soldiers’ cruelty.

In his turn, photojournalist Hakob Poghosyan said that after he had
photographed Khalapyans’ yard, he entered into the house to find the
couple already dead with their ears cut off.

It is also noted in the reportage that the authorities of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic have due evidence that the bodies of the Armenian
soldiers have been defaced. Everything is documented and is being
investigated in a criminal case.

The journalist also notes that volunteers and Karabakh War veterans
arrive in the NKR to be enlisted in the Defense Army and protect the
independence of their homeland.

“If the Turks and Azerbaijanis kill us, we are ready for anything,”
one of the volunteers stated.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__video.sky.it_news_mondo_nagorno-5Fkarabakh-5Fa-5Ftallish-5Fatrocit-5Fe-5Fstrage-5Fdi-5Fcivili_v279625.vid&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=P3yG4QOJYDIMtz80m3d7gvWaryJAUkIwjzQ0mFio3-g&s=LLzwQ0YcK3mvNe-LE1Sp7D2Vh3FiJMuREvUtjN64i64&e=


https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.panorama.am_en_news_2016_04_15_Italian-2DTV-2Dchannel-2DTalish_1563578&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=P3yG4QOJYDIMtz80m3d7gvWaryJAUkIwjzQ0mFio3-g&s=Hr2l20RQGdz4ouKgZUhmruaD_auQ-wScyiiFxrl8-bY&e=

[Yervant1]

Anti-Armenian Stockholm demonstration in spotlight of Swedish media: Swedish minister’s ties with Grey Wolves exposed

http://www.groong.com/news/attachments/msg570259/pngK4e_Fkybsg.png

Politics 19:17 15/04/2016 World

Mehmet Kaplan, Sweden's Minister of Housing and Urban Development, and Barbaros Leylani, who was earlier calling to kill the Armenians in the center of Stockholm, are linked to Turkish extremist and neo-fascist organization Grey Wolves, Swedish website Aftonbladet reports

According to the information, a photo taken last July was found on the website of the Turkish National Association in Sweden. The photo clearly shows Turkish-born Mehmet Kaplan and Barbaros Leylani together with Ilhan Senturk, the leader of the Turkish extremist neo-fascist organization Grey Wolves in Sweden, having dinner in honor of the end of the Muslim holiday Ramadan.

It is reminded that last week, an anti-Armenian demonstration was organized by local Turkish and Azerbaijani communities in the center of Stocholm, during which the vice chairman of the Coordination Center of Turkish Associations in Sweden, Barbaros Leylani, made a speech in Turkish coming up with anti-Armenian and nationalistic statements.

“It is time for uniting the Turkish nation. The Turks will wake up putting an end to the Armenian dogs. Death to the Armenian dogs! Death! Death!” Leylani shouted.

According to Aftonbladet, Leylani was dismissed from his position for his calls to violence and agitation of xenophobia. A criminal case has been filed against him in Sweden.

Meanwhile, another Swedish website Expressen writes that minister Kaplan very soon became a target for heavy criticism because of his surroundings. For example, Iranian-born Swedish MP Hanif Bali stated that it is inadmissible for a minister to have such contacts.

“He obviously is in good terms with that Turkish national association, which invites fascists to its parties. Apparently, Kaplan has decided to establish good relations with that group,” Hanif Bali said.
Meanwhile, Kaplan began to deny his ties with the extremists insisting that he "had only been a guest” in that event.

At the same time, Breit Bart writes that this is not the first time Kaplan has had to fend off accusations of radicalism. In 2014, Nalin Pekgul, a Swedish politician of Turkish origin, accused Mr. Kaplan of being an “Islamist” with a “hidden agenda.” Writing a scathing editorial in a Swedish newspaper, the politician said that with Kaplan’s appointment to the ministry the government had “sent a clear signal that the Islamists now have the support of the Swedish establishment.”

It is emphasized that the Grey Wolves themselves are under observation by a number of European security services, and by some reckonings are among the largest radical groups on the continent. According to some estimates, the group has more than 10,000 active members on the continent, and is seeking to establish a greater Turkish empire, stretching from Eastern Europe into Asia. Grey Wolves spread their pan-Turkic ideology and fanatic Islamism outside Turkey. They proclaimed Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, gays and Christians their enemies. It is also reminded that last week, Turkish nationalists marched in the streets of German Duisburg shouting “With Allah’s help, we shall conquer you.” As a result, clashes with the local Kurds occured.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article22629083.ab

https://youtu.be/fdLLxD4h0nE

http://www.panorama.am/en/news/2016/04/15/Anti-Armenian-Stockholm-demonstration/1563534

[Yervant1]

US Official News
April 14, 2016 Thursday


Washington: Langevin Statement on Azerbaijan's Assault Against Nagorono-Karabakh



Washington: Office of Congressman Jim Langevin has issued the
following news release:

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Armed
Services Committee, issued the following statement regarding the
recent military offensive launched against the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan:

“I am deeply troubled by the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,
which threatens not only the security of the Armenian people, but the
security of the region as a whole. This blatant violation of the
ceasefire agreement, which resulted in both military and civilian
deaths, is not only dangerous; it is reckless. Azerbaijan’s
aggressions and rhetoric must be de-escalated immediately so that both
parties can come together to honor the ceasefire agreement and work
towards the goal of peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

[Yervant1]

LIVE: Defense Ministry presents documents of downed Azerbaijani helicopter’s crew

http://www.groong.com/news/attachments/msg570386/pngn2W5MoWQbz.png

13:22, 16 April, 2016

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry is releasing the documents of the downed Azerbaijani combat helicopter’s crew. As “Armenpress” reports, the documents prove that the helicopter was transported from Baku a few days earlier and had precise targets. This is the final evidence proving that the large scale Azerbaijani attacks were planned in advance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz1D8DUaRGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELCDSn_unko

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/843787/live-defense-ministry-presents-documents-of-downed-azerbaijani-helicopter%E2%80%99s-crew.html

[Yervant1]

Armenia needs retaliatory weapon to suppress adversary – retired general

15:33 • 16.04.16

Armenia needs to acquire a powerful weapon as a strong retaliatory
tool to suppress Azerbaijan, a retired general of the USSR and the
Republic of Armenia said, commenting on the recent
Armenian-Azerbaijani armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Our army must be equipped and supplied with all weapons of conflict,
and be governed on the highest level,” Norat Ter-Grigoryants told our
correspondent in a recent interview.

“What I mean is both coordination and reciprocal action, and
intelligence, as we are now in a blockade - an aggressive and
genocidal blockade - imposed by the armed forces of Turkey, a NATO
member state, and Azerbaijan, the second Turkish state, as well as
Georgia. And because Armenia, as a state, pursues defensive rather
than offensive policies, it needs more defensive weapons. And why not,
also nuclear weapons should anyone ever offer us that. That should be
a weapon of restraint and retaliation. To make it more clear, Russia
has such a weapon, so it is not safeguarded against attacks. That’s
what is termed as restraint and retaliation weapon,” he explained.

Asked whether he finds nuclear arms really necessary for Armenia,
General Ter-Grigoryants said his message would sound clearer to
officers and commanders in the military. “[Armenia needs] any weapon
which is for retaliation. The servicemen who will read these words
know what it is. That’s not just nuclear arms. The list can expand
further and further. So Armenia must receive that weapon. Or it can
purchase it by collecting all the available resources. It isn’t
possible otherwise, as this situation is going to last endlessly,” he
said, calling for further efforts also towards promoting and fostering
peace, stability and well-being by creating more jobs in the country
to prevent emigration.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.tert.am_en_news_2016_04_16_grigoryants_1991610&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=LDHb3o4SQxmoFB5ynZ_Mnu8BPSDZGThcmvW_No4oeEA&s=SMrtVFixskaZag17T18MldjJijybCwCpCSDG3EBLYNM&e=

[Yervant1]

Sweden PM: It is completely unacceptable to incite against other groups

18:28, 16.04.2016

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven reacted to the anti-Armenian
statements expressed at the demonstration of the Turkish and
Azerbaijani diaspora in Sergels Square of capital city Stockholm.

“In Sweden, it is completely unacceptable to incite against other
groups, be it religious, ethnic or political,” mentioned Löfven in his
statement. “Here, all political activities should be conducted
democratically and with respect to the values of equality and rights.
These principles are not negotiable.”

Alice Bah Kuhnke, the Minister for Culture and Democracy of Sweden,
also reacted to the incitement to violence by Barbaros Leylani, the
former Vice President of the Turkish National Association of Sweden.

“What happened on Saturday [April 9] and the disgusting statements
made are of course unacceptable,” said Bah Kuhnke. “They made me feel
bad.”

On April 9, the Coordination Center of Azerbaijani Associations in
Sweden had staged an anti-Armenian demonstration in Stockholm, and the
event had brought together around 100 people, including Turks and
Iraqi Turkmen.

Speaking at the picket, Barbaros Leylani, the then Vice President of
the Turkish National Association of Sweden, made numerous
anti-Armenian and nationalist statements.

In particular, he called for the death of “Armenian dogs.”

The video of his remarks went viral in Sweden, and it got a wide media coverage.

But in a telephone interview with TV4 Swedish television, Leylani
stated that he had not prepared a speech for this demonstration, and
that he had not meant such a thing.

Representatives of the Armenian community in Sweden, however,
petitioned to the Swedish police and requested that this person be
prosecuted.

They noted that this matter is larger than the statement of just one
person, since the Turkish and Azerbaijani associations in Sweden are
becoming more aggressive and are also targeting other national
minorities in the country.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__news.am_eng_news_322622.html&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=MolOrflpDSHpQi7wAsXy_WzH_SxpC5BiOf5VZlArSLY&s=Pi__68P-6nU2q35XPP1Dhqm6_xPGigonOiLAI3n2jEQ&e=

[Yervant1]

Four-day war: Armenians strong when united, Armenian soldier
invincible - Meruzhan Ter-Gulanyan

15:30 • 17.04.16

In an interview with Tert.am, writer and columnist Meruzhan
Ter-Gulanyan, said that the four-day war early in April showed
Armenians are a strong when they are united, the Armenian soldier is
invincible and the Armenian army is powerful. And it is the
authorities’ turn now, he says.

Mr Ter-Gulanyan, the four-day war has revealed our strong and weak
points. What lessons have we drawn in terms of both internal and
external matters?

The most important lesson of this war is that we have come to realize
we are strong people when we are united, our soldier is invincible and
our army is powerful. As regards foreign affairs and the international
community, we have seen that, regrettably, the international community
is only dealing with problem by making statements equally addressed to
both the conflicting parties. Let the international community continue
working. I think we should expect resolution of the most serious
international diplomatic problems in the near future – recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. Otherwise, it is going to be an
ever-lasting war. Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence must be recognized,
and I think that the great and small countries that are reasonable
have arrived at this conclusion. The lessons we have drawn the
following lessons: making use of all the international diplomatic
channels for recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. Aggressor
Azerbaijan, unaware of it, has made all the Armenians throughout the
world warriors. Armenians worldwide turned into one man, the man of
Karabakh. That is, we have all risen to defend our homeland.

Mr Ter-Gulanyan our soldiers and people have accomplished their task.
What are your expectations about the authorities?

Yes, glory and honor to our soldiers. It is the authorities’ turn now,
and they must show their respect for the people with their work. I am
prostrating before our soldiers, and our authorities must kiss their
foreheads.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.tert.am_en_news_2016_04_17_merujan-2Dter-2Dgulanyan_1992535&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=skcCU9rLQUONHDnU1GTqC438kBrOQfI3un3O8IMJ9B0&s=6SqOIKpRUsdpPu-l4OePmlvcafBNxq31HVq15Xdn--g&e=

[Yervant1]

Azerbaijan is cynically trying to mislead the international community
and evade responsibility for the war crimes: NKR

22:49, 15 April, 2016

YEREVAN, APRIL 15, ARMENPRESS. A number of Azerbaijani media resources
published a statement by the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to
the OSCE, which refers to alleged traces of abuse discovered on the
bodies of deceased Azerbaijani soldiers that were transferred to the
Azerbaijani side during the exchange of April 10, with the mediation
of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. As reports
"Armenpress", in this connection NKR State Commission on Prisoners of
War, Hostages and Missing Persons considers it necessary to state the
following:

"Before the start of the exchange procedure, all bodies were examined
in the presence of representatives of the International Committee of
the Red Cross. No traces of abuse or ill-treatment were discovered or
registered on the bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers.

Through its groundless accusations voiced five days after the
exchange, Azerbaijan is cynically trying to mislead the international
community and evade responsibility for the war crimes committed by the
Azerbaijani army against civilians and soldiers of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, including numerous cases of mockery and mutilation
of bodies of the deceased, previously reported by the Karabakh side."

[Yervant1]

Soldier: “Four soldiers fought against forty” (video)

15:56 | April 16,2016 | Social

A soldier, who on April 2 fought in one of the most dangerous spots,
Talish, told “A1+” how everything happened. Aram personally took part
in the operation of returning the posts, “On April 4 in the morning I
went back to our posts, there was another position to be brought back,
we hurried to help our 18-year-old soldiers, there was spate of
shells. I got an injury from a shell.”

The fragment was removed; doctors assured him that he will fully
recover and can return to the military duty. At present he thinks
about his military friends, who are at the army posts. But he is happy
that they were able to give an appropriate counterattack to the
adversary, while the Azerbaijanis didn’t expect it, “In the way, that
four soldiers fought against forty.”

The serviceman highlighted, the adversary planned the operations
beforehand, “They had prepared secretly, for if it wasn’t done
secretly, our frontier troops would have noticed. Our border guards
are always awake and alert.”

Aram is also delighted with the consolidation of the people during
these days, “Maybe no one expected, there wasn’t faith that our people
can be so united. Everyone, even providing a little support, proved
that we are united.”

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DYtCx7KAA4YU&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=8QBMbAsLiCH3qBaOxD3Z5Mbm2j0MgwYLMLe-LXs7uEI&s=WgTaP9NKxNw3qasNuhFbi_mPL2EufvKCvh1u9KPUBEo&e=


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[Yervant1]

Why It Is Armenians Who Won the 2nd Karabakh War

They inflicted greater casualties on the better armed enemy and prevented it from attaining any meaningful military goals

Anatoly Karlin http://russia-insider.com/sites/all/themes/insider/images/feed.png

(The Unz Review) http://russia-insider.com/sites/all/themes/insider/images/feed.png

Sat, Apr 16, 2016 | 1,870 19

http://russia-insider.com/sites/insider/files/styles/s400/public/servicemen-of-the-self.jpg?itok=5bHdijtC

Originally appeared at The Unz Review

Today a ceasefire has been agreed upon between Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which unlike the unilateral ceasefire declared by Azerbaijan three days ago seems to be holding.

This allows us to make some more conclusions observations on what happened.

First, the Azeris have made gains, but their advance was ultimately quite modest – only around a quarter of a kilometer across a narrow stretch of the northern front – and ultimately ground to a halt. A total of eight defense positions were lost, as well as the village of Talish in the north. There are conflicting reports on whether Mataghis was captured – the weight of the evidence suggests that the Azeri assault failed with high casualties – while the main town and operational center for that front was never seriously threatened. It did suffer a bombardment, and was the target of intensive Azeri drone surveillance. Several Azeri drones were shot down around that area. The conflict also saw the first use in anger of the Israeli Harop “kamikaze” drone by the Azeris, which was remotely steered into a bus carrying Armenian volunteers, resulting in seven deaths.

Second, as has become familiar from the War in Donbass, official and unofficial casualty figures differ by an order of magnitude. Oficially, there had been to date 35 Armenian military deaths 37 Azeri deaths, although each side claims 300-400 enemy casualties. I suspect it is closer to around 50-75 for the Armenians (especially once the 28 listed as MIA, most of which usually end up dead in the end, are accounted for) and up to 150 for the Azeris. The photographic evidence appears to show a lot more Azeri than Armenian troops, and in any case it stands to reason since it was the Azeris who were assaulting well-fortified positions.

Furthermore, the NKR’s tally of how many tanks it lost – some fourteen of them – are virtually the same as Azeri claims of how many tanks it destroyed. In contrast, Azerbaijan implausibly acknowledges the loss of only one tank, whereas the Armenians claim they destroyed 29 tanks. Since it is harder to hide hardware losses, this suggests an NKR-Azeri combat loss ratio of 1:2. Apart from this, the Azeris have also lost several APCs, 1-2 Mi-24 helicopters, and tons of Israeli UAV’s (one of them was apparently downed by a hunter with a rifle! Not very good PR for Israel’s defense export industries).

 

deluded-aliyev.jpg

http://russia-insider.com/sites/insider/files/styles/1200xauto/public/deluded-aliyev.jpg?itok=6nrAb5jI

All in all, it’s safe to say that at least so far, this has been a comprehensive defeat for Azerbaijan, regardless of how earnestly President Ilham Aliyev prevaricates on Twitter and the rather unconvincing assertions of Azeri propaganda.

Their purely military gains were insubstantial, and attained at the cost of much higher losses in personnel and equipment than the worse-armed but far more motivated, skilled, and dug in NKR Army. This was accomplished without any reinforcements from Armenia proper. Any hopes for a blitzkrieg campaign have been dashed. Consequently, if the Azeris also intended to test the limits at which Russia would start moves to intervene, they failed at that as well through their failure to achieve any major military successes against NKR in the first place.

Political Aspects

The Azeris also lost the information war. Although this flareup elicited very little European or American official commentary, it was clear that public opinion outside Turkey and Azerbaijan itself – at least as gauged by social media on Twitter and Reddit – was overwhelmingly on Armenia’s side. This was especially so after evidence of Azeri war crimes began to crop up, including the execution and mutilation of three Armenian civilians in Talish and the ISIS-style parading of the decapitated head of a Yazidi soldier from the NKR ranks (note that both links are probably NSFW). While the provenance of the former is uncertain, the latter appears to have definitely happened, appearing on a pro-Azerbaijan military Vkontakte page. There were also claims from pro-Armenian media sources that many Azeris in the ranks of Islamic State were turning to Azerbaijan. There is reason to be skeptical about this since it is unlikely that the sorts of Azeris who would go off to Raqqa would return to fight for a secular Shi’ite state.

If the intent was to use military assault to catalyze the diplomatic process, that too must be considered a failure. Apart from Erdogan’s boorish but entirely predictable _expression_ of unconditional support for Azerbaijan, nobody else followed suit. Instead, everybody from Russia and Iran to NATO and the US issued formulaic injunctions to observe the ceasefire and resolve the issues through the OSCE Minsk Group (i.e. back to the status quo of doing nothing).

Even the US was noncommital, with a State Department spokesman saying that the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh will be determined on the principles of “non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity of states, and the equal rights and self-determination of people.” The second and third points are of course self-contradictory in this case, but the reference to “threat of force” might have been a veiled rebuke against the Azeri Defense Minister for his threats to bomb the NGK capital Stepanakert.

The only countries of note apart from Turkey to assume a decidedly pro-Baku position were Pakistan, Georgia, and Ukraine – but this ghost of the GUAM alliance is not really a diplomatic triumph by any stretch of the imagination.

There was however one Azeri success, though. Or rather an Aliyev success. In Azerbaijan’s current economic circumstances, one might think the ruling dynasty could certainly do without is the media quacking about its offshore network of secret holding companies revealed by the Panama Papers. And unlike with Putin, Aliyev’s family members are directly mentioned as owners. It is worth noting that Mossack Fonseca had informed its clients of the data breach several months in advance, and they would have been aware of the approximate dates of its publication.

Is there a conspiracy theory here? Who knows. It need not have been a decisive factor, since the mainstream media doesn’t have the freedom to talk about such things anyway, while foreign journalists can be fobbed off with the always reliable “[the children] are grown up and have the right to do business” excuse. Even so, it might well have been a significant contributory factor.

After all, it is better to have people rhapsodizing about a “short victorious war,” or failing that at least about “our heroic shahids,” than grumbling about the plummeting currency and the offshore secrets of the elites.

A Final “Optimistic” Note

As I pointed out in my last post, this year represents the likely peak of Azeri military power relative to Armenia for at least the next decade. With Baku getting engulfed by financial crisis in the wake of the collapse of oil prices, it is cutting its military budget by 40% this year, in addition to already substantial cuts in 2015. This means its military modernization efforts will crawl to a stop. Those hi-tech toys its been “testing” these past few days are probably not going to be replaced anytime soon. Meanwhile, while the Armenian economy is hardly booming either, it can at least expect to maintain spending at similar levels or even increase them further considering the rising incidence and fierceness of its clashes with Azerbaijan.

This means that for Azerbaijan, it is a question of now or later… where later might either be decades down the line, or even more likely, never.

On the other hand, though these skirmishes were a far cry from what a real large-scale war would look like between Azerbaijan and Armenia-NKR, they were exceedingly useful from a calibration point of view in that they allowed the Azeris to get a good gauge on the actual combat effectiveness of their rebuilt army. They might well have concluded that the oil-splurge spending of the past decade didn’t automatically translate to much higher proficiency or combat effectiveness, with all that it entails for the prospects of a future large-scale operation to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh (even putting to the side the issue of Russian intervention).

In this sense, the continued bellicose rhetoric of the Azeris – and the Turks – regardless, the chances of a serious war in the future for Nagorno-Karabakh may well have actually diminished in the past few days.

UPDATE: Now that the fog of war has cleared up, it has become clear that the Azeris even failed to retain the village of Talish. What a debacle.

[Yervant1]

New Armenia Front stresses the need to gain international recognition
of Azeri aggression against Artsakh

Monday, April 18, 18:55

The New Armenia Front stresses the need to form legitimate power and
ensure the army's fighting efficiency needed for stable peace, the New
Armenia Front says in a statement that presents emergency steps aimed
at overcoming the security crisis.

The authors point out that it has become obvious during the
Azerbaijani aggression along the line of contact of the Artsakh and
Azerbaijani troops that the foreign and domestic policy of Armenia has
failed. The statement stresses that the international community,
including Armenia's strategic partner Russia and the CSTO member
states have not recognized Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh.
"This has resulted in a security vacuum, which should be filled at the
expense of the potential of the Armenians worldwide. To ensure the
required level of combativity, it is necessary to enhance the
efficiency of the defense system management due to significant
changes, as well as to concentrate the necessary financial means in
the hands of the state, and to increase the armed forces, first of
all, at the expense of police troops", the statement says. The members
of the New Armenia Front also think it necessary to hold snap
presidential and parliamentary elections, to form a government
enjoying public confidence and to appoint a person enjoying the
confidence of the army and the society as the supreme
commander-in-chief.

The New Armenia Front emphasizes that the UN Security Council and PACE
should adopt resolutions condemning Baku's aggression. It is also
necessary to initiate the process of recognition of Artsakh by the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.arminfo.am_index.cfm-3Fobjectid-3D2CB91500-2D056D-2D11E6-2D802B0EB7C0D21663&d=CwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=yZCsPsN9RLa-yBffCuhhTZLRsUc6_3btCEugowB1GzU&s=Ckmxc61LlR1vOfLrG5B6u4dSiYFdA0c1R7V1mVXeORQ&e=

[Yervant1]

Naira Zohrabyan harshly criticizes Agramunt in PACE for supporting
Azerbaijani aggression

15:17, 18 April, 2016

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. PAP faction head Naira Zohrabyan
addressed harsh criticism to PACE President Pedro Agramunt during the
PACE session, for his support of the Azerbaijani aggressive policy. As
“Armenpress” reports, Naira Zohrabyan reminded all members of the PACE
plenary session that Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno Karabakh and
committed war crimes. “Azerbaijan clearly targeted civilians and
bombarded civilian settlement. They bombarded schools, killed peaceful
civilians, cut off their ears, mutilated the corpses of Armenian
soldiers, decapitated their heads and put it on display to peaceful
civilians”, Zohrabyan said.

She said the fact that PACE President expressed his support to
Azerbaijan’s authoritarian and aggressive policy is unacceptable. “It
is known that the active PACE President is also Aliyev’s speaker, he
was in Azerbaijan and expressed support to Aliyev’s regime. However,
the Council of Europe must respect the rights of Europe’s citizens,
and the PACE President must be serious and must not defend obvious
authoritarianism and war crimes”, Zohrabyan added.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__armenpress.am_eng_news_843928_naira-2Dzohrabyan-2Dharshly-2Dcriticizes-2Dagramunt-2Din-2Dpace-2Dfor-2Dsupporting-2Dazerbaijani-2Daggression.html&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=6ogzzSaA6BzVWp8rwUe0yMKxPJuhA8oUWH0_ybRv-Rg&s=Bfljadt0SyJRA5AlLtaGVn82G_hK9Tmpy_w2wtKjKac&e=

[Yervant1]

More volunteers go to Karabakh frontline to replace their friends (video)

19:20 | April 18,2016 | Regions

Some 70 Yerkrapah volunteers from Shirak province have left for the
Karabakh frontline today to replace their friends in combat positions.

Everyone, who expressed desire to leave for Artsakh, has joined the
group without any age limit. The group received corresponding
instructions and commands before departure, Tsayg TV reports.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_BhVAdEEi-2DMc&d=CwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=k_bieIPpdFw3igdxaK73LLxhdTd5QJEkql1kjIZqYu8&s=U_Jt3wOxbtzWCFzGTtTkYIBF1vilJ5RzzvDmg386iEk&e=

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[Yervant1]

Nagorno Karabakh issue replaced with that of “Panama Papers” in PACE agenda

POLITICS 15:25 18/04/2016 WORLD


The spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) launched on April 18 in Strasburg to last until April
22. Nagorno Karabakh issue was suggested to be included in the current
affairs section of the agenda.

According to Panorama.am reporter in Strasburg, three titles have been
suggested for the discussion: ‘Crimes committed by Azerbaijan during
the recent aggression toward Nagorno Karabakh’ suggested by the
Armenian delegation, ‘The tragic escalation of violence in
Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan’
suggested by the Azerbaijani delegation and ‘The last and tragic
escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’ suggested by a French
parliamentarian.

It was also suggested to include a current affairs debate on “The case
of the 'Panama Papers' and the concern about fiscal, social justice
and public trust in our democratic system”.

During the PACE Bureau discussion prior to the session it was decided
to include the issue of the ‘Panama Papers’ as a topic for current
affairs debate.

The Bureau has the right for only one and final decision which needs
to be approved by the members of the Assembly.

According to Head of the Armenian Delegation, Hermine Naghdalyan, the
Bureau held a heated debate. Members of the Bureau noted that only 2
months ago PACE held a large-scale discussion concerning Karabakh when
British parliamentarian, Robert Walter’s report was rejected, and the
position of PACE members haven’t changed since.

The President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, the President of the European
Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Prime Ministers of Georgia,
Giorgi Kvirikashvili, and Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, are among leading
personalities due to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe during its spring session.

As reports the PACE official website, the refugee and migrant crisis
in Europe will be on the agenda, with debates on a stronger European
response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the human rights of refugees
and migrants in the Western Balkans and the new challenge posed by
forced migration. There has also been a request for an urgent debate
on “The Savchenko case”.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Daniel Mitov, will
address the Assembly in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee of
Ministers, and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
Nils Muiznieks, will present his annual activity report 2015. The
Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, will
answer questions from parliamentarians.

It should be noted that for the first time in PACE history, PACE
President, Pedro Agramunt refused to give a press conference prior to
the session.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.panorama.am_en_news_2016_04_18_Nagorno-2DKarabakh-2DPanama-2DPapers-2DPACE_1564545&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=oMbBPGfBiVIPhzVe3ZtrEgzIbndO5fP3-hlBzpn73ZI&s=jn_sGDbo4OF5-fMKju5TUFzwXHJS3j-6dp71n-dp5N0&e=

[Yervant1]

Vladimir Kazimirov blames Azerbaijan for wrecking negotiations

18:25, 18 April, 2016

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. Former Russian Co-chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov touched upon the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict in the context of recent hostilities in the
Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line. “Armenpress” reports Kazimirov noted
at the start of the article that much has been said about the terms
and complexities of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The former Ambassador
speaks about the conflict as unusual in terms of its stakeholders,
which are three, not two (Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan).

Referring to the military onslaught of Azerbaijan against Nagorno
Karabalh on April 2, Kazimirov mentions that it was the largest
in-scale and most bloodiest military operation since the establishment
of the ceasefire regime 22 years ago. In his words, the long-lasting
negotiations for the settlement of the conflict did not refrain Baku
from using force again.

“There is a necessity to comprehensively examine the controversial
actions of Azerbaijani leadership during each regime of that country.
The political struggle for the fate of Nagorno Karabakh moved to
battlefield, which was the first armed conflict in the Soviet Union.
No doubt, Baku was the initiator of use of force. Since then Baku has
changed both its military and political-diplomatic policy many times.
It is a pity but a fact that it is a long time Baku neglects its
commitments assumed by signing official documents. Still 3 months
before the establishment of the ceasefire, on February 18, 1994, the
Defense Minister of Azerbaijan signed a record together with the
Defense Ministers of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh about meeting in
Moscow, where the sides were obliged to withdraw their troops from the
contact line after the ceasefire would enter into force. But later
Baku refused to withdraw its troops, which resulted in deliberate or
un-deliberate incidents in the future. This is one of the main reasons
of the tension”, Kazimirov wrote.

He added that the announcements of state officials and the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairs demonstrate that that the one that has violated the
agreements does not bear any responsibility, because the statements of
condolences and kind calls are nothing else but an attempt not to
offend that country. “Here a question rises. What content should have
the calls urging to respect commitments? It should be mentioned that
during the rule of Heydar Aliyev the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan
ordered to avoid from ceasefire violations, and even punished those
responsible for the violations. The same was done in Nagorno Karabakh
and Azerbaijan. Is something similar possible nowadays? Just the
contrary, we never hear that someone was punished. It is also well
known how Baku glorified murderer Ramil Rafarov. Ilham Aliyev always
speaks about the return of “occupied territories”, forgetting that
everything happened as a result of wrong calculations of Baku. This is
also a cause of the conflict, but it is not the first by significance
and from the perspective of the conflict settlement”, the article
reads.

Kazimirov states that the root cause of the conflict is over the
status of Nagorno Karabakh, and Baku denies solve that issue.

Kazimirov believes it is an urgent problem for now that the
international community and the mediators understand the false game
played by Baku and call the things by their names. “Enough to make
general announcements referring to the parties of the conflict. It is
time to make more addressed calls and call things by their names,
displaying the negative behavior of the political leadership of Baku”,
Kazimirov concluded.

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[Yervant1]

The lessons of the new war

17:42 | April 18 2016

We knew that Russia has sold serious weapons to Azerbaijan under the
so to speak “business plan”. We are sure that Azerbaijan would have
received a serious military aid from Turkey, moreover, not under the
business plan but absolutely free. We also learned that on March 31,
2016, Israeli provide anti-tank laser rockets to Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is the first country acquiring these rockets and it has
certainly given an advantage to its military capabilities.” These are
not our assumptions but an evidence by Alexander Murinson, a fellow of
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Israel,
in his interview with “Voice of America” Azerbaijani service.

In fact, military equipment is supplied to economically incomparably
rich Azerbaijan from the right and left while the Armenian soldier is
fighting with weapons produced in the “80’s”. In that sense, our army
is truly the most combative army in the region. The fierce battles of
the war in recent days showed that the Armenian soldiers with their
devotion and self-sacrifice managed to neutralize and in fact destroy
these advantages of military equipment of Azerbaijani army. Should
these advantages ensured serious advantages to them in the
battlefield, they would not even think about a temporary ceasefire. In
fact, a soldier is fighting from our side and weapons from their side.
Undoubtedly, on the first days of the war, all the weapons and
ammunition available with Azerbaijanis was not used. Definitely, they
have other and more horrible weapons. But we also have not used the
entire military potential. Thousands of volunteers are readily waiting
for their turn. This fact not only gives hope and strength to our
people but also to our army and our army leadership.

In short, we are alone and strong. We are alone also in the political
sense. If the EaEU leader Russia, on these days, is putting the sign
of equality between the EaEU member state Armenia and Azerbaijan, the
EaEU member Kazakhstan is obviously acting as Azerbaijan’s supporter,
if the Belarus representatives are making gratuitously and mostly
irrelevant speeches in favor of the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, this means that we are more than alone in the foreign
political arena. We are confident that if the occasion grants,
Georgian and Ukrainian politicians and statesmen will also talk in
favor of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. As they say, “there are
no eternal friends and enemies, there are only interests.” The
relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are the proof of it. We would
not be surprised if tomorrow or the day after tomorrow Russia and
Turkey would review their relations too, in accordance with their
interests.

As for us, life shows that we have no option of dropping our eternal
enemies, especially since not only our eternal enemies are reluctant
to do it but also our eternal “friends.” As for the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and the positive attitude of Ukraine and
others, recently, one of our opposition members expressed an opinion
that if we had protected the interests of Ukrainians on the Crimea,
Ukrainians would not support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
A naïve and amateur opinion. Ukrainians and Georgians have the issue
of Crimea, Abkhazia and Ossetia, and it is impossible for them to
speak against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. When the Soviet
Union was collapsing, everyone was giving preference to
self-determination of peoples, and based on this principle, the Soviet
republics became independent. Now, the world and especially the world
powers give the preference to the territorial integrity. Kosovo, in
fact, was an exception. Many of the world powers are against Artsakh
to be the next exception. But this does not mean that we should sit
idle. Fighting in the battlefield alone and coming out of this heavy
situations with dignity, we need to seek and find supporters in the
political field and make the world guided by double standards to
realize that the people of Artsakh have the right to build their state
on their historical and ancestral land like all the peoples in the
world. And it’s already a quarter of a century it builds its state: a
small, beautiful and a wonderful state. Incidentally, they are
building it with the arms in their hands because they are many who
disturb and few who support.

Voskan YEREVANTSY,

“Aravot”

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[Yervant1]

Swedish premier announces anti-Armenian Turkish minister’s resignation

22:05 • 18.04.16

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on Monday announced the
resignation of Mehmet Kaplan, an ethnic Turkish minister known for his
anti-Armenian views.

In a speech at a press conference, Mr Löfven expressed the
government’s distrust of the minister, citing it as a serious
justification behind the decision to dismiss him. He said that a
minister, who is responsible for heading a government institution in
Sweden, must be able to represent the country without giving way to
any suspicion about his/her conduct.

With that move, the Swedish Foreign Ministry reacted to the
intra-governmental crisis in the country, which had gained ground in
the past week after the daily Expressen published a photo featuring
Kaplan dining with Barbaros Leylani, an author of anti-Armenian
statements, and Ilhan Senturk, the head the Swedish wing of the
Turkish nationalist organization Grey Wolves, the Armenian Foreign
Ministry’s press service reports.

The revealed link between the minister, and Islamists and
nationalists, was severely criticized by both government
representatives, and the opposition and the society. The media
recalled Kaplan’s statement – made several years ago – comparing
Muslim fighters heading to Syria with the Swedish people who aided
Finns during the Soviet-Finnish war.

Kaplan’s 2009 speech, delivered in a Turkish association in Sweden to
compare Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians with the Nazi
policies in relation to Jews, was published once again.

After the opposition threatened to impeach Kaplan in parliament, Prime
Minister Löfven sacked him to avoid a decline in the government’s
reputation.

According to an official statement on the Swedish Government’s
website, Minister for Financial Markets Per Bolund will replace
Kaplan, who was the minister of housing and urban development since
2014.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.tert.am_en_news_2016_04_18_kaplan_1994250&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=F5SQS5QK6tOwSJNHpxjECY3O4_dalyf2DutspEFYQAU&s=HUHgLGIqW1m6RsxXPGm5yGQst3KYUywpR2GgQSwIT9A&e=

[Yervant1]

STRATFOR
April 17 2016


A Game Much Larger Than Nagorno-Karabakh

Analysis
April 17, 2016


By Eugene Chausovsky

I was in Armenia with one questioning burning in my mind: Should I go
to Nagorno-Karabakh?

My original plan was to spend the weekend in the disputed territory
after a week working in Armenia's capital, Yerevan. But that was
before military activity escalated in Nagorno-Karabakh on the night
between April 1 and April 2. The action pitted Karabakh fighters
against Azerbaijani soldiers in the most violent flare-up since the
signing of the 1994 Bishkek Protocol cease-fire. While I knew it was
unlikely a major conflict akin to the 1988-1994 war would break out, I
was still uneasy about visiting an area where guns were going off. As
it turned out, the two sides signed a new cease-fire on April 5. And,
though a bit of cross-border fighting continues, the deal reduced the
violence considerably. A flurry of diplomatic activity followed,
primarily by Russia but also by Turkey and the West, further cooling
things down in the area. That settled it. My mind made up, I set my
sights on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Way to Nagorno-Karabakh

Early the next morning, I was on my way. I caught a taxi to Yerevan's
main bus station, where I'd heard marshrutkas — the Soviet-era
mini-buses you find throughout the former Soviet Union — left every
hour for Stepanakert. My cab driver, a sad-looking old man in a run
down Lada sedan, told me he used to live in Baku during Soviet times,
but that he fled to Yerevan when the Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out in
the late 1980s, a common story around these parts. Azerbaijanis who
once lived in Armenia tell similar tales. "You're not scared?" he
asked, when I said I was going to the region. "Oh, just Stepanakert.
You'll be fine." Half an hour later, I found myself in a marshrutka
with about 15 other passengers, heading for the quasi-independent
statelet.

There are only two roads leading from Armenia proper to
Nagorno-Karabakh — the Lachin corridor in the south and the Karvajar
pass in the north. There is no functioning railway, and a recently
renovated airport in Stepanakert never actually opened after
Azerbaijan threatened to shoot down any planes that used it. The
weather dictated we use the southern route, so off we set.

The road to the border was breathtaking and presented a few lessons in
the region's geopolitics of its own. Small villages such as Artashat
and Ararat offered glimpses into the past, where Soviet-era apartment
blocks mixed with makeshift storefronts and tumbledown shacks. Just
down the road, one might see a small, simple Armenian Orthodox church
or a shepherd and his flock.

The road to Nagorno-Karabakh, which offers a few lessons in
geopolitics of its own. (EUGENE CHAUSOVSKY/Stratfor)

After an hour or so, we reached the town of Yeraskh, near Armenia's
border with the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and just a few
kilometers away from the frontiers of both Turkey and Iran. From
there, we headed east on the M12 highway. The landscape grew more
rugged, with large, reddish-brown hills making way for snow-capped
mountains as we entered the Lesser Caucasus range. Slowly and
determinedly, the marshrutka wound its way through the mountains over
narrow roads scarred with potholes. And, while the broken (or
sometimes entirely missing) guardrails made me catch my breath, the
view of the imposing mountain range and seemingly bottomless gorges
was stunning.

Four hours later we passed the town of Goris and began nearing the
border of Nagorno-Karabakh. Here, signs of the recent hostilities
began to show themselves. Five Kamaz military trucks passed by in
rapid succession, followed shortly after by another group of vehicles.
Closer to the border, we saw several large trucks loaded with tanks
parked near the side of the road. Then came the border checkpoint,
where a handful of men in military and police uniforms manned a small
building.

Nagorno-Karabakh At Last

After a brief but slightly tense check-in at the border, we made our
way into Nagorno-Karabakh. We passed small, backward-looking villages
scattered across majestic green mountains. We also began to see signs
and billboards displaying "Artaskh," the local name for
Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the region's flags, distinguishable from
the red, blue and yellow Armenian flag only by the hollow white
triangle jutting out from their right sides. The drive into
Stepanakert was marked by the ruins of buildings and run-down
apartment blocks strewn about the mountainous landscape. Kamaz
military vehicles passed by us with increasing frequency. More and
more large concrete apartment blocks appeared as we approached the
city center, which had a gloomy and gray Soviet character. At 4 p.m.,
about seven hours after we left Yerevan, we pulled into the
Stepanakert bus station.

At the station, I met my contact. A stout, friendly-looking man in his
mid-40s, he offered to take me to a hotel. Better yet, he said, I
could stay at his place, where I'd have my own room and home-cooked
meals, all for less than the cost of a hotel. Alone in the city and
interested in a closer look at local life, I happily accepted.

An apartment building in Stepanakert. (EUGENE CHAUSOVSKY/Stratfor)

His flat was in a typical Soviet apartment block not far from the bus
station. There I met his wife, also stout and friendly, who
immediately brought out strong Armenian coffee and sweets. He then
offered to give me a tour of some must-see sites around
Nagorno-Karabakh while there was still daylight. After assurances from
both he and his wife that it was safe, we set off in his Lada 4x4.

We headed north out of the city toward Gandzasar, a monastery my host
described as the best place to see in the region. After just a few
minutes, we passed the Tatik-Papik monument, an iconic symbol
displaying Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian heritage. The monument, made of
Armenia's trademark pink stone, depicts the large heads of a man and
woman. In Armenian, its name means "Grandma and Grandpa." Besides the
occasional military vehicle, the road to Gandzasar was eerily quiet.
With the exception of a few shepherds, very few people were out, and
as we passed rickety homes and simple farms that appeared abandoned,
one could not help but think they had left because of the recent
outbreak of violence.

My host told me that he was born and raised in Nagorno-Karabakh, and
that he had fought in the 1988-1994 war with Azerbaijan. Despite a
grenade wound from 1991 and lingering injuries in his back and
shoulder, he was still a reservist and was prepared to fight if war
broke out again. These days, he works as a taxi driver and an
occasional guide for tourists visiting the area. Economically, times
are tough right now, he said. The territory depends largely on
agriculture and is almost entirely supported by Armenia and the
Armenian diaspora. Jobs are scarce, and because of the war and
Nagorno-Karabakh's isolation, opportunities are limited.

The Tatik-Papik monument, on the way to the Gandzasar monastery.
(EUGENE CHAUSOVSKY/Stratfor).

Just outside the village of Vank, we stopped to visit the magnificent
10th-century Gandzasar monastery, perched on a hilltop overlooking the
mountains. Inside, the monastery was dim and deathly quiet. On our way
out, we passed some locals who had also come to visit the monastery.
Aside from the odd shepherd or farmer, they were the only people I saw
that day out and about. According to my host, the road to Gandzasar is
normally bustling. The recent violence was the reason things were so
quiet.

Done with our visits, we headed back to my host's house for a family
meal. The dinner table was packed with local and regional delicacies:
eggplant salad, pickled cabbage, roast chicken, solanka and delicious
Armenian bread. We washed it all down with locally made grape vodka,
accompanied by the sound of my guide's many toasts, which were
peppered throughout the meal. The couple's two children joined us, a
20-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son. The daughter studies
linguistics at a local university and told me she loves American
culture. A big fan of Game of Thrones, she chatted throughout the
night in good English. The son, on the other hand, barely spoke a
word. He will soon have to join the army, a nerve-wracking prospect
given the current state of affairs.

It was a pleasant and enjoyable evening, and I was grateful to be with
such a kind family that went out of its way to be hospitable during
such a difficult time. Moreover, it occurred to me that I could
imagine spending a similar night around a family's table in Yerevan or
Baku and feel little difference. Though these were people whose lives
and worldviews had undoubtedly been shaped by their location, they had
so much in common with others I've met in Azerbaijan, Armenia and
elsewhere throughout the world. If anyone is trapped by geopolitics, I
thought, it's them.

Wandering in Stepanakert

The next morning, my host dropped me off near the center of
Stepanakert. I wanted to get a look around the city. After jumping out
of the Lada, I headed toward Renaissance Square, home to
Nagorno-Karabakh's presidential palace and parliament building. The
area was tense, scattered with military personnel, and I saw only a
few civilians moving about. I got the feeling that it wouldn't be a
good idea to just wander around aimlessly, so I ducked into a nearby
hotel. Inside, the cafe was empty, except for two old men sharing a
table in silence. I ordered a coffee, but felt I'd better not linger
and left soon after.

I decided to walk around the city center for a while. About 50,000
people live in Stepanakert, which looks a lot like many former Soviet
cities around its size. But what stuck out was the sheer number of
military personnel around, who, if not for their uniforms, would
easily blend in with the rest of the population. I saw soldiers
chatting with civilians on the street, waiting at bus stops, buying
bread at kiosks. Military vehicles passed by frequently and were
almost as common as regular cars.

Around noon I stepped into a cafe for lunch. Almost immediately, my
waitress asked suspiciously where I came from. When I told her I was
originally from Kiev and was in Nagorno-Karabakh on a tourist visit
from Yerevan, she lightened up. She told me about her life, and how
her husband's death in the war in 1994 had left her to raise two
children on her own. She said the recent escalation was a senseless
one, and that young people were dying for no reason. She also told me
that someone had come into the same cafe yesterday and had spent six
hours on his computer before the police came and took him away. Taking
this as a cue that I'd better not hang around too long, I called my
host for a ride after a few more minutes of talking. I felt a lot more
comfortable with him than wandering the city alone.

He showed up a short while later and we set off for the town of
Shushi, just a few kilometers to the south. Shushi is the historical
capital of Nagorno-Karabakh that was left largely in ruins by the
1988-94 war. Now, the city is a cultural center for the region. We
took in a few sights, including the 19th-century Verkhiya Mosque.

Back in Stepanakert, my host organized a shared taxi back to Yerevan.
After saying goodbye, I was on my way. Thankfully, the border
checkpoint was much less eventful this time around. A guard skimmed my
passport and let me pass, and we rumbled down the road away from
Nagorno-Karabakh, leaving behind the quirks and charms of a place
trapped in a game much larger than itself.

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[Yervant1]

Stop shooting, EC President Jean-Claude Junker tells Azerbaijan

15:04, 19 Apr 2016
Siranush Ghazanchyan

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker has called on
Azerbaijan to stop shooting.

Jean-Claude Junker addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe in Strasbourg today.

Azerbaijani delegate *****eva asked a question on Azeri refugees and
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

President of the European Commission was very short and clear “One
thing that I can say to Azerbaijan is ‘Stop shooting, stop fighting’
followed by applauds by the Assembly members.

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