cease-fire violations by azeris

[Yervant1]

Armenia: Azerbaijan will pay a high price for its crimes against Artsakh

October 3, 2020 - 16:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The authorities of Azerbaijan will pay a high price for committing grave crimes against the Armenians of Artsakh, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, October 3.

"In contempt of the persistent calls of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries and the entire international community on the immediate cessation of hostilities, Azerbaijan and Turkey jointly continue large-scale hostilities with the aim of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by military means," the statement reads.

"To this end, Azerbaijan has put forward its entire military capacities, reinforced by Turkish military assistance, which includes also foreign terrorists fighters transferred from other conflict zones in the Middle East. The civilian settlements and civilian population on the entire territory of Artsakh are being subjected to systematic and massive attacks, resulting in human casualties and destruction."

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Azerbaijan's actions aim at depriving the people of Artsakh of their historical homeland by perpetrating mass atrocities.

"The Republic of Armenia, as the guarantor of the security of the people of Artsakh, will take all the necessary means and steps to prevent those mass atrocities," the statement continues.

"The political and military leadership of Azerbaijan will pay a high price for committing such grave crimes against the Armenians of Artsakh, for importing terrorists to the region and for undermining the regional security."

[Yervant1]

Karabakh army thwarts Azerbaijan's large-scale attack

October 3, 2020 - 13:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army has thwarted the large-scale attack launched by the Azerbaijani military on Saturday, October 3, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan reports.

"In one of the directions, our forces have launched a counterattack. In other parts, heavy defensive battles are underway," Stepanyan wrote on Facebook.

Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of civilian settlements.

[Yervant1]

Deutsche Welle, Germany

Oct 3 2020

Armenia reports 'heavy fighting' with Azerbaijan in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Scores of soldiers were killed in heavy clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces despite calls for a ceasefire. A pro-Armenian separatist leader said he was heading into a "final battle" in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces were locked in intense warfare over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh province on Saturday, with Armenia reporting that over 50 pro-Armenian separatist soldiers lost their lives.

Armenia-backed separatist forces had thwarted a "massive attack" by Azerbaijan and begun a counter-offensive, Armenian defense ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said. "Heavy fighting is ongoing," she added.

Read more: Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia 'stands ready' for peace talks

'Final battle'

Pro-Armenian Karabakh separatist leader Arayik Harutyunyan said he was on his way to the front line for what he described as the "final battle."

Read more: US, Russia, France condemn fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh

Baku and Yerevan have for decades been engaged in a simmering conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian part of Azerbaijan which broke away from Baku in a 1990s war which claimed some 30,000 lives.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have defied international calls for a ceasefire while accusing each other of starting the recent conflict.

The fighting, which broke out last Sunday, has seen the heaviest clashes since a 1994 truce between the warring sides. Some 200 people have perished, including more than 30 civilians.

The conflict increases the likelihood of a wider regional war that could involve Russia and Turkey amid concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines deliver Azeri oil and gas to global markets.

https://www.dw.com/en/armenia-reports-heavy-fighting-with-azerbaijan-in-disputed-nagorno-karabakh-region/a-55145859?fbclid=IwAR1gSJfvrewjxPP8yvgH1QdmlJvMPzIdV2w3IRAbbQDXhOlgW1XSXo7dQGs

[Yervant1]

Defend Democracy Press

Oct 2 2020

Israel Is Sending Weapons to Azerbaijan as Fight With Armenia Continues

02/10/2020

Azeri cargo planes having been frequently flying to Israel for weapons

By Dave DeCamp
Posted onSeptember 30, 2020

Israeli arms are fueling Azerbaijan’s fighting with Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan, told Israeli media that the Azeri military has been using Israeli-made attack drones in the recent violence.

Israel and Azerbaijan are major trading partners. The two countries have signed defense agreements together, and it is believed that Israel provides the Azeri military with 60 percent of its weapons. Israel also gets a large amount of its oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan. Azeri cargo planes have been recently spotted at an air force base in southern Israel.

Azeri cargo planes landing at this base is a relatively common occurrence, but the timing and frequency of recent flights indicate Israeli arms are fueling the conflict. According to Haaretz, two Azeri Ilyushin Il-76 freighters landed at the base last Thursday, just days before the fighting broke out. Two more freighters arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means Azeri forces could be replenishing their weapons.

Hajiyev said that the Azeris “very much appreciate the cooperation with Israel, especially the defense cooperation.” So far, Israel has remained silent on the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. When asked if this silence bothered the Azeris, Hajiyev said, “No, no, Israel and Azerbaijan understand our situation” and cited multiple agreements between the two countries.

The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a fourth day on Wednesday and shows no sign of slowing down. Turkey has been accused of intervening in the battle on behalf of the Azeris, with Armenia claiming Ankara is using F-16s to shoot down Armenian fighter jets. Turkey denies the charge. Reports say Ankara has been helping its ally in another way, by sending mercenaries from northern Syria to the region to support Azerbaijan.

Published at https://news.antiwar.com/2020/09/30/israel-is-sending-weapons-to-azerbaijan-as-fight-with-armenia-continues/

http://www.defenddemocracy.press/israel-is-sending-weapons-to-azerbaijan-as-fight-with-armenia-continues/?fbclid=IwAR1FrwTZcSR12lb2lt0K9ROhpZnu-64B2PiGKEld7PK5gh2kDDFXwtk4wTY

[Yervant1]

France 24

Oct 3 2020

'Turkey has a clear objective of reinstating the Turkish empire',

Armenian PM says

Heavy fighting escalated this week between Armenian and Azerbaijan forces over the disputed separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On Friday, global leaders renewed calls for a ceasefire with French President Emmanuel Macron pressing for a fresh round of peace talks. In an interview with FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg in Yerevan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sat down to discuss the crisis embroiling his country.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told FRANCE 24 that Turkey would continue its expansionist footprint and its goal of “the genocide of Armenians”.

“Armenia is the last obstacle in the way of Turkey and their expansion towards the north, and the east,” Mr Pashinyan said.

He pointed to recent evidence of Turkish aggression in the Mediterranean Sea towards Greece and involvement in Syria and Iraq.

“Turkey has a clear objective of reinstating the Turkish Empire. Don’t be surprised if that policy succeeds here, don’t be surprised if they attempt to incorporate into their empire not only the Greek islands but expand further into continental Europe. If Turkey succeeds in this, wait for them in Vienna.”

>> Is Turkey a brother in arms or just extending its footprint into Nagorno-Karabakh?

The fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.

Please visit the webpage to view the full interview.

https://www.france24.com/en/20201002-turkey-has-a-clear-objective-of-reinstating-the-turkish-empire-armenian-pm-says?fbclid=IwAR1rQ-Z0BzEdjryTQEhLt4VnuZwnT-yTcLX1pqHptHHc-KBZHRQcxoQpD-M&ref=fb

[Yervant1]

Thanks for your kind support but It would be helpful, if you ask government of Israel not to send weapons to azerbaijan.

 

The Times of Israel

Oct 3 2020

Stop Turkey’s allegedly looming second Armenian genocide, now, before it happens

 

Turkey never acknowledged the genocide it perpetrated on many Christian communities, predominantly Armenian, just over a century ago. Just imagine present-day Germany if it would deny the Holocaust. How scary would they be?! That’s how terrifying Turkey is today. They’ve done it before. They don’t acknowledge it, let alone regret it.

For people who’d say “No, such a thing is impossible now,” I want to remind them that the Holocaust was also unimaginable but executed anyway. By the most developed nation at the time, the center of science and counter-culture–something you can’t say about Turkey.

When some of his leaders told Hitler that genocide on the Jews was not possible and would lead to a worldwide protest, he said: Who now remembers the Armenian Genocide?

And the Armenians were not slaughtered by anonymous invisible killers like by gas chamber, carpet bombing, or a nuclear bomb. They were murdered one-by-one, soldiers against civilians, from babies to the elderly, women and men, poor and rich, slaughtered by bullet or ballonet.

Just imagine how scary it would be if Nazi-Germany could have ‘helped solve’ a border disputed between the Jewish State and its neighbors.

Stop Turkey from finishing the job. The news is they’re about to try.

Turkey is no longer a democracy with opposition or freedom of the press.

Don’t get distracted or misled by who fights whom there. Turkey is accused of sending Syrian mercenaries to do the work for them.

The NATO must tell member Turkey that if it harms one Armenian, directly or indirectly, NATO troops will invade Turkey and capture its leadership for facing a tribune for war crimes and crimes against humanity. (The US has a clown for president who likes the Turkish dictator, so count them out.)

Stop Turkey. Everyone is responsible for speaking up. Bloggers in blog posts, politicians in politics, journalists in the media, citizens on social media going viral, voters contacting their political representatives, scientists and other influencers taking clear positions, etc. Silence is complicity. Just like I don’t shut up, neither need you or your friends.

Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden

Psychology, Medicine, Science, Politics, Oppression, Integrity, Philosophy, Jew

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/stop-turkeys-allegedly-looming-second-armenian-genocide-now-before-it-happens/?fbclid=IwAR3IWHvjdC_PN_uGEEBbjUHpbUOHPxqGEJJbWhHeo_UUYpFu9mHY9uJCMUc

 

[Yervant1]

The Street

Oct 2 2020

Where the Hell Is Azerbaijan, and Why Should Americans Care?

Eddie_T

Sep 30, 2020

I keep hearing about the way Azerbaijan and Armenia are fighting. It seems to be turning into a real hotspot. I've been reading about it because world wars have broken out before in places Americans can't find on a map. I don't like the way this one looks at all, fwiw.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are culturally and linguistically almost one country...closely aligned......both nearly 100% Muslim...and Erdogan is backing Azerbaijan in what is a long standing land dispute with Armenia. There are ancient hatreds at play, with genocides having been carried out on both sides in the past.

Azerbaijan is run by a strong man dictator, who wants to add some or all of Armenia to his little fiefdom. Turkey's president Erdogan has also set himself up as president-for-life now....although Turkey is supposed to be our NATO ally.....

Azerbaijan is a fairly big oil and gas producer.

Armenia is Christian, and they are under the protection of the Russians. They are also a real, functioning democracy.

The US seems to me to already to be squarely on the wrong side of this....worse than we are in Syria.

Both Azerbaijan and Armenia are bordered by Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

What could possibly go wrong?

https://www.thestreet.com/mishtalk/politics/where-the-hell-is-azerbaijan-and-why-should-americans-care-AH-siYrVbkyQQW7l2z-w4A?fbclid=IwAR07OAZPNjqjtkiZKnCIvh5rBUadvxJ4iz9-k6NFa2fy0AcYL_3HWLIv3Sk

[Yervant1]

NewsMax

Oct 2 2020

Armenians and Azeris At It Again; US Should Stay Out

(Dreamstime)

By Marek Jan ChodakiewiczFriday, 02 October 2020 08:32 AMCurrent | Bio | Archive

A low-level war has broken out anew between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the southeast of the Intermarium, in the Caucasus, just east of the Black Sea. Both sides blame each other for the outbreak of the hostilities.

This unfrozen conflict is simply a continuity of the previous ones that have plagued the area since the First World War. As usual, Russia backs Armenia, and it is a good thing, too. Otherwise, Yerevan would be outmatched. The Armenians not only square off against the Azeris but they fear the looming Turkish danger as well.

The Armenians are the ultimate survivors. They endured over a millennium of Muslim occupation. Initially, it was indirect, a function of the balancing power of the Byzantine Empire, and, for a short period, of Christian crusader states in the Levant.

The Armenians usually sided with other Christians, but not always. Sometimes they tried to play their own game of survival, submitting to the Muslims tactically, if they calculated that those Christian powers could not be relied upon to protect the Armenian principalities. After the demise of the Crusader kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire, the Armenians found themselves on their own. Their states destroyed, they were incorporated into either the Ottoman Empire or the Persian Empire.

The latter tended to be a rather more tolerant overlord, which even today translates into unsurprisingly proper, and sometimes even cordial, relations of Yerevan with Teheran. On the other hand, the Ottomans exercised harsh rule over the Armenians. In their national narrative it was a vale of tears of discrimination and prosecution punctuated by pogroms which culminated in the Armenian genocide (1915-1921).

That is perhaps the single most important formative event in Armenian history. For Armenians, Turkey means death. The reality of genocide was so vivid that, upon establishing their fragile independence, the Armenians preferred to capitulate to the Bolsheviks rather than fall under the Turkish boot again in 1920.

Genocide looms large in the Armenian imagination and Yerevan views its geopolitical predicament largely through the prism of that tragedy. The Armenians see themselves as cornered by "the Turks," by which they also mean the Azeris. What keeps Baku and Ankara at bay is Moscow. Russia looms large in the geopolitical game in the Caucasus. Russian Army units are still stationed in Armenia, which Yerevan does not mind because those troops are the best deterrence ever against genocide. At least so goes strategic thinking among the Armenians.

Like Armenia, Azerbaijan is a post-Soviet successor state. During the implosion of the USSR, Azerbaijan witnessed the Kremlin's attempt to foment inter-ethnic unrest there. The KGB is said to have provoked anti-Armenian pogroms in Baku. The more chaos, the more the people would miss Soviet control and the Communist peace of the prison, as Angelo Codevilla terms this sort of predicament. In this case, urban pogroms metastasized into rural fighting.

In 1988 uprisings broke out in regional enclaves of Nakhichevan and Nagorno Karabakh, where the Armenians enjoyed a majority. The former failed and the latter succeeded. Both sent waves of refugees, both Christian Armenians and Azeri Muslims fleeing from violence. Both sides committed atrocities against the civilian population, even if the Azeris were more prolific at that sordid pursuit.

Circa 30,000 people died before a cease fire went into effect in 1994. Ultimately, the Armenians managed to establish a self-proclaimed separatist republic, the Artsakh, smack in the middle of Azerbaijan, recognized virtually by no one but Erevan.

The end result is a landlocked Cyprus. A chunk of land to the west separates the Artsakh from Armenia proper. The main difference is that the enclave never enjoyed a frozen conflict. It has always been half-frozen at best. It has simmered continuously. There were cyclical armed forays and counterforays by both sides, sniping, and other acts of violence, in addition to a constant propaganda war.

And now the conflict has spilled into Armenia proper. It is not that there were cordial Azeri-Armenian relations before: not at all. It is that now Armenia has proclaimed a general mobilization, and it is not kidding. Even the captain of the national soccer team, Warazdat Harojan, has been drafted, and, is reportedly now at the front line.

Live on national TV, prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is the nation's Commander in Chief, proclaimed his willingness to die in battle. Armenia proclaimed martial law, and so did Azerbaijan in response.

The fighting is definitely more intense than the last time around, which was in 2016. We do not know exactly what's going on but it looks more serious than usual.

Both sides have deployed heavy artillery and tanks. There is urban combat and strafing in Azeri Terter. The Armenians brag about ambushing Azeri armor. The Azeris boast about routing Armenian infantry, allegedly killing 27 troops in one place on September 28 alone.

So far 59 Armenian soldiers have died. According to Armenian sources, which can't be verified, the Azeris suffered "about 200 casualties and more than 30 pieces of destroyed military hardware." There are further reports of downed "20 drones and three helicopters." The war also rages in the cyberspace. Both sides have attacked cyberassets of the enemy. Both indulge in hyperbolic war propaganda, on Twitter and other platforms.

More troubling are Yerevan's accusations that Baku's troops have targeted the Armenian civilian population. Azerbaijan refuses to reveal its losses and denies hitting non-military targets.

Even Moscow is alarmed. Its MIG-29 planes have overflown Yerevan in a show of solidarity. Vladmir Putin has called for a cease fire. And so has the European Union, the Vatican, and France. Baku is disappointed that Kiyv refused to back its strategic ally and expressed its wish for a peaceful solution of the conflict.

Meanwhile, however, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appealed to the world to support Azerbaijan.

The U.S. should observe closely the developments in Armenia. It is in our interest to see a breach between Russia and Turkey. It is not in our interest to let Ankara drag us into its mess in the Caucasus.

We should not help Azerbaijan against Armenia even indirectly. We should let Moscow handle the situation. We should also look forward to Teheran's firmly deterring Ankara's aggressive moves. It would be wise to extend humanitarian aid to the civilian refugees on both sides as an incentive to stop the fighting.

And the Trump administration should be helping to calm things down all around. Nothing less; nothing more. That's the best type of genocide prevention at this stage.

Marek Jan Chodakiewicz is Professor of History at the Institute of World Politics, a graduate school of statecraft in Washington D.C.; expert on East-Central Europe's Three Seas region; author, among others, of "Intermarium: The Land Between The Baltic and Black Seas." Read Marek Jan Chodakiewicz's Reports — More Here.

https://www.newsmax.com/marekjanchodakiewicz/Armenia-Azerbaijan/2020/10/02/id/989999/?fbclid=IwAR2savQjEoGQDRWjXZhNQLR89NCoQF-p_hXgDBSnTG8P6lKJNLDycosQvY8

[Yervant1]

KSAT

Oct 3 2020

Azerbaijan claims seizing villages in fighting with Armenia

Aida Sultanova

Associated Press

Published: October 3, 2020, 7:05 amUpdated: October 3, 2020, 3:07 pm

Damages are seen inside an apartment in a residential area after shelling during a military conflict in self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. The fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. (David Ghahramanyan/NKR InfoCenter PAN Photo via AP)

________________________________

BAKU – Armenia and Azerbaijan said heavy fighting continues in their conflict over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s president said late Saturday that his troops had taken a town and several villages while Armenian officials claimed their troops inflicted heavy casualties.

Fighting broke out on Sept. 27 in the region, which is located within Azerbaijan and under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces. It is some of the worst in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas since the end of a war in 1994.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said intensive fighting was “taking place place along the entire front line” on Saturday and that Armenian forces had shot down three planes.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied any planes being shot down and said Armenian personnel had shelled civilian territory. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said his country's army ”raised the flag” in the town of Madagiz and taken seven villages.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said more than 150 servicemen on their side have died so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties but said 19 civilians were killed and 55 more wounded.

Vahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's president, claimed Saturday on Facebook that intelligence data showed some 3,000 Azerbaijanis have died in the fighting. Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said later that 2,300 Azerbaijan troops were killed, about 400 of them in the last day.

With Azerbaijan not commenting on troop casualties, the statements could not be verified.

Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union's collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people.

By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory's formal borders, including Madagiz, the village Azerbaijan claimed to have taken Saturday.

Several United Nations Security Council resolutions have called for withdrawal from those areas, which the Armenian forces have disregarded.

Aliyev said in a television interview the Armenians must withdraw from those areas before the latest fighting can stop.

In the interview with Al Jazeera, a transcript of which was distributed Saturday by the presidential press office, Aliyev criticized the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has tried to mediate a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

One reason behind the current fighting is that “the mediators do not insist or exert pressure to start implementing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.

“We have no time to wait another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.” Aliyev said.

Armenia has repeatedly claimed over the past week that Turkey sent Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan and that the Turkish military is aiding Azerbaijan's.

“Turkey and Azerbaijan are pursuing not only military-political goals," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said Saturday in an address to his nation. “Their goal is Armenia, their goal is continuation of the genocide of Armenians.”

Some 1.5 million Armenians died in mass killings in Ottoman Turkey beginning in 1915, which Armenia and many other countries have labeled a genocide. Turkey firmly rejects that term, contends the total number of victims is inflated and says the deaths were the consequence of civil war.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry released a statement Saturday alleging that thousands of ethnic Armenians from abroad were being deployed or recruited to fight for Armenia.

“Armenia and Armenian disapora organizations bear international legal liability for organizing these terrorist activities,” the statement said.

___

Associated Press writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

https://www.ksat.com/news/world/2020/10/03/azerbaijan-president-criticizes-mediators-fighting-rages-on/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 3 2020

Armenian National Security Service presents evidence of participation of mercenaries in Karabakh hostilities

The Armenian National Security Service presents evidence of participation of the Turkish side in the hostilities, presence of mercenary terrorists and panic among the latter.

Փաստեր՝ ռազմական գործողություններում թուրքական կողմի և վարձկան-ահաբեկիչների ներկայության վերաբերյալ[English below]Փաստեր՝ ռազմական գործողություններում թուրքական կողմի և վարձկան-ահաբեկիչների ներկայության վերաբերյալThe National Security Service presents evidence of participation of the Turkish side in the hostilities, presence of mercenary terrorists and panic among the latter

Gepostet von Armenian unified infocenter/Հայկական միասնական տեղեկատվական կենտրոն am Samstag, 3. Oktober 2020

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/03/armenian-national-security-service-presents-evidence-of-participation-of-mercenaries-in-karabakh-hostilities/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 3 2020

People of Karabakh will not retreat in the face of aggression – Armenian PM

When there is an aggression, the first task is to protect the population from aggression, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“Only after that will it be possible to talk about negotiations. In the situation when there is a large-scale aggression, I can say with confidence that the people of Karabakh will not retreat in the face of the aggression,” the Prime Minister said.

Իմ հարցազրույցը AlJazeera հեռուստաալիքին

Արտաքին ագրեսիայի դեպքում թիվ մեկ խնդիրն է պաշտպանել բնակչությանը հարձակումից։ Դրանից հետո միայն հնարավոր կլինի խոսել բանակցությունների մասին։ Ներկայիս լայնամասշտաբ ագրեսիայի իրավիճակում ես վստահաբար կարող եմ ասել, որ Ղարաբաղի ժողովուրդը չի ընկրկի։Իմ հարցազրույցը AlJazeera հեռուստաալիքին, որը նկարահանվել է սեպտեմբերի 30-ինWhen there is an aggression, the first task is to protect the population from aggression. After which only it will be only possible to talk about negotiations. In the situation when there is a large-scale aggression, I can say with confidence that the people of Karabakh will not retreat in the face of the aggression. My interview to AlJazeera. The interview was filmed on September 30.

Gepostet von Nikol Pashinyan / Նիկոլ Փաշինյան am Samstag, 3. Oktober 2020

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/03/people-of-karabakh-will-not-retreat-in-the-face-of-aggression-armenian-pm/

[Yervant1]

The lowest of the low attacks hospitals and civilian targets!!!!!!!!

RTL - Luxembourg

Oct 3 2020

Sorrow and pride as Karabakh capital comes under fire

Author: AFP|Update: 03.10.2020 17:55

Reeling from the heavy shelling of their city, residents of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region's capital Stepanakert emerged after dawn Saturday to take stock of the damage.

Some cleaned up glass from shattered windows, some cleared debris from collapsed parts of their homes and some packed up to leave.

The city of 50,000 came under heavy artillery and rocket fire on Friday for the first time since the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh erupted into fierce new clashes on Sunday.

Stepanakert, home to Karabakh's ethnic Armenian separatist government, is a few dozen kilometres from the frontline but within firing range of Azerbaijani forces.

A woman collects drinking water from a spring on a street / © AFP

Azerbaijan has also accused Armenian forces of shelling its settlements in the fighting, which has so far left more than 240 dead, including more than 30 civilians on both sides.

In one part of Stepanakert, a row of three-storey apartment buildings had been hit, the windows blown out and parts of the roofs ruined.

While some residents cleaned up, others were carrying belongings as they prepared to leave. A pool of blood lay between two damaged cars.

"I left my home and five or 10 minutes later, boom! An explosion. Thankfully there was no one in the house," Nelson Adamyan, a 65-year-old electrician, told AFP outside his damaged building.

"This is a great sorrow for our community, for our people. But we will stand for our freedom, we will always be free."

- Drones buzzing overhead -

Artak Beglaryan, the region's rights ombudsman, said at least one person died in Friday's strikes and 11 people were wounded.

Another Nagorno-Karabakh official, Grigory Martyrosyan, told journalists that "public buildings, houses and infrastructure were damaged" in the attacks but that there were no plans yet for city to be evacuated.

One of the worst-hit buildings was the headquarters of the emergency situations ministry, which is in charge of rescue and firefighting services, officials said.

A woman removes broken glass from a window in an apartment building / © AFP

"Azerbaijan continues to target civilian infrastructure," Beglaryan said.

Armen Muradyan, a former Armenian health minister who is working as a voluntary doctor in Nagorno-Karabakh, said civilians were being treated for shrapnel wounds. The region was low on resources, he said, and needed more medical supplies and doctors.

Drones have been flying over the city for days, with a characteristic buzzing sound that can be heard every night.

Public lighting has been turned off and residents are careful to draw the curtains tight to avoid letting light escape from their homes.

Bombing alerts sound several times a day, sending residents rushing to shelters.

But while some residents have left their city, not everyone in Stepanakert was in a state of panic over the clashes.

"There is shelling, bombings... we are used to it," said Arkady, a 66-year-old resident.

"There will be casualties, war is war," he said. "We're not afraid, we have our pride."

https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/a/1589898.html

 

[Yervant1]

 

Posters supporting Armenia seen in different parts of Jerusalem

Posters supporting Armenia can be seen in different parts of Jerusalem today, blogger Alexander Lapshin says on Facebook.

He emphasizes that in most cases it is not Armenians posting the messages, but Jews sympathetic to Armenia.

“In many Israeli social media groups, people ask where to buy an Armenian flag to hang on their balconies. I repeat that this is written not by Armenians, but by ordinary Israeli Jews,” Lapshin writes.

He also notes that the Israeli Defense Ministry is now under tremendous pressure to stop supplying weapons to Baku.

 

[Yervant1]

The Eurasian Times

Oct 3 2020

Pakistani Fighters Supporting Azerbaijan In Ground Ops Cannot Be Ruled Out: Armenian Defence Minister

 

October 3, 2020

By EurAsian Times Desk

While a low-intensity war in the Nagorno-Karabakh entered its 7th day, new speculation made by the Armenian foreign minister in an interview with an Indian news channel has taken everyone aback.

“We can’t exclude the possibility” of Pakistani nationals on-ground supporting Azerbaijan, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Avet Adonts said.

Considering that both Turkey and Pakistan have pledged their diplomatic and military support to the Azeris officially, and the general trends among these countries’ operations make it highly probable.

The Armenian minister recalled that Pakistani fighters were present on-ground during the earlier 1994 Nagorno-Karabakh war too. “We can’t exclude this possibility, taking into account, they used to act in the same way at the beginning of the 90s during the large-scale war in Nagorno-Karabakh. With ceasefire agreement in 1994, these guys were there, of Pakistani origin,” he said.

“It would not be a surprise for us if they will be present this time as well,” the official remarked.

Pakistan and Armenia have always shared troubled relations. Pakistan is the only country in the world that does not recognize Armenia as a state and has overtly supported Azerbaijan in its acts in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

As Islamabad is a “close friend” of Ankara, it has always supported the Turkish opinion on matters, and in this case too, supported Turkey when it openly declared its open support towards Azerbaijan. Additionally, Pakistan has always supported Turkey on its stance that the Armenian Genocide did not occur.

The Armenian minister, on being asked about the presence of Turkish-backed Syrian militants in the Artsakh, termed it a “very obvious” thing.

“Not only Jihadis but mercenaries from Northern Part of Syria too. They have arrived in Azerbaijan, via Turkey and Ankara was very instrumental in the recruitment process. The number is very different, starting with 1000, ending with 5000. It is very very obvious, proven that they are there, there to fight against Nagorno Karabakh people,” he added.

The Armenian government had also released figures of about 4000 Syrian militants arriving in the area quoting their intelligence sources earlier.

“Many media are reporting, Pakistani fighters have left Pakistan, and again via Turkey, they have reached Azerbaijan to join the mercenaries operating in Azerbaijan. It won’t be a surprise for us. Practically it will be proven very soon,” Adonts stated.

https://eurasiantimes.com/pakistan-fighters-supporting-baku-cannot-be-ruled-out-in-armenia-azerbaijan-war-armenian-defence-minister/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 3 2020

Serious peace talks possible when terrorists and Turkey leave this region – Armenian PM

Serious talk of a peaceful resolution will be possible when the terrorists and Turkey leave this region together with their goals, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with France24.

“Civilization cannot but prevail and the will to live, the people with right to live cannot but prevail. There is no doubt that the Armenian people, which have been living on planet earth for several thousands of years, have the will to live,” the Prime Minister stated.

Reporter – Perhaps you would like to say something to the people of Azerbaijan, who also have their will to live.

Asked what he would tell the people of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister said: “There is only thing I can say to the people of Azerbaijan. Ask yourselves to what extent you know the truth about your own people, about your own government, about their wealth, about their transactions and about their objectives.”

“I think that the people of Azerbaijan are hostage to a dictatorial government. Armenians have always been a convenient enemy image for Aliyev’s dictatorial rule. For him to be able, with that, to bypass the problems of democracy, freedom, human rights, and freedom of _expression_,” Nikol Pashinyan stated.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/03/serious-peace-talks-possible-when-terrorists-and-turkey-leave-this-region-armenian-pm/

[Yervant1]

Defense World

Oct 3 2020

Azerbaijan Used "Unmanned" Bi-planes to Locate Armenian Air Defence

Azerbaijan is flying “unmanned” An-2 biplanes as decoys to locate Armenian air defence and artillery position.

The bi-planes fly towards Armenian positions forcing their ground troops to open fire thus exposing them to Azeri raids by drones and ground artillery, topcor.ru reported Friday.

The pilots of the An-2 bi-planes parachute out soon after pointing the aircraft at Armenian positions. The plane’s control are secured with belts to ensure it maintains course.

Earlier, press secretary of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Vahram Poghosyan, announced the destruction of the Azerbaijani aircraft by their military. Later, Armenia confirmed shooting down an An-2 plane and added that pilot of the aircraft was missing.

Nagorno-Karabakh has lost 48 soldiers since the beginning of the war. On September 28, Yerevan announced the advance of Azerbaijani troops in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the same day, the attacked side revealed destruction of a dozen tanks of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Azeri AN-2 shot down by Nagrano-Karabkh forces: Unconfirmed video

An incident was reported on October 1 when an Azeri An-2 biplane was shot down by Nagorno-Karabakh missile system. However, the body of the pilot was not found near the wreckage leading to suspicion that the aircraft may have been unmanned.

YouTube videos of the incident show a blurry image of a slow-flying airplane being shot by a missile. From the footage the aircraft cannot be identified.

However, reports in the Russian media said the press secretary of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Vahram Poghosyan, announced the destruction of the Azerbaijani (AN-2) aircraft by the republic's military. Later, the press secretary of the Armenian defense department Shushan Stepanyan confirmed that the attacked combat aircraft was an An-2.

Apparently, Azerbaijanis use An-2 in an "unmanned" mode. The steering wheel of the aircraft is secured with belts, and the pilot himself makes a parachute jump at a safe distance from the place of hostilities, Topcor.ru reported.

https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28000/Azerbaijan_Used__Unmanned__Bi_planes_to_Locate_Armenian_Air_Defence

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 3 2020

Turkish missile found in Armenia’s Vardenis

A Turkish missile has been found in Kut village of Vardenis, Armenia.

Official representative of the Armenian Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan has shared the photo of the rocket on social media.

The

#Turkish

missile in Kut village of

#Vardenis

.

pic.twitter.com/bYhwvuKtEw

— Artsrun Hovhannisyan (@arcrunmod)

October 3, 2020

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/03/turkish-missile-found-in-armenias-vardenis/

Edited October 4, 2020 by Yervant1

[Yervant1]

CTV Canada

Oct 3 2020

Armenia says facing 'decisive moment' as Karabakh fighting intensifies

AFP Staff

Contact

Published Saturday, October 3, 2020 8:38AM EDT Last Updated Saturday, October 3, 2020 4:06PM EDT

STEPANAKERT, AZERBAIJAN -- Armenian and Azerbaijani forces were engaged in fierce clashes Saturday as fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region intensified, with Armenia reporting heavy losses and its leader saying it was facing a historic threat.

Armenia's defence ministry said separatist forces had repelled a massive attack by Azerbaijan, seven days after fighting erupted again in the decades-old dispute over the ethnic-Armenian breakaway province.

Armenian-backed separatist fighters in Karabakh destroyed a "huge military grouping," of Azerbaijan's forces, defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said, claiming to have inflicted "serious losses in manpower and military hardware".

But Armenia also announced the deaths of 51 more separatist fighters, increasing the number of fatalities on both sides above 240 after nearly a week of fighting.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said its forces had "captured new footholds" and President Ilham Aliyev claimed that his forces took the village of Madagiz, a strategic hamlet within firing range of an important northern road.

In an address to the nation on Saturday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on Armenians to unite.

"We are facing possibly the most decisive moment in our millennia-old history," Pashinyan said.

"We all must dedicate ourselves to a singular goal: victory."

The clashes took place after the regional capital Stepanakert came under artillery and rocket fire Saturday, with local defence officials reporting further explosions later in the day.

'FINAL BATTLE'

Residents hid in shelters and on Saturday were clearing wreckage and sweeping up the shattered glass windows of their homes and shops.

"This is a great sorrow for our community, for our people," Nelson Adamyan, a 65-year-old electrician, told AFP outside his damaged residential building.

"But we will stand for our freedom, we will always be free."

Both sides have been accused of hitting civilian areas, and Azerbaijan said Saturday that Armenian artillery had shelled 19 of its settlements overnight.

The new fighting erupted on September 27 and mounting international calls for a halt to the hostilities and a return to negotiations have gone unanswered.

The leader of Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, said he was going to join "intensive fighting" on the frontline.

"The time has come for the entire nation to become a powerful army," he told reporters. "This is our final battle, which we will certainly win."

Both sides have repeatedly claimed to be inflicting heavy losses.

The Armenian side has reported 209 military deaths and 14 civilian fatalities. Azerbaijan has reported 19 civilian deaths but has not confirmed any fatalities among its troops.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights registered the deaths of least 36 militants from Syria fighting alongside Azerbaijan's forces in over the last 48 hours, bringing their reported deaths to 64.

The war monitor said 1,200 combatants from pro-Ankara Syrian factions had been dispatched to the conflict.

On a road between Armenia's capital Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh, AFP journalists saw ambulances going in both directions and buses carrying families fleeing the fighting.

There was a heavy police presence near the border and volunteers were also travelling to bring Stepanakert residents to safety after shelling.

"We must come to their aid," volunteer Ani said, adding that she had dropped everything to help.

CALLS FOR RECOGNITION

"We help our country as we can."

Russia, the United States and France -- whose leaders co-chair a mediation group that has failed to bring about a political resolution to the conflict -- this week called on the warring sides to immediately agree to a ceasefire.

Armenia said Friday it was "ready to engage" with mediators but Azerbaijan -- which considers Karabakh under Armenian occupation -- has said Armenian forces must fully withdraw before a ceasefire can be brokered.

Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.

Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

The breakaway province is not recognised as independent by any country -- including Armenia -- and Karabakh's foreign ministry said Saturday that only receiving official status from world leaders could resolve the military flare-up.

International recognition, the ministry said, "is the only way towards peace and security in the region."

The fighting has threatened to balloon into a regional conflict drawing in powerful players like Russia and Turkey.

Armenia is in a military alliance of former Soviet countries led by Moscow, which maintains a military base there, while NATO member Turkey has signalled its full support for Azerbaijan's military operations.

Yerevan has accused Turkey of dispatching mercenaries from Syria and Libya to the conflict -- an allegation confirmed and denounced by Russia and France.

Aliyev on Saturday informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of civilian casualties and thanked Turkey for its support.

A residential area that were allegedly damaged by shelling is seen during a military conflict in self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (David Ghahramanyan/NKR InfoCenter PAN Photo via AP)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/armenia-says-facing-decisive-moment-as-karabakh-fighting-intensifies-1.5131505

[Yervant1]

[Yervant1]

François Hollande attends rally supporting Armenians of Karabakh

October 4, 2020 - 17:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former French President François Hollande on Sunday, October 4 joined a rally in the French commune of Alfortville, demanding an end to Azerbaijani aggression against Armenians and the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

Holland delivered remarks in support of the Armenians of Artsakh, as did deputy mayor of Paris Audrey Pulvar, Val-de-Marne lawmaker Isabelle Santiago, Mayor of Alfortville Luc Carvounas, Karabakh representative Hovhannes Gevorgyan, A1+ reports.

They were unanimous in supporting the Armenian people who they said have been attacked by Azerbaijan and Turkey, while the region is endangered due to Turkey's military presence.

Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of civilian settlements.

[Yervant1]

Aliyev's aide posts, then deletes photo of alleged Turkish soldier in Ganja

October 4, 2020 - 15:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hikmet Hajiyev, the foreign policy aide to the Azeri president, on Sunday, October 4 published a photo of the city of Ganja, which features a man dressed in what looks like a military uniform with a Turkish flag patch on its arm, standing in front of buildings damaged in Karabakh's rocket fire.

The now deleted image is further proof that Turkey is directly involved in hostilities unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Saturday that some 150 high-ranking Turkish military officials have been stationed in Azerbaijani command centers.

On Sunday, the Karabakh army struck the Ganja military airfield in the second biggest city of Azerbaijan. Firing has now stopped upon Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan's command to avoid civilians losses.

Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of civilian settlements.

[Yervant1]

Karabakh: Ganja military airport in Azerbaijan is no more

October 4, 2020 - 11:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nagorno-Karabakh President's spokesman Vahram Poghosyan said on Sunday, October 4 that the Ganja airport in Azerbaijan is no more.

"Ganja military airport has vanished," Poghosyan said.

Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan, meanwhile, has issued a warning for the residents of major Azerbaijani cities which host permanently deployed large military facilities.

"Despite numerous warnings, the Azerbaijani terrorist army continues to target the civilian population of Stepanakert, using Polonez and Smerch systems," Harutyunyan said Sunday, October 4.

"From now on, military facilities permanently located in major cities of Azerbaijan have become the targets of the Defense Army. I call on the people of Azerbaijan to leave these cities as soon as possible to avoid possible losses."

The Karabakh President added that Azerbaijan is responsible for "all this."

Harutyunyan's comments after Azerbaijan launched a fresh attack on Karabakh's capital Stepanakert on Sunday.

[Yervant1]

Greek City Times

Oct 3 2020

Greek hackers bring down over 150 Azerbaijani government websites as “support to the Armenians”

Over 150 websites belonging to the Azerbaijani government were brought down by Greek hackers on Thursday.

“As a little support to the Armenians we brought down 83 Azerbaijan government websites,” Anonymous Greece announced on Facebook.

In a follow up post on the same day, Anonymous Greece wrote “Another 76 government (the most important) of Azerbaijan were hit along with the central domain https://www.gov.az/.”

As of publication, the majority of the websites are back up again, but with major functioning issues.

However, in a later post, Anonymous Greece uploaded a photo of the Greek and Armenian flags telling social media users to check the first comment.

In the first post, Anonymous Greece said: “Azerbaijan’s largest television network has been hit (AzTV) http://www.aztv.az.”

The website was down for over 30 hours, and as of publication, is back up but extremely slow and not loading fully.

Yesterday, Greek City Times interviewed Serj Tankian of System of a Down.

When Tankian was made aware that Greek hackers had been targeting the Azerbaijani government, he said “First of all, thank you for all the support. I wasn’t aware of the website hacking that had taken place. More of that geared toward Azeri and Turkish air command and control centers would be nice.”

Read the full interview here.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/04/greek-hackers-bring-down-over-150-azerbaijani-government-websites-as-support-to-the-armenians/?amp&fbclid=IwAR0na6Dx_k4LPCOr7WduuUhwBnRQO5LE-2AMXjvV48t_AJ9ck_I3eQQ0GwQ

[Yervant1]

When truth is not on your side, you resort to falsehoods. At least try to make it believable.

AHVAL News

Oct 3 2020

Turkish TV uses Colombian guerrilla group’s flag as evidence of Kurdish-Armenian terrorism

• Ahval
• Oct 04 2020 12:41 Gmt+3
• Last Updated On: Oct 04 2020 02:44 Gmt+3

News channel CNN Türk aired a special segment on Saturday evening, showing a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) flag as evidence of cooperation between an Armenian group and the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).

In the photo CNN Türk used, a FARC flag appears hanging from a table, where acting leader of the PKK Murat Karayılan is seated.

The caption says, “Armenian terrorist organisation: ASALA / 77 people, including 58 Turks, martyred by Armenian terrorism.”

The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, was active from 1970s until 1990s, and is known for the several dozen Turkish diplomats it assassinated during that time.

ASALA trained with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Beirut, while the PKK was situated in camps in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley for a while. The groups are believed to have crossed paths, but there is little evidence of actual cooperation or collaboration between them.

In 1988, ASALA founder Hagop Hagopian was assassinated in Greece. The group is believed to have lost the majority of its support even earlier, in 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon and 1983 when ASALA targeted France’s Orly airport.

The PKK was founded in 1978 in Turkey, and carried out its first armed attack in 1984.

Last week, after accusations were brought against Turkey and Azerbaijan that the former was sending Syrian mercenaries to aid the latter in the erupting conflict with Armenia over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Turkey, Khazar Ibrahim, told Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency that Armenia had brought in members of ASALA and PKK, armed them and sent them to the disputed area.

The next day, Anadolu reported that militia trained by the PKK attacked Azerbaijani civilians. The Turkish agency cited unnamed sources, who said some 300 PKK members had been brought in.

ASALA carried out its last two actions in 1991, when the group claimed an attack on the Turkish ambassador in Budapest, and a bombing of the Turkish embassy in Brussels in 1997, for which some affiliated with the group deny involvement.

On Friday, Ambassador Ibrahim told reporters that ASALA had issued a call to arms against Azerbaijan on social media. “That spread, and they tried to erase it,” Ibrahim said, adding that there were “French speakers and representatives of PKK” among those fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as some who had been involved in the fighting in Lebanon and Syria.

In an interview with Kurdish Fırat News Agency, Karayılan said the allegations of PKK involvement were deliberate and planned by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“Before this most recent war started, they ran reports that 300 PKK guerrillas went to Armenia,” Karayılan said. “They first prepared the foundations, and then they launched the attack. This is a planned, organised attack against Armenia.”

In an article detailing the involvement of Turkey and Syrian Turkmen groups in the conflict, Russian critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta mentioned Syrian Armenians, saying “information appeared” that Armenian supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad were going to Armenia to support the country, accompanied by other Armenians from Lebanon.

Armenia has always embraced the PKK, retired Turkish ambassador Uluç Özülker told CNN Türk. “It would not be a surprise that PKK was brought there over Iran,” he said.

Kanal D, owned by Erdoğan ally Demirören Holding, had run the same CNN Türk story on Friday.

The thumbnail image used for a video of the segment uploaded to YouTube showed the same photo with the FARC flag, with the caption “The bloody history of ASALA and JCAG terrorism,” referring to the militant organisation Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide, which was active between 1975 to 1987.

https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-armenians/turkish-tv-uses-colombian-guerrilla-groups-flag-evidence-kurdish-armenian?amp&fbclid=IwAR2c2EzG_iaLktcz8ZdOW56BHIYieuK--dspzqOlYz32uLjlMGbhiC-W_Oc

 

[Yervant1]

Greek City Times

Oct 4 2020

Former non-commissioned officer: “I’m going to Artsakh with 500-800 Greeks to crush the Turks”
by GUEST BLOGGER

Greeks and Greek-Armenians say they are ready to go to war in Artsakh. Among them is a Greek former non-commissioned officer who explained to Sputnik Hellas the reasons behind his decision.

“I will not fight next to the Armenians, who are my brothers, to be glorified, nor to get publicity, or when the war is over to go to the commander and get a medal and for him to say ‘well done’ and then get me on television. I want to help our brothers, because they are Christians. I am a Greek,” these were the first words of the 39-year-old former non-commissioned officer in the Greek army, with whom Sputnik Hellas spoke to by phone.

He has experience in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Searching for a link to go to Artsakh, he discovered a website with the “Call for Voluntary Enlistment in the Army of the Republic of Armenia,” which was posted on September 28. He responded to the call from the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President Artsakh and the leader of the Armenian Armed Forces that was directed to the youth of the Armenian Diaspora.

This did not stop him, despite being “100% Greek,” as he told Ioanna Kleftogianni of Sputnik Hellas, to send a message to the e-mail he found on their website.

“I do not know exactly when I will finally arrive in [Artsakh]. Those who are interested, we sent to their e-mail. Beyond that, I do not know what will happen. But we want to help the Armenian brothers in every way, we want to crush the Turk. Make them run out! We are drowning in justice. They kill innocent people. We also asked here in Greece to make the ‘bang.’ We prayed. Unfortunately, nothing is done here. Everyone is sold,” said the 39-year-old.

Kleftogianni asked him if he knows other Greeks who intend to go to Artsakh.

“It simply came to our notice then. About 500-800 people I know so far. There may be more from day to day. I spoke with a lot of people yesterday, we all want this: ‘Let’s go fight on the side of the Armenians.’ At the moment I am trying to contact other colleagues and friends who were with us in the army, some were not non-commissioned officers, soldiers served, but in special security forces. That is, they know how to handle situations. I had some communication with them again in the morning. But right now, when I get them on the phone, someone else is at work, someone else can’t talk, someone else is on a date. But they also want to go.”

“Let’s go to help our brothers, the Armenians”

As he prepares for Artsakh, he continues to work in a store.

“But I served in the special forces and in the Marine Corps. Of course I know how to use a weapon. I tell you again, I am a former non-commissioned officer. I am not a soldier. And the rest of the Greeks who want to fight in Armenia know how to use weapons because they were also in Special Forces and UAV corps. We are not going for a wicked purpose,” he said.

“Let’s go to help our brothers, the Armenians, because they are Christians.”

For the trip to Artsakh, he was informed by the Armenian Social Cultural Center that “we will go by air. As far as I know, some airports flying to Armenia have not been closed. I do not know anything more, except that as soon as you get there, the conscription takes over.”

Are there any conditions to be accepted, Sputnik Hellas asked the volunteer?

“We were told that they want you to have your ID with you and a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are in very good health and in good physical condition. Then the one responsible for taking you takes over responsibilities,” he said.

Kleftogianni said he got annoyed when asked if he was scared when he thinks that on the battlefield he may have his last breath.

“No, I am not scared. I’m not afraid of anyone. Why should I be afraid? For my life? I only fear God. I’m not afraid because I’m trained. It is like telling me that there will be a war in Greece with Turkey and I will go and hide in my basement. Ma’am, you are not talking to someone by chance. All I have to say, my last words would be ‘good luck to the Armenian people,’ because the Armenian believes in God, is Christian Orthodox and gives up everything to defend their homeland. What are our people doing? Tell me! Very well, because with the recent tension, I was on alert too,” the volunteer said.

The volunteer also heard that there are minors from Greece who want to go to Artsakh.

“They are too young to take part in such a thing and I would not risk it. You cannot send to war a man who has never held a weapon in his life. You never risk this thing. Because I have done both in Kosovo and Afghanistan and I have seen with my own eyes minors holding guns, I know it is wrong. That’s all I know,” the volunteer explained.

“They want our lands – I’m not afraid to lose my life”

Sputnik Hellas met with 16-year-old Greek-Armenian, Armen Panoutsarian, at the Armenian rally in Syntagma on Wednesday.

Although he has not finished school and has never held a gun in his hand, he will try to reach Artsakh through the Armenian embassy.

“I think it is my duty. I will go to fight for the existence of Armenia tomorrow. I want to live and know that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow my second homeland will still exist, because there are some who believe that the whole world is theirs. The Turks do not want Armenia to exist,” he explained to Kleftogianni.

His mom, next to him, waving an Armenian flag, seemed upset, but does she let him go?

“Of course. She also wants to go if she has to fight,” said her son.

Kleftogianni asked her and the mother confirmed it.

“Armenia has no reason to go to war,” Armen continues. “It simply came to our attention then. They want our lands. Azerbaijan is Erdogan’s puppet. I’m not afraid to lose my life. And if I lose it, I know it is worth it. I would fight the same for Greece.”

The 27 year old Ellinoarmenis Mars, who works at a call center has not yet made the move to transition in Armenia.

“I will speak to the embassy as soon as I see that the time has come. I will go to support. I have done military service. I have a gun in my hand. There is chaos in [Artsakh]. A war is raging. Both Armenians and Azeris are firing from both sides. There are losses on both sides. It is simply an unequal battle. If we put the numbers down, obviously the Armenians are much less in number and budget. Anyone from Greece can help. Although it is not the only way […] It is the love for the Armenian nation. You want to be over there,” he said in a calm voice, wearing a red mask with words embroidered in Armenian.

“I think it is worth dying for Armenia”

“All the families, and mine, were definitely scared when I told them I wanted to go to [Artsakh]. We do not know how things will turn out. Okay, there is fear for sure, and I’m afraid I might be killed. Have I fought to know how to fight? Just because I have a gun in my hand in the past does not mean I know. But I have only one thing on my mind: To help, as children much younger than me will do. I think it is worth dying for Armenia. Especially when you were born and raised away from her, like me.”

His close friend, the 26-year-old insurer Vangelis, also born in Athens and a Greek-Armenian, will go to Artsakh, “although I do not know how to fight, I have done service in the Greek Navy because I grew up with my parents telling me that we have another homeland. We are certainly Greeks and Greek citizens, but we also love our second homeland. I may have only been to Armenia twice, but I consider it my homeland.”

“It is difficult to go to [Artsakh] by road, because you have to make a big circle to get there. The Azeris have closed the border. The trip is done by air. The fact that about 600 people have stated that they want to go does not mean that they have been taken. I also do what I can through social media. We must get rid of the daily propaganda of Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is a dirty war. Is it a coincidence that the US embassy in Azerbaijan said that all Americans should stay indoors? They knew what would happen,” he said.

The article by Ioanna Kleftogianni first appeared on Sputnik Hellas.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/03/former-non-commissioned-officer-im-going-to-artsakh-with-500-800-greeks-to-crush-the-turks/