cease-fire violations by azeris

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Armenpress.am

Artsakh’s capital city under “intense” missile attack from Azerbaijan

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10:38, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces are again striking Stepanakert, the capital city of Artsakh.

ARMENRESS correspondent in Stepanakert said the strikes are so intense that sometimes the activated air raid sirens can’t be heard.

Stepanakert City came under heavy Azeri bombardment and air strikes many times since the Azeri offensive on Artsakh began on September 27. Heavy damages and civilian casualties were reported.

 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030365.html?fbclid=IwAR1YyeJOO_jjdLtLFidCX6dHe5iuMyoz-7Zr8zJUYHKAwGbp6reFRrvXhM4

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Armenpress.am

Aurora founders to provide $2 million in assistance to Armenia and Artsakh

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11:01, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative founders, Noubar Afeyan, Vartan Gregorian and Ruben Vardanyan, today announced a commitment of $2 million in assistance to cover immediate needs in Armenia and Artsakh and to secure funding to provide educational and other support for the young generation of the two Armenian republics affected by the war, the IDeA Foundation told Armenpress.

The Afeyan, Gregorian and Vardanyan families are donating $1 million to Hayastan All Armenian Fund to join forces with citizens of Armenia and Artsakh, members of the global Armenian community and friends of Armenians. In addition, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and UWC Dilijan School, both international Armenia-based organizations, announced the establishment of a $1 million special fund and the launch of international fundraising campaigns to secure further funding which will be used for initiatives focused on education and well-being of Armenian children affected by the war.

“We are deeply alarmed and saddened by the large-scale military action unleashed against Artsakh and the outburst of armed conflict in the region. These violent attacks carried out by Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey constitute a gross violation of international law. We condemn in the strongest terms the escalation of violence by targeting civilians with large caliber weapons and attacks on the civilian infrastructure”, stated the co-founders of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. “In 2015, on the centennial commemoration of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turks, we launched our international prize and humanitarian initiative to honor the memory of those who saved Armenians. We never imagined that Armenians would need support to survive aggressions in modern times, as we do today. We thank all those who are lending a hand at this time of extreme need.”

 

 

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Armenpress.am

‘US needs to explain whether it gave F-16s to bomb peaceful populations’ – Armenia PM

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11:17, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to The New York Times over the ongoing Azerbaijani aggression unleashed against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

Armenpress presents the article about the interview:

“When Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s prime minister, spoke by telephone on Thursday with President Trump’s national security adviser, he raised a delicate issue: Why is nothing being done to stop a longtime United States ally, Turkey, from using American-made F-16 jets against Armenians?

Mr. Pashinyan’s call to the national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, followed an eruption of heavy fighting in and around Nagorno Karabakh.

But the current fighting, Mr. Pashinyan said in a telephone interview, has taken on a far more dangerous dimension because of Turkey’s direct military intervention in support of Azerbaijan.

The conflict has set off alarms about the risks of a wider war and put the United States, with its large and politically influential Armenian diaspora, in the uncomfortable position of watching Turkey, a NATO member, deploying F-16 jets in support of Armenia’s enemies.

“The United States,” Mr. Pashinyan said in an interview, “needs to explain whether it gave those F-16s to bomb peaceful villages and peaceful populations.” He said that Mr. O’Brien had “heard and acknowledged” his concerns.

For Armenia, Mr. Pashinyan said, the current fighting, which began Sept. 27 after months of rising tensions, poses an “existential threat” because of the role of Turkey, whose precursor, the Ottoman Empire, killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the end of World War I. The U.S. Congress and many countries have declared that slaughter a “genocide,” which Turkey still rejects”.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030373.html?fbclid=IwAR1YyeJOO_jjdLtLFidCX6dHe5iuMyoz-7Zr8zJUYHKAwGbp6reFRrvXhM4

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Armenpress.am

Elton John supports Armenia and Artsakh amid “unprovoked Azeri-Turkish aggression”

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15:13, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. English superstar singer Elton John has commented on the ongoing military aggression launched by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

“I am joining others today posting a red block because we want #PeaceForArmenians.

 

In May 2018, I visited this beautiful country and was overwhelmed with the kindness and humanity shown to me by the Armenian people.

 

Now Armenia and Artsakh are under attack from unprovoked Azeri/Turkish aggression. Civilians are being targeted and there are needless deaths on both sides.

 

Armenians are beautiful people and they deserve lasting peace from years of historical persecution”, Elton John said on Instagram.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030413.html?fbclid=IwAR1oXbsCcIyDaF3m4TDfwcpTtMjEIv-I_IXvg1wn8djro4Fr5-DmgdPV7sg

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Armenpress.am

Hundreds of thousands of people in Azerbaijan in panic, flee from different cities to Baku

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14:47, 5 October, 2020

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. After yesterday’s strikes on Azerbaijan’s military facilities, several hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani citizens are in panic, flee to Baku and other rear settlements, Artsakh president’s spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan said on Facebook.

“There are reports according to which after yesterday’s missile strikes delivered by the Defense Army of Artsakh on the Azerbaijani military facilities several hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing from different cities to Baku and other rear settlements. We want to thank the Azerbaijani people for the demonstrated high civil consciousness. In fact, they need to hurry”, he said.

Earlier today Vahram Poghosyan stated that the Defense Army has already delivered the “powerful strikes” on Azerbaijani military targets and the “targets were successfully hit.” Today in the morning of October 5, Stepanakert city and the town of Shushi of Artsakh came under intense missile strikes from Azerbaijan.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030403.html?fbclid=IwAR0bsKNXNrKen4b8zjSvZs5o7ijafz6j1yZmuQDC76Cd685u6BPx28hbqog

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Armenpress.am

Israeli scholars point out to Azerbaijani aggression on Artsakh and demand suspension of arms supply

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15:07, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. A number of prominent Israeli scholars are calling on the Israeli government to immediately suspend sales of arms to Azerbaijan amid the latter’s attacks on Artsakh.

In an open letter regarding the ongoing fighting in Artsakh, they called for a ceasefire and stressed that independent accounts and analysis show that the ongoing hostilities are “due solely to aggression of the Republic of Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey and backed up by fighters from elsewhere in the region". The scholars called on their countrymen to raise their voice about this issue.

Michael Stone from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a signatory of the letter, published it on his social media account:

“An Open Letter regarding the Fighting in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh)

The following represents the personal views of a group of Israeli scholars of Caucasian and associated studies, and does not reflect the positions of the Hebrew University nor its Armenian Studies Program. We the undersigned write to express our deep concern with the fighting that has flared up in the region of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh). From a reading of independent accounts and analysis we have concluded that this outbreak of violence in the last few days is due solely to aggression of the Republic of Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey and backed up by fighters from elsewhere in the region. This belligerence has been directed towards military and civilian targets in the Republic of Artsakh and its mainly Armenian population, and deserves to be condemned in no uncertain terms. The response of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia is clearly one of defense of population, property and territory, and should enjoy the support of those who cherish the principle of self-determination of peoples. We call for an end to this aggression, and a cessation of the fighting. The long-term answer to tension in the region is on-going negotiations that will aim to resolve the claims of various ethnic groups, leading to a mutually agreed upon political arrangement. Clearly, violence of any type will not resolve ethnic and other tensions. It is with dismay that we address the matter of Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan in recent years, this being one component in the massive armament process in that country. We call upon the Israeli government to cease immediately the sales of arms to Azerbaijan, pending a review of the issue by the government and Knesset. Matters of would-be Realpolitik, as reflected here in arm sales, are not the only basis for foreign policy. Certainly, one needs to question Israel’s role in an armament effort aimed mainly against a people that like the Jewish people suffered genocidal attacks in the twentieth century. We call upon other Israelis to raise their voice on this important issue.

(in alphabetical order) Prof. Reuven Amitai Prof. Yair Auron Prof. Israel Charny Ms. Moran Deitch Prof. Benjamin Z. Kedar Mr. Yoav Loeff Prof. Benny Morris Prof. Eli Richter Prof. Donna Shalev Mr. Marc Sherman Prof. Michael Stone Dr. Yana Tcheknanovets Prof. Dror Zeevi,” reads the letter.

Earlier the Armenian intelligence agency had also disclosed evidence of Turkish military involvement in the Azeri attacks on Artsakh.

The Azeri forces are using many Israeli-made munitions in the attacks, including on civilian settlements, notably the LORA missile and UAVs.

Numerous reports have been made about Turkey having recruited Syrian jihadists and having sent them to Azerbaijan for the attacks. This has already been confirmed by France and the USA.

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030408.html?fbclid=IwAR2iStSMP8H9GAEG2KYrW_5qzj5lynBpOsHcea02JIvCfuHnkKJFmanMxQE

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BBC News, UK

Oct 5 2020

In pictures: Fighting rages in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, has flared up in recent days.

The two countries are clashing over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which is officially part of Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians.

The current fighting is the worst seen in decades, and both sides have blamed each other for the violence.

Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the region in 1988-94 and eventually declared a ceasefire. But they have never reached a settlement over the dispute.

This image, released by the Armenian Defence Ministry, shows one of the country's gunners during renewed clashes earlier this week.

Both sides have deployed heavy artillery fire, and some homes and buildings have been destroyed in civilian areas.

Here, residents of Nagorno-Karabakh are served food after they fled to an Armenian border town.

Azerbaijani forces shelled Nagorno-Karabakh's capital, Stepanakert.

Heavy casualties were reported in the city, which was left without electricity according to the Armenpress news agency.

This woman is seen outside her home there.

Meanwhile, Nagorno-Karabakh's authorities said they had shelled a military airport in Azerbaijan's second-largest city, Ganja.

Firefighters were deployed to Ganja and other towns and villages to put out fires.

There are fears that the actual death toll among the militaries from all sides as well as civilians could be much higher, as casualty claims have not been independently verified.

This woman was admitted to hospital in Ganja earlier this week.

Azerbaijan's military says its forces have retaken control of several villages, while Nagorno-Karabakh says its troops have "improved" their frontline positions.

The use of heavy artillery has left scars on the city streets, such as here in Stepanakert.

And this building in Ganja was severely damaged be shellfire.

The Azerbaijani government has said "civilian infrastructure and ancient historical buildings were harmed" in recent fighting.

Homes have been destroyed, damaged and left empty on both sides of the conflict.

Personal items have been pictured strewn amongst the debris. Here, the top floor of an apartment building in Nagorno-Karabakh is seen after a strike.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54418901

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Armenpress.am

Russian Special Flight Squadron presidential fleet aircraft lands in Yerevan

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16:18, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. An IL-96-300 aircraft operated by Rossiya - Special Flight Squadron of the Russian presidential fleet landed in Yerevan on October 5, the Russian Lenta news website reported citing Flight Radar data.

The purpose of the flight is unknown.

The aircraft is part of the Russian presidential fleet. The Special Flight Squadron is operating under the command of the Kremlin and is used to transport high ranking government officials, representatives of special services and the armed forces.

The Armenian Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to ARMENPRESS that the aircraft has arrived in Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030427.html?fbclid=IwAR3ZvGiP9NL_1ziY0caAhE56FI-7BRQH8YF0AvzpVIfLdNJevqV8IAYalZg

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Armenpress.am

‘Praying for all my Armenian brothers’ – Xzibit expresses support to Artsakh

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16:43, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. American rapper, actor and broadcaster Xzibit expressed his support to Artsakh.

“Praying for all my Armenian brothers and their families”, the rapper said on Instagram.

He called on all his followers to provide donations to Artsakh as much as possible.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

[see Xzibit's tweet!]

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030432.html?fbclid=IwAR210RqyBv70cJRDTZDfdUlFDNDVFo5TOiKL-WglqwDtq3XU0s39LAIvtlI

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Armenpress.am

48 MEPs call on Azerbaijan to immediately stop aggression against Artsakh

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16:44, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Forty-eight Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from all the main political groups sent a letter to the HR/VP of the European Commission Josep Borrell, expressing their dismay over the military aggression of Azerbaijan against the native civilian population of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) told Armenpress.

In particular, the MEPs state: “We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament are appalled by and call the Azerbaijani army to immediately stop the aggression against the civilian population of Nagorno Karabakh”.

The MEPs are calling on the head of the EU diplomacy to undertake meaningful actions against the Azerbaijani aggression and to help resolve the conflict. The letter to the EU HR/VP is an initiative by MEP Loucas Fourlas (EPP, Cyprus).

In the letter, the MEPs elaborate that since 27.09.2020 the indigenous civilian population of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh has been under attack by the Azerbaijani armed forces, “in gross violation of international humanitarian law and the logic of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process”. They are calling on the EU HR Borrell “to exercise high pressure to halt any interference by Turkey, de facto destabilizing yet another neighboring region in the South Caucasus.” The MEPs also stress the importance of the OSCE investigative mechanism for ceasefire violations. Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan has continuously rejected to install this mechanism which would enable to find out which side violates the ceasefire.

Commenting on the initiative of the MEPs, the President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy Kaspar Karampetian stated: “Turkey and Azerbaijan have crossed the red line. Today the politicians in Europe have begun to understand what the Aliyev regime is capable of. Azerbaijan is now a country that is being associated with Islamic terrorism. The dictatorial tandem Aliyev-Erdogan is doomed to fail since it embodies hatred not only towards the Armenians across the globe but also because if embodies contempt towards human lives, including that of the citizens of their own countries. The EAFJD and our committees continue their active work of shedding light on the developments both vis-à-vis the European institutions and the EU Member states.”

Please find below the full text of the letter

 

Dear HR/VP Borrell,

 

We write to you to express our outmost concern for the situation in Artsakh⁄Nagorno-Karabakh and submit the following requests:

As of Sunday morning, 27 September, the Artsakh population has been under attack by the Azerbaijani armed forces, in gross violation of international humanitarian law and the logic of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

The missile and aerial attacks against the indigenous population in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the capital Stepanakert, forced civilians to hide inside shelters. Schools in Nagorno-Karabakh have been bombed while there are numerous casualties across the region.

We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament are appalled by this and call on the Azerbaijani army to immediately stop the aggression against the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

We call upon the EU High Representative Josep Borrell to take immediate and concrete measures on this direction.

We recall and stress that the OSCE investigative mechanism for cease-fire violations which would prevent the sides from blaming each other for initiating deadly attacks, is an absolute necessity for regaining trust and a meaningful negotiation process.

We also call you, High Representative Borrell, to exercise high pressure to halt any interference by Turkey, de facto destabilising yet another neighbouring region, the South Caucasus. Any kind of escalation due to the involvement of third countries, such as Turkey, will rapidly worsen the situation with unpredictable consequences for the whole region.

We expect to see meaningful actions to help resolve this conflict from your side very quickly.

Yours sincerely,

The undersigned Members of the European Parliament:

Loucas Fourlas

Lefteris Christoforou

Roberta Metsola

Peter Van Dalen

Fabio Massimo Castaldo

Maria Spyraki

Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou

Evangelos-Vasileios Meimarakis

Attila Ara Kovacs

Theodoros Zagorakis

Derk Jan Epping

Eva Kaili

Lars Patrick Berg

Georgios Kyrtsos

Ausra Maldekiene

Carles Puigdemont

Stelios Kympouropoulos

Elena Kountoura

Maximilian Krah

Martin Sonneborn

Emmanouil Fragkos

Janina Ochojska

Ivan Stefanec

Petros Kokkalis

Demetris Papadakis

Stelios Kouloglou

Helmut Geuking

Alexis Georgoulis

Dimitrios Papadimoulis

Manolis Kefalogiannis

Peter Lundgren

Charlie Weimers

Marco Dreosto

Costas Mavrides

Michele Rivasi

Annie Schreijer- Pierik

Dorien Rookmaker

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou

Francois Alfonsi

Eliza Vozemberg

Joachim Kuhs

Erik Marquardt

Anna Cinzia Bonfrisco

Nikos Androulakis

Karen Melchior

Francois-Xavier Bellamy

Assita Kanko

Frederique Ries

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030433.html?fbclid=IwAR1q2wS8epVPG5yMScpO6HuRROGCA9x-wGu2HIl1rYjzPXwo0cRTypwNcCI

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Foreign Policy

Oct 5 2020

Syrians Make Up Turkey’s Proxy Army in Nagorno-Karabakh

After fighting Turkey’s battles in Libya, the Syrian National Army is caught in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan—and dozens are dying.

By Liz Cookman | October 5, 2020, 5:35 PM

Early Sunday morning, the bodies of more than 50 Syrians killed in a conflict raging far from their own borders—in a land many had barely heard of a few months ago—were returned home for funeral preparations.

They were members of militias that had fought previously in northern Syria, then Libya, and now in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh—but always on behalf of Turkey.

“No one wants to make money from wars” after almost a decade of civil war, said the father of one Syrian mercenary. But displacement inside Syria, and the inevitable economic troubles that accompany long-term unrest, has left some young men with little choice.

According to sources within the Syrian National Army (SNA), the umbrella term for a group of opposition militias backed by Turkey, around 1,500 Syrians have so far been deployed to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the southern Caucasus. It’s the latest proxy standoff between Turkey and Russia, which are already on opposing sides in Syria and Libya. Ankara has declared strong support for Azerbaijan, while Moscow is traditionally closer to Armenia.

The mountainous and landlocked region of Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized internationally as Azerbaijan’s territory but has a mostly Armenian population. The two countries went to war between 1988 and 1994, eventually declaring a cease-fire, but never reached a settlement over the dispute. The border between the two is considered one of the most militarized in the world, and the current fighting, which broke out last month, is the worst seen since the cease-fire, with each of the two former Soviet republics placing the blame on the other.

Heavy clashes continued over the weekend, and Armenian forces fired rockets at Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city, killing at least one civilian and injuring four more. More than 220 people have died since violence flared just over a week ago, many of them from artillery shelling.

Shortly after conflict erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey sought to mobilize the SNA, sometimes called Turkey’s proxy army. Thousands of SNA fighters have been hired by Turkey over the last year to fight in Libya on behalf of the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli, which is fighting Russian-backed forces. Some of the SNA fighters have since reportedly returned to Syria for training ahead of dispatch to Nagorno-Karabakh; some were given only five days of training before shipping out, while others had between two weeks and a month of training, according to SNA sources.

The first fighters were transferred in late September to southern Turkey and then flown from Gaziantep to Ankara, before being transferred to Azerbaijan on Sept. 25. According to fighter accounts, SNA commanders arrived earlier to explore the region and coordinate with the Azerbaijani army about the distribution of troops.

For many young men, displaced by years of civil war at home and bereft of economic opportunities, the lures of a mercenary life are religious propaganda—and money. Fighters are offered four-month contracts for $1,500 a month, paid in Turkish lira.

But many are already regretting it, especially now that a reported 55 Syrian mercenaries have been killed after being confronted with a lot more hands-on fighting than they’d been promised.

“All fighters are unhappy with the situation here in Azerbaijan,” said one Syrian on the ground in Azerbaijan’s Barda district, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal. “The psychological situation is bad after the martyrdom of a number of our friends.”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/05/nagorno-karabakh-syrians-turkey-armenia-azerbaijan/

[Yervant1]

Persecution.org - Int'l Christian Concern

Sept 29 2020

Armenian Patriarchate Threatened Over Azerbaijani Conflict

09/29/2020 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – A demonstration of Azerbaijani flags occurred on the Istanbul Kumpapi street where the Armenian Patriarchate is located. Armenian Member of Parliament, Garo Paylan, stated, “Allowing such a demonstration to be held on the street where the Armenian Patriarchate is located is a provocation. I urge the government to take the necessary measures regarding our Patriarchate and our institutions. The end of hate speech is hate crimes. Stop hate politics!”

The country of Armenia, which is Christian, and the Islamic country of Azerbaijan are currently entangled in conflict aggravated by Turkey. The conflict includes both strong religious and ethnic overtones (as Turks view Armenians as “dirty” and Azerbaijanis as their brothers). It is common for Armenians living within Turkey to face an increase of hate speech and hate crimes whenever these three countries experience a conflict.

It is also important to remember the context of the genocide and state control of Christian institutions. A century ago, Turkey committed a genocide against Christians which left 1.5 million Armenians dead. Since then, Turkey has refused to recognize the genocide and has made it almost impossible for Armenian Christians to freely govern their own church. This approach has only encouraged social hostility towards Armenians, and this hostility has strong nationalistic elements during environments such as the current crisis.

It essentially strips Armenian Christians of their voice, and further isolates them.

https://www.persecution.org/2020/09/29/armenian-patriarchate-threatened-azerbaijani-conflict/?fbclid=IwAR32tmbXQMMFq3BPW7kWd9ueLpQp90_UF0exAbxtOneopLL-YYYAhPykv48

[Yervant1]

Persecution.org - Int'l Christian Concern

Oct 5 2020

Grenade Targets Syrian Armenian Church

10/05/2020 Syria (International Christian Concern) – Unknown assailants targeted an Armenian Church in Hasakah (northern Syria) with a grenade on September 29th, injuring two. It is believed that this attack was partially connected to the ongoing conflict in the Caucasus between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Turkey sent hundreds of Syrian fighters from northern Syria to fight as mercenaries against Armenia and in support of Azerbaijan.

Armenians are ethnic Christians who were targeted by Turkey in the early 20th century. The Turks committed genocide against the Armenian community: displacing, massacring, and forcibly converting (“Turkifying”) millions. Many of those who survived were displaced to northern Syrian and what is now the country of Armenia.

Last October, Turkey invaded northern Syria and made use of jihadists to ethnically cleanse and commit genocide. During this invasion, Christians and other religious minorities were again targeted. Turkey continues to maintain significant influence in northern Syria and perpetuates genocidal policies.

While the assailants of the attack against the Hasakah Armenian Church are unknown, the context within which it occurred is extremely concerning.

https://www.persecution.org/2020/10/05/grenade-targets-syrian-armenian-church/?fbclid=IwAR2BGOhHyNQ-V6xEtGuM1RoefE9afTZhnoxQZImNLg0Zzxv8zLF09vJT5pU

[Yervant1]

in Homeland Security

Oct 2 2020

Turkey and Erdoğan’s Quest for Greater Regional Power

NOW VIEWING

By Dr. Ilan Fuchs

Faculty Member, Legal Studies, American Military University

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a man on a mission, or actually, several missions. First, he aims to dismantle the secular character of the Turkish republic. The separation of church and state has been the cornerstone of modern Turkey as envisaged by its founder Mustafa Kamal Atatürk. But Erdoğan has slowly but surely lowered the barrier between Islam and the government.

Start a Homeland Security degree at American Military University.

However, this change is not his only goal. At this point, it is clear to all Middle East commentators that Erdoğan wants to achieve second and third goals. He seeks to make Turkey into a regional power – even an empire – and set himself up as its emperor.

Erdoğan’s Background in Turkish Politics

Erdoğan has been a player in the Turkish political arena since the late 1990s. This authoritarian leader began his career as the mayor of Istanbul as a representative of the Islamic party (1994-1998) and later as prime minister (2004).

During his tenure as prime minister, Erdoğan took several moves to limit some of the freedoms the Turkish secular constitution created. These constitutional freedoms included abortion rights, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, and academic freedoms.

Erdoğan also increased the latitude Islam has in public life, dramatically changing the state-religion relationship that existed in Turkey since the days of Atatürk. For instance, he turned Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine church and secular museum in Istanbul, back into a mosque in July 2020.

Erdoğan’s Activities Could Be Explained as Neo-Ottomanism

It is impossible to summarize all the events and international conflict points the Erdoğan government has been involved in throughout the past few years in one article. But there have been many controversies – the Turkish involvement in Syria, Erdoğan’s support of Hamas and his constant attacks on Israel, and the growing tensions with Greece are only a few examples of the expansive and aggressive foreign policy Turkey is pursuing.

The most accurate term to describe what Erdoğan is doing is neo-Ottomanism. This term encapsulates the idea that Turkey is interested in creating a sphere of influence similar to that of the Ottoman empire, which ruled the Middle East and northern Africa for centuries.

It is a controversial term that some experts think is not accurate. However, it does explain Erdoğan’s personal desire to make Turkey a force to be reckoned with on both a regional and a global scale.

This national policy is rooted in several identities because it combines Pan-Turkism and Pan-Islamism. Using the Turkish ethnic and linguistic identity, Turkey is intervening in places such as Azerbaijan or Iran, which have large ethnic groups with a Turkish heritage.

Erdoğan has also used Islamic rhetoric to become heavily invested in places in the Arab world, such as Egypt. He actively supports the Muslim brotherhood in their fight against Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean

How is the neo-Ottomanism policy affecting current Turkish political moves? There are multiple examples from the past months that exemplify Turkey’s far-reaching desire for more power.

For example, there is the growing involvement of Turkey in Libya. Turkey supports one side in the civil war, which is combating a faction supported by Egypt. A victory to the Turkish-backed side will have long-ranging effects.

This move is connected to Turkey’s attempt to increase its territorial reach in the Mediterranean. Turkey claims that areas in the Mediterranean that were considered by bordering countries to be international waters are part of its economic waters.

This claim completely ignores the rights of Greece and the interests of Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus. It led to a counter move by Greece and Egypt, who signed a maritime border demarcation agreement on August 6, 2020.

This significant development clearly demonstrates that Turkey is aggressively seeking regional domination not only in the Islamic sphere, but also against European interests, including Greece, France and Italy.

Turkey in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

The latest move Turkey is taking is in the conflict zone of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It is populated by Armenians, but was part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the Armenian majority decided to unite with Armenia, bringing about a civil war with the Azeri minority. That conflict evolved into all-out war with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The most recent conflict erupted on September 27, 2020. According to the Gulf Times, Armenia’s defense ministry said, “Our response will be proportionate, and the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the situation.” Azerbaijan denied the Armenian defense ministry statement, saying it had “complete advantage over the enemy on the front.”

Turkey is heavily involved in this conflict, supplying the Azeri forces with military aid. There are several reports that state that Turkey is also involved in sending mercenaries to fight alongside the Azeri forces in this conflict.

U.K. newspaper The Times has reported that Syrian mercenaries were organized by Ankara to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Times reporters, “Turkey is sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan after two days of clashes with Armenian forces, raising fears that outside powers such as Russia could be drawn into the conflict.”

Russia was quick to point to the crucial part Turkey is playing in this conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists: “We call on all sides, especially partner countries such as Turkey, to do all they can for a ceasefire and get back to a peaceful settlement of this conflict using political and diplomatic means. Any statements about some kind of support and military activity undoubtedly add fuel to the flames. We are categorically against this.”

Turkey’s Expansionist Activities Have Been Noticed by European Powers, Including France

These power-grabbing moves have not gone unnoticed by European forces, especially France, who is worried about this growing expansion into spheres of influence that were traditionally French. In recent months, Turkey has attempted to gain even more influence in parts of Africa.

The latest involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh by Turkey, an area that France has been actively trying to bring peace to for several decades, led President Macron to condemn Turkey and Erdoğan. According to France 24, Macron said, “I have noted Turkey’s political statements which I think are reckless and dangerous. France remains extremely concerned about the bellicose comments that Turkey made in the last hours, which essentially remove any inhibitions from Azerbaijan in what would be a reconquest of northern Karabakh. That we will not accept.”

He also appeared to voice support for the Armenian capital of Yerevan: “I say to Armenia and to the Armenians, France will play its role.”

The US Needs to Pay Attention to Erdoğan’s Goals and Form a Strategy

The issue of Erdoğan and his quest for greater power is not going away. Eventually, it could involve U.S. interests, first and foremost the United States Air Force base in Incirlik. This air base houses nuclear weapons and has strategic importance in light of its proximity to Russia and hotspots in the Middle East.

The U.S needs to quickly formalize a strategy as far as Erdoğan is concerned. He is not going to change.

About the Author

Ilan Fuchs is a scholar of international law and legal history. He holds a B.A. in Humanities and Social Science from The Open University of Israel and an M.A. in Jewish history from Bar-Ilan University. Ilan’s other degrees include an LL.B. in Law, an LL.B. in Law and a Ph.D. in Law from Bar-Ilan University.

He has published a book, “Jewish Women’s Torah Study: Orthodox Education and Modernity,” and 17 articles in leading scholarly journals. At AMU, he teaches courses on international law while maintaining a law practice in several jurisdictions.

https://inhomelandsecurity.com/turkey-erdogans-quest-greater-regional-power/?fbclid=IwAR28YX6Vz_ai8eszS3miKx-eUrzIQMnagZcpmrhl01nWXACqoDABdZOGa9Y

[Yervant1]

Jerusalem Post

Oct 6 2020

Counter-terrorism’ in Turkey’s foreign policy: Old wine in a new bottle?

By ELDAD BEN AHARON OCTOBER 3, 2020 20:43

Since the 1980s, Ankara has drawn on the usage of counter-terrorism. More specifically, Ankara used this discourse to undermine Armenian diaspora claims for genocide recognition.

The Sunday morning reports about clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh were described by correspondents as new rhetoric used by Ankara to justify a new crisis and involvement in the Caucasus, potentially recruiting Syrians. As noted, Ankara has used this rhetoric against the Republic of Armenia strongly condemning Yerevan, saying that it is “playing with fire” and alleging that Armenia has recruited “terrorists” to attack Azerbaijan. It was also stated by Turkish officials that PKK is helping the Armenians in their fight against Azerbaijan.

This is not the first clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent years. The Caucasus region experienced several rounds of conflict after the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, and the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is one of the most notable disputes.

While the analysis that argues that Yerevan was allegedly recruiting “terrorists,” to justify Turkish involvement in the new crisis is compelling indeed, it is definitely not a new trend in Turkey’s foreign policy.

And here is why:

To put this in historical perspective, since the 1980s, Ankara has drawn on the usage of counter-terrorism. More specifically, Ankara used this discourse to undermine Armenian diaspora claims for genocide recognition. In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, Turkey was facing severe terrorist attacks on Turkish embassies, diplomats, and their family members. Two Armenian extremists diaspora groups were leading the attacks: the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), which operated out of Lebanon. Their competitors operated mainly out of North America and Western Europe under the name the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG).

Both groups aimed to achieve three absolute goals: first, Turkey’s recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide; second, pay reparations to the descendants; third, the return of territory in eastern Anatolia to the Armenians. Yet, as with many transnational armed groups of the second half of the Cold War, both ASALA and JCAG were primarily interested in drawing international attention and used the violence as a means for political change.

However, it should be noted that both ASALA and JCAG were a minority among the Armenian diaspora. Back at in the 1970s and 1980s, in the late Cold War period, Armenian diaspora sought to bring their forgotten genocide to the world’s attention also in peaceful methods such as academic conferences, lobbying, and more traditional commemorative work. Nevertheless, for Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs and the military elite, all diaspora Armenians were labeled as terrorists.

Set against these attacks from both ASALA and JCAG, in the late 1970s, Turkey was facing its worst crisis since it was established in 1923. The substantial financial, political, and social crisis ended on 12 September 1980, in a violent military coup. In the meantime, the wave of Armenian terrorism peaked and Turkey’s military junta led by Kenan Evren, chief of the general staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, formulated a new foreign policy strategy: embedding counter-terror discourse as a means for stopping the chaos at home and undermining the Armenian cause abroad.

Evren retired from the Turkish Armed Forces to become president in November 1982. His official role has changed but the counter-terrorism discourse has remained. In late 1983, Turgut Özal was appointed to Turkish prime minister after winning parliamentary majority in the 1983 general election and forming the first civil government after the 1980s military coup. And even when Armenian terror wave declined in mid-1985, Evren and Özal still used the counter-terrorism rhetoric in 1987 and 1988, in the Armenian genocide resolutions in the European Parliament and US Congress “as rewarding the terrorists”. It was also asserted by Evren and Özal that a reward to the Armenian terrorism encouraging further violence against Turkish targets by other minorities such as the Kurdish PKK that have territorial and national aspirations.

The paradoxical message was: protection of minorities rights and genocide prevention by the European Parliament and US Congress will achieve the opposite outcome. According to Evren and Özal, it would encourage further violence and terrorism against Turkish targets worldwide.

In conclusion, back in the 1980s, counter-terrorism rhetoric was used by Turkey’s military elite to embed the denial of the Armenian genocide in international forums by claiming that Armenian terrorists were unilaterally “provoking” violence against the Turkish state. Turkey’s counter-terrorism rhetoric is at least a 40 years old, and while Armenian terror of the 1970s and early 1980s has declined a long time ago, it is re-used now as a means to justify Turkey’s aggressive foreign policy in the Caucasus for possible intervention in the renewed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh and Turkey’s dispatching of 300 jihadi terrorists from Syria into Azerbaijan.

The writer is a lecturer at Leiden University at the Institute for Area Studies. He is a historian of international relations who specializes in the field of modern Middle East studies and the region’s diplomatic history during the Cold War. He is currently completing writing his book on Israeli-Turkish-American relations at key moments in the last decade of the Cold War as seen through the prism of the Armenian genocide.

https://m.jpost.com/opinion/counter-terrorism-in-turkeys-foreign-policy-old-wine-in-a-new-bottle-644396/amp?fbclid=IwAR1dPCGHUrTCkFH07G_v4r7MLbwMbTg0wIUOrBjB0bTzdbbN-6Eg7IuSr_s

[Yervant1]

Thank you Ms. Uzay Bulut for your article. Turkey needs more citizens like you, in order to join the civilized nations. There is no reason why we can't all live in peace together as good neighbours.

The American Conservative

Oct 6 2020

Armenians Are In Danger Of Ethnic Cleansing Once Again

They're trapped between Turkey and Azerbaijan, two powers with a long history of aggression against them.

Armenian people with the support of the Committee of Armenians, the local community and Greeks demonstrate in front of the White Tower, the symbol of Thessaloniki city in Greece on 03 October 2020 in support of Artsakh and they protest against the war that broke out in recent days in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey. The rally is about Azerbaijan's aggression against the Armenian people with full support from Turkey as Azerbaijan launched attacks. Thessaloniki, Greece (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

OCTOBER 6, 2020

|

12:01 AM

UZAY BULUT

Since September 27, Azerbaijan has unleashed an aggressive war against the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as the Artsakh Republic, in south Caucasus. With the direct support it receives from Turkey, Azerbaijan is indiscriminately bombing residential areas across the region. Through these assaults, Azerbaijan and Turkey are once again endangering the existence of Artsakh and the survival of Armenia.

On October 2, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that an estimated 150 high-ranking Turkish military officials were stationed in Azerbaijan command centers. Armenia’s National Security Service also publicized intelligence data showing that the Turkish Air Force is directly involved in Azerbaijan’s attacks against Artsakh. Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan announced on October 2 that he would join the front lines to defend his country.

Meanwhile, many children and women in Artsakh are sheltering in basements to escape violence, reports the Armenian media. Heavy casualties were reported in the region’s capital, Stepanakert, which was left without electricity, according to Armenpress News Agency.

Azerbaijan’s armed forces also attacked Armenia. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Azerbaijan targeted the civilian-military infrastructure in the Vardenis region, killing a civilian.

It is not only Azerbaijan and Turkey attacking Armenians. Around 1,000 Syrian jihadists were deployed by Turkey to fight against Armenians, according to the testimonies of some Syrian mercenaries. France and Russia have also accused Turkey of sending Syrian jihadists to Artsakh.

On October 1, Azeri bombardment injured four journalists covering the war. According to Reporters without Borders:

A reporter for the French daily

Le Monde

and a French photographer accompanying him had to be hospitalized for urgent treatment to their injuries.

Armenia TV

cameraman Aram Grigoryan and a reporter for the Armenian news agency

24news.am

, Sevak Vardumyan, were also injured.

Several other journalists, including an

Agence France-Presse

crew and a deputy editor-in-chief sent by the independent Russian TV channel

Dozhd

, narrowly escaped being hit by the shelling. All of the journalists and their vehicles were clearly identified and bore the word ‘press.’

Armenian PM Pashinyan announced on October 3:

We are facing a fateful chapter in our history. The objective the Azerbaijani-Turkish bandits pursue is not to resolve a military or a military-political task. They are not here to deal with Karabakh or the Karabakh issue. They have not come with the objective of capturing territories, villages, cities. Their key target is the Armenian nation. Their objective is to carry on with their genocidal policy. And they have set themselves the task of bringing to completion the Armenian Genocide.

Pashinyan was referring to the 1913-23 Christian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey against Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks. Turkey still aggressively denies this crime. A century ago, Ottoman Turks used swords and starvation as tools to wipe out Armenians and other Christians. Today, their assaults are enabled by missiles, artillery, and aerial bombardment.

Meanwhile, casualties keep surging. According to Armenian sources, the total death toll in the Artsakh military has reached 198. Azerbaijani authorities have not given details on their military casualties. “Civilians are bearing the brunt of surge in violence,” reported the International Committee of the Red Cross on October 2. They added, “Civilian deaths and injuries, including of children, have been reported on both sides of the line of contact, and in Armenia.”

The Turkish government and media, however, are portraying Armenia as the aggressor. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Once again I condemn Armenia that attacked Azerbaijani lands yesterday. Armenia must withdraw from the places it occupies. The crisis that started with the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the region must be put to an end.”

“Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan,” he added. “The developments have provided an opportunity for all countries with influence in the region to put into practice their realistic and fair solution methods. With the immediate abandonment of the occupied Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, the region will regain peace and tranquility.”

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan also said on October 3 that Armenia and its military forces “need to leave our territory, and then, the war will stop and then the conflict will come to an end.”

“The Azeri soldier is chasing them like a dog, the Azeri soldier is standing at their posts, we have taken their weaponry, we are carrying out the mission of liberation,” he declared.

Through these words, Erdogan and Alivey engaged in their regimes’ ultimate expertise: historical revisionism. Contrary to their allegations, Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh has been part of the Armenian cultural and historical identity for millennia. Turks are not native to Turkey nor the south Caucasus, and this includes Turkic Muslim Azeris. Artsakh that Aliyev is claiming has been inhabited by Armenians for thousands of years before any invading Turkic tribe came from the east. As Zoryan Institute, a human rights research organization, states:

In the seventh and eighth centuries much of this area was conquered by Arabs, who converted a portion of the population to Islam. In Karabagh, only a very small minority was converted. The situation of Karabagh changed radically in the eleventh century when the ethnic Turkish invasions began. The Turks had emerged from Central Asia, had conquered Iran, and founded the Seljuk Turkish dynasty, which first raided, then invaded Armenia.

The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) reports:

Mountainous Karabakh, the mountainous areas of the historic Armenian province of Artsakh, has formed part of Armenia throughout history. Its Armenian roots reach back to before the first millennium BC. Armenian princely dynasties successively presided over Artsakh (Karabakh), guaranteeing its sovereignty through treaty arrangements with neighboring powers.

Despite foreign invasions and rules throughout centuries, Artsakh mostly had semi-independent status as an Armenian entity and remained predominantly ethnically Armenian. Yet this significant fact has been completely ignored or denied by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Historical Background

Nagorno-Karabakh became a part of Tsarist Russia in 1813. The dispute over the region between the Nagorno (Mountainous or Upper) Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijan dates back to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire.

In May 1918, both Azerbaijan and Armenia declared their independence. It was the first time in history a state named Azerbaijan was founded. Two months later, Karabakh Armenians also attempted to exercise their constitutional right to self-rule. Edita Gzoyan, deputy scientific director at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Foundation, notes:

WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution created a new political-historical situation in Transcaucasia. On November 15, 1917, the Bolshevik government adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, which among other provisions declared the right of secession and the formation of independent states within the territory of the Russian Empire. Taking advantage of this in sync with the establishment of Transcaucasia republics, on July 22, 1918 the First Congress of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh declared the region a separate administrative unit.

In response, Azerbaijan resorted to wanton violence. From 1918 to 1920, it carried out massacres against the Armenian population. According to the EAFJD, “As a result of the Turkish Azerbaijani aggression in 1918-1920 aimed at totally cleansing Mountainous Karabakh of Armenians, an estimated 20 percent of all Armenians were killed.”

Today, Azerbaijan claims Nagorno-Karabagh only because Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who ignored the demography and history of the region, placed it under the administration of Soviet Azerbaijan as an autonomous region in 1921.

The Zoryan Institute notes:

The current problems plaguing the region are traced to the transfer of Mountainous Karabagh to Azerbaijan at a time of cooperation between Soviet Russia and the Nationalist Turkish leadership. For Azerbaijan, the fact that the majority of the Mountainous Karabagh population is Armenian is incidental and secondary to other facts: Karabagh is theirs now and it has been part of the development of Azerbaijani national consciousness, largely a post-sovietization phenomenon. Azerbaijani nationalists consider Karabagh part of their homeland whence have come many of the country’s intellectuals and political leaders. Finally, any change in the status of the territory would be considered at the present time an unacceptable blow to Azerbaijani national pride.

According to the report, after “the region was annexed to Azerbaijan between 1920 and 1923, the Azerbaijani government developed a policy of economic and social discrimination and political repression, making life intolerable for its citizens in a variety of ways.”

In the face of severe persecution at the hands of Azeri forces, Armenians began to take steps to break free of Azerbaijani control in 1987. Karabakh Armenians sent tens of thousands of signatures to Moscow to petition for union with Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional parliament also officially requested recession from Soviet Azerbaijan in accordance with Soviet constitution, i.e. the law on secession.

In response, Soviet Azerbaijan targeted defenseless Armenian civilians in pogroms and massacres in several Azerbaijani cities. An anti-Armenian pogrom rocked the city of Sumgait in 1988, which was followed by pogroms in Kirovabad in 1988, in Baku in 1990, and other Azerbaijani towns.

Meanwhile, Soviet Azerbaijan pursued policies to alter the demography of the region.

“From January to May 1991,” reports EAFJD, “the inhabitants of 24 Armenian villages in Mountainous Karabakh were forcibly driven from their homes. Soviet Azerbaijan placed more than half of Mountainous Karabakh’s territory under military occupation.”

On September 2, 1991, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from the Soviet Union. As usual, Azerbaijan responded with violence and launched a full-scale war against Nagorno-Karabakh, targeting civilians. During the 1991-1994 war, Azerbaijan carried out indiscriminate mass bombardment of Nagorno Karabagh, which resulted in the whole or partial destruction of villages and towns. The war destroyed an estimated 80 percent of the regions’ economy.

Since 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, chaired by France, Russia, and the United States, has been mediating conflict resolution, but without any tangible results.

The EAFJD sums up the history of Azeri aggression against Armenians:

From the onset of the Karabakh Movement in 1988, Azerbaijan has resorted to attacks against Armenian citizens, declared war and imposed a complete blockade against Mountainous Karabakh. It attempted to isolate the Armenian population of Karabakh from the international community and create unbearable living conditions. These actions were condemned by world governments. In particular, the 1992 Freedom Support Act by the U.S. Congress restricted any direct assistance to Azerbaijan due to the blockade.

Azerbaijan continues its blockade of Artsakh and Armenia. Since 1993, Turkey has also imposed a blockade on Armenia. Today Armenia and Artsakh are landlocked, genocide survivor states blockaded by Turkey and Azerbaijan, trying to resist the military aggression of both regimes.

What Turkey and Azerbaijan are attempting is the erasure of Armenians from the region, not only the Armenian people, but also the Armenian cultural heritage. The Guardianreported in 2019:

The 21st century’s most extensive campaign of cultural cleansing to date may not have happened in Syria, as you might assume, but a largely ignored part of the Transcaucasian plateau.

According to a lengthy report published in the art journal Hyperallergic in February, the Azerbaijani government has, over the past 30 years, been engaging in a systematic erasure of the country’s historic Armenian heritage. This official, albeit covert, destruction of cultural and religious artefacts exceeds Islamic State’s self-promotional dynamiting of Palmyra, according to the report’s authors, Simon Maghakyan and Sarah Pickman.

Maghakyan, a Denver-based analyst, activist and lecturer in political science, labels it ‘the greatest cultural genocide of the 21st century.’

Turkey and Azerbaijan, whose total populations are over 100 million, are once again targeting the Armenian homeland of around 3 million people. They are utilizing modern arms to complete their century-long goal of ethnically cleansing Armenians from the region.

The fact that Artsakh remains internationally unrecognized makes it even more vulnerable in the face of the military aggression by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Following the constitutional referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh on February 2017, the country was renamed the Artsakh Republic. It is time for the West to officially recognize the Armenian right to self-determination and the Artsakh Republic in order to help stop Turkish and Azeri aggression.

Uzay Bulut is a Turkish journalist and political analyst formerly based in Ankara. Her writings have appeared in The Washington Times, The American Spectator, The Christian Post, The Jerusalem Post, and Al-Ahram Weekly. Her work focuses mainly on human rights, Turkish politics and history, religious minorities in the Middle East, and antisemitism.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/armenians-are-in-danger-of-ethnic-cleansing-once-again/?fbclid=IwAR3Wxi2Lc5Fp9nPCAf8gUCyUClFVyw2fVyKG_J8KFkym98FozWsvgUW06WY

 

[Yervant1]

Deutsche Welle, Germany

Oct 6 2020

Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey's foreign minister heads for Baku after NATO appeal

Mevlut Cavusoglu is set to visit Azerbaijan for talks on the conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. This follows a NATO appeal that Turkey use its "considerable" regional influence to mediate.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Ankara's close ally Azerbaijan on Tuesday for talks on the conflict in the ethnic Armenian separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Cavusoglu "will pay a working visit to Azerbaijan on October 6," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He is scheduled to meet President Ilham Aliyev and "also exchange views on the present situation in the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan," the statement continued.

The visit comes a day after Russia, the US and France called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree to an "unconditional cease-fire," and a day after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg appealed in Ankara for Turkey to use its "considerable" regional influence to mediate in the conflict.

"We are deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities. All sides should immediately cease fighting and find a way forward towards a peaceful resolution," Stoltenberg said, after direct talks with Cavusoglu. "And I expect Turkey to use its considerable influence to calm tensions."

Read more: Azerbaijan claims advances in Nagorno-Karabakh region

For decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a simmering conflict over the Karabakh region, which broke away from Baku in a 1990s war that claimed 30,000 lives. Armenia effectively controls most of the geographical area, including parts still technically recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan. The latest fighting is the worst since a 1994 truce between the two former Soviet republics.

There are fears the ongoing clashes, which erupted late last month, could escalate into a full-scale war drawing in other powers such as Turkey and Russia. Turkey has close ties to Azerbaijan and a difficult relationship with Armenia.

"We, Turkey, say that we are always on the Azerbaijan side," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address on Monday. "As long as the Karabakh issue is not resolved, it will not be possible to end the unrest and conflict in the region."

Read more: Azerbaijan says Armenia targets second city of Ganja

Canada halts Turkey weapons sale

Ottawa has announced an investigation into the alleged use of Canada's military technologies in the conflict, prompting the suspension of arms exports to Turkey.

"In line with Canada's robust export control regime and due to the ongoing hostilities, I have suspended the relevant export permits to Turkey, so as to allow time to further assess the situation," Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.

He said the country was investigating allegations that Canadian-provided imaging and targeting systems on unmanned drones were being used by Azerbaijan against Armenia.

Increased international pressure

Armenia and Azerbaijan are facing international pressure to deescalate tensions in the region, with the foreign ministers of Russia, the United States and France saying the conflict represented an "unacceptable threat" to the region's stability.

In a joint statement on Monday, the countries condemned the "unprecedented and dangerous escalation of violence" as well as the alleged targeting of civilian centers.

"The ministers call once again upon the conflicting parties to accept an immediate and unconditional cease-fire," the statement said.

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

msh, see/kw (AP, AFP)

https://www.dw.com/en/nagorno-karabakh-turkeys-foreign-minister-heads-for-baku-after-nato-appeal/a-55168637?fbclid=IwAR3q1Mjmcl0hJozvr1gM56quZ1xVFnjtuTMYTFbbMOn4nGf5Cmi7iIMZK1w

[Yervant1]

Reuters

Oct 6 2020

Assad accuses Turkey's Erdogan of igniting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

By Reuters Staff

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of igniting a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, and said Ankara was sending fighters to the region.

Turkey, a close ally of Muslim Azerbaijan, has denied sending mercenaries to take part in the fighting.

Conflict over the region, which belongs to Azerbaijan under international law but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians, began on Sept. 27 and has escalated to its deadliest level since the 1990s.

Assad, in an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency, pointed the finger at Erdogan who has expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan and has rejected international efforts to bring about a ceasefire.

“He (Erdogan) supports terrorists in Libya, (and) he was the main instigator and initiator of the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Assad told RIA.

Assad also said militants from Syria were being deployed in the conflict, an allegation first levelled by French President Emmanuel Macron, who accused Turkey of sending Syrian jihadists to fight there, something Ankara and Baku have denied.

“Damascus can confirm this,” Assad said of the allegations about Syrian fighters taking part in the hostilities.

Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Osborn

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-armenia-azerbaijan-syria-turkey/assad-accuses-turkeys-erdogan-of-igniting-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-idUKKBN26R0U1?fbclid=IwAR24p8GVT9wyRIMPRViTXGRN4cHJSNWVWoxTWhxf-clmEWWpM1z9-xHWpjc

[Yervant1]

Jerusalem Post

Oct 6 2020

Erdogan's Turkey: Drunk on power

Erdogan has made his foreign policy intentions crystal clear in recent years, and the international community would do well to heed the warning.

By EMILY SCHRADER OCTOBER 6, 2020 07:37

The raging conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has given Turkey another opportunity to expand its violent, imperialist tendencies under the iron fist of President Recep Erdogan.

In fact, the sudden outbreak of violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan is more than likely orchestrated in part by Turkey, given the current Turkish regime’s increasingly aggressive international policies. From Libya to Syria to Greece to Iraq to Azerbaijan, and yes, even to Israel, Turkey’s actions are far beyond acceptable by any standards of international law – or morality.

As if the bloody civil war in Syria wasn’t complicated enough, Turkey took advantage of the chaos in Syria and took aggressive military action beginning as early as 2016, and continues until today, occupying parts of Syria in order to oppress the local Kurdish populations, claiming they were clearing “terrorist zones.”

Multiple independent organizations reported that Turkey carried out ethnic cleansing and other war crimes against local minority populations. Despite this, international bodies and the United States did nothing to hold Turkey accountable. As frequently happens with human rights violators when they aren’t held accountable, Turkey’s aggression and war crimes haven’t stopped with Syria.

Turkey has also begun to recruit local populations in Syria to fight foreign wars in Libya, another brewing violent conflict in which Turkey is meddling, and there also reports of Ankara recruiting Syrians to fight against Armenia as well. Most recently, Turkish involvement expanded to Azerbaijan, as Turkey is backing the violence against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey has repeatedly bombed Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, and is regularly threatening Greece over maritime access to gas exploration. Its military invasion in Libya and enhanced ties with the war-torn nation have also led to increased tensions with Cyprus and Israel over the EastMed energy deal. Turkey has been on the literal warpath, and no one seems to be paying attention.

Meanwhile, Erdogan’s interests are expanding to Israel. Erdogan is a longtime supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has routinely aligned himself with Muslim Brotherhood-supporting nations such as Qatar. He has provided support to Hamas terrorists repeatedly, including welcoming them to Turkey and even granting them citizenship. Within Turkey as well, Erdogan has brutally oppressed political dissidents and aided in the Islamization of historic sites, such as turning the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Unsurprisingly, in response to the United Arab Emirates and Bahraini peace deals, Turkey sided against the Arab world and publicly condemned peace, siding with some the world’s worst human-rights abusers: Iran, Qatar and Palestinian leaders. Despite being allies of Hamas, earlier this month, Erdogan shared a bizarre tweet glorifying Ottoman control over the city of Jerusalem that stated, “Jerusalem is ours,” and claiming the Ottomans “lived with the Palestinian people for centuries.” Ironic, considering the bloody history of the Ottomans in fighting against the local Arab population in order to control the city of Jerusalem.

Erdogan has made his foreign policy intentions crystal clear in recent years, and the international community would do well to heed the warning. Turkey is a bad-faith actor that has committed, and is committing, gross human rights violations – not only against its own population with censorship and oppression of journalists and dissidents, but in Syria, Libya and potentially Azerbaijan.

While Israel’s position is extremely complex in dealing with Azerbaijan and Armenia, due to alliances against Iran, Israel too should be very careful in aligning itself with Azerbaijan (and as such, Turkey) in this conflict. We should not ignore Erdogan’s aggression. We must hold Turkey accountable and put an end to its meddling in the region.

The writer is the CEO of Social Lite Creative LLC.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/erdogans-turkey-is-drunk-on-power-644671?fbclid=IwAR3m82p_-XInec3MS3Ey8sr5thJfO8_8gu0uTGcmxF29Jx62yDQjsAn4_R4

[Yervant1]

Karabakh presidential spokesperson: Attack Azerbaijan launched in afternoon is last futile attempt to achieve result

17:04, 06.10.2020

Region:Armenia, Karabakh, Azerbaijan
Theme: Politics

As a result of strong strikes by the Defense Army, the enemy has considerable losses of manpower and military equipment. Vahram Poghosyan, spokesperson for the President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), on Tuesday wrote about this on Facebook.

“And the large-scale attack it [Azerbaijan] launched hours ago along the southern wing of the frontline is the last futile attempts to achieve some results. We stand firm,” Poghosyan added.

Earlier, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, said that this afternoon the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a large-scale attack in the southern direction of the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan.

Armenia News - NEWS.am

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Armenpress.am

France ready to foster cessation of hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh – Foreign Minister

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17:47, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. France is ready to contribute to the cessation of fire in Nagorno Karabakh, ARMENPRESS reports French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian wrote on his Twitter page.‘’France is mobilizing its efforts to reach a ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh, as well as for restoring negotiations’’, the Minister wrote.

He also informed that during his conversation with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov an agreement was reached to take urgent measures.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

 

 

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Armenian Prime Minister’s son voluntarily joins armed forces to serve at frontline

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18:11, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s son has voluntarily signed up to the Armenian military to serve at the frontline amid the Azerbaijani attacks.

“Just now I voluntarily joined the military at the central gathering station,” Ashot Pashinyan, who was recently demobilized from mandatory service in summer of 2020 said on social media.

“My brothers-in-arms, my friends, it is our turn to render our services to our country,” he said.

His announcement came shortly after PM Nikol Pashinyan asked men who were demobilized within the past 1 year to join the military amid fierce battles in Artsakh.

A general mobilization is in effect in Armenia since last week, however men who have been demobilized from mandatory service within the past one year are not subject to enlistment in times of mobilization by law, therefore the PM asked for volunteers.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

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Armenian President says ongoing arms supply by Israel to Azerbaijan is unacceptable

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17:57, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian held a telephone conversation with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office.

At the beginning of the conversation, the two presidents discussed issues related to bilateral relations.

 

Then President Sarkissian presented the situation in Artsakh and border with Armenia resulting from the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan.

 

President Sarkissian noted that arms and equipment sold by Israel to Azerbaijan is used not only for defense, as the Israeli side assured in the past, but also for offensives. These weaponry is used actively to bomb the Armenian settlements and civilian population, causing multiple loss of life and massive destruction.

 

The President of Armenia noted that continued supplies of arms are unacceptable by any standard and underscored that it could seriously undermine the Armenian-Israeli relations. He urged the president of Israel to use his authority with the government to stop the supplies of arms to Azerbaijan immediately.

 

President Armen Sarkissian informed that the Armenian side has noted its concerns and observations also in the letter addressed to President Rivlin.

 

President Rivlin expressed readiness together with the government of his country to consider with the utmost seriousness the issues raised by the Armenian side.

 

 

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Azerbaijan ignores calls for ceasefire – Dutch MP

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19:10, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Dutch MP and spokesperson for Foreign Affairs of the Christian Democratic Party of the Netherlands Martin van Helvert cannot imagine how the EU can cooperate with Azerbaijan, which ignores the calls for ceasefire, the MP told ARMENPRESS, commenting on the Turkey-backed aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenia.

Martin van Helvert noted that the EU and UN make calls for a ceasefire and he also supports that idea. ‘’But Azerbaijan overtly said that it does not agree. I don’t think it’s a good sign, particularly at a moment when we are discussing the EU’s partnership with Azerbaijan. And I cannot image that we will start partnership with a country that does not listen to the EU and UN calls for a ceasefire’’, the MP said.

He said that Turkey’s militaristic rhetoric his horrifying, given that it’s a NATO member state.

‘’I have asked the minister to impose international pressure on Turkey so as it gives up speaking in a hostile language about Nagorno Karabakh conflict’’, he said.

The MP also condemned that Turkey has deployed many Syrian mercenaries in Azerbaijan to fight against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. He noted that Azerbaijan receives military assistance from both Turkey and Israel.

Addressing the Armenian people, Martin van Helvert said, ‘’Do not forget that you have friends also in the Netherlands and we will do everything to stop this war, as soon as possible’.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 

 

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URGENT: Artsakh’s tactical withdrawal works – Azerbaijanis flee, leaving hundreds dead

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20:31, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Army units of Artsakh carried out tactical movements on the frontline, inflicting heavy losses on the adversary

‘’The Defense Army of Artsakh in one of the most difficult sections of the frontline carried out tactical moves, particularly, made an illusion of withdrawal among Azerbaijani units. The adversary attempted to quickly occupy the positions left by Armenian forces, but appeared in a trap. Afterwards, a powerful artillery strike destroyed most of the unit. Leaving over 200 killed soldiers in the battlefield, the adversary fled in an unorganized way’’, says Armenian Defense Ministry.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 

 

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