Yervant1 Posted April 6 Author Report Share Posted April 6 Armenpress.am Azerbaijani armed forces units opened fire on Armenian combat positions 18:51, 5 April 2024YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. On April 5th, at 5:05 p.m. in Chinari village (Tavush Province) and at 5:30 p.m. in Verin Shorzha (Gegharkunik Province), the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire from small arms toward Armenian combat positions, the defense ministry said.Simultaneously, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia clarifies that the statement issued by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan claiming that on April 5th, at approximately 5:25 p.m., units of the Armenian Armed Forces fired in the direction of Azerbaijani positions located in the northeastern part of the border, is another disinformation. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1134119.html?fbclid=IwAR2qKqFFtkSVQ5oGAt_Hf_vFSu2znjBPGuZHnwecUP_B7Jl1p8ATmeYtIPY_aem_AWH5zMBLhs1_9dG9sU9U4AigT1YFRJjI3ReNFY7o36CsEVosM3D5GhI6DXYMZg737V_cwBL7vHvbrKzTI1fkb5EE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 ATLAS NEWS April 6 2024 Clashes Across Two Days on Armenia-Azerbaijan Border Further Reports There has been a significant uptick in reports of fire being exchanged on the Armenia/Azerbaijan border, with both sides having claimed to have been fired upon multiple times over April 5th and April 6th. The clashes mark yet more ceasefire violations on the historically volatile border that had been comparatively quiet for several months. Clashes had earlier occurred on April 2nd, and again in mid-February, after months without any such clashes. The clashes also took place as (and following) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was meeting with US and EU officials in Brussels, Belgium. It is worth noting that neither side has reported any casualties from any of the clashes across the past two days. Azeri Claims Azerbaijan claims that they spotted Armenian forces preparing “to conduct work for the purpose of engineering improvement of a trench in front of the Azerbaijan Army positions,” further adding that “the conducted work was immediately stopped as a result of the urgent measures taken by the Azerbaijan Army Units.” They claimed the incident regarding the “engineering improvement” took place from 3:10 to 5:35 local time. They did not specify exactly what they meant by the “urgent measures” taken by Azerbaijan to halt the alleged engineering work, and if this means they fired upon Armenian units during this time. They further added in the same statement a claim that Armenian units fired upon their positions, in a different area, at 5:25 local time using small arms fire. They reported no casualties from this incident. Azerbaijan later on the morning of April 6th released a statement providing further claims of continuing fire from Armenian forces in varying areas of the border late into the night of the 5th. Their statement ends by saying that Azeri troops have been “subjected to fire at a total of 30 times” across the last day. The statement from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence reported fire from five different areas on the Armenian side. Armenian Claims Armenia counteracted Azerbaijan’s claims, claiming the statement “issued by the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan claiming that on April 5th, at approximately 5:25 p.m., units of the Armenian Armed Forces fired in the direction of Azerbaijani positions located in the northeastern part of the border, is another disinformation.” They also claimed that Azeri troops fired upon their positions in the evening of April 5th in two separate locations. In a later statement, Armenia claimed that fire from Azerbaijan resumed later into the night and carried over in some locations into the morning of April 6th. The statement from the Ministry of Defence reported fire from Azeri forces in six different locations. Armenia further states that “assessing the situation, the units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia refrained from actions that could contribute to further escalation, leading to the calming of the situation along the border.” They additionally renewed accusations that Azerbaijan was attempting to spread misinformation, claiming they have “observed an increase in the dissemination of disinformation by the Azerbaijani press regarding Armenian media in recent days.” According to Politico, Armenia made claims to the EU and the US prior to the tripartite meeting held between the three in Brussels that Azerbaijan was accumulating mass amounts of military equipment. The claim says that Azerbaijan has been receiving “on average, more than one arms shipment per day since the start of the year,” largely from Israel and Pakistan. Over the past several years, Israel has become Azerbaijan’s top military provider. The reported claims of an Azeri military buildup come just a week after Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia was amassing military forces, heavy equipment, and constructing further fortifications in proximity to the border. Notably, the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia investigated the Azeri claims, patrolling the areas in question, and reported no unusual activity. https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/04/06/clashes-across-two-days-on-armenia-azerbaijan-border/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 POLITICO April 6 2024 Clashes reported on Armenia-Azerbaijan border hours after EU support announced Brussels has pledged to boost Armenia’s ‘resilience’ as the US warns against renewed violence. BY GABRIEL GAVIN Major firefights broke out along the tense frontier between Azerbaijan and Armenia overnight Saturday, with heavy shooting reported by both sides amid Western efforts to bring peace to the war-torn South Caucasus. In a statement Saturday, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported clashes “in many parts of the border” along with “the movement of dozens of military vehicles,” alleging that the neighboring country “has clearly pursued a provocative goal.” However, according to Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, Armenian troops have opened fire on its positions more than 30 times since Friday. Azerbaijan has said recent allegations — from EU countries including France — that it could be preparing to launch a new offensive against Armenia are “baseless” and “create a tension in the region and obstruct the peace process.” Azerbaijan has reported Armenia is building up military equipment along the border, publishing footage that purports to show unarmored transport vehicles lining up close to the frontier. The claims have been denied by Armenia but shared widely in Russian state media, while Moscow has accused the West of attempting to “drag the South Caucasus into geopolitical confrontation.” Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought several bloody wars in recent years, with Azerbaijan emerging as the victor in each of them. Later on Saturday, the EU’s civilian monitoring mission on the borders reported that the situation is now “stable and calm.” The bloc’s observers, deployed inside the territory of Armenia under the Common Security and Defense Policy, had previously said “no unusual movements” of troops have been observed. On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with the EU pledging more than a quarter of a billion euros to support Armenia’s economy in the face of growing regional tensions and strained relations with its traditional ally, Russia. With anger building at the Kremlin for failing to support Armenia in its standoff with Azerbaijan, the Armenian government has effectively frozen its membership in Moscow’s military alliance, sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and even hinted it could one day apply to join the EU. “The European Union and the United States acknowledged the substantial progress Armenia has made since 2018 on democratic and justice reforms and the fight against corruption, and expressed a commitment to continue partnering with and supporting Armenia as it further strengthens its democracy and the rule of law, in line with our shared values and principles,” a joint statement from Blinken and von der Leyen said. Azerbaijan last weekend marked the “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis,” commemorating more than 100,000 Azerbaijanis who lived in Armenia prior to the fall of the Soviet Union and were expelled, with many more killed amid violence in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s. In September, following a year-long blockade of its supply routes, Azerbaijan conquered the unrecognized republic after three decades of de facto autonomy, sparking a mass exodus of its 100,000 Armenian inhabitants. Ahead of the talks, Blinken told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a call “that there is no justification for increased tension on the border and cautioned that aggressive actions and rhetoric from any side would undermine prospects for peace.” This article has been updated. https://www.politico.eu/article/clashes-reported-on-armenia-azerbaijan-border-hours-after-eu-support-announced/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Asbarez.com After Aliyev Blasts U.S.-EU-Armenia Talks, Azerbaijani Forces Fire at Armenian Border Positionsby Asbarez Staff April 5, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories An Armenia border patrol soldier in Gegharkunik After Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday blasted the United States and the European Union for holding high-level talks with Armenia, Azerbaijani forces opened fire at Armenian positions in Tavush and Gegharkunik provinces.Just as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan concluded a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, where more assistance was pledged by the American and European leaders, Azerbaijani forces opened fire at positions in Tavush’s Chinari village and Ghegharkunik’s Verin Shorzha region.Armenia’s defense ministry reported that the attack on Armenian positions in Tavush took place around 5:15 p.m. local time, while at 5:30 p.m. local time, a similar attack was reported in Gegharkunik.At around 5:25 p.m. local time, the Azerbaijani defense ministry issued a statement alleging that Armenian soldiers had opened fire at Azerbaijani positions. Armenia’s defense ministry called the statement disinformation.Earlier on Friday, Aliyev, while meeting with former Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baku, denounced the U.S.-EU-Armenia meeting in Brussels, saying that the talks were “directed against Azerbaijan.”“Although high-ranking U.S. and EU officials tried to convince us during telephone conversations initiated by them in recent days that this meeting is not directed against us, we know that it is against Azerbaijan, against cooperation in the South Caucasus,” Aliyev said. “It aims to create dividing lines and isolate Azerbaijan.”This was not the first time Baku had denounced the meeting. The Azerbaijani foreign ministry accused the U.S. and the EU of destabilizing the region. Blinken and von der Leyen spoke separately with Aliyev this week to convey that the meeting was to address assistance to Armenia and would not focus on the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks.Despite these assurances, Baku blasted the meeting.“We never felt it was our business to convince Azerbaijan about the conference,” James O’Brien, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, said, commenting on Aliyev’s claims. “We have been very clear about what we intended to do. We have done exactly as we said.”“We are supporting the choices that the Armenian people have made and will continue to do that in a way that promotes peace and security and prosperity of the region as a whole,” O’Brien told Armenian journalists. https://asbarez.com/after-aliyev-blasts-u-s-eu-armenia-talks-azerbaijani-forces-fire-at-armenian-border-positions/?fbclid=IwAR360x0X14Z2I0rKFvNzDc9LTjyZcj6CXFjPDIbN2P2zwDgSGUbHrj9VCt4_aem_AUmSh27btaw1gphQyxXUmIxlTijVl3hxR-x43WVDjLES2B5ax8mw1dVAmBdZzDslxl__MQ_53WDhgthQiL-REbn4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 The European ConservativeApril 8 2024 Azeri Backlash Fails To Halt EU Support for Armenia Support for the besieged Christian nation could heighten divisions between Europe and Turkey.Thomas O'Reilly— April 8, 2024 The EU is forging firmer ties with Armenia following top-level meetings between the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and top Eurocrats Friday—despite efforts of Turkey and Azerbaijan to derail the process. Due to the perceived failure of its traditional ally Russia to protect it, Christian Armenia is now looking to decouple from Moscow as soon as possible to prevent more land grabs by Islamic Azerbaijan. EU peacekeepers already monitor the Azeri border with France taking the initiative on bringing the country further into the EU’s orbit.On Friday, Pashinyan used an ongoing EU-U.S. summit in Belgium to make the case for stronger economic ties with the West. The European Commission approved €270 million in economic support for the country, helping Armenia’s EU ambitions to take a crucial step forward. In her post-meeting remarks, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was upbeat about the prospects of eventual Armenian candidate status.Both Blinken and von der Leyen spoke on the telephone with Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev prior to the meeting with Armenia’s PM to reassure him of their continued commitment to existing partnerships with the country. Aliyev denounced the Brussels talks, saying they were “directed against Azerbaijan.”Firefights were also reported from the Azeri-Armenian border Saturday after the EU’s announcement. Armenia is fighting for its survival after four years of disastrous border wars with the Turkish-backed Azeri army, which has resulted in the loss of the previously contested Nagorno-Karabakh region and the displacement of 100,000 ethnic Armenians. Meanwhile, Armenian diplomats presented intelligence of what they believe is a looming Azeri offensive. The country fears that Azerbaijan may seek to erode Armenia’s statehood in the coming decade.Turkey warned that the EU and U.S talks with Armenia “undermine the neutral approach that should be the basis for the solution of the complex problems of the region”.The general consensus among Western elites seems to favour fast-tracking Armenia into the European bloc as a geopolitical necessity. In a recent op-ed, former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared it is high time that the EU deleverage itself from Azerbaijan.Regardless of the rhetoric, Armenia may soon be a testing ground for Western resolve against Turkish and Azeri aggression. Thomas O’Reilly is an Irish journalist working for The European Conservative in Brussels. He has an educational background in chemical sciences and journalism. https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/azeri-backlash-fails-to-halt-eu-support-for-armenia/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 10 Author Report Share Posted April 10 Asbarez.com Azerbaijan Forces Again Fire at Armenian Border Positionsby Asbarez Staff April 9, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories Azerbaijani fire caused damage to civilian structures on Apr. 6 Azerbaijani forces continued their attacks against Armenian border positions in the border regions, with the defense ministry reporting shots fired late Monday evening.Azerbaijani forces fired at Armenian positions near Aravus in the Syunik Province at around 10:50 p.m. local time Monday and then later at 10:55 p.m. local time near the Khoznavar village in Syunik, Armenia’s defense ministry reported.This follow a weekend-long attack on Armenian positions that began on Friday and lasted into the early hours of Sunday.Most of these attacks are preceded by statements by Azerbaijan’s defense ministry alleging that Armenian forces were initiating the attacks. Armenia’s defense ministry has unequivocally dismissed such accusations.Local residents have been on edge due to the ongoing attacks, which have also resulted in damage to residential buildings and businesses.Monday’s gunfire damaged the roof and a window in a house in the Tegh village, Armenia’s Internal Ministry reported. https://asbarez.com/azerbaijan-forces-again-fire-at-armenian-border-positions/?fbclid=IwAR1J2Ef6u4eqZ2-L1wZbJ049X2qaGD9q8t6rHy8NSK2HRzYG1yca9xTv1iQ_aem_AeakTW6Wb7gOpAcKQNFR7VirnIfHQegKKQrijTeAKo7RTFKFaBUD6ZSopRZI5jYRUYKxoeNYSbd97F6EdPI8ibBK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 13 Author Report Share Posted April 13 Armenpress.am Anti-Armenian school olympiad in Azerbaijan proves Azerbaijani invasive aspirations against Armenia 13:11, 12 April 2024YEREVAN, 12 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The anti-Armenian school olympiad to be organized in Azerbaijan proves that the Azerbaijani authorities are not going to give up their invasive and illegal aspirations against Armenia,"Geghard" Scientific Analytical Foundation said in a statement.The statement issued by the Foundation reads as follows:“The Azerbaijani media recently reported that on April 27, a school olympiad titled "Return to Western Azerbaijan" will take place. (The term "Western Azerbaijan" refers to an irredentist project claiming the territory of the Republic of Armenia.)The event is organized by the Ministry of Science and Education of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Education of Nakhijevan, the Institute of Education of Azerbaijan, Nakhijevan State University, and the so-called "Western Azerbaijan Community" organization.According to the organizers, the aim of the olympiad is to “increase school children's knowledge of the history, geography, culture, literature, prominent historical figures, place names, and folklore” of the so-called "Western Azerbaijan," and to ensure a thorough examination of this knowledge.This event is one of the manifestations of Azerbaijan's occupation policy. The Azerbaijani leadership does not disguise the character of its policy and has claimed on numerous occasions that “the territory of the Republic of Armenia is the 'historical homeland' of Azerbaijanis”, asserting that they must return there.Ilham Aliyev reinstated this claim in 2022 during his visit to the administrative building of the "Western Azerbaijan Community". It is worth noting that the organization's activities are completely sponsored by the state and are directed towards elaborating and spreading these false theses.This further highlights how hatred against Armenians is disseminated among young generations in Azerbaijan. It also underscores that the Azerbaijani authorities are not going to abondon their occupation and unlawful projects."Geghard" Scientific and Analytical Foundation condemns these and other similar anti-Armenian events organized under the auspices of the Azerbaijani authorities. It also draws the attention of the international community to Azerbaijan's aggressive policy and the threat it poses to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.” https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1134628.html?fbclid=IwAR08_prxJsCmP_GzFrr2M6-bww5yq1C_Vss_3WJHiQQH0Fl9bEVMB9YiK7E_aem_AZ6bemMiHnjtw5YJqQXW5oVX27Jo6o9GJU8pkYGIUgFZsaG-BEEjshhmkEowsggdkSKZbdA9yXfbQ4NZoVqTcu2V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 16 Author Report Share Posted April 16 yahoo! news April 15 2024 AFP Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of 'media campaign' at UN top court Jan HENNOP Azerbaijan and Armenia again crossed swords before the UN's top court on Monday, with Baku accusing Yerevan of using the high profile hearings to wage a "public media campaign" against its bitter Caucasus rival. The latest legal clash over "ethnic cleansing" comes as military tensions are again ramping up between the neighbours following the conflict in the disputed mountainous area of Nagorno-Karabakh. Robed lawyers and representatives from the two countries embarked on two weeks of hearings, wrestling over interpretations of international law in the gilded Peace Palace of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Azerbaijan's representative Elnur Mammadov told judges Armenia's lawsuit was "premature" and urged the court to throw out the case. "That is because Armenia failed to engage in negotiations with Azerbaijan in an attempt to settle" the dispute, he said. There were "limited negotiations" but Yerevan "failed to pursue them," Mammadov said. "From the outset Armenia had it sights firmly set on commencing these proceedings before the court... and using the fact of these proceedings to wage a public media campaign against Azerbaijan," Mammadov said. - Tit-for-tat lawsuits - The legal battle before the ICJ dates from September 2021 when each side filed tit-for-tat suits against each other within a week. They accused each other of "ethnic cleansing" and of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The ICJ, which rules in disputes between states, issued emergency orders in December 2021, calling on both parties to prevent incitement and promotion of racial hatred. But while the ICJ's orders are binding, it has no enforcement mechanism and tensions grew, culminating in Azerbaijan's lightning offensive last September in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku reclaimed Karabakh in the one-day offensive, prompting the enclave's entire ethnic Armenian population -- more than 100,000 people -- to flee for Armenia. Weeks later, Armenia returned to the ICJ, urging the court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from Karabakh and allow Armenian refugees to return home safely. In November, the court ordered Azerbaijan to allow anyone wishing to return to Karabakh to do so in a "safe, unimpeded and expeditious manner". The latest hearings, that run until April 26, concern objections raised by both parties to each other's original cases filed in September 2021. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have said, however, that a comprehensive peace agreement is within reach after last year's offensive in Karabakh. The former Soviet republics have fought two wars for control of the mountainous region -- most recently in 2020 and in the early 1990s amid the break-up of the Soviet Union -- that have claimed thousands of lives on both sides and caused hundreds of thousands to flee. Villages on both sides were destroyed and the mountainous region has been littered with countless landmines in the conflict's aftermath. The conflict has also strained ties between Russia and ex-Soviet Armenia, with Yerevan considering that Moscow did not do enough to help when it was under attack. In February, Armenia formally joined the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite Moscow warning against the move. It is now obliged to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he sets foot on Armenian territory under an ICC arrest warrant issued for the Russian leader in March 2023. jhe-ric/tw https://www.yahoo.com/news/armenia-azerbaijan-clash-un-top-052554714.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 17 Author Report Share Posted April 17 ‘Israel-Azerbaijan Relationship Relies onUnholy Trinity of Oil, Arms & Intelligence’ By Harut Sassounianwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comThe Israeli newspaper Haaretz published on April 11 a revealing article about the extensive high-level links between Azerbaijan and Israel, titled: “How Strategic Relations with Azerbaijan Became the Business of the Lieberman Family.” The article was written by investigative reporter Gur Megiddo.Avigdor Lieberman was a high-ranking Israeli government official who made multiple trips to Baku, more than any other Israeli politician, meeting each time with Pres. Ilham Aliyev and other high-ranking Azeri leaders. He served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, and became successively minister at six different ministries: National Infrastructure, Transportation, Strategic Affairs, Foreign Affairs (twice), Defense, and Finance.Lieberman was not the only Israeli official who traveled to Azerbaijan. Israel’s defense ministers Benny Gantz and Yoav Gallant also visited Baku, in addition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2016 and President Isaac Herzog in 2023.Megiddo stated that “the Israel-Azerbaijan relationship relies on an unholy trinity of oil, arms and intelligence. Israel buys oil from Azerbaijan (about half of Israel's crude oil originates there), and sells it advanced military equipment. In return, Azerbaijan reportedly gives it access to its land and sea border with Israel's number one rival: Iran.”Azerbaijan was victorious in the Artsakh wars of 2020 and 2023, “thanks in no small part to game-changing weaponry supplied by Israel,” including the Israeli Hermes and Harop drones, and other sophisticated weapons bought for billions of dollars. Azerbaijan purchased some of these drones while Lieberman was Defense Minister.”During Lieberman’s visit to Baku in 2012, he was asked about a Foreign Policy magazine article which quoted a senior U.S. government official as saying that: "the Israelis have bought an airfield, and the airfield is called Azerbaijan. The names of several former Soviet air force bases were mentioned that, according to the magazine's sources, were or would be placed at Israel's disposal in anticipation of a possible airstrike” on Iran. Lieberman called the story “science fiction” that has “no connection to reality.” However, The Times of London reported that the “Israeli espionage agency Mossad has a base in Azerbaijan.”“By any standard, Azerbaijan is a dictatorship” ranked 130th out of 167 countries by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2023. A delegation of four Israeli Knesset members led by Lieberman went to Azerbaijan ostensibly to oversee the presidential elections. They dismissed the reports of irregularities in the elections which Aliyev had won with a whopping 85%. They falsely described Azerbaijan as “the only democracy in the Middle East.” Lieberman called Aliyev’s victory “a good lesson for some forces who, unjustly, criticize Azerbaijan.”When Israeli-Russian blogger Aleksander Lapshin was arrested and jailed in Baku for visiting Artsakh, his family asked then-Defense Minister Lieberman to intervene, but he did not lift a finger, even after Lapshin was attacked by the prison security personnel, trying to kill him. Lapshin believes that the Russians ultimately helped secure his release.Megiddo reported that Lieberman’s two sons -- Amos and Kobi -- have a “deep business relationship” with Azerbaijan’s government. “The Lieberman brothers, it turns out, spend a lot of time in Baku, where they are considered intermediaries who know how to open doors to the government. In recent years, Lieberman's sons have marketed a number of Israeli high-tech products to the government of Azerbaijan: a cyberoffense product made by the cybersecurity company Candiru; a big data system for improving tax collection by another cybersecurity firm, Rayzone; and water desalination technologies by the Israeli company IDE. The potential commissions from brokering these three ventures alone could reach millions of dollars. Additionally, until recently, the Lieberman brothers represented Azerbaijan Airlines (the national flag carrier controlled by the state) in Israel.”Several Israeli firms like Pegasus and Candiru sold spyware to Azerbaijan to hack the phones of the regime’s opponents. Today, 18 Azeri journalists are in jail. The Candiru sale was mediated by Lieberman’s two sons in exchange for a commission, “estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars.” From a deal with cyberfirm Rayzone, they earned “a commission of about $200,000,” according to ‘TheMarker,’ published by Haaretz. Lieberman’s office stated that “he is not involved in his children’s businesses.”Lieberman’s children also represented IDE Technologies which is planning on building a large water desalination facility in Azerbaijan. This is “a project whose cost may reach hundreds of millions of dollars -- and the commission for the Lieberman brothers would presumably rise accordingly,” Megiddo wrote.Megiddo wondered: “Do you think the two sons would have attained such significant status with the Azerbaijan government if not for their family connection?” A businessman was quoted as saying: “I can say about the Azerbaijanis that they're the kind of people who know how to say thank you. If you do good things for them and they appreciate you -- they know how to say thanks, both in words and deeds."Megiddo concluded: “there's probably no one within the Israeli establishment who would dispute the many benefits Israel derives from its ugly but perhaps vital relationship with Azerbaijan. But there is no contradiction between these two statements: the warm relations with the morally dubious rule of President Ilham Aliyev can be part of an Israeli national security strategy, and at the same time also part of the Lieberman family's business strategy.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 18 Author Report Share Posted April 18 France 24April 17 2024France recalls its ambassador to Azerbaijan, accuses Baku of 'damaging' tiesFrance on Tuesday said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan, accusing Baku of taking actions that have damaged the bilateral relationship.President Emmanuel Macron received ambassador Anne Boillon in Paris to discuss the issue, the foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing Azerbaijan of continuing "in recent months unilateral actions damaging to the relationship between our two countries".Relations between Azerbaijan and France -- a traditional ally of Armenia and host itself to a significant Armenian diaspora community -- have long been plagued by tensions focused on the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh.Seized by Armenian separatists in a war as the USSR fell, Azerbaijani forces regained control of much of the region in a 2020 conflict and then the remaining part in the lightning September 2023 offensive.Macron and other French officials have long voiced concern Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will not stop there and has designs on Armenian territory.In his meeting with Boillon, the French president said he "regretted Azerbaijan's actions and expressed a wish for clarification by the Azerbaijani side of its intentions", the foreign ministry said.There have been attempts to move forward talks on normalising relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia but these so far have made little progress."France reiterates its support for the normalisation of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, while respecting international law and the territorial integrity of the two countries," the ministry said.As relations with Moscow fray, Armenia is also increasingly relying on defence cooperation with France.In February, Armenia agreed a deal for the purchase of precision rifles from French arms manufacturer PGM, though its price tag was not disclosed.In October 2023, France announced the sale of defence equipment -- three radar systems and night vision goggles -- to Armenia, provoking anger from Azerbaijan.(AFP)https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240416-france-recalls-ambassador-azerbaijan-accuses-baku-of-damaging-ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 19 Author Report Share Posted April 19 PR Newswire April 18 2024 The International Criminal Court Could Investigate President Aliyev for Genocide Against the Armenians NEWS PROVIDED BY Center for Truth and Justice Apr 18, 2024, 08:54 ET Communication follows an exhaustive investigation into the genocide of Armenians in Armenian territory under the unlawful occupation of Azerbaijan Intent to commit genocide unequivocally proven by statements made by President Aliyev and Azerbaijan's Parliament It is the first genocide where the intent is expressed by a parliament that aims to remove the entire Armenian population from their lands calling it "Western Azerbaijan" Armenian women were sexually mutilated, killed, and filmed for social media to terrorize and produce mental harm to the entire Armenian population, another form of genocide THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ) is petitioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a preliminary examination into the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by Azerbaijan's armed forces against ethnic Armenians in Armenian territory under the unlawful occupation of Azerbaijan since May 12, 2021. The submission includes access to testimonial evidence gathered and recorded by the CFTJ that corroborates the alleged policy of genocide being planned, instigated, and implemented by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, including their Parliament. Center for Truth and Justice The petition outlines a vast array of atrocities carried out by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan under the leadership of President Aliyev: forcible displacement of at least 7000 civilians, murder of civilians, enforced disappearance of at least 2000 civilians and prisoners of war (PoWs), arbitrary detention, sexual violence, at least 350 documented cases of torture and extrajudicial executions of ethnic Armenian PoWs. The petition by the US-based NGO, which is dedicated to documenting war crimes in the South Caucasus, asks the ICC for a preliminary examination to evaluate whether there is a reasonable basis for a formal investigation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and others accused of planning, inciting, ordering, and executing a state policy of genocide against Armenians. This is the first case of any entity lodging a case at the ICC for genocide of Armenians, and it comes days before the April 24 annual commemoration of the World War I-era genocide in which Ottomans killed 1.5 million Armenians. "This is an emotionally heavy moment, as we never considered that a second genocide against our people would occur within our lifetime," said Armenian-descended Gassia Apkarian, a Superior Court judge in Orange County and CFTJ advisor. "The ICC should send a clear message that there will be no impunity for such crimes and those responsible for genocide will be held accountable." The filing details a deliberate Azerbaijani strategy to eradicate ethnic Armenians, both in attacks on sovereign Armenian territory and in actions against the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh), which was blockaded by Azerbaijan from Dec. 2022 until an attack in Sept. 23 which caused the population of 150,000 to flee to Armenia. In all cases, Azerbaijan used advanced weaponry to target civilian populations. That blockade was described as a genocide attempt in an Aug. 2023 report by Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former ICC chief prosecutor – a position since backed by the International Court of Justice in its preliminary orders, as well as other leading global experts and jurists. The resulting exodus last fall was one of the largest genocide in recent history. "Sadly, the world community has largely ignored this war crime, a clear case of genocide under Article 2© of the Genocide Convention, so it is time for the international legal system to address this breakdown of the world order," Ocampo said of the filing. Beyond Aliyev, the filing personally targets Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Zakir Hasanov and Chief of General Staff Karim Valiyev for their role in the alleged state policy of genocide – including forcibly removing Armenians from occupied territories, systematically killing civilians and prisoners of war, and engaging in hate speech that dehumanizes Armenians. Aliyev's public statements, glorifying the removal and destruction of Armenians, further demonstrate genocidal intent, the petition argues. Aliyev has openly referred to Armenians as "rats" and "dogs," as "devils" and "barbarians" and a "virus" – and several years ago declared that they "have neither conscience nor morality. They do not even have a brain." Aliyev himself said as top officials in Baku celebrated the forced displacement of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, since May 2021, Azerbaijan's armed forces have engaged in an unlawful military campaign aimed at annexing approximately 200 square kilometers of Armenian sovereign territory. In Armenia´s provinces of Gegarkunik, Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Tavoush and Ararat. The dossier of evidence gathered by the CFTJ contains over 530 testimonies from representatives of victims and from witnesses detailing atrocities, war crimes, and genocide. There is evidence of widespread atrocities committed against ethnic Armenian women, including mutilation and sexual violence, as part of a systematic campaign to terrorize and subjugate in order to destroy the Armenian population. Over 1500 items of open-source evidence reflecting intention to commit genocide back the claim. The research and interviews were carried out by 121 trained lawyers and law students in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Present at the Hague will be Lala Abgaryan, whose sister Gayane was killed in 2022 by Azerbaijani soldiers, suffering extensive abuse and mutilations that were then recorded and glorified online. She took in the orphaned children and gave extensive testimony, and will be available to the media. The CFTJ 's investigation reveals that stickers depicting tortured Armenian women were downloaded by approximately 20,000 Azerbaijani users within even a five-day period. ABOUT THE CFTJ: CFTJ is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization, established in November 2020 in response to the Nagorno-Karabakh war. We are a group of lawyers overseeing the collection of firsthand testimonial evidence from war survivors via in-depth, recorded interviews. We run a law clinic in Yerevan, Armenia, which is the first of its kind. Through our clinic, we train law students and young lawyers to interview survivors of the war and record their testimonies. To date, we have conducted hundreds of interviews and trained over 100 current or future lawyers. By being a permanent home for the testimonials, CFTJ serves as a resource to academic and legal practitioners who seek to use the evidence for purposes of education and/or legal action. MEDIA CONTACT: Maggie Arutyunyan at 1(818)749-8185 SOURCE Center for Truth and Justice https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-international-criminal-court-could-investigate-president-aliyev-for-genocide-against-the-armenians-302120495.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 19 Author Report Share Posted April 19 ABC News April 18 2024 Armenian victims group asks International Criminal Court to investigate genocide claim A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians has submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them By MOLLY QUELL, Associated Press and MIKE CORDER, Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court on Thursday, arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them. Azerbaijan’s government didn't immediately comment on the accusations. The neighboring countries have been at odds for decades over the territory of Karabakh, and are already facing off in a separate legal case stemming from that conflict. Lawyers for the California-based Center for Truth and Justice, or CFTJ, say there is sufficient evidence to open a formal investigation into Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other top leaders for genocide. They have submitted a so-called Article 15 communication urging the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan to look into alleged atrocities. Khan’s office will now consider the evidence submitted and determine if the court will open an investigation, a decision expected to take months. “My goal here is to get the highest bodies that protect human rights to take some action, not just mere words,” Lala Abgaryan, whose sister Gayane was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers in 2022, told The Associated Press. Her sister’s body was badly mutilated and images of the abuse were spread online. Abgaryan says the pictures were so heinous that she suffered psychological damage after looking at them. Long-standing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted in 2020 into a war over Karabakh that left more than 6,600 people dead. The region is within Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since the end of a separatist war in 1994. Last year, following a lightning military campaign, Azerbaijan retook the disputed territory. After Azerbaijan regained full control of Karabakh, which had a population of around 120,000, more than 100,000 of the region’s ethnic Armenians fled, although Azerbaijan said they were welcome to stay and promised their human rights would be ensured. Prior to Azerbaijan’s offensive, Armenia and former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accused Azerbaijan of committing genocide by creating conditions aimed at destroying Karabakh Armenians as a group. A group of around 30 people gathered in the rain in front of The Hague-based court Thursday to hand over more than 100 pages of documents. The rights organization said it has submitted a dossier of evidence containing the testimony of more than 500 victims and witnesses. “These atrocities are captured on social media, by Azerbaijani soldiers themselves, where you hear them laughing, making comments, and taking the dead bodies that they’ve just slaughtered and beheaded,” CFTJ leader Gassia Apkaria told the AP. Legal experts say that genocide may be out of reach for the court. Armenia is a member of the ICC, but Azerbaijan isn't, leaving prosecutors with jurisdiction only over crimes committed on Armenian territory. Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Forcing nearly the entire population to relocate to Armenia, however, could fall within the court’s remit. Deportation is considered a crime against humanity. While Azerbaijan did not deport the people who fled last year, they left under duress. “There is no way this was an exodus by chance,” says Mel O’Brien, an associate professor of international law at the University of Western Australia and genocide expert. The court has moved forward with an investigation under similar circumstances into possible crimes committed by Myanmar against the Rohingya minority group. While Myanmar isn't a member state, neighboring Bangladesh is and around 750,000 people have fled across the border after being forced from their homes. The CFTJ’s request came amid two weeks of proceedings between Armenia and Azerbaijan at another global court in The Hague. The United Nations' top court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing arguments related to a pair of cases stemming from the conflict. Each country has accused the other of violating a racial discrimination treaty. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/armenian-victims-group-international-criminal-court-investigate-genocide-109386410 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 20 Author Report Share Posted April 20 April 19 2024 Azerbaijan reportedly destroys Armenian church in Shusha 19 April 2024 ByArshaluys Barseghyan Satellite imagery showing the St Hovhannes Mkrtich church in December 2023 (left) and April 2024 (right). Image via Caucasus Heritage Watch. The Caucasus Heritage Watch has reported that Azerbaijan has destroyed a 177-year-old church in the city of Shusha (Shushi), in Nagorno-Karabakh. On Thursday, Caucasus Heritage Watch, an open-source cultural sites watchdog, reported that the St Hovhannes Mkrtich church had been destroyed by Azerbaijan. They analysed satellite imagery appearing to show that the church was completely destroyed between 28 December 2023 and 4 April 2024. St. Hovhannes Mkrtich Church in Shusha. Image via Caucasus Heritage Watch. The group covers the erasure of Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan has previously been accused of destroying or erasing Christian Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. Following the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, Azerbaijani authorities openly accused Armenians of appropriating what they said were Caucasian Albanian monuments and churches — referring to a Christian kingdom that existed in the South Caucasus in the first millennium. [Read more: The battle over Christian monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh] ‘In the aftermath of the war, the Baku diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church laid claim to the building and pledged restoration. Nevertheless, the church is now gone’, said Caucasus Heritage Watch of the church, whose erasure they called the most ‘egregious violation yet of a December order by the International Court of Justice’. The UN Court obliged Azerbaijan to take ‘all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage’. Monument Watch, an Armenian academic platform focused on cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, stated that the church was built by Hovhannes and Baba Stepanyan Hovnanents in dedication to their deceased brother Mkritch in 1847. However, some other Armenian sources claim the church was built in 1818. After Azerbaijan took control of Shusha during the 2020 war, Fip, an Armenian fact-checking platform, claimed that the church’s dome and bell tower were ‘almost completely destroyed’, citing footage posted on Azerbaijani social media. At the time, Fip reported that it was one of the city’s only two functioning churches before the war. Baku has also announced that it is restoring the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the other church in Shusha, to its ‘original form’, which Yerevan maintains is ‘vandalism […] aimed at depriving the Shushi Mother Cathedral of its Armenian identity’. https://oc-media.org/azerbaijan-reportedly-destroys-armenian-church-in-shusha/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 20 Author Report Share Posted April 20 Armenpress.am If Azerbaijan posed no threat, why did Armenians leave Nagorno-Karabakh?" - Sean Murphy in UN Court 17:12, 19 April 2024YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS. Sean Murphy, the representative of the Armenian delegation at the International Court of Justice, stated during the hearing of the "Armenia vs. Azerbaijan" case at the UN Court that if Azerbaijan posed no threat to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, why had more than 100,000 people left their ancestral homes in September, 2023. Sean Murphy stated in his speech that after studying the evidence within the court case, the Azerbaijani representatives, surprisingly, could not see the evidence confirming the racial discrimination against Armenian civilians. Touching upon the widespread Armenianophobia in Azerbaijan and the statements made by the country's president, Ilham Aliyev, towards the Armenian people, Murphy said: "I will not present all the statements made by President Aliyev, which have been made and which ultimately form part of our evidence. But, in our view, these statements demonstrate racial animosity, or at least at this stage of jurisdiction, they can be considered as such. He added that the government of Azerbaijan generally propagates and spreads hatred against ethnic Armenians. "If Azerbaijan is not a threat, then why did more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians, including 30,000 children, flee their ancestral homeland within a few days in September 2023?" noted the representative of the Armenian delegation at the International Court of Justice. Sean Murphy added that it is evident that the words of Azerbaijani officials were correctly understood by all ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. They understood that these threats were directed not only against the former leaders of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, but primarily against themselves."That's why they left their homes. The reason lies in this threat and the perception it creates, which has been developed by the Azerbaijani government for decades," Murphy concluded. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1135200.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1gzm1Brt_Dhxr6BLQSNzR805xDVmLhQO7Bz2VHKFpSCeS8uuAHbRpjgNE_aem_AZdftW-IxX1CE70oKW0qkFJfqzhJYj78BRbJoJJDZYZJVfmNsNkpV0q0wbb_pzJLwYx4xVKBKsXE-BNvCvWJOMae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 26 Author Report Share Posted April 26 Only fake sultan has the God given right to arm itself! What a moron! April 24 2024 Azerbaijan Warns India, France Against Arming Armenia; Aliyev Says Will Not Sit Back With Folded ArmsBy Ritu SharmaAs France and India have come together to arm Armenia, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has asserted that his country will not simply stand by and watch. Aliyev said that if they see the threats as serious, they will take adequate measures.In reference to France, India, and Greece coming in aid to Armenia, the Azerbaijani President said: “We cannot sit idly by while France, India, and Greece arm Armenia against us. They are doing this openly and demonstratively, obviously trying to prove something to us in this way. We cannot just sit back with our arms folded.”Lines have clearly been drawn as the two Caucasian countries have been engaged in a protracted conflict. Armenia has been seeking to diversify its arms imports and find new allies after Russia failed to provide the country with ordered weapons worth around US $400 million.This has forced the country to seek other viable options for procuring its military supplies. France, India, and Greece rose to the occasion to help Armenia, while Turkey and Pakistan sided with Azerbaijan.According to Aliyev, the Azerbaijani side made this absolutely clear to the Armenian government and “the sides which are trying to take care of Armenia.” “If we see a serious threat to us, we will have to take serious measures,” he warned.Armenia has almost doubled its defense investments over the last year. In 2022, the spending was around US$700 million to US$800 million; now, in 2024, it will be US$1.4 billion or US $1.5 billion.The chairman of Armenia’s parliamentary committee on defense and security affairs, Andranik Kocharyan, recently stated without naming India, that the weapons purchased by Armenia have proven to be “very satisfactory,”France’s show of support has been preceded by Azerbaijan declaring victory after a swiftly executed military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the main bone of contention and a “frozen conflict” between the two Caucasian neighbors. However, in October 2023, France promised military aid to Armenia.Till then, France has backed Armenia only politically, but this has defined a shift in its policy in the conflict. The European country is stepping up as Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, and the peace it brokered has been shattered by Azerbaijan, which launched a military campaign in 2020.As France and India have come together to arm Armenia, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has asserted that his country will not simply stand by and watch. Aliyev said that if they see the threats as serious, they will take adequate measures.In reference to France, India, and Greece coming in aid to Armenia, the Azerbaijani President said: “We cannot sit idly by while France, India, and Greece arm Armenia against us. They are doing this openly and demonstratively, obviously trying to prove something to us in this way. We cannot just sit back with our arms folded.”Lines have clearly been drawn as the two Caucasian countries have been engaged in a protracted conflict. Armenia has been seeking to diversify its arms imports and find new allies after Russia failed to provide the country with ordered weapons worth around US $400 million.This has forced the country to seek other viable options for procuring its military supplies. France, India, and Greece rose to the occasion to help Armenia, while Turkey and Pakistan sided with Azerbaijan.According to Aliyev, the Azerbaijani side made this absolutely clear to the Armenian government and “the sides which are trying to take care of Armenia.” “If we see a serious threat to us, we will have to take serious measures,” he warned.Armenia has almost doubled its defense investments over the last year. In 2022, the spending was around US$700 million to US$800 million; now, in 2024, it will be US$1.4 billion or US $1.5 billion.The chairman of Armenia’s parliamentary committee on defense and security affairs, Andranik Kocharyan, recently stated without naming India, that the weapons purchased by Armenia have proven to be “very satisfactory,”France’s show of support has been preceded by Azerbaijan declaring victory after a swiftly executed military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the main bone of contention and a “frozen conflict” between the two Caucasian neighbors. However, in October 2023, France promised military aid to Armenia.Till then, France has backed Armenia only politically, but this has defined a shift in its policy in the conflict. The European country is stepping up as Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, and the peace it brokered has been shattered by Azerbaijan, which launched a military campaign in 2020.https://www.eurasiantimes.com/azerbaijan-warns-india-france-against-arming-armenia/amp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 26 Author Report Share Posted April 26 MSN April 25 2024 News18 Azerbaijan Asks India to Halt Arms Supply to Armenia Citing National Security Concerns Story by Abhishek Jha Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has asked countries, including India, to stay away from supplying defence equipment to arch-rival Armenia. Citing concerns over Azerbaijan’s national security, Aliyev said, “It is a matter of our national security. We cannot sit and wait, seeing how France, India and Greece are weaponising Armenia against us and doing it openly, demonstratively.” The Azeri president, while responding to questions during an event in the run up to COP29 in Baku, said that he has conveyed his stand to both Armenia and other countries supplying weapons to Armenia. “We openly expressed this position to Armenian government and to those who want to take care of Armenia now. Aliyev also suggested that Azerbaijan may have to take serious steps if the threat continue to build, “We will have to take serious measures if we see a serious threat to us,” said the president. Aliyev’s warning stems from Armenia’s bolstering of its defence capabilities in recent years, marked by significant acquisitions of advanced weaponry, including short-range missiles and anti-drone systems. Notably, India has emerged as a key supplier, with agreements encompassing the sale of Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers and the Akash surface-to-air missile system. Expressing his non-inference stance in the affairs of Armenia, Aliyev said “security concerns will be taken seriously”. He said, “When they build military power against us, when they concentrate sometimes their troops on our border, we cannot be silent. This is now our security and we have a right to be concerned.” Aliyev also openly asked countries not to send military weapons to Armenia for their self interest in the region, “to those who want to use it as forepost against Azerbaijan, don’t do it.” Azerbaijan’s apprehensions regarding Indian defence supplies to Armenia were raised officially when Armenia reportedly received its first shipments of Pinaka in July 2023. Immediately after the reports in media, Azeri President’s Assistant on Foreign Policy Affairs Hikmat Hajiyev met with India Ambassador in Baku Sridharan Madhusudhanan. During the meeting, Hikmat Hajiyev said that the Azerbaijani side is concerned about deepening military cooperation between Armenia and India and called on the Indian ambassador to bring the serious concerns of the Azerbaijani side to the attention of Delhi and to reconsider India’s decision regarding the delivery of lethal weapons to Armenia, reported Azeri media. Earlier, Azerbaijan’s president, while meeting the Indian Ambassador during credential acceptance ceremony in May last year, had highlighted that Armenia’s rapid arming poses new threats. Without naming India, Aliyev had said that if Armenia really wants peace with Azerbaijan, then “there is a question of why it is buying weapons worth 100 millions of dollars” underlining that this policy could lead to “new threats to the region”. While India’s partnership with Armenia extends beyond defence cooperation to include infrastructure, trade, and technology, the focus on military hardware has seen significant focus in recent years. Furthermore, Armenia’s acquisition of three French-made Thales Ground Master 200 radar systems in October 2023, alongside a “letter of intent” for the supply of French short-range surface-to-air missiles, has irked the Azerbaijani side. Armenia is reported to have significantly increased its defence budget over the last two years from US$700-800 million in 2022 to about US$1.45billion in 2024. The convergence of interests between India and France in supporting Armenia, driven by France’s influential Armenian community, adds another dimension to the complex geopolitical landscape of the region. How the Indian government is going to react to Azerbaijan’s calls to halt arms shipments to Armenia remains to be seen. However, Aliyev’s comments underline India’s growing overture in South Caucasus that may have strategic bearings in the time to come. https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/azerbaijan-asks-india-to-halt-arms-supply-to-armenia-citing-national-security-concerns/ar-AA1nCoDU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted April 30 Author Report Share Posted April 30 April 29 2024 COMMENT: Aliyev continues to block the chance of peace in the South Caucasus By Robert Ananyan in Yerevan April 29, 2024Will Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace treaty, finally agreeing on the difficult issue of border demarcation?Yerevan and Baku have taken a first step by accepting the Alma-Ata Declaration as a guiding document in the process of border demarcation, fixing the borders at the time of the collapse of the USSR and affirming the independence of the two states. The former administrative borders of the USSR are recognised as state borders. The administrative borders of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Soviet Republics should be restored through demarcation. Maps from 1969, 1974, and 1975 will be used, which have a legal basis as they were approved and signed by the Armenian and Azerbaijani Supreme Councils.In line with this declaration, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to return to Azerbaijan the ruins of four villages, which came under the control of the Armenian armed forces in the fighting in the 1990s. However, Armenia won't get a single centimetre from the 200 to 300 sq km of territory that Azerbaijan has occupied in recent years. This fact has caused discontent in the villages bordering Azerbaijan, where anti-government protests are currently being held.This unpopular decision of Pashinyan exposes his government to serious risk, but it gives observers reason to believe that Armenia and Azerbaijan will finally sign a peace treaty. How realistic are these hopes?"Resolution" of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflictThe central issue in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations had long been the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh. The 30-year-long peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia eventually failed because of Azerbaijan's aggressive wars in 2020 and 2023 to recover the territory, which has for centuries been occupied by ethnic Armenians.In December, 120,000 ethnic Armenians, who had relied on the "security guarantees" of Russian "peacekeepers", were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and sought refuge in Armenia. Today, Azerbaijan considers the conflict resolved, as Karabakh is completely under its control. Armenians have not returned to Nagorno-Karabakh because of a lack of trust in the Russian guarantees. Recently, the Russian troops agreed to leave Karabakh, concluding one of the most disgraced peacekeeping missions in the world.However, the G7 countries do not regard the Karabakh issue as closed, as they recently called on the Azerbaijani authorities to "take appropriate steps to ensure the safe, dignified, and stable return of refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh". However, there is no visible action by the G7 countries to deploy international peacekeeping forces to Nagorno-Karabakh. Until this occurs, the return of Armenians to Karabakh is improbable.If Armenia insists on the return of the Karabakh Armenians in the current negotiations, Azerbaijan would demand the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenian-occupied territory based on the principle of reciprocity. These factors currently preclude the return of Armenians to Karabakh.Yerevan is disinclined to make the Karabakh Armenians’ fate a subject of discussions with Azerbaijan, understanding that it would hinder reaching an overall agreement. Armenia is prepared to remain silent on the issue of Karabakh and forgo lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international courts in order to facilitate the signing of the treaty.Pashinyan’s changed stanceWith the difficult decision to cede four villages to Azerbaijan, Pashinyan's government has demonstrated its genuine intention to sign a peace treaty.After the 44-day war in 2020, Pashinyan reconsidered his ideas about relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Until September 27, 2020, he was no different from today's nationalist figures in Armenia, holding radical positions on relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan.However, the situation has now changed 180 degrees. In recent months, Pashinyan has been trying to convince Armenian society that it is necessary to abandon the dream of restoring "historical Armenia" and instead deal with the realities of "real Armenia." The survival of "real Armenia" implies the need to rebuild relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan.Even with its Western allies, Armenia has no chance of pursuing a confrontational policy with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Armenia is inferior to Turkey and Azerbaijan in terms of economic, military, and demographic potential.Among Pashinyan and his team, the idea has also taken root that Russia, rather than Armenia, benefits from Armenian’s long-term conflicts with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The existence of military conflicts in the South Caucasus and Armenia’s tensions with Turkey strengthened Russia's position. Armenia is directly dependent on Russia, and if this dependence is not addressed, Armenian statehood may cease to exist. This is why Pashinyan approaches relations with Armenia and its neighbours realistically. He genuinely wants to solve problems.Armenia's strategic perspective is to join the European Union and establish strong military-political relations with the US. Resolving problems with Azerbaijan and Turkey will make Armenia's strategic turn towards the West more feasible.The West is ready to embrace Armenia as part of its family if it does not have hot conflicts with its neighbours. I think Washington and Brussels have conveyed this message to Yerevan.Pashinyan's government has calculated that after signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, Turkey will open the Armenian-Turkish border, diplomatic relations will be established, and significant economic interactions will begin.The signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan would be a major achievement for Pashinyan's government. It would allow him to prove to the citizens of Armenia that the "era of peace" is truly beginning after decades of war (which was Pashinyan's pre-election promise).Unpopular concessionsAt this stage, Azerbaijan will not return the 200 to 300 sq km of Armenian territory it has occupied. Despite the one-sided logic of the process, Pashinyan has nevertheless agreed to withdraw Armenian troops from the four villages on the border of Armenia’s Tavush and Azerbaijani Kazakh regions.The inhabitants of Kirants, Voskepar, and Baghanis villages are particularly nervous about this fact, as they will have to communicate with the Azerbaijani armed forces from a closer distance. Villagers currently regularly block interstate and community roads, complaining about the Pashinyan government's decision.Pashinyan has calculated that by starting the border demarcation process with Azerbaijan based on the Alma-Ata declaration the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border would become stable. According to him, Azerbaijan will be deprived of the opportunity to create false grounds for military attacks against Armenia. Additionally, one of the most difficult problems preventing the conclusion of the Armenian-Azerbaijani contract will be solved with the start of the demarcation process.Pashinyan is trying to prove that he is ready to take painful and risky steps for the sake of signing a peace agreement. He also hopes to receive the support of the USA and the EU, thus gaining partners in deterring Azerbaijan's military attacks.However, Pashinyan's romantic aspirations to make the peace treaty a reality collide with the regional plans of Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin.Azerbaijan’s reasons to avoid peaceIn the last four years, Azerbaijan has occupied 200 to 300 sq km of territory of Armenia by military attacks. In January 2024, Aliyev admitted to the Azerbaijani media that he had occupied heights bordering Armenia. According to him, positioning troops at the heights gives him a chance to control the movement of the Armenian armed forces.If Azerbaijan, after receiving the four villages, continues to use the Alma-Ata declaration as a basis for border demarcation, Baku would logically be forced to withdraw these troops from Armenia. By retreating from the territory of Armenia, Azerbaijan would lose its superior position over the Armenian armed forces.To avoid this scenario, Azerbaijan may abandon the Alma Ata declaration after receiving the four villages. Azerbaijan will likely introduce new principles, try to invoke fake maps in the process of border demarcation and demand the recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over the Armenian heights.Since international specialists do not participate in the border demarcation process, there is a big risk that Azerbaijan will threaten war and again force Armenia to accept the rules of its game.It seems unlikely that Aliyev, who preaches "Armenian hatred" to Azerbaijan society, will return the occupied territories to Armenia. This could block the signing of a peace treaty.Prolonging Aliyev's regimeSecondly, the internal political realities of Azerbaijan also support not signing a peace agreement. For almost 20 years, Aliyev has built his power around the goal of defeating the external enemy, Armenia. Armenia has been portrayed as an occupier, and defeating it has become the national ideology of Azerbaijan. Propaganda of hatred towards Armenians is state policy in Azerbaijan. A leader "sitting on a victorious horse" cannot yield to a "defeated enemy". Unfortunately, this idea prevails among the political elite and society of Azerbaijan.The motivation to protect Azerbaijan's citizens from the military aggression of "enemy Armenians" ensures the consolidation of Azerbaijani society around the Aliyev regime. Having hostile relations with Armenia is necessary for the president of Azerbaijan to protect and extend his regime. Aliyev reportedly won more than 90% of the votes in the last presidential pseudo elections thanks to the victory against the Karabakh Armenians and the realisation of his dream of revenge.By signing a peace treaty with Armenia and building real peace, Aliyev would lose the tool to consolidate his regime. Why should Aliyev risk the future management of his dynasty in Azerbaijan?The Russian spoilerThe conclusion of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty has a stronger opponent than Aliyev. The main state opposing the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan is Russia. Russia has maintained its military and political presence in the South Caucasus for 200 to 300 years by provoking conflicts between local peoples. Russia has troops in all countries of the South Caucasus: Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, giving it dominant control.The Russians have used the same method in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has not been resolved for decades because Russia did not want it to be.The conclusion of the peace treaty implies that Armenians and Azerbaijanis should stop killing each other, and problematic issues should be resolved through negotiations. It is not a favourable scenario for Moscow. If Armenians and Azerbaijanis stop killing each other, Russia's presence in the South Caucasus would become meaningless.Two years before its attack on Ukraine, Russia, in a deal with Turkey, agreed that Azerbaijan could start a war against Nagorno-Karabakh. That war also gave the Kremlin a chance to send troops into Karabakh. In addition, Putin got the loyalty of Aliyev and Erdogan in his war against Ukraine.But this policy has been a complete failure. Today, Russian peacekeepers are leaving Karabakh following the Azerbaijan reconquest. Even the Russian military presence in Armenia is now at risk. Pashinyan recently said that Russian military positions should be removed from the demarcated border of the Tavush region. The Kremlin has repeatedly tried to deploy CSTO or Russian troops on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border throughout the demarcation period. But Russia was excluded from the demarcation process, even though a Russian commission was created. If border demarcation is carried out in the Gegharkunik and Syunik regions, Russian military positions will also be removed from those regions.The reduction of Russian military-political influence in the South Caucasus is a crushing defeat for Putin's policy. Moscow will try to prevent the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty to prevent the scenario of the removal of Russian military units. The settlement of relations between Armenia and Turkey would also make the existence of Russian border guards on the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Iranian borders pointless.It can also be expected that Armenia will demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory, including the withdrawal of the 102nd military base in Gyumri. This will be the final expulsion of Russia from the South Caucasus. In other words, Putin was not only unable to win the war against Ukraine but may also lose his influence in the South Caucasus.Russia will try to disrupt the signing of a peace treaty, using both its influence on Azerbaijan and the political forces loyal to it in Armenia. While the West welcomed the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement on the Alma-Ata declaration, Russia remained silent. Rather, Russia is trying to find ways to punish Pashinyan.The pro-Russian opposition, taking advantage of Pashinyan's unpopular decision, is trying to take advantage of public dissatisfaction and generate anti-government movements. However, at the moment, there are no grounds to claim that the protests against the border demarcation process will have a potential nationwide scope and nature. It is more likely that they will disappear after the completion of the demarcation process around the four villages.Aliyev plays Putin’s gameBut Russia also still has great influence over Azerbaijan. Aliyev arrived in Moscow on February 22, the second anniversary of the signing of the Russia-Azerbaijan strategic alliance declaration. Afterwards Aliyev presented Armenia with artificial preconditions to make reaching a final peace agreement nearly impossible.Praising Russia's "fundamental" role in the South Caucasus, Aliyev insisted that Armenia is obliged to provide what it calls the "Zangezur Corridor" under Russian control, a strip of territory linking Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhichevan.In the last four years, Armenia lost hundreds of servicemen and lost territories, but Armenia did not yield to Azerbaijan and Russia the "Zangezur Corridor". There is almost zero probability that Pashinyan will agree to provide Russia and Azerbaijan with this, which would violate Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.According to our information, Yerevan now will propose new regulations to Baku that will make transportation to Nakhichevan more comfortable, but Armenia's sovereignty will be preserved. In other words, soon, Baku will have a chance to prove that it does not serve Russia's plan. But I'm a sceptic on this question.Aliyev demands Armenia change its constitutionAfter the meeting with Putin, Aliyev also demanded that Armenia change its constitution. The Declaration of Independence is mentioned in the constitution, the text of which also refers to the "Armenia - Nagorno-Karabakh reunification decision" of the Supreme Councils of Karabakh and Armenia. However, in the peace treaty negotiations, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a principle according to which the parties cannot refer to domestic legislation to not fulfill the provisions of the peace treaty. In other words, by recognising the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan with the Alma Ata declaration, Armenia includes Nagorno-Karabakh in the composition of Azerbaijan. And since Armenia undertakes not to refer to its domestic legislation, this problem has been overcome. After the signing of the agreement, Armenia cannot consider Nagorno-Karabakh as separate from Azerbaijan, referring to its constitution.However, since Azerbaijan appears to be under Russian orders to block the conclusion of the agreement, Aliyev put forward the demand to change the constitution. I think Pashinyan's government has no chance of holding a referendum to adopt a new constitution, considering that it is Azerbaijan's demand. Armenian society will oppose it. Azerbaijan is deliberately presenting an unrealistic demand.Azerbaijan itself has some problems with its constitution. Azerbaijan declares itself the successor of the First Republic, by which it expresses ambitions for the eastern territories of present-day Armenia. Aliyev is not going to change his constitution, but he makes such demands on Armenia.Aliyev also demands that Yerevan give up using Mount Ararat as a symbol. Ararat is a biblical mountain, and Armenia, which was the first in the world to adopt Christianity, cannot but consider that mountain as one of its symbols, even if it is located in the territory of Turkey. This is also an artificial obstacle that Aliyev deliberately puts forward.It is also not excluded that the issue of dropping the Azerbaijan blockade will be left out of the draft peace treaty, and after the signing of the treaty, Armenia will continue to be under a blockade.Will the historic chance fail?Therefore, although Armenia and Azerbaijan are now the closest they have been to signing a peace treaty in the last 30 years, there is a high probability that it will not be signed.Armenia's efforts and constructive stance alone are not enough to conclude an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty, because Aliyev continues to serve Putin's interests. The Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples will probably not realise the historical chance to sign a peace treaty. And even Pashinyan's realism may become meaningless.For the wars in the South Caucasus to end and a peace treaty to be signed, the US and the EU must exert strong pressure on Azerbaijan. If they don’t, Azerbaijan will become the main base for the spread of Russia's military and political influence in the South Caucasus, whose function will be the fight against the influence of the West.Aliyev now positions himself as a figure fighting against extra-regional forces. He repeats the mantra of Putin and Erdogan that the problems of the South Caucasus should be solved by the forces of the region, and not by the countries across the ocean, referring to the US.The president of Azerbaijan is playing on the Russian field. The signing of the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will reduce the Russian factor in the region, and the role of the US and the EU will increase. By presenting these demands, Aliyev is trying to weaken and neutralise Western pressures. Aliyev's activity in the Russian direction is a message to the US and the EU that they could finally lose Baku if they try to impose sanctions. Yet the West has decided to increase the level of resilience of Armenia, giving the Armenian side a chance to defend itself against the illegal demands of Azerbaijan and Russia.On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a telephone conversation with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. He called on Aliyev to maintain dialogue with his Armenian counterpart, and expressed gratitude to Aliyev for the declaration of demarcation between the parties. He emphasised its importance for both Yerevan and Baku in achieving stable and dignified peace. While talking to Pashinyan, Blinken also emphasised the ongoing efforts of the United States to support Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as Pashinyan's vision of a prosperous, democratic, and independent future for Armenia.Although Baku refuses to sign a peace treaty in Washington, the US has taken a positive role in these processes. Whether or not Azerbaijan president will drop those obstacles preventing the conclusion of the agreement will depend especially on the involvement of the USA – both its determination and its demonstration of positive power.https://www.intellinews.com/comment-aliyev-continues-to-block-the-chance-of-peace-in-the-south-caucasus-323285/?source=armenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 2 Author Report Share Posted May 2 eurasianet April 29 2024 Azerbaijan blinks as US House of Representatives takes action to impose sanctions on Baku President Ilham Aliyev insists crackdown is consistent with due process. Azerbaijan has spent much of the past half-year thumbing its nose at the United States and European Union over Western criticism of Baku’s authoritarian political practices. But it appears the West has at least one weapon in its arsenal capable of getting Azerbaijani leaders’ attention. That tool is money. Or more specifically, the ability to hinder Azerbaijani officials from moving around the world and spending it. Rights advocates in Baku and elsewhere say it is no surprise an Azerbaijani court released a prominent opposition figure, Gubad Ibadoglu, from jail shortly after a report started circulating on April 22 that the US Congress was moving to impose sanctions against top Azerbaijani officials. A few days later, the European Parliament too called for sanctions to be imposed against Azerbaijani officials. “They [authorities] are even afraid of the first letter of the word ‘sanctions.’ No matter how loud they challenge the West,” lawyer and politician Samed Rahimli wrote on X. “Azerbaijani authorities showed today that they are afraid of sanctions.” On April 28, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone discussion with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, aiming to put bilateral relations on a better footing. Blinken, according to a State Department statement, acknowledged recent progress in the Armenia-Azerbaijani peace process and reiterated Washington’s desire to “cooperate on mutual energy, climate, and connectivity goals.” He welcomed Ibadolgu’s release from jail while calling for his “expeditious” release. The statement concluded by noting Blinken “again urged Azerbaijan to adhere to its international human rights obligations and commitments and release those unjustly detained in Azerbaijan.” The Baku court decision did not exonerate Ibadoglu, an economist who is a vocal opponent of Aliyev’s administration. Though out of jail, he will remain under house arrest as his case proceeds. Ibadoglu chairs Democracy and Prosperity Party and was a visiting professor at the London School of Economics at the time of his arrest in July 2023. Ibadoglu is accused of taking part in a scheme to profit from circulating “counterfeit money or securities by an organized group.” He denies the charge and says his case is politically motivated. The Turan News Agency’s Washington correspondent, Alex Raufoglu, broke the news about brewing US sanctions against up to 40 political, law enforcement and military officials who “play active roles in violating the rule of law and human rights in the country.” Reportedly some of President Aliyev’s top lieutenants are on the list of those to be sanctioned, including the head of presidential administration, Samir Nuriyev, the chief of the State Security Service, Ali Nagiyev, and the commander of Special Forces, Hikmet Mirzayev. Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, is the primary sponsor of the sanctions bill in the House of Representatives. According to the Turan report, the bill is a response to Azerbaijan’s recent crackdown on independent journalists and civil society activists amid a deterioration of relations with the United States. Since last fall, nearly 20 journalists and opposition activists have been arrested, many of them on smuggling charges. As with Ibadoglu’s case, the journalists and activists in custody insist the cases against them are bogus. At a news conference during an official visit to Berlin, President Aliyev contended that all the cases against government critics conform with established laws. “Any country must defend its laws,” Aliyev said. “If a media representative who received illegal funding from abroad was investigated, it does not mean that our media is not free. Everyone should act within the law. We, like any other country, must protect our media space from external negative influence.” The US sanctions bill reportedly also cites Azerbaijan’s allegedly harsh treatment of Armenian prisoners, captured during the last phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “This calls into serious question the Azerbaijani government's commitment to human rights and its ability to negotiate a just and lasting peace [with Armenia],” the Turan report quotes the bill as stating. Given that Republicans control the US House, the timetable for the Democrat-sponsored sanctions bill to come up for a vote is uncertain. European Parliament efforts to implement sanctions against Azerbaijan are far less advanced. Also uncertain is whether Azerbaijan will take additional steps to tamp down the possibility of sanctions. The initial indications are not encouraging that Azerbaijan will change its ways. On April 29, the day after the Blinken-Aliyev phone discussion, law enforcement authorities in Baku detained a prominent activist, Anar Mammadli, who chairs the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, according to an opposition media report. Government critics are calling on Washington and Brussels to keep applying pressure. “There are still political prisoners in the prison. They need to be freed. There should be no compromise,” writer and blogger Samed Shikhi wrote on X. https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-blinks-as-us-house-of-representatives-takes-action-to-impose-sanctions-on-baku Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Yervant1 Posted May 12 Author Report Share Posted May 12 George Washington University - LAW May 10 2024 Professor Murphy Urges World Court to Find Jurisdiction in Case Protecting Ethnic Armenians from Racial Discrimination GW Law Professor Sean D. Murphy argued before the International Court of Justice (World Court) in The Hague, Netherlands, in favor the Court’s jurisdiction in a case that seeks to protect ethnic Armenians from racial discrimination by the Republic of Azerbaijan. Appearing on behalf of the Republic of Armenia, Professor Murphy urged the World Court to find jurisdiction in a case that, among other things, concerns the flight in 2023 of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians (including some 30,000 children) from their ancestral homeland in Nagorno-Karabakh. “While Azerbaijan is seeking to argue that its conduct should be judged solely in accordance with rules relating to armed conflict, its conduct equally may be judged under rules concerning racial discrimination, over which the Court has jurisdiction,” said Professor Murphy. He noted that the Court’s jurisdiction arises from the ratification by both countries of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. A video of Professor Murphy’s argument may be found at here (bottom video, from time 1:00 to 1:28) and further information on the case may be found here. https://www.law.gwu.edu/professor-murphy-urges-world-court-find-jurisdiction-case-protecting-ethnic-armenians-racial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 Asbarez.com UN Body Issues Report on Azerbaijani Torture and State Hatred Toward Armeniansby Contributor May 13, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories The hearing by the Committee Against Torture was held on May 10 The United Nations Committee Against Torture on May 10 released its concluding observations following its fifth periodic review of Azerbaijan.The Committee monitors States’ compliance with the 1984 Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. If it determines that a State is not meeting its legal obligations, it will issue suggestions and recommendations to the State to achieve compliance. Its previous review of Azerbaijan took place in 2015.Civil society groups had the right to make written submissions to the Committee, and present orally to the Committee at the U.N. Palais Wilson in Geneva on April 22. The Armenian Bar Association did both, in coordination with other Armenian groups.[1] Then, on April 23 and 24, the Committee engaged in a six-hour dialogue with Azerbaijan’s State representatives – and its questioning was based in large part on the ABA’s and other groups’ submissions.[2]In its Concluding Observations (paras. 22-25), the Committee made significant and targeted findings against Azerbaijan’s conduct towards ethnic Armenians.Armenian Bar Association member Alexander BedrosyanPerhaps most importantly, referring to the “conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Committee expressed its “deep concern regarding [Azerbaijan’s] conduct of what it describes as anti-terrorism operations,” in other words the military action by which Azerbaijan ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19-20, 2023. The Committee’s concern extended to “the continued detention of what [Azerbaijan] describes as 23 individuals in connection with terrorism,” referring to the detained former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders.The Committee also noted “the effect that discriminatory statements made by high-level officials and disseminated in both online and offline media may have in creating an environment that greatly increases the likelihood of the commission of violence against persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin and other minority groups.”The Committee furthermore acknowledged reports of “extrajudicial killings, torture and other ill-treatment” against ethnic Armenians, and “the recording and dissemination of videos that appear to depict horrifying acts involving beheadings of live individuals, desecration and mutilation of corpses, and acknowledgment on-camera by the perpetrators of responsibility for such abuses in a manner that strongly suggests they did not fear being held accountable.” And – based on Azerbaijan’s own responses during the dialogue – only five individuals have been prosecuted, but “none of the sentences imposed in those cases were for extrajudicial killings, torture or ill-treatment, and no sentence required the imprisonment of any offender.” The Committee emphasized that “the prohibition of torture is non-derogable, that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war” can justify it. It recommended that Azerbaijan “make clear at the highest levels that any violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law related to the conflict in the region, or otherwise related to the treatment of ethnic or national Armenians, are totally unacceptable,” and that Azerbaijan promptly conduct full and impartial investigations into allegations of extrajudicial executions, torture and ill-treatment against ethnic Armenians.It recommended that Azerbaijan fully apply international law concerning the immunity and release of combatants.It recommended that Azerbaijan join the International Criminal Court.Finally, it stated that “[Azerbaijan] should publicly condemn hate speech, threats and attacks against persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin and all other minority groups, at the highest levels, and refrain from endorsing, through action or omission, such threats and attacks.”The Committee’s findings confirm the fact of official hatred in Azerbaijan against ethnic Armenians, which manifests itself in torture and impunity for torture. This establishes at the highest international level that once the displaced residents of Nagorno-Karabakh return to the territory, they cannot be directly subject to Azerbaijan’s authority.[1] While the oral session was private, the ABA’s written submission is available for download online.[2] Videos of the 2087th and the 2084th meetings are available online. https://asbarez.com/un-body-issues-report-on-azerbaijani-torture-and-state-hatred-toward-armenians/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3WeS4rvyjHMVCUexLc9WwQ32WrLrGA_YwVXTfib_s2m4o6WsdQ_lwMUdk_aem_AVjslTl13YWgVQycPa4PriK5UCfhFr1ocjPwM-mF6tWRYp6afGptppCuCjnkCfrHhrZakCAzKaOywS30RLOeTWmx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 Asbarez.com NGO Warns of Azerbaijan’s Systematic Eradication of Cultural Heritage in Artsakhby Asbarez Staff May 13, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories Satellite images show the destruction of the Holy Ascension Church in occupied Artsakh's BerdzorThe latest landmark in Artsakh to be destroyed by Azerbaijan is the Holy Ascension (St. Hambardsum) Church in occupied Berdzor (Lachin).“On May 11, 2024, a satellite image published on the Internet clearly showed that Azerbaijan had completely destroyed the HolyAscension (St. Hambardsum) Church in Berdzor. This is another act of vandalism – a typical behavior for Azerbaijan, where one of its primary aims is the eradication of Armenian cultural heritage in the occupied territories,” the Keghard Foundation warned in a statement.“This is cultural genocide, which is characterized by deliberate disregard or destruction of the cultural values of an ethno-religious or religious group and is one of the actions associated with genocide. The objective is to establish that this group never lived in the designated area and had no cultural presence there,” the Foundation added.The Keghard Foundation recalled that, back in 2022, Azerbaijan’s “Public Organization for the Protection of Monuments” propоsed converting the Surb Hambardzum Church in Berdzor into a mosque.“It is important to note that Azerbaijan’s state policy, under the dictatorial leadership of Aliyev, has openly declared its intention to continue the destruction of Armenian heritage built over the past thirty years. The most evident instance of this was the photograph shown by BBC News on March 25, 2021, depicting the complete destruction of the St. Mary’s (Sourp Asdvadzadin) Church in Mekhakavan, built in 2013.“Thus, with the tacit consent of the world, the Armenian cultural heritage in the territory of Artsakh is gradually being destroyed. There is little doubt that Azerbaijan will complete its planned cultural genocide, as evidenced by the events in Nakhichevan and other territories under its control,” added the statement, condemning the state-sponsored vandalism by Azerbaijan. https://asbarez.com/ngo-warns-of-systematic-eradication-cultural-heritage-in-artsakh/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1x1IXS6Zshx9q36TW5r8Hq8sp-81c7Ep0ThpF2_UJIAsRh6LjxOs3VG5E_aem_AVjiXjvRs3Zqc8rPekXjilkQLzHaDIhaDmc6ZMrXRV11fmFpmMLSQV_UNc8pgwo2RrWbKhJdvqEYu6EnqzRHkekR -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 17 Author Report Share Posted May 17 POLITICO May 16 2024 France accuses Azerbaijan of fomenting deadly riots in overseas territory New Caledonia State of emergency has been declared in the Pacific Ocean archipelago after four people were killed in the worsening violence. BY GABRIEL GAVIN, OCÉANE HERRERO AND VICTOR GOURY-LAFFONT Days of clashes between demonstrators and police in French-controlled New Caledonia are fueled by foreign interference, Paris declared on Thursday, as local officials vowed to restore order in the South Pacific territory. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that the violence, which has claimed the lives of three indigenous Kanak people and a police officer, had been actively supported by Azerbaijan. “This isn’t a fantasy,” he insisted on Thursday. “I regret that some of the separatists have made a deal with Azerbaijan.” However, “even if there are attempts at interference, … France is sovereign on its own territory, and so much the better,” he added. Speaking to POLITICO, a French intelligence official granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues of national security, said that “we’ve detected activities from Russia and Azerbaijan in New Caledonia for weeks, even a few months. They’re pushing the narrative of France being a colonialist state.” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada strongly rejected claims the country was behind the unrest. “Instead of accusing Azerbaijan of allegedly supporting pro-independence protests in New Caledonia, the Minister of the Interior of France should focus on his country’s failed policy towards the overseas territories that led to such protests,” he said. Relations between France and Azerbaijan have hit rock bottom in recent years as a result of French military and political support for the South Caucasus country’s neighbor and historic rival Armenia — a situation only intensified by Baku’s military seizure of the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year. France’s accusations against Azerbaijan will only heighten the focus on the international meddling and domestic political crackdowns perpetrated by a regime that will host this year’s COP29 U.N. climate talks. The demonstrations have seen renewed calls for the independence of the Pacific Ocean archipelago, 1,200 kilometers east of Australia. The protests come after French MPs backed changes to New Caledonia’s constitution, allowing any citizen who has lived there for at least 10 years to vote in its local elections, a move local pro-independence Kanak activists fear will see them sidelined. France imposed a state of emergency on New Caledonia on Wednesday. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly accused France of “neo-colonialism” and has actively supported independence movements and other countries’ claims over French territories across the world, including the island of Mayotte and New Caledonia. Azerbaijan has even founded the Baku Initiative Group, bringing together 14 political movements across the former French Empire in the name of decolonization. The group issued a statement Thursday in which they accused Paris of “infringing upon the Kanak people’s right to self-determination by expanding the electorate to keep them a minority in their own homeland.” However, according to Philippe Gomes, former president of the government of New Caledonia, Azerbaijan is actively funding the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front. “Azerbaijan created the Baku group that funds separatists in all overseas French regions,” said Gomes, who has tried to quell calls for the islands to break from Paris. “Recent trips to Paris by independence activists were funded by Baku. It is clear and obvious that Azerbaijan is contributing in support the request for independence, which can be called foreign interference,” Gomes said. Roch Wamytan, a Kanak politician serving as president of the Congress of New Caledonia has dismissed claims that Baku is a malign influence in the region. “Why demonize this country?” he asked in April as part of a row over local politicians recieving paid travel from authoritarian Azerbaijan. “France supports repressive and authoritarian regimes like Togo, Chad, Djibouti, by training their security forces, by advising their military hierarchy and through the sale of arms,” he said. As part of the state of emergency, France has banned TikTok in New Caledonia in an apparent effort to disrupt the organization of protests that have left hundreds injured. The decision also allows authorities to order people deemed a threat to public order to be held under house arrest, as well as carry out searches, seize weapons and suspend the right to free assembly. “No violence will be tolerated,” French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has said, insisting the draconian measures will “allow us to roll out huge efforts to restore order.” Home to more than a quarter of a million people, New Caledonia was settled around 3,000 years ago by Pacific Islanders, and named by British explorer James Cook in 1774. It was later conquered by France in 1853. In recent years, there have been charges that the indigenous Kanak people have faced systemic discrimination and chronic underdevelopment. https://www.politico.eu/article/france-accuse-azerbaijan-fomenting-deadly-riot-overseas-territory-new-caledonia/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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