Yervant1 Posted May 18 Author Report Share Posted May 18 Al-Jazeera, Qatar May 18 2024 France blames Azerbaijan for New Caledonia violence: Unpacking their spat Azerbaijan previously condemned French colonialism in overseas territories, while has France backed Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh. France has accused Azerbaijan of being behind protests and violence that have rocked its Pacific island territory of New Caledonia for the past few days over the French government’s decision to change a voting law. Azerbaijan, which has traditionally had little presence in the Asia Pacific and is nearly 14,000km (8,700 miles) away from New Caledonia, has denied the allegations of interference. But what’s behind their diplomatic spat and how does New Caledonia figure in it? Here is what we know so far. What’s happening in New Caledonia? Mass protests erupted in New Caledonia on Tuesday this week after the French parliament passed reforms that allow French people who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years or more to vote in local provincial elections in New Caledonia. The French government has argued that these reforms uphold democracy in the archipelago. But local people – particularly those from the Indigenous Kanak communities, who make up 40 percent of the islands’ population – fear this will undermine their efforts to win independence from France. New Caledonia, one of the largest French overseas territories, is located between Australia and Fiji. France occupied the territory in 1853 and purposefully populated it with French citizens who displaced the Indigenous Kanak communities. Five people have been killed and hundreds injured in the violent protests, which have been accompanied by looting and arson and are the worst violence New Caledonia has experienced in 30 years, experts have said. In response, France declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia on Wednesday and deployed 500 additional military and police personnel to bolster the existing 1,800 police and gendarmes stationed in the territory. Why is France accusing Azerbaijan of backing the protests? France accused Azerbaijan of interference after Azerbaijani flags were seen alongside Kanak symbols at the protests. Images of such flags also started making rounds on social media. Azerbaijan has been outspoken against what it sees as French colonialism. In July 2023, Baku invited pro-independence participants from the French territories of Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia and French Polynesia for a conference titled, “Towards the Complete Elimination of Colonialism”. This conference resulted in the formation of the Baku Initiative Group whose stated aim is to “support the just struggle of the peoples suffering from the colonial policy of France”. This week, the Group released a statement expressing solidarity with the Indigenous Kanak people against the new French reforms. “We stand in solidarity with our Kanak friends and support their fair struggle,” said the statement. On Thursday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told the TV channel, France 2, that Azerbaijan, alongside China and Russia, was “interfering” in New Caledonia. “I regret that some of the Caledonian pro-independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan,” he alleged. He added: “Even if there are attempts at interference … France is sovereign on its own territory, and so much the better.” How has Azerbaijan responded to accusations from France? Baku has denied the French interior minister’s allegations. “We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ayhan Hajizadeh said. Azerbaijan has previously criticised French colonialism in overseas territories. Tensions between France and Azerbaijan have also been simmering since France expressed support for Armenia in the conflict over the disputed, breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region which is claimed by both countries. Why are France and Azerbaijan at loggerheads over Nagorno-Karabakh? France, which has a sizeable Armenian diaspora of roughly 650,000 people, has sided with Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2020, the French Senate adopted a resolution calling for the region’s independence, prompting Azerbaijan to call for France to be stripped of its mediation role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Tensions between France and Azerbaijan further escalated during Baku’s 2023 military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In September, France signed defence deals with Armenia and promised to deliver military equipment. In response, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry released a statement saying, “The stance of France demonstrates that it refuses to learn from the current situation in the colonial regions that it faces today and continues its previous behaviour and policy in this regard”. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES HTTPS://WWW.ALJAZEERA.COM/NEWS/2024/5/17/FRANCE-BLAMES-AZERBAIJAN-FOR-NEW-CALEDONIA-VIOLENCE-UNPACKING-THEIR-SPAT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 20 Report Share Posted May 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 20 Report Share Posted May 20 France accuses Azerbaijan of fomenting political violence in New Caledonia An outbreak of rioting in the Pacific territory has been met with a 1,000-strong reinforcement for local security services.A French minister has accused Azerbaijan of interfering in the politics of New Caledonia, the French Overseas territory that has seen a startling outbreak of fresh political violence.In a TV interview, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said it was "not a fantasy, but a reality" that certain pro-independence leaders in New Caledonia had "made a deal" with Azerbaijan.He also insisted that the French government had no intention of allowing others to interfere in the county's territories. https://www.euronews.com/2024/05/17/france-accuses-azerbaijan-of-fomenting-political-violence-in-new-caledonia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 20 Report Share Posted May 20 This isn’t a fantasy’: why is distant Azerbaijan being linked to deadly New Caledonia riots?Azerbaijani flags have sprung up at demonstrations in Pacific territory, while separatists from French territories have been invited to Baku https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/17/new-caledonia-riots-explainer-azerbaijan-flags-noumea-link France’s government says it has no doubt that Azerbaijan is stirring tensions in New Caledonia, despite the vast geographical and cultural distance between the Caspian country and the French Pacific territory.Azerbaijan has said it rejects the accusation that it bears responsibility for the riots that have led to the deaths of five people and rattled the government in Paris.It is the latest in a litany of tensions between Paris and Baku and not the first time France has accused Azerbaijan of being behind a disinformation campaign.The riots in New Caledonia, a French territory lying between Australia and Fiji, were sparked by a new electoral law that supporters of independence say will dilute the vote of the indigenous Kanak population. “This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a reality,” France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, told television channel France 2 when asked if Azerbaijan, China and Russia were interfering in New Caledonia.“I regret that some of the Caledonian pro-independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan. It’s indisputable.”But he added: “Even if there are attempts at interference … France is sovereign on its own territory, and so much the better.”What has Azerbaijan said?“We completely reject the baseless accusations,” said Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ayhan Hajizadeh. “We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan.”In images widely shared on social media, footage broadcast on Wednesday on the French channel TF1 showed some pro-independence supporters wearing T-shirts bearing the Azerbaijani flag.Tensions between the French and Azerbaijan governments have grown in the wake of the 2020 war and 2023 lightning offensive that Azerbaijan waged to regain control of its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian separatists.France is a traditional ally of Christian Armenia, Azerbaijan’s neighbour and historic rival, and is also home to a large Armenian diaspora.Darmanin said Azerbaijan – led since 2003 by President Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father, Heydar – was a “dictatorship”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 20 Report Share Posted May 20 A state of emergency has been declared in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia following three days of unrest that has left five people dead and dozens more injured.The catalyst for the disorder is new legislation that would expand the eligible electorate – diluting the voting power of the indigenous Kanak people, the majority of whom favour independence from France. But French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed the violence had been fomented by a nation 8,500 miles away from the archipelago."Some of the Caledonian independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan, that's undeniable," he told French television. A spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry rejected the "baseless accusations". https://theweek.com/politics/new-caledonia-riots-azerbaijan-france-overseas-territory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 25 Author Report Share Posted May 25 May 23 2024 Azerbaijan Destroys Armenian Church and Village, Builds Mosque in Conquered Artsakh 5/23/2024 Armenia/Azerbaijan (International Christian Concern) – Months after the fall of Artsakh, Azerbaijan destroyed the St. John the Baptist Church in the town of Shusi and the entire Karintak village. Azerbaijan is also building a large mosque in Karintak, known as Dashalti in Azeri. Both the church and the village were in the Shushi province of Artsakh, which is now integrated into the Shusha province of Azerbaijan following the conquest of Artsakh in September 2023. Azerbaijan had conquered the Shushi province during the 2020 conflict over Artsakh. In 2021, an Azerbaijani legislator posted to Twitter/X a photo of Christian clerics praying at the St. John the Baptist Church in Shushi, citing “the national cultural diversity existing in Azerbaijan” and “the atmosphere of ethnic and religious tolerance.” The fall of Artsakh in 2023, however, and the continuing destruction of Armenian Christian heritage proves otherwise. The church in Shushi, built by Armenians in 1847, was known in Armenian as St. Hovhannes Mkrtich or Kanach Zham (the green chapel). Azerbaijan destroyed the church and several surrounding buildings during the winter of 2023-2024 according to satellite imagery published by Caucasus Heritage Watch, an investigative institution supported by Cornell University. An image dated from April 2024 shows the rubble where the church and surrounding buildings in Shushi once stood. Likewise, imagery dated from April 2024 shows that the entire Karintak village is nearly razed to the ground. Caucasus Heritage Watch, which also published the imagery of Karintak, assessed that Azerbaijan likely destroyed the village to build a new village for Azerbaijani resettlers. In December 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the building site of the new mosque in Karintak, which is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2024. This comes as International Christian Concern (ICC) reported that the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently named Azerbaijan as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), a designation which USCIRF applies to “countries that commit systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” The recommendation to the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government and the State Department follows the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). https://www.persecution.org/2024/05/23/azerbaijan-destroys-armenian-church-and-village-builds-mosque-in-conquered-artsakh/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 30 Author Report Share Posted May 30 Armenpress.am "Gardman-Shirvan-Nakhijevan" condemns statement by Azerbaijan's Aliyev 18:24, 29 May 2024YEREVAN, MAY 29, ARMENPRESS. Gardman-Shirvan-Nakhijevan Pan-Armenian Union has strongly condemned the latest unbalanced statement made by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, as part of the implementation of the illegal policy of unilateral settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, in which he accuses Armenia of war crimes and demands their recognition and even an apology.The irony is that such a demand is put forward by the president, while the state and the people he leads have committed the following acts of genocide during the last century.The massacre and looting of the peaceful civilian Armenian population during the Tatar-Armenian clashes over two years;Massacres, abductions, robbery and looting of Armenian settlements in the spring of 1918 in the vicinity of Shamkhor station and at stations along the Baku-Tbilisi railway;Forced deportation, massacre and looting of Armenians in Nukha (1918-1919);Forced deportation, massacre and looting of Armenians in Aresh (1918-1919); Targeted mass killings of Baku Armenians (September 15-17, 1918);Deliberate creation of conditions incompatible with life for Armenians who remained or returned to Baku (September-November 1918);Forced deportation of Nakhichevan Armenians (1918-1919);Deportation, massacre, looting of Gardman Armenians (1918-1920);The massacre of Shushi Armenians March 22-26, 1920;Continuous violence against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, 1918-1920;Sumgait massacres, 1988;Gandzak pogroms and deportations, 1988;Baku massacres, 1990;Ethnic cleansing of Northern Artsakh,1991;Maragha massacre, 1992;Gurgen Margaryan's axing in 2004Continuous destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage of Nakhichevan;Continuous destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage of Gardman;Complete destruction of the Armenian trace of Shirvan, particularly in Baku;Outbreak of the four-day war in 2016;Outbreak of the 44-day war in 202;Forcible displacement of the population from the territories that came under Azerbaijani control;Blockade of the Lachin corridor and creation of a humanitarian crisis (December 12, 2023);Outbreak of war against Nagorno-Karabakh (September 19-20, 2023);Ethnic cleansing of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh (September 2023);Destruction of the Armenian national-religious cultural environment of Nagorno-Karabakh.This is just the most modest list of all the crimes that various Azerbaijani regimes have committed against Armenian settlements and the Armenian population over the past century. The enormous anti-Armenian policy, guided by the architects of Azerbaijan's future, is evident even to the naked eye. The Union strongly condemns the abhorrent speeches of the President of Azerbaijan. The best legal step that the President of Azerbaijan could have taken would have been to announce that the state he leads is ready to appear before the international court for crimes against humanity and to bear the consequences of these crimes with full responsibility. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1138285.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31CJs7JS1TlfY1B9kYW7jOks2uPp1R5YaGpkKSqnE8cv2pnFtJjsDJLWY_aem_AcgZ69sR6-y36c8ik3b0P3EYtkDPblrzmIkO14a05mgWR0Dp9yfOqapCMYXe6_z3ru2FuNfQXT9A1tU4Iy3pnFTA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 31 Author Report Share Posted May 31 euronewsMay 30 2024 Azerbaijan: Baku is bulldozing Armenian legacy in Karabakh Some acts appear to contravene International Court of Justice order.Lilit Shahverdyan May 30, 2024Bulldozers hard at work in Karabakh’s capital, called Stepanakert dating back to Soviet times, but now known as Khankendi. (Photo: Azertac, t.ly/BS4yx)The United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ) has mandated that Azerbaijan uphold the right of return for Armenian refugees who fled Nagorno-Karabakh following the Azerbaijani military’s reconquest of the territory. But if any Armenians do eventually return, they may not recognize the areas they fled in late 2023. Since last autumn, when Karabakh’s reconquest was completed, Azerbaijan has moved swiftly to remake key parts of the region, evidently with an eye toward eliminating vestiges of Armenian influence. The makeover extends beyond name changes of locations – Karabakh’s capital, for example, was called Stepanakert dating back to Soviet times, but is now known as Khankendi. New satellite imagery reveals the extensive destruction of residential buildings, churches and other culturally significant sites associated with former Armenian residents.One of the most striking changes is the destruction of an entire neighborhood and a bus station in Khankendi. The demolished area is situated near the former ArtsakhState University, now renamed KarabakhUniversity. The urban renewal project is an outgrowth of an Azerbaijani government initiative to lure upwards of 1,200 university students from across Azerbaijan to continue their studies in Khankendi. Authorities are expanding the campus and building new classroom facilities and dormitories, as well as offering other incentives, including free tuition and housing. Officials have pledged the revamped university will be ready for the fall term.Previously, the area cleared to make room for the university expansion was home to an estimated 1,000 Karabakh Armenian residents. In another major instance of destruction, a village called Karin Tak, an Armenian settlement located near the city of Shusha, appears to have been completely bulldozed. The reason for the demolition is not immediately clear. Additional satellite imagery indicates that personal property inside some private residences marked for demolition was discarded haphazardly, in some instances treated like garbage and simply tossed into the street.In March, Azerbaijani state TV showed footage of the dismantling of the parliament building of the de facto, Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), along with the neighboring Armenian war veterans’ center, claiming those structures were “illegal” and “did not meet the architectural requirements.” Another focus of the Azerbaijani government’s wrecking ball has been Armenian churches, cemeteries and Orthodox Christian religious symbols. Documented instances of the demolition of Armenian places of worship have been recorded in Susha and Lachin.Statues and monuments associated with Karabakh’s Soviet and Armenian legacy have similarly been taken down. For example, a statue of Stepan Shahumyan, a Bolshevik revolutionary after whom the Karabakh Armenian capital was named, has been removed, as have other monuments to Armenian political and military figures.At least some of the Azerbaijani demolition efforts appears to contravene a November order issued by the ICJ. That ruling required Azerbaijan, citing Baku’s obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to “take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artifacts.”Around the same time as the ICJ issued its order, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declaredthat promoting the return of Armenian refugees to Karabakh under the existing circumstances was “unrealistic.” If anything, conditions have only worsened since then for those refugees entertaining hopes of returning to their homeland. Armenian refugees say they would need to have security guarantees before they would consider returning, as well as some special privileges, such as an ability to live in compact settlements and enjoy some forms of municipal autonomy. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, however, has categorically ruled out the possibility of any special rights for returnees. He has stated that potential Armenian returnees would enjoy the same legal status as all other Azerbaijani citizens.Lilit Shahverdyan is a journalist based in Stepanakert. https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-baku-is-bulldozing-armenian-legacy-in-karabakh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted June 24 Author Report Share Posted June 24 Asbarez.com Blinken Urges Aliyev to Sign Peace Deal with Armenia, Release the ‘Unjustly Detained’ by Asbarez Staff June 21, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories Secretary of State Antony Blinken during talks with Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Washington in 2023 In a phone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged him to sign a peace agreement with Armenia “without delay.” “The Secretary recognized ongoing progress by Armenia and Azerbaijan toward a peace agreement and underscored the significance of concluding an agreement without delay,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout of the call. Miller said Blinken “reiterated the United States remains willing to support further engagement in any way useful to the parties.” Blinken reportedly again urged “Azerbaijan to adhere to its international human rights obligations and commitments and release all those unjustly detained. He called on Azerbaijan to do so expeditiously.” Aliyev and other high-ranking Azerbaijani officials have preconditioned the approval of a peace deal with demands that Armenia change its Constitution, in which, they say Armenia has territorial claims from Azerbaijan. Yerevan has rejected Baku’s demands, saying that amending the Constitution is Armenia’s domestic affair. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan reiterated Armenia’s readiness to sign a peace deal in the coming month. “We are ready to conclude the treaty during the upcoming month as we have already proposed,” Mirzoyan said Thursday during a visit to Lithuania. “Unfortunately, we have not been hearing from the Azerbaijani side so far. Moreover, Azerbaijan is bringing up new issues, which at least raises questions about their sincerity towards the final goal of establishing peace in our neighborhood and broader region,” he added. In response to Baku’s angry reaction to Armenia’s fresh arms acquisition from France, the Armenian foreign ministry warned that Azerbaijan was planning to unleash a new wave military offensives following the United Nations Climate Summit in Baku in November. https://asbarez.com/blinken-urges-aliyev-to-sign-peace-deal-with-armenia-release-the-unjustly-detained/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2MkbsF6q-UOCIbVx4L97QbJbmbmt0ePvAhBcy-WcTgLK6mBb9A9t2aqUU_aem_9tPiLLr3mM04Pb6dNDM3lg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted June 30 Author Report Share Posted June 30 The Christian Post June 29 2024 No, Armenia is not antisemitic. But Azerbaijan certainly is By Dan Harre, Op-ed contributor Saturday, June 29, 2024 Activists protest in front of the UN Office in Armenia in Yerevan, on August 16, 2023. On August 12, 2023, Armenia urged the U.N. Security Council to hold a crisis meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh, citing a "deteriorating humanitarian situation" after accusing Azerbaijan of blocking supplies to the disputed region. | KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images News broke last Friday that Armenia had decided to formally recognize Palestine as an independent state. This news was shocking for Armenia observers, as the decision seemed to come out of the blue. Media outlets in Azerbaijan began circulating stories about Armenia’s clear antisemitism despite the fact that Azerbaijan has recognized Palestine as an independent state since the 1990s. While we can only speculate as to why Armenia chose this moment to recognize Palestine, it is possible that it came as a precondition for the normalization of relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, which has gained steam lately. Perhaps the most pressing question in light of the announcement is whether Armenia, the first and oldest Christian country in the world, is actually anti-Israel. While Armenia’s decision to recognize Palestine is concerning, it is important to note that it is quite literally the last country in the entire Middle East to do so, and it likely came as a result of external pressure. Armenia is an ancient biblical nation, and it most certainly does not identify with the values of radical Islam. Additionally, according to Israel’s National Security Secretariat, Armenia is the safest country for Jews to travel to in the entire Middle East (outside of Israel). In fact, it is safer than Azerbaijan and most of Western Europe. Similarly, Armenia has served as a safe haven for Jews seeking to escape persecution in Russia. So much so, that the Jewish community has gone out of its way to highlight the fact. In all fairness, Armenia does have its qualms with Israel. First, it feels betrayed by the fact that Azerbaijan imports nearly 70% of its weapons from Israel. These weapons are routinely used against Armenians, including in the ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Armenian Christians from Artsakh. Additionally, while Armenia recognizes and mourns the Holocaust, Israel does not recognize the Armenian Genocide. While these matters amount to frustration, Armenians also understand that Israelis are not inherently anti-Armenian and that, like Armenians, they are trying to survive in an extremely hostile neighborhood. While Armenians are preoccupied with fending off attacks from Azerbaijan, Israel is preoccupied with confronting the Iranian threat. In fact, the Iranian threat is the pretext for the entire Israeli-Azerbaijani relationship. Azerbaijan’s proximity to Iran has made it an important base of operations for Israeli intelligence operations against Tehran. To be clear, Azerbaijan’s relationship with Israel is a matter of geopolitical calculation and not one of religious pluralism. In addition to gaining access to advanced Israeli weapons, Azerbaijan also uses its relationship with Jews to create a façade of tolerance while waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the region’s Armenian Christians. For example, following the 2023 ethnic cleansing of Artsakh that saw 120,000 Christians driven from their ancient homeland, Baku reflexively pointed to its positive relationship with Jews as evidence of its “tolerance” for religious minorities. A deeper investigation of Azerbaijan’s relationship with Israel is one of manipulation and not genuine affinity for the Jewish people. First, as previously mentioned, Azerbaijan recognized Palestine as an independent state back in the early 1990s, 30 years before Armenia recognized Palestine. Second, according to UN Watch, Azerbaijan has a 100% anti-Israel voting record at the UN. For context, this means that Azerbaijan has voted against Israel on 153 resolutions at the UN. This is hardly the behavior of a nation that loves the Jewish people. It should also be pointed out that Azerbaijan’s closest ally, Turkey, remains a stalwart supporter of Hamas. The relationship between Ankara and Baku is, in fact, so close that the two presidents describe themselves as “one nation, two states.” Following the Oct. 7th terrorist attacks against Israel, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister stated, “Azerbaijan supports the Palestinian people in their struggle for statehood, the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of the two-state principle, with the capital of Palestine in East Jerusalem.” Despite Azerbaijan’s antisemitic tendencies, it knows that it can not afford to lose Israel as a strategic partner. To that effect, it works diligently to paint its chief rival, Armenia, as being antisemitic in order to isolate Yerevan from Israel. Shortly after Armenia announced that it would recognize Palestine, Azerbaijani went on a media blitz to tout its support for the Jewish people and decry Armenia’s supposed antisemitism. Unfortunately, it seems that Azerbaijan may even be willing to go to extreme lengths to keep the Armenian and Jewish people divided. Since 2023, Armenia’s Mordechai Navi Synagogue has been vandalized four times. Interestingly, at least some of the incidents seem to have been carried out by non-Armenians who left immediately after the attack. Several members of Armenia’s Jewish community, including Armenia’s Chief Rabbi, went on record stating that they believe the attacks are being instigated by foreign actors in order to paint Armenia as being antisemitic. According to Jewish community member Roman Lapin, the attacks were an “undoubted provocation, the roots of which do not grow from the Armenian community, but from outside. This is evidenced by the fact that absolutely every attack was accompanied by external media pressure and was used in Armenophobic propaganda, with details that were known to the attackers and us, but were not made public in the Armenian media.” While Armenia’s decision to recognize Palestine is troubling, it is not indicative of a deeper antisemitism. Azerbaijan, which touts itself as one of Israel’s most stalwart defenders, made the very same decision 30 years ago. Armenia certainly has reservations about Israel, but that does not change the fact that it has been a safe haven for Jews in the Middle East. Even so, Azerbaijan will continue to work diligently to portray Armenia as an enemy of the Jewish people to preserve its ties with Jerusalem. Let’s hope that the world can see through the façade. Dan Harre is the Deputy Director of Save Armenia: A Judeo-Christian Alliance. He is a graduate of Regent University’s Robertson School of Government where he earned an M.A. in National Security Studies with an emphasis in Middle East Politics. https://www.christianpost.com/voices/no-armenia-is-not-antisemitic-but-azerbaijan-certainly-is.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 2 Author Report Share Posted July 2 Daily Beast June 30 2024 How the U.S. Paid for Foreign Dictator to Court GOP Governor NOT OK The secret agent at the center of Rep. Henry Cuellar’s bribery scandal organized an event that led Gov. Kevin Stitt to visit Azerbaijan—and U.S. foreign aid dollars underwrote it. William Bredderman Senior Researcher A secret agent working for an authoritarian ex-Soviet republic who allegedly bribed Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) also pursued ties with Oklahoma and its Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt—with U.S. federal funds helping to underwrite his efforts, The Daily Beast has found. The Daily Beast previously reported that the unnamed operative, who allegedly arranged corrupt contracts between the government of Azerbaijan and the Cuellar family, is Elshan Baloghlanov, a former official at the country’s Los Angeles consulate and the owner of the D.C.-area firm WCC International. The Daily Beast further revealed that WCC International not only matches the description of the company that allegedly supplied some of the illicit cash to the Democrat’s immediate relatives, but also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in American foreign aid money as a subcontractor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). ADVERTISEMENT Now, The Daily Beast can reveal that at least some of that USAID money paid for Baloghlanov and WCC International to conduct outreach efforts in Oklahoma that led directly to Stitt visiting Azerbaijan in 2021, and even meeting with its dictatorial President Ilham Aliyev. Cuellar has denied wrongdoing. USAID, Baloghlanov, and WCC did not respond to repeated queries from The Daily Beast. A spokesperson for Stitt, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, maintained any contact between his administration and Baloghlanov and his company was purely “incidental.” Oklahoma is particularly important to Azerbaijan because the country’s military receives technical support from the state’s National Guard under a U.S. Defense Department program. Azerbaijan and Oklahoma also share a heavy economic dependence on fossil fuel extraction, and authorities in the capital of Baku have increasingly looked to the Sooner State as they seek to develop the Central Asian nation’s farm sector. It was ostensibly for this last purpose that the nonprofit Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), which contracts with USAID, hired WCC International to help “organize the First Oklahoma-Azerbaijan Agricultural Forum” in Nov. 2019, according to a report the group filed with the federal agency that year. This report, along with all others CNFA filed referring to its work with WCC International, disappeared from the USAID website following The Daily Beast’s original story. However, several documents remain visible in web caches and archives. The Oklahoma-Azerbaijan Agricultural Forum occurred only 10 months after the Department of Justice alleges WCC International paid a $30,000 bribe to Rep. Cuellar’s wife, Imelda Cuellar, the last in a series of disbursements totaling nearly $250,000 that the federal indictment says Baloghlanov arranged on behalf of the Azerbaijani government. Stitt—then in the first year of his first term—not only served as a keynote speaker at the forum, but took the occasion to declare Nov. 9 “Azerbaijan Day,” CNFA noted in its writeup. The event also featured the signing of a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between Oklahoma State University and a government-run agricultural school in Azerbaijan. For its part, Baloghlanov’s company promoted the event and the attendance of Azerbaijani and USAID officials on its Facebook page. Please join us in welcoming Ag Trade Delegation Mission to OKC headed by Mr. Inam Karimov, Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan. The United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) USAID - US Agency for International Development Oklahoma Department of Commerce Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry Embassy of Azerbaijan, Washington, D.C. @USEmbassyBaku https://buff.ly/2PI9Xnp https://www.facebook.com/wccinternational/photos/a.1875507796054237/2498044863800524/?type=3&ref=embed_post You can't miss this event if you want 2learn how to export US products & services to #Azerbaijan and what incentives do USAID - US Agency for International Development and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture - CNFA offer. WE LOOK FORWARD 2 Dr. Jay Singh's presentation. Register here: https://buff.ly/33c5ugz https://www.facebook.com/wccinternational/photos/a.1875507796054237/2499833960288281/?type=3&ref=embed_post But despite the forum’s pastoral theme, photos and a video the Oklahoma National Guard posted online show top officials from the state military force flanked Stitt during a sit-down with the Azerbaijani government officials, and posed and powwowed with members of the foreign delegation in ballrooms and hallways. One photo even shows then-Adjutant General Michael Thompson, the state’s highest-ranked military and law enforcement officer and a member of Stitt’s cabinet, chatting with a grinning Baloghlanov—now alleged to be a secret agent and foreign bribe-master—and the rector of the Azerbaijani state agricultural school who signed the memorandum of understanding with OSU the day before. Shown the photo over text message and informed of Baloghlanov’s activities, the since-retired Thompson said he had no recollection of the discussion or knowledge of the Azerbaijani agent’s identity or agenda. “I have no idea who the man in the red tie is, nor do I know what the random conversation was about at this event I attended five years ago,” he wrote to The Daily Beast, adding that he had no contact with federal authorities during the Cuellar investigation. “Obviously I don’t know what he did before or after this agriculture event.” In its annual report to the governor, the Guard described the gathering as “a defining moment in our 17-year partnership” with Baku. CNFA was no less enthused, declaring it such a success that in a subsequent report it said it would deploy WCC to additional states for similar events. It also argued Stitt’s presence, along with that of other elected officials, “helped lend visibility and credibility to the event.” Also exciting, the governor had vowed to have his Azerbaijani guests host him in the near future. “At the Forum, Governor Kevin Stitt committed to leading a delegation to Azerbaijan in the spring of 2020,” the first report to USAID read. When the COVID-19 pandemic intervened, CNFA pivoted to webinars, most posted on a Facebook page called “U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade Linkages” that the group controlled—and most hosted by Baloghlanov. The most popular of these events that Baloghlanov led—with the USAID logo displayed above his shoulder—was a December 2020 e-forum with two wheat experts from Oklahoma State University. A little more than a month before, Azerbaijan concluded a brief but bloody war with its neighbor Armenia, and successfully captured the city of Shusha in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which had declared independence and aligned with Armenia in 1991. The CNFA-run Facebook page, underwritten with American foreign aid dollars, celebrated this military triumph.It followed up two days later with a post highlighting the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s partnership with the Oklahoma National Guard. US - Azerbaijan Business Linkages dtnorpeSosi6108r36201it0ee220t02 4tc73fc6o6v17591uN 7m2uuib7 · Today the United States celebrates Veterans Day, which started in 1926 with its purpose being to remember all U.S. military veterans, past and present. It should also be noted that Azerbaijani soldiers served shoulder-to-shoulder with their American counterparts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in Kosovo’s peacekeeping mission. Today, the United States and Azerbaijan still maintain good military cooperation through Oklahoma National Guard and the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan. Other sectors of the economy, including food and agriculture are open for further deepening of these long-established relationships. #veteransday #VeteransInAg #OklahomaNationalGuard See less https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=189245406091934&set=a.135606101455865&ref=embed_post In July 2021, Stitt’s trip to Azerbaijan finally came off—which CNFA credited to the 2019 forum WCC helped run. “Perhaps the most notable event of the year was the follow-on Oklahoma Trade Mission, which in summer 2021 brought a government delegation, headed by Governor Kevin Stitt, to Azerbaijan in follow up from the 2019 PSA-supported Oklahoma-Azerbaijan Agricultural Forum in Oklahoma,” the contractor’s report to USAID reads. The USAID contractor was not alone in linking the trip to the WCC-supported 2019 summit. An update on the junket posted to Stitt’s government website stated that the Sooner-Azeri “relationship expanded in 2019 when a delegation from Azerbaijan visited Oklahoma for the Oklahoma-Azerbaijan Agricultural Forum.” Similarly, in highlighting Stitt’s visit, the American embassy in Baku asserted “Oklahoma’s friendship with Azerbaijan grew new roots in 2019” thanks to the event Baloghlanov and his company helped stage. While in the Caucasus autocracy, Stitt—accompanied by his National Guard and state agricultural officers—dined on caviar and, beneath a banner bearing the USA logo, signed off on a deal for Oklahoma State University to offer a dual degree program with its Azerbaijani counterpart. The governor and his National Guard brass also sat down with the country’s defense minister to vouch continued support for the “strategic partnership” with the country’s military. And Stitt and Adjutant General Thompson even met with, and bestowed a custom-made cowboy hat upon, Azerbaijani President Aliyev. Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan since the death of his father, the previous president, in 2003, and his regime is known for fraudulent elections, the stifling of the press and political dissent, and the imprisonment and torture of regime opponents. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has also uncovered a vast overseas web of companies and properties where the Aliyev family has stashed its colossal private fortune, much of the portfolio in the hands of a former government official named Gafar Gurbanov As it happens, The Daily Beast revealed last month that Gurbanov was listed as a director of the predecessor entity to WCC International, which Baloghlanov formed in California during his term as vice consul in L.A. The CNFA report to USAID asserted that its Azerbaijan project, of which WCC has been a part, coordinated with the U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (which has frequently partnered with Baloghlanov) and “other stakeholders to help host the visitors in Azerbaijan and arrange an array of government-to-government, government-to-business, and business-to-business meetings for trade mission delegates.” However, CNFA and Stitt’s office both denied this when approached by The Daily Beast. “The 2021 Oklahoma Trade mission was managed directly by U.S. and Azerbaijan government relationships. CNFA did not facilitate this event,” CNFA spokeswoman Darshana Patel told The Daily Beast. Patel refused to provide a comprehensive breakdown of WCC’s activities and invoices for CNFA in Oklahoma, insisting her organization lacked the “bandwidth” to do so. She would provide only a total dollar figure that Baloghlanov’s company received for all its subcontracted tasks under USAID-sponsored programs: $399,576. She previously told The Daily Beast that CNFA selected WCC as a vendor through a competitive bidding process. Similarly, Stitt’s office did not respond to repeated questions about contact with Baloghlanov or WCC regarding the 2019 forum, but maintained the alleged Azerbaijani operative and his firm were not involved with the international excursion in 2021. “The trip you referenced was organized by the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani government and USAID as an economic development and agriculture trip. Any connection with the company mentioned was incidental. I don’t believe any further meetings or contact occurred and there is no recollection from those on the trip of the individual or company referenced.” Less than two months after the governor’s return, his administration announced that Trece, an Oklahoma-based insect-control company, would begin doing business in Azerbaijan. The official release credited the international expansion to the 2019 forum and the 2021 trip. The Daily Beast further found that Trece and its owner Bill Lingren, a donor to Stitt’s allies in the Oklahoma legislature, also participated in a USAID-sponsored event in Azerbaijan alongside WCC International in 2019. In December 2022, Stitt hosted the chief of the general staff of the Azerbaijani in Oklahoma to celebrate the anniversary of their military partnership. A week-and-a-half afterward, Baku blockaded the main supply corridor to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the first step toward another clash over the province that ultimately led to the mass exodus of its ancient ethnic Armenian population. The close proximity of the two events prompted criticism of Stitt and the Oklahoma-Azerbaijani partnership from the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. The Daily Beast found that Baloghlanov has personally facilitated at least one other Oklahoma company’s entry into Azerbaijan, while WCC has since worked with firms in at least half a dozen other states under the auspices of CNFA. However, none—as yet—has sent their governor to Baku. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-us-paid-for-a-foreign-secret-agent-to-court-oklahoma-governor-kevin-stitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 4 Author Report Share Posted July 4 Financial Post July 2 2024 Azerbaijan Escalates Conflict With France in Pacific Over Armenia Arms Supply Azerbaijan is escalating a conflict with France that’s playing out in French territories in the Pacific, Caribbean and Latin America over weapons the European nation has supplied to Armenia. (Bloomberg) — Azerbaijan is escalating a conflict with France that’s playing out in French territories in the Pacific, Caribbean and Latin America over weapons the European nation has supplied to Armenia. The Baku Initiative Group, an organization linked to the Azerbaijani government, is agitating for an end to Paris’s rule in many of its overseas regions, supporting pro-independence activists in places like French Polynesia and New Caledonia. “Today, the whole world sees what the French state is up to in these colonized territories,” the group’s head, Abbas Abbasov, said in an interview. The confrontation looks set to worsen as France, home to the world’s third largest Armenian diaspora, just signed a fresh arms deal with Yerevan. Paris is expected to maintain military backing for Armenia no matter the outcome of snap legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron. To be sure, Azerbaijan has spent billions of dollars on arms supplies itself, also provided by foreign powers such as Turkey, Israel and Russia. That has helped it wage two wars since 2020 against Armenia-backed separatists. Azerbaijan in a lightening offensive last September gained full control of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, causing the 100,000 Armenian residents to flee. That followed a 2020 war in which Azerbaijan took part of the territory and regained control of seven surrounding districts that had been occupied by Armenian forces for more than a quarter of a century. The two countries are attempting to reach a peace agreement to end the decades-long conflict and are working to delineate their common border. “Azerbaijan is incensed by Armenia’s receipt of armaments from France and has responded vehemently,” said Zaur Shiriyev, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. The friction is playing out alongside problems implementing a July 2022 deal with the European Union to double gas imports from Azerbaijan, because of a reluctance among countries in the bloc to finance the expansion of pipeline capacity and endorse long-term contracts. “Unfortunately, it is a fact that France is the main initiator of anti-Azerbaijan efforts,” said Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada when asked if France was supportive of the 2022 agreement. There is broad opposition within the EU to the deal amid a push away from fossil fuels and human rights concerns, said Phuc Vinh Nguyen from the Paris-based Jacques Delors Institute. In April, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that called on the bloc to consider suspending the energy partnership over political prisoners in Azerbaijan. “There’s a geopolitical dimension,” he said, pointing to Azerbaijan’s use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s family dynasty and much-criticized record on human rights. “You can’t close your eyes to what is happening there.” The dispute between Baku and Paris reached its worst point yet in the archipelago of New Caledonia, where Macron called off controversial voting reforms last month after deadly pro-independence unrest. Weeks of protests, arson and looting erupted in the region in May when France approved the reforms that the indigenous Kanak people feared would dilute their rights. With some protesters brandishing Azeri flags, France accused Azerbaijan of fanning the flames. Macron, who traveled 17,000 kilometers (11,000 miles) to the territory in a failed bid to calm the crisis, suspended the legislation on June 12. Since then, French authorities have stepped up a crackdown in New Caledonia, detaining seven pro-independence activists and flying them to face charges in France. Azerbaijan’s actions are clearly negative for France, said an official familiar with French thinking. The Azerbaijanis are trying to get France to drop or decrease support for Armenia, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Baku’s reaction to the weapons sales “causes confusion,” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a June 19 statement. “It is the sovereign right of every state to maintain combat-capable armed forces equipped with modern military assets,” the ministry said, adding it doesn’t have “ambitions beyond its internationally recognized” territory. Since September, the Baku Initiative Group has staged a dozen international events in support of anti-colonialism, including in late June at the United Nations in New York after visits to Baku by delegations from New Caledonia and French Polynesia. While Abbasov says his group receives no government financing and is not connected to the dispute between Azerbaijan and France, Aliyev in January publicly endorsed its work. “We will help to expose French neo-colonialism and contribute to the process of liberation of French colonies from the colonial yoke,” Aliyev said. The group says it’s also working with French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Wallis and Futuna and Corsica. In another sign of worsening ties, Azerbaijan in December expelled two French diplomats, sparking a tit-for-tat response. It also detained a businessman from France on charges of spying and ordered the closing of the French school in Baku. France sees Azerbaijan’s behavior as “extremely unfriendly and aggressive,” said Dorothee Schmid, an expert at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris. Still, it will continue arming Armenia, she said. In the latest weapons deal, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said June 18 that France will sell self-propelled howitzers to Armenia. France has already pledged to supply radars, air-defense systems and armored personnel carriers. —With assistance from Samy Adghirni and Zulfugar Agayev. https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/azerbaijan-escalates-conflict-with-france-in-pacific-over-armenia-arms-supply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 9 Author Report Share Posted July 9 Commonspace.eu July 8 2024 Opinion: President Aliyev does not intend to sign a peace agreement with Armenia 8 JULY 2024 Benyamin Poghosyan As war in Ukraine rages and the confrontation between Russia and the West continues unabated, a growing number of experts are speaking of the beginning of Cold War 2.0, pitting the West against Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, the so-called “Axis of upheaval.” As with the original Cold War, the new one covers many areas of the globe, including Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. The former Soviet Union remains the heart of this confrontation, and the South Caucasus is no exception. Strategically located between Russia, Turkey, and Iran, for the 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union the region was mainly the scene of competition between Russia and Turkey, with the first in the leading role. The last four years have brought significant changes in equilibrium. Azerbaijan transformed the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by defeating Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War with the direct military involvement of Turkey. Russia sought to compensate for the growing influence of Turkey by deploying peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, as the war in Ukraine diverted Russian resources and attention, and Azerbaijan and Turkey became important for Russia (they have enabled sanctions evasion, and Baku allowed Russia to establish new transit routes reaching Iran), Azerbaijan used the momentum to launch a military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh and force the displacement of Armenians in September 2023. Russia’s failure to prevent the destruction of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic fueled anti-Russian sentiment in Armenia, which was already on the rise after Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) failed to react to Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia in September 2022. This sentiment, coupled with the government's rhetoric of restoring Armenia’s sovereignty, increasing cooperation with the European Union, and transformative defense cooperation with India and France, has created an opportunity to start pulling Armenia politically and militarily away from Russia. The cornerstones of such a development should be the signature of an Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement and normalization of Armenia–Turkey relations. As long as Armenia faces an aggressive Azerbaijan and Turkey makes signature of an Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement a precondition of Armenia–Turkey normalization, it will be highly challenging, if impossible, for Armenia to think about moving politically and militarily away from Russia. Therefore anyone interested in enabling Armenia to decrease its dependency on Russia and bring tangible change to regional geopolitics in the South Caucasus, making Russia less influential, should call on Azerbaijan and Turkey to shift their agenda for Armenia. The critical factor here is Azerbaijan, for several reasons, including the personal relationship between President Aliyev and President Erdoğan, the business ties of the two presidents' inner circles, and Azerbaijani investments in the Turkish economy. Turkey has clearly articulated its position that it will not take any steps toward normalization with Armenia without an Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement first being signed. Thus President Aliyev holds the key not only to peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan but also to Armenia–Turkey normalization and significant geopolitical change in the region. The Armenian government has taken steps to facilitate peace. It recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan without even demanding autonomous status, accepted the post-September 2023 status quo, removed a section about Nagorno-Karabakh from government websites, and did not raise the issue of Armenians’ right of return in public discussion. In April 2024, Armenia accepted the Azerbaijani demand to withdraw from several areas along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border in Tavush without any guarantee that Azerbaijani troops would withdraw from Armenian territories they control as a result of 2021 and 2022 incursions. Prime Minister Pashinyan started a debate about the “historical and real Armenia,” arguing that Armenians should concentrate on building statehood within 29,743 square kilometers of Soviet Armenia and forget about any other territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh. It appears that the Armenian government has done everything in its power to make it easier for Azerbaijan to sign a peace agreement with Armenia, pave the way for Armenia–Turkey normalization, and decrease Russian influence in the region. Yet, instead of using the unique opportunity presented by Pashinyan’s government, Azerbaijan opted to make new demands and impose fresh preconditions for peace with Armenia. These include changing the Armenian constitution and other laws, providing an extraterritorial corridor to Nakhichevan via Armenia, and recognizing what happened in Khojaly in February 1992 as genocide. Further, Azerbaijan continues to push forward the agenda of Western Azerbaijan. President Aliyev does not intend to make a peace agreement with Armenia. After every concession by the Armenian government, he imposes new preconditions, making the negotiations a never-ending process. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan continues to flirt with Russia. During his meeting with President Putin on April 22, 2024, President Aliyev stated that “Russia is a fundamental country regarding regional security in the Caucasus.” Azerbaijan supports the Russian vision of a 3+3 regional cooperation platform in the South Caucasus, repeating the Russian narrative that extra-regional powers obstruct the peace process. Azerbaijan echoed Russia’s criticism of the EU observer mission in Armenia and the April 5, 2024, Brussels meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, US Secretary of State Blinken, and President of the European Commission von der Leyen. After the events of September 2023, Azerbaijan undermined Western platforms of negotiations with Armenia, refusing to take part in meetings in Brussels and Washington, which is good news for Russia. Thus, Azerbaijan and Russia share the goal of reducing Western influence and presence in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan is actively engaging with Russia and Iran to launch a direct connection between them via Azerbaijan, a vital link for Russia to reach Iran and Southeast Asia in its efforts to deepen economic cooperation with non-Western countries. Thus, Azerbaijan is effectively undermining the process of Armenia–Azerbaijan and Armenia–Turkey normalization. This policy not only prevents the establishment of peace in the region but also hinders Armenia's efforts to move away from Russia. The assessment of Azerbaijan’s regional strategy suggests that Azerbaijan is interested only in maintaining Russia’s position as the most influential player in the region and preventing the growth of a Western presence. If the EU and the US want to decrease Russia’s influence in the area, they should reach out to Azerbaijan and Turkey and warn them about the consequences of such an agenda. They also should increase pressure on Azerbaijan to use the momentum for finalizing a comprehensive peace agreement with Armenia and to stop derailing the process by putting forward never-ending demands. Source: Benyamin Poghosyan is a Senior Fellow on foreign policy at APRI Armenia and the founder and Chairman of the Centre for Political and Economic Strategic Studies in Yerevan. photo: Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (archive picture) The views expressed in opinion pieces and commentaries do not necessarily reflect the position of commonspace.eu or its partners https://www.commonspace.eu/opinion/opinion-president-aliyev-does-not-intend-sign-peace-agreement-armenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 10 Author Report Share Posted July 10 Armenpress.am Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie condemns Azerbaijan's actions in Nagorno-Karabakh, backs Armenia's independence and sovereignty Read the article in:العربيةFrançaisՀայերենРусский 2 minute read YEREVAN, JULY 9, ARMENPRESS. In a resolution adopted on July 9, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie condemned Azerbaijan's military invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population from the region, and the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage. The Assembly also expressed its unwavering support for Armenia's independence and sovereignty. Chair of the National Assembly Standing Committee on European Integration, Arman Yeghoyan, said on social media. The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie has adopted the resolution 'Regarding the Territorial Integrity of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia,' which specifically states: "Taking into account Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, 2023, the forced displacement of more than 100,000 Armenians and Azerbaijan's ongoing violations of Armenia's territorial integrity, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie calls for: Respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia within its borders; Strongly condemns the Azerbaijani military invasion and the attack of Azerbaijan on September 19, 2023, the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and the destruction of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage; Expresses unwavering support for Armenia's independence and sovereignty; It supports the regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity, as well as the delimitation of borders according to the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. It also supports the unlocking of regional communication channels based on principles of sovereignty, national jurisdiction, equality, and reciprocity. In this context, it endorses the Armenian government's "Crossroads of Peace" project. https://armenpress.am/en/article/1195385?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3uwYbT8Y0-Jv6AjypORlU1416i3yoip3bSFoveakI1ssI2qOJI-yiudSk_aem_w7nqSXABaLbZqpjpnTbMZw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 13 Author Report Share Posted July 13 OC Media July 12 2024 Baku court sentences Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian to 15 years imprisonment 12 July 2024 ByArshaluys Barseghyan An Azerbaijani court on Friday sentenced Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian Rashid Beglaryan to 15 years imprisonment, on charges including ‘committing genocide’. The charges against Beglaryan, 62, included ‘committing genocide and terrorism against Azerbaijanis in Khojaly’. According to Turan, the verdict noted that Beglaryan will serve the first five years of his sentence in a general regime prison and the remainder in a strict regime penitentiary. The charges against him also reportedly included torturing Azerbaijani prisoners and other individuals, as well as committing other ‘serious’ and war crimes, ‘and participating in the activities of illegal Armenian armed groups’ during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war. Reports also noted that Rashid Beglaryan admitted during interrogation that he had participated in the Khojaly massacre in February 1992. According to Turan, the State Security Service added that individuals who were subjected to torture were identified and recognised as victims. Amidst deteriorating Azerbaijan-France relations, Azerbaijani media in June quoted Beglaryan as saying that French citizens had ‘donated’ €2 million ($2.2 million) to him ‘as aid’ without providing additional details of the transfer. Beglaryan was detained by Azerbaijani border guards in early August 2023, during the nine month blockade in the region that started in December. While Azerbaijani authorities accused Beglaryan of attempting to cross illegally from Azerbaijan into Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities stated that he was under the influence of alcohol and lost his way. At the time, Beglaryan was the second Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian to be detained by Azerbaijan in less than a week. On 30 July, Vagif Khachatryan was arrested while trying to cross the Lachin checkpoint with the Red Cross to undergo heart surgery in Armenia. Azerbaijan accused him of committing war crimes during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. A year and a half later, Khachatryan was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of taking part in a massacre of Azerbaijani civilians in the village of Meshali, near Khojaly, charges he and his family denied. https://oc-media.org/baku-court-sentences-nagorno-karabakh-armenian-to-15-years-imprisonment/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 13 Author Report Share Posted July 13 Azatutyun.am Baku Unwilling To Sign Peace Deal, Says Armenian Official Հուլիս 12, 2024 Shoghik Galstian Armenia - Deputy Sargis Khandanian attends a session of the National Assembly, September 13, 2021. Azerbaijan is setting various preconditions to avoid signing a peace treaty with Armenia, a senior Armenian lawmaker claimed on Friday. “Azerbaijan’s leadership is publicly setting preconditions which cannot become a subject of negotiations in any way because it’s first and foremost an internal issue [for Armenia,]” Sargis Khandanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, said in reference to Baku’s demands for a change of Armenia’s constitution. “They may raise the constitution issue now and may raise another issue tomorrow obviously not because it’s really an issue for them but because there is no desire to sign the peace treaty,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov have repeatedly stated that the signing of the treaty is conditional of Armenia changing its constitution which they say contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Bayramov reiterated this precondition in the run-up to Wednesday’s talks with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. Baku and Yerevan signaled no breakthrough towards peace in their virtually identical short statements on the talks. Khandanian described the trilateral talks as “constructive” while insisting that he does not know whether Bayramov insisted on the Azerbaijani precondition during them. According to the U.S. State Department, Blinken urged the two sides to take “further steps to finalize a deal as soon as possible.” He similarly told Aliyev last month that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict should be settled “without delay. https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33034189.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0TSxnfZz9lbBAz4qhyVGY7BQAb0mFtKo_uFukLVl9Fejp6FQWZZJi1SjA_aem__4Sn6dKkZ4zt8XmrAwgqQg -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GroongNews" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to GroongNews+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/GroongNews/CAKve_%3D3J%2BA2hr7efQA7zyVHyzfmKBNY3ZKxiUyizobRygOqVnw%40mail.gmail.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 17 Author Report Share Posted July 17 Catholic Vote July 16 2024 Religious Freedom expert: Muslim nations’ attack against first Christian Country is ‘religious cleansing’ CV NEWS FEED // In a recent webinar dedicated to highlighting the plight of Armenian prisoners of war being unlawfully detained in Azerbaijan, religious freedom advocate Sam Brownback called for increased support from the US and the international community for the vulnerable nation. “Save Armenia,” a Judeo-Christian non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding Armenia, the first Christian nation in the world from its hostile Islamic neighbors -Turkey and Azerbaijan,- has launched a new webinar series highlighting the plight of Armenian Prisoners of War (POWs.) Former US senator and governor of Kansas, Brownback currently serves as the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. “This is religious cleansing,” he stated of Armenians and Artsakh refugees of the recent illegally-imposed military blockade by Azerbaijan: “This would not be taking place if Armenians were muslims.” “What’s taking place is there is a Christian population in a sea of Islam,” Brownback said of Armenia, which is a small, landlocked country situated in the South Caucasus region. It is bordered to the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan, and to the west and south by Turkey and Iran. Armenia, Brownback continued, has been “a bone in the throat” of the Turks and the Ottoman empire for thousands of years. According to Brownback, Azerbaijan and Turkey have “seen the opportunity” to amplify their efforts in recent years to “wipe out” Armenia with the Biden administration distracted by Russia pulling out of its historic role as peacekeeper in the country. Brownback called attention especially to the situation faced by Armenian POWs, who he notes have been detained under hostile conditions, and targeted over their faith—some of whom he said have reportedly had crucifixes “ripped off” of their necks during interrogations. “We need to raise this prisoner profile issue up,” he said, “because in my estimation this one hasn’t been looked at very much.” Brownback notes that the US has means to pressure Azerbaijan on this matter by refusing to send weapons to the country and imposing sanctions against the Azarbaijani and Turkish governments, as well as the prison officials carrying out abuse against Armenian POWs. “The US has to show some will to do this,” Brownback added. “And we need the Trump candidacy to say they’re going to do this.” He also noted that many key states in the upcoming elections are home to Armenian diaspora communities that fled to the US during the Armenian Genocide in the early 1900s. When political candidates in these states come asking for support, Brownback advised those concerned with the state of affairs in Armenia and its POWs, “say: ‘Love to, but you gotta help Armenia.” The webinar highlighted several ways that Americans can help raise awareness of the currency plight faced by Armenians, including Action Alert Centers for the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Committee. https://catholicvote.org/armenian-war-prisoners-attack-against-christian-nation/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 18 Author Report Share Posted July 18 Newsweek July 17 2024 Azerbaijan Ethnically Cleansed Armenians. It Should Pay a Price | Opinion By Thomas Becker, Legal and Policy Director at the University Network for Human Rights Last September, Azerbaijani forces attacked the self-governing enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, and within days all 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled their ancestral homeland, most becoming refugees in neighboring Armenia. Azerbaijan called it a voluntary exodus; Armenians viewed it as a case of expulsion, which is a war crime. The verdict is now in: a report presented by Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of democracy and exposing human rights abuses, described this tragedy as a planned act of ethnic cleansing. Orchestrated under the despotic regime of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, this tragedy is not merely a regional issue but a profound violation of human rights that demands global action. Azerbaijan should not get away with it. There is a direct connection between odious regimes and odious actions. Aliyev, who has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003, has systematically dismantled democratic institutions and consolidated power at home, creating a regime characterized by corruption, repression, and human rights abuses. The Aliyev regime's stranglehold on Azerbaijan is maintained through a combination of electoral fraud, suppression of dissent, and control over the media. Independent voices are silenced, political opponents are jailed, and civil society is stifled, creating an environment where power is maintained through fear and intimidation. Aliyev has also deployed another classic device of dictatorships: to distract the population's attention with manufactured crisis against invented foreign enemies. Thus, the regime has, especially since 2020, been constantly ratcheting up vitriolic rhetoric and aggressive action against Armenians. The report, released last month, is based on satellite imagery, publicly available information and interviews with survivors of the events. It says "there are reasonable grounds to conclude that their forced displacement was intentional. The evidence suggests a coordinated, long-term plan aimed at ridding Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population." "This policy was achieved through regular actions that constitute gross violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. In a gradual process and methodical manner, the Azerbaijani state-imposed conditions of life designed to either bring about the destruction of the Armenian population over time or render it impossible for them to stay and survive." It describes abuses and killings that accompanied and drove the exodus, and notes that since then, "Baku continued erasing evidence of Armenian communities, culture, and heritage from Nagorno-Karabakh. ... The satellite imagery acquired by the fact-finding mission, as well as those shared by secondary sources, shows the destruction of Armenian cemeteries, churches, and residential areas." As one example, "the previously Armenian- populated Karin Tak village was razed to the ground." It is important to note international complicity contributed to this. Azerbaijan blockaded the enclave in December 2022, causing the conditions of life there to rapidly deteriorate. In February 2023 the International Court of Justice in the Hague ordered Azerbaijan to end the blockade. Azerbaijan brazenly ignored the order. The only enforcement mechanism of the ICJ is the United Nations Security Council—but that body did nothing. International legal experts led by Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, declared the blockade a case of attempted genocide. The University Network for Human Rights, where I serve as Legal Director, briefed U.S. officials and published a report warning of impending ethnic cleansing. Again, beyond perfunctory statements the world community did nothing. Thus emboldened, Azerbaijan then attacked, safely assuming that the world would again look the other way—which is exactly what has occurred. Not content with the suffering it has caused already, Azerbaijan is now threatening the sovereign territory of Armenia itself. Should this be met with silence as well, then the dictatorship will probably attack; it wishes to carve a land corridor to Turkey. Instead, now that the facts are clear, the world community can begin redeeming itself by holding Azerbaijan to account. It would not only constitute justice but would be critical to avoid incentivizing bad-faith players in the world ecosystem from carrying out other atrocities. Indeed, there have been numerous instances in which countries and leaders responsible for ethnic cleansing have faced punishment through international mechanisms. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established to prosecute serious crimes committed during the conflicts in the Balkans, and several Serbian figures were brought to justice, including Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Serbia, and Ratko Mladic, former Bosnian Serb military leader, both convicted of genocide and other war crimes. The Rwandan Genocide in 1994 resulted in the mass murder of the Tutsi population by the Hutu majority, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) subsequently prosecuted those responsible, including Jean Kambanda, the former prime minister of Rwanda. Similarly, the ICC issued arrest warrants for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity in Darfur (who is currently in custody in Sudan and has not yet been handed over to the ICC), top official Ahmed Haroun, who is still at large, and three other accomplices. The international community similarly cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition to legal action against the perpetrators, one of the immediate steps that can be taken is the imposition of diplomatic sanctions. This includes freezing the assets of key figures within the Aliyev regime and imposing travel bans. That would send a strong signal that the international community condemns the actions of the Azerbaijani government and will not tolerate the violation of human rights. Indeed, a first step is visible in the bipartisan H.R. 8141 - Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act of 2024 bill, which proposes sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for human rights violations, including the ethnic cleansing that took place in Nagorno-Karabakh. Targeted sanctions on industries that are vital to Azerbaijan's economy, such as the oil and gas sector, can also exert significant pressure on the regime. Additionally, international businesses should be encouraged to divest from Azerbaijan to further isolate the country economically. That kind of action helped bring about the end of the apartheid in South Africa. The world should also provide humanitarian aid and support to the displaced ethnic Armenians—including financial assistance, shelter, medical care, and support for resettlement. Unfortunately, however, the international community continues to whitewash Aliyev's crimes. In the same year that Azerbaijan was designated one of the most repressive places on the planet and Nagorno-Karabakh, following Azerbaijan's takeover, the least free place in the entire world, Azerbaijan was chosen to host the annual global climate conference, COP29, this autumn. This is a disgrace. While it may be too late to move the venue, invitees should boycott the conference or arrive and use the occasion to put the Azerbaijani leadership on notice that it is being watched. Thomas Becker is the legal and policy director at the University Network for Human Rights. He has taught human rights at Harvard, Columbia, and Wesleyan Universities. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own. https://www.newsweek.com/azerbaijan-ethnically-cleansed-armenians-it-should-pay-price-opinion-1926416 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 19 Author Report Share Posted July 19 Armenpress.am As usual, the Aliyev regime's propaganda uselessly tries to turn reality upside down - Ambassador Balayan Read the article in:EspañolՀայերենРусский 1 minute read YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. According to Tigran Balayan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Belgium and Head of the Representation of the Republic of Armenia in the European Union, the regime of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan is once again trying to turn reality upside down by accusing the Armenian side of refusing the meeting. "As usual the Aliyev regime propaganda uselessly tries to turn the reality upside down. Armenia has suggested and still ready to organize a meeting between Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President at the European Political Community Summit," the Ambassador has posted. https://armenpress.am/en/article/1195995?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR28S6GIgqOLbsxwL7hiC5x8KEOsCJ8J69NDGaIfpOqsAvx3mrRQkwxG5zE_aem_Fdgl7CMYVgzEaXpAUb52cA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 20 Author Report Share Posted July 20 Armenpress.am Over the past decade, Azerbaijan has equipped itself much more than Armenia-Macron Read the article in: العربيةFrançaisՀայերենРусский简体中文 YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. Speaking at the 4th European Political Community Summit in London, French President Emmanuel Macron made a number of noteworthy statements regarding Armenia, speaking about the supply of French weapons to Yerevan, as well as ongoing peace negotiations with Baku. Emmanuel Macron's statements were presented by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Armenia Olivier Decottignies in his microblog in X. Speaking about the deepening military-technical cooperation between Armenia and France, Emmanuel Macron noted: “If you look at the past decade, it seems that Azerbaijan did equip itself much more than Armenia. And if my memory is right, but correct me if I am wrong, Azerbaijan did launch a war, and a terrible one, in 2020.” In this context, the French President also added that it is normal when Paris simply responds to a request from a sovereign country - Armenia, which wants to equip itself, feeling that it can be agressed by another country. “It is normal to just answer the request of a sovereign country which wants to equip itself and feels it can be agressed by another one.” Macron, speaking about the normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku and the peace treaty noted: “The perspective of Armenia is peace, the perspective of France is peace, I do hope the perspective of Azerbaijan is peace. And if the two countries finalize a peace treaty, we will back such a treaty.” Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1196019?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3hEyjxqT7p2RKuPzghAD2r1FWwQFJ6XldsXMYSN76pIwVBdIpKVPztPlE_aem_s9P9jS-PFXwJRi3iFGAkpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 21 Author Report Share Posted July 21 Asbarez.com Christian Solidarity International Calls for Banning Azerbaijan from Olympics by Asbarez Staff July 19, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Latest, News, Sports, Top Stories The Paris Olympics will kick off on July 26 As the opening of the Paris Olympics approaches, Christian Solidarity International has renewed its call to the International Olympic Committee to ban Azerbaijan, with Azerbaijani athletes allowed to compete as neutrals, in response to that country’s ethnic cleansing of the Armenian Christians of Nagorno Karabakh. In a pair of letters sent Thursday to Dr. Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, CSI furthermore called on the IOC to work with the UNOHCHR to establish transparent criteria for punitive measures against countries that commit atrocity crimes. In the letters, CSI’s international president, Dr. John Eibner, pointed out that the president of Azerbaijan’s National Olympic Committee, Ilham Aliyev, is also the “dictatorial president of the Republic of Azerbaijan itself,” who “ordered a military invasion” of Nagorno Karabakh “after imposing a devastating nine-month blockade of its Armenian Christian population.” Eibner pointed to a recent report from Freedom House which concluded that “the Azerbaijani state acted upon a comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population.” “There is no doubt,” Eibner said. “The intent was Genocide, and the racist president of Azerbaijan and its Olympic Committee fulfilled his regime’s intent.” Eibner noted that it was with the support of the G7 that, two years ago, the IOC decided to exclude the Russian and Belarussian national teams from the 2024 Olympics, after Russia invaded Ukraine. “Ilham Aliyev’s Azerbaijan is no less deserving of such punitive measures,” Eibner said. “To do otherwise sends powerful messages to Olympian dictators, like Ilham Aliyev, that they can commit atrocity crimes with impunity unless the G7 consortium finds them unacceptable.” CSI previously called on the IOC to exclude Azerbaijan from the Paris Games at the UN Human Rights Council, at a panel discussion on July 1 at which Bach and Türk were present. The title of the panel was “Promoting Human Rights Through Sport and the Olympic Ideal.” https://asbarez.com/christian-solidarity-international-calls-for-banning-azerbaijan-from-olympics/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3_T3zQvwZlfyX1byItQ2iThRYF2L7CDQ2Bp6kRWFv7jJhBrXZWK5TeP4c_aem_iFJJQ_lgR3b42QFC6uml3g 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 23 Author Report Share Posted July 23 Christian Post July 22 2024 'Cultural erasure': Azerbaijan destroys Armenian churches, heritage sites after Nagorno-Karabakh war By Christian Daily International, Monday, July 22, 2024 Azerbaijan is guilty of “cultural genocide” for destroying Christian sites in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and falsely claiming that Armenian religious presence there never existed, according to a report by a legal advocacy group. The European Centre for Law & Justice (ECLJ)’s report lists the eradication of “churches, monasteries, khachkars [cross-stones] and other cultural artifacts that tell of the faith and culture of the Armenian people.” Azerbaijan gained control of the majority of Nagorno after the Second Karabakh War — September 2020 to November 2020. Dozens of Armenian Christian heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh were destroyed, damaged or closed to the public during that period, according to the June report, “The Systematic Erasure of Armenian Christian Heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.” There are now 500 sites under Azerbaijan’s control, with 6,000 Armenian monuments, the report states. Foreign observers are banned from the sites, but satellite surveillance has revealed the destruction. Churches damaged or destroyed, as listed in the report, include Meghretsots Holy Mother of God Church, the seventh-century Vankasar Church in Tigranakert, St. John’s Cathedral of the Mother of God in Stepanaker, and Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, defaced with “multiple religious symbols … removed from the church, including the unique angels on the building’s gate, the domes of the church, and the cathedral’s cross.” Under the pretense of renovation, the Azerbaijani government vandalized the Surb Sargis Church, built in 1279 in Tsar village of Karvachar, according to the report. “Azerbaijani efforts to restore this church have taken the form of destroying religious symbols and enclosing the area from view via a large iron fence,” the report states. Two historic polished stone slabs at the same church site, decorated with Christian artwork and Armenian language inscriptions, were smashed. “Thus, this destruction has not only deprived Armenia of a unique piece of its heritage, but it has removed undeniable evidence of the Armenian origins of the church,” the report states. Other incidents include the razing of an 18th-century church building, St. Sargis of Hadrut in Mokhrenes, in March 2022, and the Azerbaijanis “completely cleared the land and have begun building a new structure atop the grounds of the church.” St. John the Baptist Church in Shushi revealed signs of Azerbaijani bomb damage in 2020, as shown in satellite imagery earlier this year (April 4), and the building was destroyed, according to the report. Satellite imagery on the same day also showed the desecration of Ghazanchetsots Cemetery in Shushi, with the Azerbaijani government from October 2023 “systematically [destroying] the tombstones, which dated back to the 18th and 19th centuries.” “This cemetery is merely one of many, including the Mets Taher, Sghnakh, Sui Northern, and Yerevan Gates cemeteries, that have been destroyed,” according to the report. Other cemeteries and sacred sites either destroyed or damaged include Ghuze T’agh Cemetery near Aknaghbyur, the Koha Sacred place, the cemetery near Vazgenashen, Ghazanchetsots Cemetery and Yerevan Gate cemeteries in Shushi. The ECLJ suspects that the St. Ascension (St. Hambardzum) Church in Berdzor, demolished and removed from the grounds, may become a mosque after Azerbaijan's Public Organization for the Protection of Monuments put forward a redevelopment proposal. Stones from ruined medieval Armenian church buildings and cemeteries were used to build the Zar and Chirag schools in the 1950s, the report states. These included Khachkar ornamental relief relics and inscribed stones that survived destruction by the former Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. “The schools were looted and abandoned in the 1990s, but their structures remained intact, serving as a reminder of the enduring heritage of the Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh,” noted the report. “Between Oct. 5, 2023, and June 2, 2024, however, Azerbaijan razed both schools to the ground.” Another act of destruction saw the removal of the Cross Memorial located on a hill near the city of Stepanakert. As a memorial to Armenian soldiers “and a symbol of the nation’s Christian heritage,” the 50-meter high cross had been the second tallest in Europe. Azerbaijani forces took down the cross last September. At the same time, to achieve “complete cultural erasure,” the report states, “Azerbaijan has gone beyond merely destroying Armenian heritage. Azerbaijan is also denying it ever existed.” The Azerbaijani government has falsely claimed the Armenian Christian sites are of Caucasian Albanian origin and the Armenians were never native to Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the report. “Instead, Azerbaijan claims that when Russia gained control of the region in the 19th century, the great northern power facilitated a large- scale Armenian migration into the South Caucasus,” the report states. “Upon arriving in the region, Armenian clergy began to co-opt the ancient Caucasian Albanian churches by adding fraudulent Armenian inscriptions and modifying the architecture to appear Armenian.” These claims are “blatantly false, but they are also malicious,” the ECLJ states, accusing the country of a revisionist history that attempts to strip ethnic Armenians, including the natives of Nagorno-Karabakh, of their heritage. “It paints the Armenians as nothing more than intruders and pawns in Russia’s efforts to ‘Christianize’ the region,” the ECLJ states. “Furthermore, by denying the Armenians’ centuries-old presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijanis attempt to excuse and even justify horrific acts of cultural erasure.” An example was the Azerbaijani government’s attempts to expel Armenian priests from the Dadivank Monastery under the false claim they had no ties to the “Caucasian Albanian” site, according to the report. Although the ECLJ welcomed international condemnation of the acts, “it is clear the response thus far has been insufficient” by other nations, and the destruction and denial of Armenia’s Christian heritage continues: “A new approach must be adopted if the heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh is to be protected from total erasure.” This article was originally published by Christian Daily International. https://www.christianpost.com/news/azerbaijan-destroying-armenian-churches-heritage-sites-report.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 23 Author Report Share Posted July 23 Azatutyun.am Aliyev Voices Another Demand To Armenia Հուլիս 22, 2024 Artak Khulian Russia - Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian are seen during a visit to the the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and Reserve in St. Petersburg, December 26, 2023. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has again described much of modern-day Armenia as “western Azerbaijan” and said Yerevan must ensure the safe return of ethnic Azerbaijanis who had fled it in the late 1980s. “We are waiting for a clear statement from the Armenian authorities about how the inhabitants of Western Azerbaijan expelled from the current territory of Armenia or their descendants can return to their historical lands, visit or live in those territories. Especially given that according to our reliable information, 90 percent of the villages where Azerbaijanis lived are now empty,” he told a “media forum” held in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Shusha (Shushi) over the weekend. Aliyev has long described Yerevan and other parts of Armenia as “historical Azerbaijani lands.” He has pledged to ensure the eventual repatriation of ethnic Azerbaijanis who lived there in Soviet times. Aliyev and other Azerbaijani officials have said nothing about the repatriation of at least 200,000 ethnic Armenians who lived in Baku and other parts of Soviet Azerbaijan, excluding Karabakh, until 1988. Karabakh’s entire ethnic Armenian population was displaced less than a year ago as a result of an Azerbaijani military offensive that restored Baku’s control over the region. Aliyev again claimed on Saturday that the Karabakh Armenians were not forced to flee their homes. He voiced his latest demand to Yerevan amid ongoing discussions of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. The Azerbaijani leader again made the signing of the treaty conditional of a change of Armenia’s constitution which he says contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Aliyev reaffirmed this condition in late April after forcing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to hand over four disputed border areas to Azerbaijan. Armenian opposition leaders strongly condemned that unilateral concession, saying that Pashinian’s appeasement policy will only encourage Baku to make other demands to the Armenian side, rather than bring peace. Under the terms of the controversial land transfer announced in April, the two sides were due to adopt by July 1 joint “regulations” for the delimitation of the other sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Pashinian and his political allies claimed at the time that this will lay the groundwork for Azerbaijan’s recognition of Armenia’s territorial integrity. However, no such regulations have been agreed upon so far. Some Pashinian allies have echoed opposition claims that Baku remains reluctant to recognize Armenia’s borders and hopes to clinch even more concessions from Yerevan. https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33046074.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR13R_6fYc4mTbXwLQLcZGaJaiii9V6ounbd_tgRA51NB6i6Lnath2YvN90_aem_w8ytMC64WreveOIokmQ0yA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GroongNews" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to GroongNews+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/GroongNews/CAKve_%3D1HatRLh0KrrN14t9QLrX95ok_2%3DdgDAVBSDKiPp0%2BvOw%40mail.gmail.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 24 Author Report Share Posted July 24 Newsweek July 23 2024 NATO Ally Accused of Seeking 'Confrontation' Near Russia's Borders By David Brennan Diplomatic Correspondent By David Brennan Diplomatic Correspondent Atop Azerbaijani official has denied any role in online smear campaigns targeting France's far-flung overseas territories and its metropolitan core, as the two nations accuse one another of fomenting dangerous instability close to the border with Russia. Following an intense week of diplomacy in which Azerbaijani representatives traveled to the NATO summit in Washington D.C. and the European Political Community summit in the U.K., Hikmet Hajiyev—President Ilham Aliyev's top foreign affairs adviser—told Newsweek that one of the most powerful Western allies is pursuing "very counterproductive" policies in the South Caucasus region bordering Russia. Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has railed against recent French weapon sales to Armenia, which Azerbaijani leaders argue is raising the risk of further conflict between the two longtime adversaries as they seek a peace deal to end more than 35 years of conflict. Among the French systems purchased by Yerevan are self-propelled howitzers and air-defense equipment. "One of the major concerns is the militarization program by France of Armenia," Hajiyev said, when discussing the influence and involvement of Western powers on the ongoing peace talks with Armenia. "We also urge France to refrain from the policy of seeking geopolitical confrontation or building the new dividing lines in our region." Baku has been accused of responding by fomenting unrest in France's Pacific overseas territory of New Caledonia, where a deadly wave of secessionist violence has prompted President Emmanuel Macron to declare a state of emergency and deploy additional troops. Azerbaijani flags have been seen flying among the protesters. New Caledonia is situated in the Coral Sea, approximately 700 miles northeast of the Australian city of Brisbane. "When it comes to the New Caledonia issue, it has nothing to do with Azerbaijan," Hajiyev said when asked about Baku's alleged role. "We would ask the French side to look at the core and root causes of this problem, instead of blaming some other countries." Azerbaijan has also been accused of seeking to undermine the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, using a network of social media accounts to disseminate false information and frame French authorities as incapable of successfully hosting the event. Hajiyev said Baku is not involved and suggested that online criticism of France constitutes "freedom of _expression_, and we respect that." Newsweek has contacted the French Foreign Ministry by email to request comment. Baku and Yerevan, the Armenian capital, have been in conflict over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region since both nations gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. Internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, the region's ethnic Armenian majority nonetheless long enjoyed de facto independence, with support from Yerevan. Azerbaijan has already established military dominance over its smaller neighbor, scoring a clear victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 and effectively settling the decades-long dispute with its lightning September 2023 offensive that captured the entire territory. The two sides are now engaged in tense peace discussions that aim to delineate the borders of both nations and settle outstanding territorial disputes. Leaders of both countries have said a deal is nearly done, but political maneuvering continues as Baku and Yerevan balance domestic political concerns and grapple with a regional power balance thrown into flux by Russia's war in Ukraine. Armenia—a member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization—is pivoting away from Moscow, furious at Russia's lack of support in the face of alleged Azerbaijani advances. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is building ties with the Western bloc, much to the Kremlin's chagrin. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, is expanding economic cooperation with China and neighboring Iran, while also seeking to become a key new energy supplier for Europe and build closer ties with neighbor and NATO member Turkey, with which it has deep linguistic, cultural, and ethnic ties. Baku is publicly committed to its non-aligned status, and leaders there have dismissed any suggestion that it is drifting into the Western or Eastern blocs solidifying amid the war in Ukraine. "It reminds me a little bit of the Cold War," Hajiyev said of the evolving geopolitical situation. "In the Cold War, there was also such a saying: 'If you're not with me, then you're against me.'" "We do not belong to any bloc, and we are not part of the confrontation," he added. "We are just trying to contribute to the peace agenda in our region by virtue of our capabilities." https://www.newsweek.com/nato-ally-confrontation-russia-borders-armenia-azerbaijan-france-1928911 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted July 24 Author Report Share Posted July 24 RFERL.org Former Azerbaijani Diplomat Detained On Stabbing Charge July 23, 2024 By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service Former Azerbaijani diplomat Emin Ibrahimov said police used an electric-shock device to force him to reveal the PIN for his mobile phone. (file photo) BAKU -- Relatives and a lawyer of former Azerbaijani diplomat Emin Ibrahimov said on July 23 that police had detained the government critic a day earlier for allegedly stabbing a person, a charge Ibrahimov rejects as totally fabricated. Ibrahimov's lawyer Aqil Layic said his client told him an unknown person had attacked him near a metro station in Baku late on July 22. Immediately after, several men in plainclothes appeared at the site and took him to the Nizami district police department. "The detention of a diplomat looks like a new tendency. Emin Ibrahimov said that he is the victim of a provocation. He rejects the charge as he insists he did not commit the crime he is charged with," Layic said, adding a court must decide on his client's pretrial restrictions within 48 hours of his detention. Layic said Ibrahimov told him police used an electric-shock device to force him to reveal the PIN for his mobile phone. The Interior Ministry confirmed Ibrahimov's detention, saying he was held after he stabbed a person born in 1987, whose identity was not disclosed, during a brawl. According to the ministry, the stabbed man was hospitalized. If convicted, Ibrahimov faces up to eight years in prison. The 43-year-old Ibrahimov used to work at the Azerbaijani Embassy in the United States and held other diplomatic posts as well. In recent years, he criticized the government for Baku's worsening relations with the West, among other things. In September, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail on a charge of "spreading harmful information" after an online post criticizing Russia and calling for peaceful solution of Azerbaijan's conflict with Armenia over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. With reporting by Turan and Kavkazsky uzel https://www.rferl.org/a/emin-ibrahimov-diplomat-azerbaijan-detainment-stabbing-charge/33047304.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR24eGp07knKTmFst9DLshKwxNBHxVzG3GxEvYY-2mdHiDo_W4UoU6ELcv0_aem_0ni7zLM1NpM9yAkdVzb1yg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.