Yervant1 Posted October 5 Author Report Share Posted October 5 Reuters Oct 4 2024 Azerbaijan rejects 'disgusting' US human rights criticism before COP29 By Nailia Bagirova BAKU, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday rejected what he called a "disgusting" letter from U.S. lawmakers who criticised his country's human rights record and urged it to free political prisoners before it hosts next month's COP29 climate conference. The letter, signed by nearly 60 lawmakers, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to "press for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, hostages, and POWs, including ethnic Armenians, to enable a more conducive environment for successful diplomacy at COP29". It said that "provocative" Azerbaijani statements towards Armenia risked undermining peace negotiations between the two countries, which have fought two wars since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.Speaking in Jabrayil, a town recaptured from Armenian forces in a 2020 war, Aliyev called the letter "a disgusting appeal that cannot influence our will" and said it had been drawn up "to threaten and accuse us".Azerbaijan's human rights record, including the detention of journalists and activists, is coming under increasing scrutiny as it prepares to welcome delegates and media from around the world to the November climate conference. Hikmet Hajiyev, Aliyev's foreign policy adviser, said in a statement to Reuters that Azerbaijan's hosting of the event should not be turned into "a political tool". He accused critics of seeking to deflect attention away from climate action. Representatives of Ruben Vardanyan, a former Russian investment banker who was a top official in the ethnic Armenian leadership of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, filed lawsuits this week saying he has been tortured, defamed by the media and denied his rights to a speedy trial in Azerbaijan. Vardanyan has been detained for the past year since Baku's forces staged a lightning offensive to take back Karabakh, an internationally recognised part of Azerbaijan where ethnic Armenians had enjoyed de facto independence since breaking away in the 1990s. Azerbaijan's prosecutor general said in response to the complaint that all Vardanyan's rights were being respected and he had received a dozen visits from representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "His right to the presumption of innocence was not violated by the prosecutor's office or other state bodies, and he was not subjected to inhuman treatment or torture," the prosecutor's office said in a statement to Reuters. Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, which Baku denies. The two countries have for the last year been in engaged in fitful talks over a peace treaty. Aliyev on Friday accused Armenia of being insincere about wanting to complete a deal and of rearming for fresh fighting, warning it to "stop these dangerous games!" Armenia, which this year withdrew from several Azerbaijani border villages it had long controlled, has said in recent weeks that Azerbaijan does not appear interested in signing a treaty. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-rejects-disgusting-us-human-rights-criticism-before-cop29-2024-10-04/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 5 Author Report Share Posted October 5 Azatutyun.am Aliyev Again Threatens Armenia Հոկտեմբեր 04, 2024 Heghine Buniatian Armenian and Azerbaijani flags flutter in the wind against the evening sky. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made fresh threats of military action against Armenia on Friday, accusing Yerevan of playing “dangerous games” despite its repeated offers to sign a peace deal with Baku. “Let them not forget about the second Karabakh war,” Aliyev said during a visit to Jebrail, a town just south of Nagorno-Karabakh recaptured by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war. “Let them not forget how they begged for mercy from us on their knees, how they appealed to Russia at the highest level ten times a day, asking to stop the war. Let them not forget about the anti-terror operation [of September 2023 in Karabakh.]” “We achieved what we wanted without fearing anyone, without reckoning with anyone,” he said just over a week after the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers pledged to “put additional efforts” towards peace during talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York. Aliyev went on to blame Blinken for a joint letter by six dozen U.S. lawmakers accusing Azerbaijan of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Karabakh and urging Washington to impose sanctions on it. He also hit out at France, which has signed a number of arms deals with Armenia over the past year. “I also warn Armenia stop those dangerous games,” he said. “On the one hand, they talk about peace, on the other hand, they arm themselves heavily. Who gives them weapons: France and similar anti-Azerbaijani countries? Why do they give away that weapon? No matter how hard they try, they will not achieve anything.” U.S. - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, New York, September 26, 2024. The Armenian Foreign Ministry responded to Aliyev later in the day, wondering whether Baku is “abandoning the peace agenda” and “preparing aggression” against Armenia. The ministry spokeswoman, Ani Badalian, stressed that Armenia has no “aggressive intentions” towards Azerbaijan and recognizes its territorial integrity. “Armenia acquires weapons and military equipment only in order to realize its right of self-defense and obligation to protect its own citizens,” Badalian added in written comments. She argued that Azerbaijan’s defense budget is much bigger than Armenia’s. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan likewise warned on Wednesday that Azerbaijan may be planning to invade Armenia. Speaking during an international conference in Warsaw, Mirzoyan accused Baku of lacking the “political will” to sign a framework agreement sought by Yerevan. The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly rejected an Armenian proposal to conclude such a deal and try to settle the remaining sticking points in the future. It has also made clear that Armenia must change its constitution before it can make peace with Azerbaijan. In recent weeks and days, Aliyev has set further conditions for Yerevan. Armenian opposition leaders maintain that Aliyev has no intention to sign any agreement before clinching more far-reaching concessions from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. They say that Pashinian’s appeasement policy is only encouraging the Azerbaijani strongman to make more demands on Yerevan. https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33146655.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawFtrz1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRFRJnngGEFpgxFNEykS94i1xzjpOsSnE8BsrbvZEmMJcNxQAeyKWGaxEQ_aem_iXqvKlcl_1STzu9Fa3XS4Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 6 Author Report Share Posted October 6 Armenpress.am Politics18:06, 5 October 2024 Deterioration of Human Rights in Azerbaijan discussed at PACE autumn session Read the article in: Հայերեն YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Members of the Armenian National Assembly participated in the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, led by Ruben Rubinyan, head of the Armenian delegation to the organization, the press service of the Parliament said in a statement. "The members of the Assembly expressed concern over the ongoing war in the Middle East and the daily expansion of its hotspots. The discussions also focused on the sharp deterioration of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan," the statement reads. Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1201614?fbclid=IwY2xjawFu0y9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHU9lTjydfyQeA0XK0vIGJvp_hCewY9ONFPFH9wrfnHWsQ1gNQGmLxTJPQA_aem_7gEVttOQnXDDFKt7hLGf3Q 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 9 Author Report Share Posted October 9 Oct 8 2024 Armenian culture in Artsakh is facing erasion 08-10-2024 Eastern Europe Bart-Jan Spruyt, CNE.news One year after they invaded Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azeris are destroying historical and religious symbols in the former enclave. The cultural inheritance of the Armenians is being annihilated. And the international community remains silent. 'And when there is silence, nobody knows, and when nobody knows, nobody will pray for us.' Stay up to date with Christian news in Europe? Sign up for CNE's newsletter. The army of Azerbaijan conquered the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh, as the Armenians call it) in September 2023, and most of the Armenian population fled the enclave. Within a month, 108,000 of the 120,000 Armenians that lived in Nagorno-Karabakh, left their country, most of them moving to Armenia. Armenia is regarded as the oldest Christian country in the world. Yerevan, the country's capital, is said to be even older than Rome, and two of Jesus' disciples, Bartholomew and Taddeus, have been buried in Armenia as martyrs. The country is scattered with churches and monasteries. But the soldiers of Muslim Azerbaijan are destroying this heritage. The history of a people is being erased. In the near future, nobody will remember that Armenians lived in the enclave and that they were Christians. European Christians feel solidarity with fleeing Armenians 03-10-2023 Inherently Christian Craig Simonian was a pastor in New Jersey but moved to Armenia as the regional coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance. Talking with a Dutchman, he begins the rather vivacious conversation by reminding him that the first bishop of the Netherlands, Servatius, was an Armenian. That underlines that Armenia's culture is inherently Christian and that the country regards itself as an integral part of Europe. This identity is very much part of the problem. As Simonian tells us, Russia and Iran warned Armenia of its Western sympathies. Moreover, in Simonian's view, what is going on in Artsakh is also part of the Turkish president's ambition to establish something of a new caliphate, of which Azerbaijan will be a part. However, Armenia gets in the way of a geographical unification of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Churches Armenia help refugees after “ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh 04-10-2023 In Simonian's opinion, the conflict in Artsakh is clearly a part of the struggle between a Muslim and a Christian culture. 'First, they destroy our age-old churches and monasteries. Next, they desecrate our cemeteries. They torture people as "Christian dogs". Come on, it is everywhere.' Mosques So what is happening in Artsakh, essentially, is a “rewriting of history”, according to Simonian. “We are witnessing the erasion of a history and a culture, the Armenian Christian culture. Of course, we do not deny Azeri's right to live in Artsakh, but we have been there since the Middle Ages. Old monasteries and cemeteries testify to that. But the Azeri in Azerbaijan have recently created a special TV station, broadcasting programmes to prove that Nakorno-Karabakh is and has always been Azeri. They destroy cathedrals or turn them into mosques, like the Holy Saviour Cathedral. Armenian names are changed into Azeri names. And we sit and see it happen.” The dreadful events in Azarkh are illustrated by satellite investigations (among others, here and here). The Armenian capital of Stepanakert was renamed 'Chankendi'. Azeri repopulated the abandoned city. The houses of Parliament were destroyed. Shops and hotels were torn down or provided with Azeri texts and symbols. The football stadium received a makeover in the colours of the Azeri flag. One of the streets was renamed after the Turkish soldier Enver Pasha, who played an ugly role during the Armenian genocide of 1915. Also, outside of the capital, the destruction is impressive and depressing. Dictator The absence of a political reaction by the international community fills many people with little less than outrage, as the Azeri violated basic human rights of the Armenians and committed serious crimes. One of them is Leen van Dijke (69), a retired Dutch politician whose life has become closely intertwined with Armenia. His oldest daughter married an Armenian man, and he travelled the country often. These travels and conversations were extensively reported and discussed in the Dutch Parliament. After his political career, Van Dijke was involved in many humanitarian projects in Armenia, among others for war victims from Nagorno-Karabakh. During a recent visit to the country, Van Dijke visited an office of the European Union. 'They told me they were only there on an observation mission. I pointed to the fact that their observations were recorded in official reports. Yes, they admitted, but we must be cautious less the situation escalates.' For Van Dijk, the reason behind this cautious approach is apparent. 'Ursula von der Leyen negotiated a gas deal in Baku and called the Azerian dictator Ilham Aliyev a reliable partner of Europe. This partnership is not to be put to risk by open criticism'. German pastor fears “cultural genocide” Armenia 24-02-2022 Atrocities Just as critical to the international community is Inge Drost, a Dutch woman with Armenian roots and secretary of the Federation of Armenian Organisations in the Netherlands. The present ethnic cleansing reminds her of what happened to the Armenian people in 1915. 'Many people cried out against the recent atrocities, but after October 7 [with the start of the Hamas attack on Israel – bjs], all attention is focused on the Middle East. Moreover, there is this strange phenomenon of schizophrenia in Europe. We hold high standards against Russia, but on the other hand, we need gas from Azerbaijan, and we know that most of this gas comes from Russia. For this reason, we conceal the crimes the Azeris commit in Nagorno-Karabakh. This might lead to the cynical conclusion that there are no international rights, only international interests.' 'Nobody notices' is also Simonian's conclusion. 'People see and feel what is happening, and sometimes they protest. But they will not do anything, fearing being shut down from oil and gas. The silence is especially so horrible, Simonian adds, 'because when everybody remains silent, nobody will know what is going on, and when Christians do not know what is going on in Armenia, they will not pray for us. And prayer is decisive.' History For centuries, Armenians and Azeris lived together in Nagorno-Karabach/Artsakh. However, when it formed part of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh was placed under the power of the Sovjet Republic of Azerbaijan. After the collapse of the Soviet Empire, a war broke out between the Armenians and the Azeri, which the Armenians eventually won. The authoritarian leader of the Azeri, Ilham Aliyev (who has been in power since 2003), used the riches flowing from oil and gas to invest in weapons heavily. A new war, begun in 2020, was won by the Azeri, after which Russian President Putin issued an armistice. His peace troops, however, did nothing when Baku started a new attack in 2023. During the long blockade of the humanitarian Lachin corridor by the Azeri, which lasted for nine months from December 2022, the Armenian population was starved to death, with no health care and only minimal access to the Red Cross in the region. There was no electricity and no internet. There was some international protest, but no institution made a fist. Left on its own, the region of Artsakh was captured in September 2023, and ever since, the old Christian culture of the Armenians faces the threat of complete eradication. https://cne.news/article/4454-armenian-culture-in-artsakh-is-facing-erasion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 9 Author Report Share Posted October 9 Newsweek Oct 8 2024 Cynical Synergy—Why the Israeli-Azerbaijani Alliance Is a Blueprint for War-Driven Diplomacy | Opinion By Eldad Ben Aharon Historian of International Relations This time last year, Azerbaijan finalized its seizure of the territory of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh (NK). Since then, Hamas' surprise attack on Israel and the war in Gaza have taken much of the global attention away from Artsakh/NK. At its essence, the Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance illustrates a pattern of cynically taking advantage of the escalation of mass violence in Artsakh/NK and Gaza. For those unfamiliar with the region, the NK conflict in the South Caucasus is a long-standing territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia that re-emerged in the late 1980s. Although its origins trace back much earlier, this conflict has gone through three major rounds of war—one between 1991 and 1994, another lasting 44 days in 2020, and a subsequent escalation involving ethnic cleansing in 2023. The last two armed escalations have shifted control of NK from Armenia to Azerbaijan. In the summer of 2023, Azerbaijan launched an assault on Artsakh in September after a 10-month blockade. This military offensive, which followed failed negotiations, involved heavy shelling and gunfire throughout the year. Concerns were raised about ethnic cleansing and accusations of genocide against the population of Artsakh, which were predominantly ethnic Armenians and numbered around 120,000. The region was recognized by its inhabitants as the Republic of Artsakh, and Armenians were seeking international recognition of its independence. Azerbaijan prevailed with superior military firepower. That was due to an unlikely partner—Israel. What role did Israel play in shaping the NK conflict between 2020 and 2023? During the 2020 war, Israel's then-President Reuven Rivlin acknowledged that "Israel has longstanding relations with Azerbaijan ... the cooperation between the two countries is not aimed against any side." In reality, this partnership closely aligns with Israel's broader security interests, particularly regarding Iran. Both Israel and Azerbaijan view Iran as a significant threat—Israel due to Tehran's nuclear ambitions and aggressive rhetoric against Zionism, and Azerbaijan due to its complex ethnic relationship with its neighbor and their shared border. In this context, successive Israeli governments have exploited the animosity between Iran and their own nation as a seemingly perfect justification for their involvement in the NK conflict. Azerbaijan's reliance on Israel for military equipment grew substantially from 2011 to 2020, with Israel contributing 27 percent of the country's arms imports. The majority of these transfers occurred between 2016 and 2020, during which Israel supplied 69 percent of Azerbaijan's total major arms imports. The escalation of the NK conflict was a win-win for both Israel and Azerbaijan. It gave Israel the opportunity to test advanced military technologies in real-time conflict scenarios while making billions of dollars between 2016 and 2023. Azerbaijan greatly benefited from utilizing innovative arms and technology during the 2020 war, gaining significant momentum against the Armenians in NK. Game-changing weapons such as loitering munitions, reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), guided missiles, and ballistic missiles were supplied to Azerbaijan between 2016 and 2020. This diplomacy and weapons testing linked Artsakh/NK and Gaza for Israel and Azerbaijan. Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza led Azerbaijan to adopt and echoed the sentiments of Israel's President Rivlin. This approach mirrors Israel's neglect of the violence in Artsakh. Azerbaijan's balancing act worked to maintain its partnership with Israel and keep relations intact. A part of Azerbaijan's strategy regarding Gaza also focused on maintaining good relations with Turkey, a key ally that supports both the Palestinians and Hamas. Turkey's conservative, pro-Islamist government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has adopted a strong anti-Israel stance and openly supported Hamas in its advocacy for the Palestinian cause. Azerbaijan's balancing act was demonstrated when President Ilham Aliyev met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Munich Security Conference in February 2024. Despite Erdogan's rhetoric, Azerbaijani authorities have imposed a de facto ban on protests against Israel since Oct. 7, reflecting Azerbaijan's strategy of maintaining silence on the Gaza conflict. This deliberate avoidance of the issue highlights Azerbaijan's careful strategy that parallels Israel's silence on the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh. Baku's policy regarding Gaza is driven by financial and energy interests in its relationship with Israel. Azerbaijan's energy supplies play a pivotal role in enabling Israel to sustain its military efforts amid the ongoing Gaza conflict and the intensifying tensions on its northern front with Hezbollah. Baku has continued to strengthen its partnership with Israel—between January and April 2024, Azerbaijan exported 1,021,917 tons of crude oil to Israel, reflecting a nearly 28 percent increase compared to 2023. The Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance demonstrates continuity, strategy, and a pattern of cynically benefiting from the escalation of mass violence and trade. Above all, this alliance shows great resilience. As long as the animosity between Iran and Israel persists, these ties are expected to endure and even strengthen. Genocide or no genocide, such a "winning team" is not easily changed. Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon (@EldadBenAharon) is an Irish Research Council (IRC) postdoctoral fellow in international security at Dublin City University. He leads the research project titled, 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and Israel's Foreign Policy: Securitization, Geopolitics, and Arms Trading. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own. https://www.newsweek.com/cynical-synergywhy-israeli-azerbaijani-alliance-blueprint-war-driven-diplomacy-opinion-1965093 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 9 Author Report Share Posted October 9 Armenpress.am Politics10:26, 8 October 2024 Azerbaijan prolongs peace process with Armenia and increases uncertainty by refusing to sign agreement, says Spanish legislator Read the article in: EspañolفارسیՀայերենРусскийTürkçe YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s refusal to sign an interim peace agreement with Armenia until all outstanding issues are resolved prolongs the peace process, increases uncertainty and shows that Baku wants to push for further concessions from Armenia, Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain Jon Iñarritu has said. “Azerbaijan’s rejection of Armenia’s proposal is, unfortunately, not surprising. This decision likely stems from Azerbaijan's more authoritarian approach to both politics and negotiations,” Iñarritu told Armenpress. In his UN General Assembly speech, PM Nikol Pashinyan reiterated his offer made to Azerbaijan to sign the agreed-upon articles of the peace treaty and leave the outstanding parts for further discussions. “Its refusal to sign the already agreed points of the peace treaty could be a move to maintain control over unresolved issues and push for further concessions from Armenia,” the Spanish legislator said. Iñarritu warned that even if Azerbaijan signs the agreement, it won’t necessarily guarantee its adherence to it. “It’s also important to recognize that even signing an agreement doesn’t necessarily guarantee Azerbaijan’s adherence to it. We've seen this before, particularly with the trilateral agreement signed on November 9, 2020, which Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated. The aftermath of this breach included the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh and the continued illegal detention of civilians and leaders from the Republic of Artsakh in Baku, used as bargaining chips in negotiations and as a form of humiliation against Armenia,” he said. Jon Iñarritu added that Azerbaijan's refusal to advance a partial agreement could have serious consequences. “This tactic prolongs the peace process, increases uncertainty, and raises the risk of renewed clashes or border incidents. It signals a lack of commitment to prioritizing stability or addressing the humanitarian needs of those affected by the conflict, potentially undermining any progress toward a peaceful resolution. This stance also underscores the fundamental difference between Armenia's democratic values, which seek to resolve conflicts through peaceful and diplomatic means, and Azerbaijan's authoritarian regime, which has historically relied on force and coercion in its dealings with Armenia. Azerbaijan’s reluctance to commit to even partial agreements suggests that it is more focused on maintaining leverage than on achieving a lasting peace,” he said. Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1201743?fbclid=IwY2xjawFy7FhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHV5tvc-ttIiFaoSywOMWUeq79PbNyL9dKDMzZBjYA086YANXsVH0p5pEjQ_aem_t46kKQVucccZEOxmEXhquw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 10 Author Report Share Posted October 10 NPR Oct 8 2024 Azerbaijan’s human-rights record is under fire as it prepares to host UN climate talks October 8, 20245:20 PM ET By Michael Copley Human rights activists and lawmakers in the United States are calling for Azerbaijan to end alleged abuses of civil society groups and ethnic Armenians ahead of a global climate change summit the country will host in November. A new report from Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now says Azerbaijan is carrying out an “escalating crackdown” on government critics and activists. That includes the arrest this spring of human-rights advocate Anar Mammadli, who co-founded a group to work on issues related to climate justice. The report was published days after dozens of U.S. lawmakers urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to push for the release of political prisoners and hostages in Azerbaijan, a major oil and gas producer on the Caspian Sea that borders Russia, Iran and Armenia. The lawmakers said Azerbaijan carried out an ethnic cleansing last year in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority enclave. And they pointed to a State Department report that found “significant human rights issues” in the country, including credible reports of arbitrary detentions and unlawful or arbitrary killings. U.S. lawmakers told Blinken that the upcoming COP29 climate negotiations in Azerbaijan offer “a pivotal platform” to promote energy security in the region and to help countries like Armenia cut their dependence on Russia for natural gas. The criticism of Azerbaijan also comes against the backdrop of growing concern globally that grassroots efforts to limit and adapt to climate change are being met with state pushback and human rights abuses. “When civic space is actively shut down, the voices of those most affected by the climate crisis are at risk of being excluded from the negotiations,” Myrto Tilianaki, a senior advocate for the environment and human rights at Human Rights Watch, said at a press conference Tuesday. “And that is a major problem, because if their lived experiences and solutions aren’t heard, the policies that come out of these talks might not fully reflect their needs or protect their rights.” Azerbaijan’s embassy in Washington disputed the report from Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now. It said all of the cases are being handled appropriately, and that it "goes against the rule of law to try to interfere with ongoing domestic legal processes." Responding to the earlier allegations from U.S. lawmakers, the embassy said Azerbaijan is a victim of an “orchestrated disinformation campaign.” The selection of Azerbaijan to host this year’s climate talks shows the country is “a responsible and credible member of the international community,” the embassy said in a statement. It added that “human rights have nothing to do with permissiveness to engage in illegal activities.” The report from Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now says recent arrests of activists and media figures in Azerbaijan were primarily linked to laws restricting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The arrests were politically motivated, the report says, and “follow well-established, abusive methods the government has used for many years to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of association in the country.” In most of the cases documented in the report, people who worked for or were involved with unregistered NGOs and independent media outlets were charged with smuggling money into Azerbaijan. Some of those people were also charged with crimes such as illegal entrepreneurship, forgery and tax evasion, according to the report. In other cases, people were charged with extremism, drug possession, counterfeiting and treason. The circumstances and timing of most of those arrests “strongly suggest that the criminal charges were merely a pretext intended to punish and put an end to activists’ legitimate work,” according to Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now. Azerbaijan was picked to host this year’s United Nations climate talks after Russia blocked bids from countries in the European Union, which has supported Ukraine in its war with Moscow. At last year’s climate conference in the United Arab Emirates, countries agreed to move away from fossil fuels, the main driver of human-caused global warming. However, Azerbaijan has suggested the world can meet its climate targets while continuing to produce fossil fuels. Oil and gas pays for a large share of Azerbaijan’s budget, and the country is poised to increase gas production by a third over the next decade, according to an analysis by Global Witness, an environmental and human rights group. “I have always said that having oil and gas deposits is not our fault. It's a gift from God,” Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, said at a conference earlier this year. “We must not be judged by that. We must be judged based on how we use these reserves for the development of the country, to reduce poverty and unemployment, and on what our targets are with respect to the green agenda.” One of the cases highlighted by Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now involves an economist named Gubad Ibadoghlu who was arrested on charges related to the production of counterfeit currency and extremism. Ibadoghlu has argued that average citizens in Azerbaijan don’t benefit from the country’s oil and gas reserves because revenues are mismanaged. And he recently examined plans for greater energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union, questioning how much gas Azerbaijan could send to Europe. If he’s convicted, the report says Ibadoghlu faces 17 years in prison. https://www.npr.org/2024/10/08/nx-s1-5145637/azerbaijan-human-rights-climate-change-cop29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 11 Author Report Share Posted October 11 The Hill Oct 10 2024 Letting Azerbaijan host the UN climate conference is a sick joke by Alex Galitsky The U.N. Climate Change Conference has long been marred by accusations of “greenwashing” by authoritarian host countries seeking to distract from their human rights abuses. The latest summit, known as COP29, promises to outdo the organization’s already-dismal track record. The decision for Azerbaijan to host the conference comes just months after that nation’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, which forcibly displaced the region’s entire Armenian population. Without a hint of irony, Azerbaijan’s booth at the last such conference displayed a slide stating: “Karabakh is the first region in Azerbaijan to achieve ‘net zero.’” One wonders whether they were referring to carbon emissions or Armenians. Despite being among the most fossil fuel-dependent economies in the region, Azerbaijan was granted the privilege of hosting COP29 after Armenia dropped its veto in exchange for the release of 32 Armenian prisoners. This is one of many examples of Azerbaijan prolonging the arbitrary detention of unjustly detained prisoners of war in exchange for concessions, in violation of international law. Dozens of Armenian POWs, civilian captives and Nagorno-Karabakh officials remain in Azerbaijan’s illegal detention, where they face torture and abuse, along with many Azerbaijani journalists and opposition activists arrested in a recent wave of brutal crackdowns. In an all-too-familiar story, oil and gas have long served as cover for Azerbaijan’s abusive regime. For decades, the U.S. has sought to position Azerbaijan as a partner in both the diversification of Europe’s energy supply and the containment of Russia and Iran. This stance toward the region has recklessly enabled Azerbaijan’s authoritarianism — and emboldened its aggression against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh — through military assistance, arms sales and generous economic inducements. While U.S. law prohibits Azerbaijan from receiving military assistance due to its blockade of Armenia in the 1990s, successive American administrations have bypassed these restrictions using a waiver authority justified in the name of regional security interests. Unconditional U.S. support to Azerbaijan in exchange for regional energy and security cooperation has come at the cost of human rights at home and abroad, culminating in what Freedom House recently described as the deliberate and systematic ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s entire Armenian population in September 2023. To this day, the U.S. has imposed no meaningful consequences for this on Azerbaijan. If the goal of this disastrous policy was to establish Azerbaijan as a reliable Western strategic partner in the region, it has failed to yield results. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Azerbaijan has bolstered energy ties with Moscow, including a significant expansion of Russian state energy giant Lukoil’s stake in the very natural gas fields exporting energy to Europe. And just weeks after the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s state oil company signed a deal with Lukoil to transport crude to its refinery in Turkey, evading international sanctions on Russia’s energy industry. Azerbaijan has also expanded energy ties with Iran, whose state oil company owns a 10 percent stake in Azerbaijan’s main energy fields. Despite Baku’s expanding partnership with Moscow and Tehran and continued military aggression, the U.S. has been ramping up its support for the Baku COP29 summit. In a letter to his Azerbaijani counterpart, President Biden lauded the country’s role as “a significant pillar of global energy security” — marking a break with the administration’s previously stated policy of “no business as usual” with Azerbaijan following its assault on Nagorno-Karabakh. For Washington, the ethnic cleansing of 120,000 Armenians seems to have been an acceptable price to pay to secure Azerbaijan’s energy cooperation. Congressional leaders recently urged the administration to use the COP29 summit to scrutinize Azerbaijan’s human rights and environmental record. Sixty House and Senate members issued a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the U.S. to prioritize accountability for Azerbaijan’s war crimes, the release of unjustly detained prisoners and a safe and secure right of return for Nagorno-Karabakh’s displaced Armenians during its engagement at the summit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned the letter, calling the criticism “disgusting” — and making abundantly clear that Azerbaijan seeks to use the summit to greenwash a human rights record that has been routinely rated one of the worst in the world. If the U.S. is serious about tackling climate change, the Biden administration must follow the lead of lawmakers in condemning Azerbaijan’s attempts to weaponize COP29 to obscure its appalling human rights and environmental record. Allowing Azerbaijan to use COP29 as a vehicle for greenwashing not only risks making a mockery of the U.N. forum, it would reinforce a cycle that has seen human rights held hostage to the whims of regional energy interests and sordid partnerships. Absent efforts to end the impunity that petro-states like Azerbaijan have been afforded while they violate international law, real action to confront climate change will remain a pipedream. Alex Galitsky is policy director of the Armenian National Committee of America, the largest Armenian-American grassroots political advocacy organization in the U.S. https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/4925292-letting-azerbaijan-host-the-un-climate-conference-is-a-sick-joke/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 13 Author Report Share Posted October 13 Panorama, Armenia Oct 12 2024 Pashinyan: Azerbaijan wants to use Armenia's roads but keep country blockaded Azerbaijan wants to use roads in Armenia, at the same time keeping the country blockaded, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. “Azerbaijan wants Armenia’s roads to be usable for it with Armenia remaining blockaded,” he told a conference on the Armenian government’s Crossroads of Peace project on Saturday. Pashinyan underlined that Azerbaijan is concerned about the Crossroads of Peace project because it could bring tens of billions in benefits to Armenia. He said this could potentially cause Azerbaijan two concerns. “First, if Azerbaijan genuinely believes that that in the strategic prospect Armenia has aggressive plans against Azerbaijan, it could create a perception that these tens of billions of dollars could be used against Azerbaijan. On the opposite, if Azerbaijan has aggressive intentions towards Armenia, this project may disturb Azerbaijan that these tens of billions of dollars could be used to enhance Armenia's defense capabilities, and Azerbaijan could have problems in implementing its aggressive plans against Armenia,” Pashinyan explained. He reiterated that Armenia “has no aggressive intentions towards Azerbaian or any of its neighbors.” “We recognize the territorial integrity of all our neighbors,” Pashinyan underscored. https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2024/10/12/Pashinyan-roads/3064480 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 15 Author Report Share Posted October 15 Azatutyun.am Armenia, Azerbaijan Trade More Barbs Over Transport Corridor Հոկտեմբեր 14, 2024 Shoghik Galstian Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks at a conference in Yerevan, October 12, 2024. Armenia and Azerbaijan have again accused each other of not complying with a 2020 deal to open their border to trade and travel. Speaking at a weekend conference in Yerevan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian promoted his government’s “Crossroads of Peace” project meant to serve as a blueprint for Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links. He insisted that it is in line with Paragraph 9 of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The clause commits Yerevan to opening transport corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s Syunik province. The project touted by Pashinian says that Armenia must have full control over the transport corridor to Nakhichevan. Pashinian suggested that Baku is opposed to it because it has “aggressive intentions towards Armenia” and wants to continue its blockade of his country. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry was quick to deny the claim. Its spokesman, Aykhan Hajizade, accused the Armenian premier of “distorting the reality” and being “negligent” of Yerevan’s obligations under Paragraph 9. The Armenian Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected the accusation and said Baku itself has violated other, more important provisions of the 2020 truce accord. “The ‘Crossroads of Peace’ project also accurately reflects a roadmap for the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the Republic of Armenia, within the framework of which we have forwarded proposals to the Azerbaijani side,” said the ministry spokeswoman, Ani Badalian. Badalian did not disclose those proposals or say whether the Azerbaijani side responded to them. She urged it to start the “process of unblocking” bilateral transport links “as soon as possible.” The Azerbaijani leadership insists on an extraterritorial corridor for Nakhichevan whereby people and cargo transported to and from the exclave through Syunik must be exempt from Armenian border checks. Syunik is the only Armenian province bordering Iran. This explains why Tehran is strongly opposed to the “Zangezur corridor” sought by Baku. In late August, Russia also accused Armenia of “sabotaging” the 2020 deal. Yerevan has rejected the Russian accusations that added to its heightened tensions with Moscow.. Paragraph 9 stipulates that Russian border guards will “control” the transit of people, vehicles and goods through Syunik. Badalian insisted that this does not mean that they can have any “physical presence” along the would-be transit routes. The practical modalities of the corridor were due to be worked out by a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani task force. Moscow says that Yerevan has refused to implement concrete agreements that were reached by it in June 2023. Armenian leaders have denied that. They came up with the “Crossroads of Peace” project in November 2023. Earlier this year, Baku and Yerevan agreed to exclude the issue from a draft peace treaty discussed by them. Pashinian’s government hoped that this will facilitate the signing of the treaty. However, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has made that conditional on a change of Armenia’s constitution. Aliyev has set further conditions for Yerevan in recent weeks. https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33158149.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawF66IJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWKNk6osyCE3nJcywDwwvJdvJXGAS9d6x_qnf9xR5pjVa3TZ42NTbN07ig_aem_aImn_fqhxw5QsPYeI9mbfw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 17 Author Report Share Posted October 17 OC Media Oct 16 2024 Peace talks flounder as Armenia pushes for deal with Azerbaijan before COP29 16 October 2024 ByArshaluys Barseghyan Peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to be at a standstill as Armenia continues to push for an agreement to be signed ahead of November’s COP29 summit in Baku. On Tuesday, Sargis Khandanyan, an MP from Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party, told Armenpress that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan offered to organise a meeting to conclude and sign a peace agreement ahead of the summit, which is scheduled to be held in Baku between 11–22 November. He said that Pashinyan made the offer to President Ilham Aliyev in Moscow, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States summit on 8 October. ‘More precisely, he offered that the foreign ministers hold a two-day meeting to [finalise] the one to two unresolved articles of the peace treaty, and then for the leaders to sign the treaty before the Baku COP29’, he said, adding that he was not aware of whether Azerbaijan had responded to Pashinyan’s offer. A short clip from the summit surfaced on social media, with the interviewer asking Aliyev and Pashinyan when the peace agreement would be finalised. Aliyev said that they would sign the treaty ‘when we agree on everything’, shrugging his shoulders when asked if a peace agreement could materialise by the end of the year. Pashinyan responded by saying that Armenia offered its terms for the agreement, and that he believed that treaty was ready to be signed ‘right now’ based on terms the two countries had already agreed upon. Armenia has been offering to sign an interim peace treaty based on articles it agreed on with Azerbaijan since late August. Azerbaijan has refused Armenia’s offer, despite similarly proposing to do so earlier this year. [Read more: Azerbaijan refuses to sign peace treaty based on already agreed points] Earlier this week, Aliyev called the Armenian offer ‘completely unrealistic’, noting he was not aware of any existing precedents for such an agreement. ‘Sustainable, credible, and irreversible peace’ On Tuesday, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said that Armenia had yet to receive a response to their latest peace treaty proposal, which was sent at the end of August. On the same day, Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Security Council, stated that reaching an agreement on the remaining articles of the peace treaty ‘will take a lot of time’. ‘But we are also sure that if we sign the peace agreement at this moment, it will open the door for a more dynamic discussion’, he said, according to RFE/RL. ‘We understand very clearly that no country has ever solved all its problems with one agreement.’ Armenia’s President Vahagn Khachaturyan has also made statements in favour of signing a deal as soon as possible, telling the Financial Times that it ‘would be good to sign it by COP29’. In an interview with TV Berlin on 10 October, Elchin Amirbayov, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador for Special Affairs said that Azerbaijan did not ‘entirely’ rule out signing a peace treaty before COP29, but stressed that Azerbaijan wanted to achieve ‘sustainable, credible, and irreversible peace’. However, he said that Armenia’s constitution formed a ‘major obstacle’ to reaching a peace agreement, and that it contained territorial claims against Azerbaijan. ‘Unless this territorial claim which is embedded in the Armenian constitution is addressed, it doesn't make any sense for us to sign any peace agreement’, he said. In late August, Armenia announced plans to hold a referendum to approve a new constitution in 2027. However, Yerevan has repeatedly denied claims that the constitutional referendum is connected to the peace process. As the talks falter, Azerbaijan has continually warned Armenia against procuring arms, with Aliyev calling on Armenia to ‘stop these dangerous games’. On 12 October, Azerbaijan instructed its armed forces to stay on high alert to ‘prevent provocations of the revanchist forces’. https://oc-media.org/peace-talks-flounder-as-armenia-pushes-for-deal-with-azerbaijan-before-cop29/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 17 Author Report Share Posted October 17 Azatutyun.am Another Armenian Official Warns Of ‘Azeri Aggression’ Հոկտեմբեր 16, 2024 Gayane Saribekian Armenia - Vahagn Aleksanian, a deputy chairman of the ruling Civil Contract party, speaks during a session of the Armenian parliament. Azerbaijan is rejecting Armenian proposals to sign a bilateral peace deal in possible preparation for a new military aggression against Armenia, a deputy chairman of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party said on Wednesday. “I cannot exclude that by torpedoing talks on the peace treaty Azerbaijan is preparing the ground for its attack against Armenia,” Vahagn Aleksanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan likewise warned early this month that Azerbaijan may be planning to invade Armenia. Mirzoyan accused Baku of lacking the “political will” to sign a framework agreement sought by Yerevan. The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly rejected an Armenian proposal to conclude such a deal and try to settle the remaining sticking points in the future. It has also made clear that Armenia must change its constitution before it can make peace with Azerbaijan. In recent weeks, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has set further conditions for Yerevan. Last Friday, Aliyev also made fresh threats of military action against Armenia, accusing it of playing “dangerous games.” Aleksanian said that Yerevan should “continue and further intensify” its peace efforts in these circumstances. “We must clearly show the world that Armenia is doing everything to sign the peace treaty whereas Azerbaijan is essentially torpedoing that process and preparing the ground for an attack,” he said. “There is no need to prove anything to the world because the so-called world community or its protagonists involved in our region already understand which party is not constructive,” countered Tigran Grigorian, a political analyst. “The question is whether those actors are ready to use some additional levers to put pressure on Azerbaijan and have the political will to do that. I’m not sure this is the case.” “At this stage Azerbaijan doesn’t really need a war to achieve some goals because when you see that your enemy wants to secure some document at all costs, even if that document has no substance, you use that desire to make more demands and get more concessions,” added Grigorian. Armenian opposition leaders also maintain that Aliyev has no intention to sign any agreement before clinching more far-reaching concessions from Pashinian. They say that Pashinian’s appeasement policy has only encouraged the Azerbaijani strongman to make more demands on Yerevan. They accuse the premier of not fulfilling his 2021 election campaign pledge to usher in a new “era of peace” in Armenia and the region. “We have never said that Azerbaijan wants peace, does everything for peace … What we have said that is our goal is to establish peace,” Aleksanian said in this regard. https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33161071.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawF9lRZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcYpf7IRA16aMcMApxLgW5Dz3e25SLzxPdoa9_w1--MMPEZB6fnQnDImaQ_aem_SAaRnfBxvI6g-95QPDOX1Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 22 Author Report Share Posted October 22 Asbarez.com Ahead of European Parliament Debate on Human Rights in Azerbaijan, Genocide Expert Calls Out Baku’s Abhorrent Record by Asbarez Staff October 21, 2024 in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories European Parliament As the European Parliament prepares to discuss on Tuesday the relations between Yerevan and Baku, as well as the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, a Swedish rights advocate has called out Baku’s abhorrent record, saying the government of Azerbaijan is concealing the real reasons behind Armenia’s support for Baku’s bid to host the United Nations Climate Summit, the COP29. The European Parliament announced that the debate, scheduled for Tuesday, will focus on relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, citing Armenian President Vahagn Khachatryan’s recent announcement that the signing of a peace agreement could take place before the COP29. “Armenia and Azerbaijan are mired in a long-running conflict that escalated last year when Baku launched a military assault and seized the Nagorno-Karabakh region, leading to the exodus of some 100,000 Armenians. MEPs, therefore, strongly condemned the unjustified military attack as a blatant violation of international law and called on the EU to review its relations with Azerbaijan, including in the field of energy,” said the European Parliament statement on the scheduled discussion. Swedish genocide expert Svante Lundgren Svante Lundgren, a genocide researcher and a research fellow at the Center for Advanced Middle East Studies at Lund University in Sweden, wrote in an article published in Altinget that Azerbaijan, which currently has the worst human rights record, should not be hosting the COP29, which is scheduled to take place next month in Baku. “Azerbaijan is now considered the most authoritarian country in Europe, worse than Russia and Belarus. In Freedom House’s latest global freedom ranking, the country scored 7 out of 100, one point higher than Taliban-led Afghanistan. Azerbaijan ranks 164th out of 180 countries in the latest global press freedom ranking by Reporters Without Borders. In recent years, we have seen increasing repression of independent journalists and oppositionists in Azerbaijan,” Lundgren wrote in his article. “Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Stockholm, Zaur Ahmadov, uses the upcoming climate meeting in Baku to praise his country’s commitment to peace and efforts to combat climate change. He says Armenia supported Azerbaijan’s bid to host the meeting without naming the conditions. But Armenia did so in order to free 32 prisoners of war held despite the ceasefire agreement providing for their release. Using prisoners of war as a commodity is clearly against international law,” the Swedish rights expert said. “The European Parliament has demanded that member states impose sanctions against Azerbaijan over the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 and the treatment of internal dissidents,” Lundgren said. “In January this year, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to deprive Azerbaijan of its voting rights in the assembly for this year as the country has failed to fulfill its membership obligations.” “No pretty words can hide the fact that this year’s main climate summit is being organized in a country with obvious shortcomings in terms of democracy and human rights. They are disappearing not because of ‘greenwashing’ and fashionable talk about peace and climate, but because of measures that are now conspicuously absent,” the Swedish expert pointed out. https://asbarez.com/ahead-of-european-parliament-debate-on-human-rights-in-azerbaijan-genocide-expert-calls-out-bakus-abhorrent-record/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGECuxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWxqA-6SuxIP91iWYMad5cvWPq3lBrJEuNrEzmVGuJdmPjkRPf0BXC9ycA_aem_CBY7Y-hwVNXYZ5Lttti5BQ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 23 Author Report Share Posted October 23 Text of UN-Azerbaijan Agreement Revealed For the Climate Summit to be Held in Baku By Harut Sassounian TheCaliforniaCourier.com As the UN Climate Summit (COP29) is set to be held in Baku starting on November 11, it is becoming increasingly clear that Azerbaijan should not have been allowed to host such a prestigious gathering. In addition to Armenian protests about ethnic cleansing and the illegal detention of Armenian prisoners in Baku, there have been worldwide objections about the Conference being held in Baku because of Azerbaijan’s flagrant and persistent violations of human rights. On October 10, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published an article titled, “COP29 Host Country Agreement Lacks Rights Protections: Azerbaijan Should Guarantee Rights of Civil Society Participants at Climate Conference.” HRW expressed its serious concerns about Baku hosting the Conference. HRW obtained a copy of the signed UN-Azerbaijan Agreement which has not been made public, despite the fact that UN members had insisted “that host country agreements should be made publicly available and should uphold international human rights law.” HRW urged the UN to “publicly call upon the Azerbaijani government to respect its human rights obligations and facilitate a rights-respecting climate conference.” Amnesty International also issued a similar request in July. It is important that the Agreement protect not only the rights of Azerbaijani citizens, but also the safety and security of thousands of international participants of the Conference. When I clicked on the link that HRW had included in its article, I found the text of the 20-page-long Agreement signed between the UN and the Government of Azerbaijan in August 2024. HRW complained that the Agreement “is replete with significant shortcomings and ambiguities on the protections for participants’ rights.” For example, while the Agreement states that Conference participants “shall enjoy immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and any act performed by them,” it requires that they “respect Azerbaijani laws and not interfere in its ‘internal affairs.’” Here are the highlights of the signed Agreement: --“The Government [of Azerbaijan] is committed to uphold the fundamental human rights, dignity and worth of the human person, and equal rights of all participants participating in the Pre-sessional Meetings/Conference/UNFCC Meetings [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change].” --“The area within the Baku Olympic Stadium where the Conference and the Pre-sessional Meetings shall be held, including any area immediately outside it, will be under the direct supervision and control of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security….” --“Host country support and technical personnel shall be guided by the highest ethical and professional standards and are expected to behave with integrity and respect. The Government shall ensure that relevant standards are fully understood.” --“The Government shall be responsible, at its expense, for such police protection and security as may be required to ensure the efficient running…of the Conference without interference of any kind.” --“Security within the Conference premises shall be the responsibility of the UN Department of Safety and Security…. Security outside the Conference premises shall be the responsibility of the Government…. Such security personnel shall be guided by the highest ethical and professional standards and are expected to behave with integrity and respect. The Government shall ensure that relevant standards are fully understood.” --All Participants “shall enjoy the privileges and immunities within the Republic of Azerbaijan,” under the UN “Convention on the Privileges and Immunities…. The representatives of observer organizations/other persons…shall enjoy immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and any act performed by them in connection with their participation” in the Conference. --All Participants “have the right of entry into and exit from the Republic of Azerbaijan and no impediments shall be imposed on their transit to and from the Conference premises.” Exceptions can be made in case the Government presents to the UN “well founded objections based on law concerning the entry of a particular individual. Such objections must relate to specific criminal, security matters and not to nationality, religion, professional or political affiliation.” --The Conference premises are “protected…and access thereto is subject to the authority and control of the [UN] secretariat. These premises shall be inviolable for the duration of the Conference.” --All Participants enjoying “privileges and immunities provided by this Agreement…have the duty to respect the laws and regulations in force in the Republic of Azerbaijan and have the duty not to interfere in its internal affairs.” --In addition to paying the expenses of hosting the Conference, the Government of Azerbaijan will reimburse the UN $5,811,800 for the costs incurred in planning the Conference, airfare for UN personnel, and technical services. The Agreement finally states that “upon the conclusion of the Conference, the [UN] secretariat will issue a report regarding the implementation of the terms of this Agreement, including on lessons learned and challenges faced, to the [UN] Bureau.” We will find out at the end of the Conference if Azerbaijan has abided by the terms of the Agreement, particularly in respect to human rights, including suppression by police of public protests by Azerbaijani citizens during the Conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 23 Author Report Share Posted October 23 The American Conservative Oct 22 2024 NATO Disgraces Itself in Azerbaijan The alliance is happy to turn a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing of Armenians—so long as Baku is aligned against Tehran. James W. Carden Two years ago this October, Azerbaijan committed what had been, until the Israeli rampage of the past year, among the most egregious cases of ethic cleaning since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when in the matter of days its armed forces took control of the Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabakh in which 120,000 Christian Armenians were forced to flee the land which had been their home for centuries. In the months that followed, Azerbaijan’s dictator, Ilham Aliyev, claimed that “present-day Armenia is our land.” An agreement reached between Armenia’s U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Aliyev ceded four Armenian villages to Azerbaijan the following April. Fast forward to the last week of September, when the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Kristina Kvien, attended a memorial service the Armenians who died fighting Azerbaijan. To mark the occasion, the U.S. embassy issued a statement that read, in part, that “the United States is committed to working with the Armenian government to assist those who have lost their homes and livelihood.” Yet such sentiments are difficult to take seriously when roughly a week later NATO sent a high-level delegation to Baku to kiss Aliyev’s ring. According the contemporaneous reporting from Sergei Melkonian, a Research Fellow at the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia, “In just four days of October this year, Azerbaijan held two high-level meetings with NATO representatives,” including meetings between the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, Karim Valiyev, and the director general of the NATO International Military Staff, Lieutenant General Janusz Adamczak, in which they discussed, according to a statement released by NATO, “a new framework for cooperation with Azerbaijan with a special focus on defense education, interoperability, resilience and defense capacity building.” That a Pole like Adamczak finds himself, on behalf of an American-led alliance, supporting Islamist aggression against a Christian nation shows just how deep the rot goes in the West. The distinguished former US Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, told me that in his view Azerbaijan has consistently twisted the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to suit its own purposes, and it is no surprise that it has done so again on the occasion of the NATO delegation’s visit; however, it is depressing that, even in victory, the Azerbaijanis are unable to muster even a shred of compassion for the defeated Armenians, who have inhabited those mountains for centuries, but were recently evicted forcibly from their ancestral homes in what amounts to a case of ethnic cleansing. The collusion between NATO and Azerbaijan leaves little doubt as to where NATO’s true priorities lie, priorities that have long been hidden behind the high-sounding rhetoric of shared “values” and “human rights.” But understanding Washington’s morally abhorrent policy toward Armenia is easy enough: The conflict between Israel and Iran in which Armenia finds itself, through no fault of its own, in the middle. Israel’s role in helping to facilitate Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing campaign is of course ignored in Washington—though it is no secret in Israel, where Haaretz has acknowledged that the Netanyahu regime has “its fingerprints all over Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing in the Nagorno-Karabakh.” In Yerevan last November, Benyamin Poghosyan, chairman of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies in Yerevan, told me, Starting around 2009, Israel became one of the primary suppliers of advanced weapons to Azerbaijan. During the 2020 war, almost on a daily basis, Azerbaijani cargo planes were making flights to and from Israel. As late as September 2023, just before the most recent Azerbaijani attack, again, several cargo planes went to Israel and came back to Azerbaijan full of weapons. And there is even information that Israel continued to supply weapons to Azerbaijan even after October 7. Poghosyan pointed out that “Azerbaijan gave the green light to Israeli special services, especially its foreign intelligence service, to do whatever they want in Azerbaijan. Of course now they have access to that security zone around Nagorno-Karabakh, which borders Iran.” He continued, "There are a lot of reports that Israeli military intelligence or foreign intelligence operatives are using these airports for operations against Iran.” Against this background, where does Russia, which had long the dominant great power in the region, fit into the picture? Pietro Shakarian, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Research University–Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, tells me, For now, given the war in Ukraine, Russia is pursuing a cautious and restrained policy toward the Caucasus. At times, it can even appear to be too deferential to Turkey and Azerbaijan. However, the reality is that Moscow cannot afford to be too restrained for too long. The weaker Armenia under Pashinyan becomes, the worse Russia's geopolitical and security position in the region will be. The growing Russian-Iranian alliance is, in my view, the clearest evidence that Russia absolutely intends to defend its interests in the Caucasus, and in Armenia in particular, regardless of what Pashinyan wants. Meanwhile, as the U.S. election season comes to an end, both candidates have both adopted (for reasons only too obvious) maximalist positions on Iran. Tragically, the strategic importance that Israel (and the U.S., since officials in both parties act as little more than Netanyahu’s errand boys) places on Azerbaijan as an outpost in its covert war on Iran will continue to come at the cost of Armenian lives and sovereignty. About The Author James W. Carden James W. Carden is a contributing editor to The American Conservative and a former adviser to the U.S. State Department. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/nato-disgraces-itself-in-azerbaijan/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 25 Author Report Share Posted October 25 Armenpress.am Politics15:10, 24 October 2024 Pashinyan holds meeting with Aliyev Read the article in: فارسیFrançaisՀայերենРусскийTürkçe简体中文 YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are holding a meeting in Russia’s Kazan, the Armenian government reported. The meeting is held on the sidelines of the BRICS Outreach/Plus summit. Earlier the two leaders engaged in a conversation during the summit as they were seated next to each other during the general discussion. Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1203128?fbclid=IwY2xjawGHl9pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTWRAUrfeIlfExEvCdfEkHujPFm5lNoK3_LIwkm5V3KdiVhMsy49Lkbolg_aem_kSbyEqjHbs_Hrzzau6RFrQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 26 Author Report Share Posted October 26 JAM News Oct 24 2024 European Parliament resolution on Azerbaijan and relations with Armenia JAMnews The European Parliament has adopted a resolution that welcomes the progress made in the border delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The resolution primarily addresses “the situation in Azerbaijan, violations of human rights and international law, as well as relations with Armenia.” It was supported by 453 members of parliament, with 31 voting against and 89 abstaining. The resolution includes a series of appeals, particularly directed at the EU. One of these calls for the cessation of all technical and financial support to Azerbaijan that could contribute to strengthening its military capabilities. Another appeal is addressed to EU member states, urging them to “freeze all exports of military equipment to Azerbaijan.” The resolution also highlights human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Those who voted in favor believe these violations are “incompatible with hosting COP 29” in Baku. “EU leaders, particularly European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are strongly encouraged to use COP 29 as an opportunity to remind Azerbaijan of its international obligations and to actively address the human rights situation in the country,” the resolution states. “US has raised the stakes”: Armenian expert on Biden’s letter to Pashinyan “Blinken-Mirzoyan-Bayramov meeting yields no tangible results,” Yerevan’s perspective “Baku wants Yerevan to acknowledge its hegemony” – Armenian political analyst The Azerbaijani army must withdraw from Armenia’s sovereign territories Since the resolution also addresses Azerbaijan’s relations with Armenia, significant emphasis is placed on conflict resolution and the necessary steps to overcome it. The European Parliament reaffirms its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. It expresses solidarity with the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders, in line with the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. Accordingly, the European Parliament reiterates its demand that the Azerbaijani army withdraw from all sovereign Armenian territory. On the matter of unblocking regional communication routes, European parliamentarians emphasize that this must be done “with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.” The EU must be ready to apply sanctions “Any military actions against Armenia are unacceptable and will have serious consequences for the EU-Azerbaijan partnership,” warn European deputies. According to the resolution, the EU must be prepared to impose sanctions on any individuals or organizations that threaten Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. The resolution also mentions support for Armenia through the European Peace Facility. The deputies believe that EU-Armenia cooperation in the areas of security and defense should continue. The EU will begin a dialogue with Armenia on visa liberalization – When and what to expect In expert circles, the success of this process is linked to the global political situation, the resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the clarification of the European Union’s position and role in the South Caucasus European Parliament calls for extending EU mission’s mandate at the Armenian border The European Parliament acknowledges the crucial role of the EU civilian mission in monitoring the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. At the same time, parliamentarians expressed “concern over defamatory statements and campaigns originating from Baku against the observation mission.” The resolution calls on the European Union and its member states to expand and extend the mission’s mandate. Release all Armenian POWS and ensure safe return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians Among its other demands, the resolution urges Azerbaijani authorities to release all 23 Armenian prisoners still held in Baku and to comply with the rulings of the International Court of Justice, including those regarding the safe return of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The resolution also calls for a comprehensive and transparent dialogue with the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, providing them with guarantees of protection, including safeguarding their property rights. The document further addresses the preservation of Nagorno-Karabakh’s historical and cultural heritage, recommending that Baku refrain from further destruction or alteration of the region’s cultural, religious, or historical legacy. Members of the European Parliament demand that Azerbaijan allow a UNESCO mission to visit Nagorno-Karabakh to assess the situation. https://jam-news.net/european-parliament-resolution-on-violations-in-azerbaijan/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted Sunday at 01:21 PM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 01:21 PM Panorama Armenia - Nov 2 2024 Analysis: Aliyev's daughters reportedly control business empire worth over $13 billion Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum, strongly criticizes Azerbaijan's selection as the host of the COP29 UN climate summit in an article on the National Security Journal. Azerbaijan continues to put finishing touches on Baku ahead of the COP29 international climate conference. Host governments treat the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference much like they treat the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup: Not only do they rake in tourist dollars as delegates and visitors pack hotels and five-star restaurants, but they also rebrand themselves for the international audience. The United Arab Emirates, the 2023 host, could not easily highlight its environmentalism given that it is the world’s eighth largest producer of oil and tenth largest gas producer and so it instead both projected itself as laying on the fault lines of climate change and tried to highlight its own contributions. The United Arab Emirates is not the only monarchy or petro-state to host the climate conference. Qatar did in 2012 and Indonesia, another OPEC member, co-hosted in 2007. Azerbaijan’s selection was particularly pernicious, though. On its face, Azerbaijan is a ridiculous choice. Azerbaijan cannot pitch itself as a potential climate victim; its chief environmental concern is not climate but its own pollution and the ability of those connected to the ruling Aliyev family to stand above the law. It is among the world’s most authoritarian states and, according to Freedom House ranking, the least free country by far to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The Aliyev regime ranks just above the Taliban’s Afghanistan in total score, but Freedom House assesses Afghans have greater political rights under the Taliban than Azerbaijanis have under Aliyev. Freedom House also ranks Nagorno-Karabakh that Azerbaijan conquered just over a year ago and today administers, as the world’s least free place, worse than North Korea, Eritrea, or Tibet under Chinese rule. That many human rights voices that criticized speech restricts in Dubai or migrant labor practices in Doha are silent does not exculpate Baku; it only incriminates the selectively silent. Awarding the Aliyevs hosting rights also whitewashes the country’s kleptocracy. Many previous hosts have corruption problems, but not to the degree of Azerbaijan. Not only is freedom in decline in Azerbaijan, but it is among the world’s most corrupt states. Transparency International considers Azerbaijan far more corrupt than the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, for example, and even worse than Russia, Lebanon and Iran. Aliyev’s two daughters reportedly control a business empire worth more than $13 billion. Azerbaijan’s opportunity to host was due to the rotation system the United Nations implemented after the climate conference grew in size and prestige, but it was not the only candidate. Armenia, a country whose brand is environmentalism, also sought to host. Azerbaijan used Armenian hostages it seized as a bargaining chip, telling intermediaries it would release them only if Armenia dropped its bid. The State Department, anxious to broker peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, urged Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to comply. He dropped the bid, but Azerbaijan continued to hold Armenian prisoners and occupy more than 200 square kilometers of land the international community recognizes as Armenia proper. Following last year’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s millennia-old indigenous Armenian community, Azerbaijan has also systematically begun to destroy Armenian heritage across the region. Worse, it leads tours of foreign dignitaries—including Washington think-tankers and the U.S. ambassador in Baku—to Disneyland-like sanitized versions of ancient settlements in its place. Such tours will increase in frequency as Baku seeks to normalize ethnic cleansing. For the White House to bless Azerbaijan for hosting COP29 today would be akin to allowing Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to host an international forum while still occupying Kuwait or the State Department allowing its ambassador in Moscow to take a Kremlin-run propaganda tour of Crimea. https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2024/11/02/Aliyev-daughters-business-empire/3073205 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted Tuesday at 01:56 PM Author Report Share Posted Tuesday at 01:56 PM POLITICO Nov 4 2024 Armenian ambassador alleged Azerbaijani counterpart threatened to kill him in Brussels bust up The two countries are bitter rivals after more than three decades of war and occupation. By Max Griera and Gabriel Gavin BRUSSELS — The Armenian Embassy has lodged a formal protest with other diplomatic missions in Brussels after its ambassador claimed to have been on the receiving end of death threats from his Azerbaijani counterpart. A letter circulated to envoys last week, seen by POLITICO, alleged that Armenian Ambassador Tigran Balayan was “verbally attacked and intimidated” by Azerbaijani Ambassador Vaqif Sadiqov, who “voiced explicit threats against his life.” The incident is said to have happened at a reception at the Tangla Hotel in Brussels, hosted by the Turkish Embassy in honor of the country’s national day. It is understood to have been the first Ankara-sponsored engagement the Armenian Embassy had been invited to since a 2020 war between the country and Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey. However, speaking to POLITICO, Sadiqov denied the incident had taken place, saying such allegations were “becoming ridiculous.” According to him, the reception had “good food, nice people” and was a “standard diplomatic event as usual.” “I am not aware of any letter or allegation — Armenian diplomats can claim whatever they want,” he added. The Armenian Embassy declined to comment further on the exchange. The Turkish Embassy did not immediately reply to a request for information. Azerbaijan and Armenia have been bitter foes since the fall of the Soviet Union, fighting a series of wars since the 1990s over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh that left hundreds of thousands displaced on both sides. A 44-day conflict in 2020 saw Azerbaijan take back control of swathes of Armenian occupied territory and, in September last year, Azerbaijani forces began a final assault on the mountainous area that triggered a mass exodus of its 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents, sparking allegations of ethnic cleansing. The European Parliament has consistently called on Azerbaijan to respect the rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, as well as condemning Azerbaijan’s domestic human rights record. A growing row between Brussels and Baku over its crackdown on activists and journalists has ignited in recent weeks, just as Western leaders prepared to fly to the country for critical climate talks as part of the United Nations-organized COP29 conference. Sadiqov drew criticism from the European Union last year over a social media post where he appeared to threaten a delegation of MEPs visiting Armenia alongside Balayan with being shot. “The Istiglal IST-14.5 anti-materiel sniper rifle produced in Azerbaijan has the effective firing range of about 3,000 meters,” he wrote underneath a post that showed the European politicians posing along the tense frontier. “Guys, keep clear of Azerbaijani state border.” https://www.politico.eu/article/armenia-ambassador-tigran-balayan-azerbaijan-ambassador-vaqif-sadiqov-death-threats/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted 10 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 10 hours ago Armenpress.am Politics16:03, 6 November 2024 "COP29 in Baku: Greenwashing an ethnic cleansing?” conference held in European Parliament Read the article in: العربيةEspañolՀայերենРусский Lilit Gasparyan YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Member of the European Parliament Loucas Fourlas has hosted a conference titled "COP29 in Baku: Greenwashing an ethnic cleansing?" in the European Parliament. The event was organized through joint efforts of MEP Fourlas and the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy. Keynote speakers included Simon Papuashvili: Programme Director of the Eastern Europe & South Caucasus at IPHR, Catalina de la Sota: international lawyer, member of the Paris Bar, Siranush Sargsyan: internationally published journalist from Nagorno Karabakh, eyewitness, David Vardanyan: family member of the former state minister of Nagorno Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, famous philanthropist and former Nagorno-Karabakh official who is currently unlawfully detained in Baku. President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), Kaspar Karampetian said it is unacceptable for a reputed and major event like COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan, an authoritarian country which has one of the poorest human rights track records in the world. He said that the conference and other similar initiatives contribute to growing international pressure to achieve the release of the unlawfully detained Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan. MEP Fourlas said it is imperative to stand by the Armenian people. He said that events like the "COP29 in Baku: Greenwashing an ethnic cleansing?" conference and other initiatives must ensure that human rights violations are not covered up by environmental debates. Armenian Ambassador to the EU and Belgium Tigran Balayan emphasized that now it is time for the European Commission to transform the resolutions of the European Parliament into concrete actions. The European Parliament recently called on Azerbaijan to release all Armenian detainees. Balayan said the release of the prisoners is a priority for the Armenian government. Ruben Vardanyan’s son Davit Vardanyan thanked for all the efforts and initiatives aimed at achieving the release of all the unlawfully detained Armenians in Azerbaijan. He stressed that his father’s activities have always been aimed at creating dialogue. Davit Vardanyan said his father moved to Nagorno-Karabakh well realizing all possible scenarios, but nevertheless he preferred to stand by his compatriots. Ruben Vardanyan moved to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2022 and was appointed State Minister. He served until 2023 and was detained, among other Karabakh officials, while trying to cross into Armenia together with over 100,000 others during the ethnic cleansing campaign perpetrated by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1204208?fbclid=IwY2xjawGYmplleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWkOZrQqiRVAMqSwIW3WMMf5zz2aHm-aDVj8c4Bu4nmbVHiCdhaXln8vaw_aem_Dc8iWBYJ8AT5eFqDQtFBvw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted 10 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 10 hours ago Armenpress.am Politics19:20, 6 November 2024 Tyranny and climate action are incompatible. Azerbaijani activists protest Read the article in: EspañolFrançaisՀայերենРусский YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani opposition activists are calling 'Stop COP 29' in an attempt to draw the international community's attention to human rights issues in Azerbaijan. A protest was held in Germany ahead of the UN Climate Summit in Baku, according to an article by the "Geghard" Scientific-Analytical Foundation. "Climate change, which could have catastrophic consequences for all of humanity, is one of the pressing global issues. It has also become a critical component of the political agenda for global leaders. Some countries' leaders are trying to 'catch the moment' and penetrate into the climate agenda, using it as a tool for their own PR and diverting public attention from their own crimes, violence, and aggressive actions. Azerbaijan will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) on November 11, 2024, with thousands of representatives from different countries participating. This annual event aims to find solutions to urgent climate issues. The selection of Baku as the host country for the major climate event under the UN's auspices has sparked widespread criticism. Human rights organizations, international media outlets, and many political figures have expressed bewilderment about this decision. According to them, how can such a summit be trusted to be held in a country whose leadership has subjected Artsakh to ethnic cleansing, persecutes opposition figures, shuts down media outlets, and restricts freedom of speech? In Azerbaijan, in addition to human rights issues, there are also serious environmental problems. Protests regularly occur in the country against soil, air, and water pollution, but the authorities respond to these protests with violence against the residents. Opposition activists living outside Azerbaijan, who have been subjected to political persecution, are also dissatisfied with the situation. They have pointed out that there are numerous political prisoners in Azerbaijani prisons, the human rights situation is alarming, and freedom of speech and assembly are restricted. Currently, there are 347 political prisoners in Azerbaijani prisons, 30 of whom are journalists. Protest participants have noted that even after the country secured the right to host the summit, no positive changes have been observed in the country. Moreover, the Azerbaijani leadership continues to arrest, subject to violence, and persecute an increasing number of opponents. The participants of the protest have also appealed to the leaders and parliaments of the countries participating in COP 29, as well as to the UN and the European Parliament, asking for their support in the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The climate conference in Baku is a mockery of climate issues; it aims to preserve Aliyev’s reputation through oil dollars and to conceal Baku’s criminal actions,'' reads the article. Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1204242?fbclid=IwY2xjawGYmr5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVGvJ173Rm39j8AeIm7V2eX8xK2vMU_f0MHXm7pq9WUsriTxzQ8Q5-TCXQ_aem_z3qw3E5F3R6d3QDNhGFk4w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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