SHIITES HIT THE FAN

[Yervant1]

AZERBAIJAN MAKES BEWILDERING STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN CHOPPER'S DOWNING

12:13, 19.11.2014

Azerbaijani officials seem to be continuing to compete with one another
as to who will make the most controversial statement in connection
with Azerbaijan's unprecedented aggression against the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Air Force helicopter.

Within the past one week since the chopper's downing, the Azerbaijani
side has put forward a variety of hypotheses--including, the helicopter
was "trying to attack," and it was "attacking," on the Azerbaijani
positions--as to why it had shot this helicopter down.

But Samad Seyidov, Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), surpassed them
all. According to him, the helicopter was "assaulting on Azerbaijani
civilians."

So, what remains for us is to guess what the "civilians" were doing at
the military positions.

The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire and shot down an
NKR Air Force helicopter on November 12. The chopper was downed during
a training flight, and it crashed nearby the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line
of Contact. As a result, three pilots are believed to have been
killed: the commander of the helicopter, Major Sergey Sahakyan, as
well as Senior Lieutenant Sargis Nazaryan and Lieutenant Azat
Sahakyan. Information was disseminated some time thereafter, however,
that a member of the helicopter crew may still be alive. There were no
weapons in the chopper. The adversary, on the other hand, continues to
fire intensive shots toward the crash site, thus, not allowing access
to the area.

Armenia News - NEWS.am

[Yervant1]

AZERBAIJAN DOES NOT PROVIDE SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR OSCE MISSION TO SURVEY HELICOPTER CRASH SITE

YEREVAN, November 19 / ARKA /. Armenian defense minister Seyran Ohanyan
had a meeting today with Andrzej Kasprzyk, the personal representative
of the OSCE chairman -in-office, to discuss coordination of efforts
by the chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the chairman-in-office for
recovering the bodies of three Nagorno-Karabakh pilots reportedly
killed when Azerbaijani forces shot down their helicopter on November
12 east of the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a related development, in an interview with Artsakh Public TV
Andrzej Kasprzyk said Azerbaijani authorities refused to provide
the OSCE mission with security guarantees for the survey of the site
where the helicopter was downed.

According to Kasprzyk, the OSCE mission attempted to monitor the
Karabakh-Azerbaijani contact line near the site where the helicopter
was shot down but did not receive security guarantees from Azerbaijan.

He stated that the negotiations on the recovery of the dead bodies
of pilots continued.

"On my part, I do what I can and what is possible to get access to
the site as soon as possible," said Kasprzyk.-0-

http://arka.am/en/news/politics/azerbaijan_does_not_provide_security_guarantees_for_osce_mission_to_survey_helicopter_crash_site_/#sthash.aV81wjy6.dpuf

[Yervant1]

EFA PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO AZERBAIJANI ATTACK TO NK HELICOPTER

13:11, 20 November, 2014

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: EFA President Francois Alfonsi, felt
the need to send a letter of support to the Karabakhi people, after
hearing the news on the Azerbaijani government violating the ceasefire
and shooting down a helicopter, killing three members of the crew. In
the letter, Alfonsi states that "This action is totally unacceptable.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the innocent men that
lost their lives, and we severely condemn the Azerbaijani government
for pursuing these kind of aggressions."

On this regard, he also calls the "European institutions to take
action on the matter and to carefully analyse the question in order
to clear the political responsibilities that led to this awful
end." Mr Alfonsi also underlines in his message that "the fact that
the Azerbaijani government decorated the officer that executed the
order is intolerable, and we (EFA) believe that a change of attitude
and strategy of the Azerbaijani government towards Nagorno-Karabakh
is crucial."

Following this logic, he closes the letter by saying that the EFA
will keep on monitoring the situation in the region and be an ally
for the establishment of the needed democratic guarantees essential
to build a long lasting peace.

Previously it was reported that in the airspace of the eastern sector
of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani border, in the result of the violation of
the ceasefire regime, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces shot a helicopter
Mi-24 of the Air Forces of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic during a
training flight on November 12 at 13:45. The place of the shot is
very close to the line of contact. The press service of the Defense
Army of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic informed Armenpress that the
rival continues firing in the direction of the incident. The details
of the incident are being investigated. Later it was announced from
Stepanakert that by preliminary data there are three victims. The
Commander of the staff was the Major Sergey Sahakyan.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/784719/efa-president-responds-to-azerbaijani-attack-to-nk-helicopter.html

[Yervant1]

AZERBAIJAN BARGAINING OVER REGIONAL PEACE WITH INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY - EXPERTS

14:00 * 20.11.14

Political scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan is sure that the decline
in global oil prices is one of the factors that could have played
a role in the decision to shoot down the Nagorno-Karabakh MI-24
helicopter.

"A decline in oil prices is a serious social and economic blow on
Azerbaijan. To divert public attention from the problems,

Azerbaijan could have made that step. However, it is not the only
factor, and Azerbaijan had different reasons to shoot down the
helicopter," Mr Melik-Shahnazaryan told Tert.am.

Baku must have well calculated all the domestic and foreign political
dividends it would reap. In fact, Baku is bargaining over regional
peace with the international community.

Azerbaijan's message to the Armenian side was that it retains control
of some of Nagorno-Karabakh's territories.

"I was one of the attempts to terrorize the Armenian side as well as to
show the world, including Russia and the United States, that Baku can
unleash a war in the region and, not to do so, expects the great powers
to pay some dividends. That is, it is an attempt to start bargaining
with the international community," Mr Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

With respect to the role of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), particularly Russia, the expert said:

"I do not consider the CSTO or Russia responsible for this incident.

Rather, Mr Bordyuzha's statement clearly suggests the CSTO's
determination to prevent war."

He nonetheless did not rule out the possibility of criticism against
Russia and the West but at the same time called attention to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and the ambitions of the Aliev regime
(which the expert said never misses the chance to make any matter
a subject of political bargaining in an attempt to strengthen its
positions both inside and outside country).

Commenting on the problem, political analyst Levon Shirinyan he
personally sees Azerbaijan responsibility for escalating a higher
tension. "While in the past, Azerbaijan was limited only to firearms,
it now uses the air and more sophisticated weaponry," he said,
pointing out to a looming heavier conflict.

Shirinyan described the Azerbaijani violence as an attempt to force
Armenia's population to emigrate from the country in the light of
mounting hazards.

As for the oil-rich country's natural wealth, the expert said he
doesn't think Armenia will dare to cause damage to its oil pipelines
to revenge the violence. "Though we announce that we will hit the oil
pipelines, we are not in a catastrophic situation to try to provoke
an international fire. The oil factor too, is probably there, but
that's not the main thing," he added.

As for the Russian factor, Shirinyan said he doesn't think that the
country would now be interested in having a new hotbed of conflict
in the South Caucasus.

"I think we should have taken urgent military action to seize the
helicopter and the surrounding area. The Armenian side has to apply
one principle: land in return for every act of sabotage and every
single soldier. Azerbaijan will calm down only in case the Armenian
army seizes more territories," he added.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/11/20/shahnazarian-armenia/

[Yervant1]

VARDAN KHACHATRYAN: AZERBAIJAN TRIES TO DRAG ARMENIA INTO FULL-SCALE WAR (VIDEO)

14:36 | November 20,2014 | Politics

The downing of an Artsakh helicopter by Azerbaijan on November 12 was
the continuation of the August events when Azerbaijan made numerous
attempts to penetrate into the territory of Armenia, says former MP
Vardan Khachatryan.

He says Azerbaijan has been unable to digest its failures; therefore
the country's leadership took another provocative step to impress
their people.

"In the given situation, we should me most cautious not to be dragged
into large-scale military actions," he said.

Mr Khachatryan says Armenia's response should be well-calculated,
but very painful.

"The answer should be adequate to Azerbaijan's action but I think that
we shall be shrewd enough not to avoid confrontations especially now
that everything around us is in flames," he said.

At the same time Mr Khachatryan called attention to the role of Turkey
and reminded that the latter also assists the Islamic State group.

http://en.a1plus.am/1200746.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew2j4B6F_dQ

[Yervant1]

AZERBAIJANI LEADERSHIP'S ATTITUDE UNACCEPTABLE - YIANNAKIS OMIROU

17:53 * 20.11.14

Respect for the dead in conformity with the law of war has been a
centuries-old tradition, and the Azerbaijani leadership's attitude
is unacceptable, Yiannakis Omirou, President of the House of
Representatives of Cyprus, told a news conference held jointly with
Speaker of Armenia's Parliament Galust Sahakyan, as he addressed the
incident involving the Nagorno-Karabakh the MI-24 helicopter.

He condemned the violence and stated that the House of Representatives
of Cyprus is ready to support the position of Armenia's parliament and
government - a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
within the OSCE Minsk Group.

Armenian News - Tert.am

[Yervant1]

ARMENIA: FEELING BETRAYED BY RUSSIA?

EurasiaNet.org
Nov 20 2014

November 20, 2014 - 1:46pm, by Marianna Grigoryan

Armenians are seething over Russia's possible role in the shoot-down
of an Armenian helicopter near the frontlines in Nagorno Karabakh.

Feelings of betrayal are such that the popular mood is souring on
Armenia's pending membership in a Moscow-led trade bloc.

The source of chagrin in Yerevan is the suspicion that the November
12 downing of the Armenian Mi-24 military helicopter, and the deaths
of the three-man crew, had a significant Russian connection: Moscow
supposedly supplied Azerbaijan with the Strela air-defense system that
was used in the incident, according to Karabakh's de-facto defense
minister, Movses Hakobian.

Armenian leaders are now wrestling with the question of how to respond
to Moscow's perceived indirect involvement. The matter, though not
yet voiced publicly by officials, comes at a critical moment for both
Armenia and Russia. The Armenian parliament is expected during its
upcoming session, which opens December 1, to vote on ratification of
Armenia's agreement on accession to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic
Union (EEU).

While the pact is expected to be ratified, some ordinary Armenians,
already uneasy about the deal, believe that the helicopter attack
should prompt politicians to reconsider. Russia is heralded by
officials in Yerevan as Armenia's chief strategic ally. But the
shoot-down incident has many in Yerevan wondering where Armenia stands
in the Kremlin's eyes.

"While smiling at us, Russia sells weapons to our enemy, and we
have what we have," fumed 42-year-old Yerevan schoolteacher Anna
Markossian. "This is a sign for us to think once more about joining
Russia's EEU."

Political analyst Ara Papian agrees. "If Russia is selling weapons
to Azerbaijan, how can it be our ally in the world?" asked Papian,
who heads the non-profit Modus Vivendi Center in Yerevan. "Such a
thing should not happen."

Anger appears to be mounting within the de-facto leadership of
Karabakh. In a November 17 interview with RFE/RL's Armenian-language
service, Hakobian termed the helicopter attack "painful" for the
predominantly ethnic Armenian territory because "we [Armenia and
Russia] are allies, strategic allies."

"In my opinion, while thinking about its economic interests" in selling
weapons to Azerbaijan, "Russia should take into account our interests,
too, but this does not happen," Hakobian said.

Moscow, which has not recognized Karabakh's independence, does not
consider the territory to be officially an ally.

Yet while Armenian officials have complained before about Russia's
hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of arms sales to Azerbaijan,
the report that a Strela was used to destroy the Mi-24 helicopter has
focused attention inside Armenia on a growing perception of inequality
in the Russian-Armenian strategic partnership.

Moscow, to date, has called for both sides to refrain from escalating
tension, but has not condemned the attack. Nor do many Armenians
expect it to do so. Russia recently announced plans to build a
strategic railway to Iran via Azerbaijan.

"It speaks to servility, to spinelessness ... the fact that Kremlin
officials refuse to treat Armenia as a political player," said
human-rights activist Artur Sakunts, a longtime government critic.

Exacerbating sensitivities in Yerevan, Russia, one of the co-chairs of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group
that oversees the Karabakh negotiations, has not taken public action
to pressure Azerbaijan to facilitate the recovery and return of the
bodies of the three crew members believed to be killed in the incident.

Armenia and Karabakh state the individuals were Karabakhi soldiers;
Azerbaijan, which declines to have official contact with Karabakh's
separatist leadership, claims the dead are Armenian military personnel.

Armenian military officials say ongoing exchanges of gunfire in
the area where the helicopter went down are preventing a recovery
operation.

Sakunts and other critics fault the Foreign Ministry for supposedly
not having done more to secure the bodies.

Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov, a member of the
governing Republican Party of Armenia, has called on the international
community to urge Azerbaijan more strongly to grant access to the
helicopter crash site. The International Red Cross' Yerevan office
has stated that it is trying to facilitate matters.

In response to EurasiaNet.org's questions about Armenia's potential
response to the attack itself, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran
Balaian said "the steps that are taken for obvious reasons cannot
be published."

One analyst underlined the importance of Armenia's own diplomatic
demarches as it mulls a response to Azerbaijan's actions.

"Stronger counter-measures will lead to the escalation of the
conflict," noted political scientist Aghasi Yenokian, director of
the Armenian Center for Political and International Relations. "I
think reciprocal measures have to be of a diplomatic character and
they have yet to decide what kind of answer to give."

The threat of further conflict is all too real to many.

The shoot-down could encourage both the Armenian and Karabakhi forces
to embrace a policy of "overwhelming response." Such an impulse,
"risks a new air-war dimension of the Karabakh conflict," said Richard
Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan.

Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/71031

[Yervant1]

WORLD COMMUNITY IS TO BLAME FOR AZERBAIJANI VIOLENCE - ARMENIAN ACTIVIST

12:26 * 21.11.14

The protesting Armenian oppositionist, who has entered into the
fifth day of his hunger-strike outside the OSCE Office, blames the
international community for turning a blind eye to Azerbaijan's
persevering violations of international humanitarian law following
the recent helicoptercrash.

Speaking to Tert.am, David Sanasaryan (Heritage party) said he believes
that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have to adopt tougher statements
and decisions to restrain the country.

"It don't think it is within their power to issue sanctions, but I
believe the question has to be raised at the UN Security Council;
under the threat of sanctions, states must try to hold Azerbaijan
back from its inhuman conduct," he said.

The activist said he finds that the international community is to
blame for what he called the Azerbaijani whims. "Their reaction is
not adequate; they actually make statements saying absolutely nothing
and only causing disbalance. If an assault is committed by one side,
it isn't right to make calls on both parties," he noted.

Sanasaryan says he will continue the protest long as the bodies of
the helicopter's crew remain at the crash site.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/11/21/armenia-davit-sanasaryan/

[Yervant1]

PALLONE EXPRESSES OUTRAGE AT ATTACK ON NAGORNO KARABAKH HELICOPTER

US Official News
November 20, 2014 Thursday

Washington

Office of the House of Representative Frank Pallone, U.S Government
has issued the following news release:

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Co-Chair of the Congressional
Caucus on Armenian Issues, released the following statement upon news
of an Azerbaijani attack on a Nargorno Karabakh helicopter:

"I am outraged and saddened by the Azerbaijani attack on the Nagorno
Karabakh helicopter engaged in a training flight. This is another
instance of aggression by the Azerbaijani government towards Nagorno
Karabakh and Armenia and represents an escalation in their violent
actions that continue to have a destabilizing impact on the region.

There is no longer any question that President Obama must take action
to discourage Azerbaijan from pursuing such violent aggression and
to demonstrate our commitment to peace and stability.

"I encourage President Obama to formally condemn this deadly attack. I
am also calling for the cessation of any military assistance to
Azerbaijan and the strengthening of section 907 of the FREEDOM Support
Act, which restricts aid to Azerbaijan based on its aggression toward
Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. It is time for both the President
and Congress to ensure that U.S. law once again holds Azerbaijan
accountable for its violent actions.

"The families of those who were killed and all of Nagorno Karabakh's
citizens remain in my thoughts and prayers."

[Yervant1]

http://ca.reuters.com/resources/images/logo_reuters_media_ca.gif

Bodies of Armenian pilots removed from helicopter crash site

Sat Nov 22, 2014

 

 

YEREVAN (Reuters) - The bodies of three pilots have been removed from a crash site in a special military operation after their helicopter from a region controlled by ethnic Armenians was shown down by Azeri forces earlier this month, officials from the region said.

The downing of the helicopter was the first such incident since a ceasefire was agreed in 1994 following a war over the tiny mountainous territory in the South Caucasus and has ratcheted up tensions between Armenia and oil-producing Azerbaijan.

Azeri armed forces had been preventing soldiers from approaching the crash site and removing the bodies of the pilots, who were on a training flight, according to defense ministry officials in both the Nagorno-Karabakh territory and Armenia.

"As a result of a special operation, the remains of the crew were retrieved, as were specific parts of the helicopter," Karabakh's defense ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

It said that two Azeri soldiers were killed during the operation and that the Armenian side did not suffer any losses.

Azeri officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Azerbaijan earlier confirmed it had shot down a helicopter but said it was an Armenian aircraft that had intended to attack Azeri soldiers near the mined and heavily guarded line of contact around Nagorno-Karabakh.

The incident highlighted the risk that tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh could trigger a wider conflict in the South Caucasus, through which oil and gas flow from the Caspian region to Europe.

 

About 30,000 people were killed in fighting between ethnic Azeris and Armenians, which erupted in 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed.

Mainly Muslim Azerbaijan and predominantly Christian Armenia regularly trade accusations of inciting violence along the Azeri-Armenian border and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

The region runs its own affairs with heavy military and financial backing from Armenia.

The OSCE's Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, has failed to find a permanent settlement to the conflict, and no peace treaty has ever been signed.

(Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Jane Baird)

[Yervant1]

Bodies returned! Eternal glory to our guys - David Sanasaryan

13:20 * 22.11.14


The opposition Heritage party's press secretary has left a Facebook
post expressing his delight with the military operations that led to
the recoveryof the downed MI-24 helicopters' crew.

"We have got the guys' bodies! Eternal glory to them! Strength to
their families and high spirit to soldiers! Thanks to our
intelligence! Our martyred heroes were returned on [Karabakh war hero]
Leonid Azgaldyan's birthday. This is not [an occasion of] joy; just a
little attempt to reinstate our honor," reads David Sanasaryan's
status.

Sanasaryan declared a hunger strike in front of the OSCE Office in
Yerevan on Tuesday, demanding an international attention to
Azerbaijan's continuing armed violence to prevent an access to the
crash site.


http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/11/22/armenia-davitsanasaryan-22/

[Yervant1]

Recovery of MI-24 crew brilliantly planned operation - analyst

12:54 * 22.11.14


Political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan has praised the
Nagorno-Karabak Defense Army's military operations that led to the
recovery of the downed MI-24 crew members.

"The evacuation of the Armenian pilots required considerable efforts
and energy by our servicemen. A brilliantly planned operation that
continued several days, it was eventually crowned with success today,"
the expert says in a Facebook post, adding that an organizer who was
contacted shortly after described the operations as a war of special
subdivisions.

Melik Shahnazaryan added that the Armenian forces managed to explore
the site in the past days, studying the quality and quantity of the
Azerbaijani military's weapons and killing five special detachment
members.

"This is how real heroes should be; serves our soldiers and army
command right! I am sure the evacuation of the Armenian pilots' bodies
will become a text-book material for our - and also probably - many
other countries to [train] future scouts and special detachment
members," reads the post.


http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/11/22/armenia-hrant-meliq-shahnazaryan/

[Yervant1]

This is blow to Azerbaijan's military leadership - Armenian expert on
MI-24 crew return

14:12 * 22.11.14


The recovery of the downed Armenian helicopter's crew as a result of
special military operations is a serious blow to Azerbaijan's military
leadership, David Sanasaryan, an expert in Azerbaijani studies, wrote
in a post on Facebook, condemning the Azerbaijani aggression.


"This is a blow to Azerbaijan's military leadership. Hitting a plane
not waiting an attack with a self-guided missile from a close distance
is an act requiring no special manliness or military courage," he
said, describing the attack as an act tantamount to a military
humiliation.


"Calling the international community's attention to the violation of
ceasefire and the downing of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army
helicopter was important, but the past days' developments proved that
the Armenian army continues to remain the most effective and perhaps
the only support in resolving the problems with Azerbaijanis. So it is
important to emphasize after all that we deal with a raged society
which denies the international humanitarian law and which for more
than twenty years has been bred with the spirit of Armenophobia.
Azerbaijan will use every occasion to carry out anti-Armenian
operations, and it is only the Armenian armed forces that hinder the
Azerbaijani-Turkish plans to physically eliminate the Armenian factor
in the region," reads Hakobyan's post.


http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/11/22/armenia-mihranhakobyan/

[Yervant1]

The Next Brilliant Operation of Armenian Army

Haikazn Ghahriyan, Editor-in-Chief
Comments - 22 November 2014, 14:41

Related

Enemy Sustained Heavy Losses: Details of NKR Defense Army's Operation

NKR Army Staged Special Action: Bodies of Pilots Retrieved

What Consequences May Disaster of Mingechaur Have?

Armenian Forces Do Not Allow Enemy Get Close to Wrecked Helicopter

Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations Holds Drills at
Mingechaur Reservoir

The NKR Defense Army carried out a special operation in the place
where the helicopter had been shot down on November 12 and retrieved
the bodies of pilots and parts of the helicopter. During the operation
two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed, there were no losses on the
Armenian side.

For 10 days Azerbaijan did not allow to get close to that place. The
Armenian side refrained from actions, trying to resolve the problem
through the diplomatic channel, applying to the OSCE Minsk Group, the
Red Cross and other relevant organizations. There were statements
urging Azerbaijan to get close to the site. The OSCE CiO personal
representative Kasprzyk announced that he cannot visit the place where
the helicopter had been shot down because there are no guarantees of
security and he fears for his own security.

The RA Minister of Defense had announced that the Armenian side will
try to resolve the issue through the diplomatic channel, adding that
other means remain valid. The other means would be actions after
which, according to the commander of the NKR Defense Army Movses
Hakobyan, the Azerbaijanis would not come round for a long time.

Azerbaijan did not allow access to the helicopter, keeping the bodies
as hostages, apparently hoping that thus the Armenian side would
refrain from counteractions and it would get guarantees and try to get
back its saboteurs who are being tried in Stepanakert in exchange for
the helicopter crew.

Yesterday the Armenian side clearly stated that they were not going to
exchange the saboteurs while the NKR Defense Army announced that the
defense army does not allow the Azerbaijanis to get close to the crew.

Apparently, the Azerbaijanis have attempted to retrieve the crew and
important parts of the helicopter thus gaining an advantage. The NKR
Defense Army carried out a special operation and thwarted the attempt
of the Azerbaijan.

The Armenian army again demonstrated its political and military
maturity, the skill of planning and implementing operations, which
raises its importance in regional processes. The Armenian army thus
remains the only organization which is capable of making independent
decisions.

This operation of the Armenian army can teach a lesson to the other
agencies how not to be afraid of sovereign decisions. The world
respects those who can make such decisions, which became obvious
during the war in August.

This action of the army is valuable because if the Armenian side
enjoyed obvious international political support in August, now the
army acted in a different situation when the Armenian and Azerbaijani
sides were "equal". This underlines the importance of the operation.

Was this operation the very answer the military leadership was talking
about? Or will there be other blows after which Azerbaijan will not
come round? Both are possible.


http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/33252#sthash.yrT7VRqv.dpuf

[Yervant1]

Brilliant Operation On Leonid Azgaldyan's Birthday

Lragir.am
Country - 22 November 2014, 17:41


The Armenian armed forces did a brilliant job, taking under control
the place where the helicopter was downed and retrieving the relics of
the crew and some important parts of the helicopter. Hence, the
special units of the army of Karabakh marked their holiday with an
exceptional example of defense capability and professionalism.

Today is the birthday of Leonid Azgaldyan, one of the heroes of the
modern-time Armenian national liberation movement. This brilliant
scholar set out to establish the Independence Army in 1990 because he
was one of the few people who realized that it would be necessary to
organize armed resistance to joint Soviet and Azerbaijani forces.

At the beginning of independence the Defense Army participated in a
number of defense operations. He planned and implemented the operation
of prevention of penetration of Soviet punitive troops to Yerevan
after the violent provocation at the railway station and Sovetashen on
May 27.

Afterwards, he created the Liberation Army and took part in the
defense battles in Artsakh in the most complicated parts, Shahumyan
and Martakert where the Armenians faced with the Russian army coupled
with Azerbaijani soldiers. He was killed in June 1992 near Tonashen,
Martakert region.

The Armenian army established thanks to Leonid Azgaldyan's efforts
made a wonderful gift to him on his birthday.


http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/country/view/33256#sthash.DDFTVdRf.dpuf

[Yervant1]

Armenian Special Forces' actions excite admiration but they do not
justify the criminal negligence of Armenian leadership, Artsakh war
veteran says

by Ashot Safaryan

Saturday, November 22, 15:06

The Armenian Special Forces' actions excite admiration but they do not
justify the criminal negligence of Armenian leadership, Suren
Sargsyan, member of the Council of Field Commanders, Artsakh war
veteran, has told ArmInfo's correspondent.

"I think that the bodies of our guys could and should have been taken
half an hour after the tragic incident. We, the veterans of the
Artsakh war, also could do that, but I know that there are
well-trained people in the Armed Forces. I regret to say that the
bodies of our guys have been recovered so tardily. One should not have
turned the tragedy of these people into a subject for political
speculations", says Sargsyan.

He strongly criticizes the actions of the Armenian military and
political leadership, which, in his opinion, has not only sent the
pilots of the unarmed helicopter to their doom but has also built its
personal PR on this tragedy. "I do not understand the behavior of
Serzh Sargsyan, who has declared himself as the supreme
commander-in-chief. While the bodies of our pilots were lying in the
open field and might fall prey to the beasts, Serzh Sargsyan flew to
Karabakh by helicopter and uttered some senseless speeches.

These speeches are not worth a dime. I am also extremely indignant at
the stupidity of our military leadership", says Sargsyan.

When considering the incident in the light of the ongoing political
processes, Sargsyan says that the tragic incidents along the Line of
Contact occur when Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev feel that their
regimes are endangered. "I even suspect that Sargsyan and Aliyev have
come to some agreement", he says.

To note, the NKR Defense Army Special Forces have recovered the body
of a crewmember and the remains of the two pilots of Mi-24 helicopter
that was downed by Azerbaijani forces on 12 November. The necessary
wreckage was recovered too. Two Azerbaijani militaries were killed in
the course of the special operation. The NKR Defense Army suffered no
losses.

To remind, the Azerbaijani armed forces downed an Armenian Mi-24 while
it was conducting a training flight near the Line on Contact on 12
November. Three officers of the NKR Armed Forces, Sergey Sahakyan,
Sargis Nazaryan and Azat Sahakyan, were on board. The Azeri officer
that shot the helicopter down has been awarded a medal.

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=116A4C90-7240-11E4-8C0F0EB7C0D21663

[MosJan]

Նոր Նորքի Սուրբ Սարգիս եկեղեցում տեղի է ունեցել ուղղաթիռի անձնակազմի անդամների հոգեհանգստի արարողությունը (տեսանյութեր)

 

Արծիվները լեռներում են ծնվում, մենք այդ պատասխանը ուժգին ենք տալու. Ավիացիոն զորամասի մայոր

Ավիացիոն զորամասի մայոր Գոռ Ղազարյանը լրագրողների հետ զրույցում ասաց, որ ճանաչել է երեք տղաներին էլ:

«Բոլորին էլ ճանաչել եմ, դժվար է ինչ-որ բան ասել, բայց դժվարությունները հաղթահարելու համար են: Սերգեյը հրաշալի մարդ էր, Ազատն ու Սարգիսը ևս, երկուսն էլ երիտասարդ, կարգապահ տղաներ էին: Դժվար թե նման գործողությունը նրանց նման կարգապահների չվստահեին»,-ասաց նա։

Անդրադառնալով Ադրբեջանի գործողություններին՝ Գոռ Ղազարյանը նշեց, որ Ադրբեջանը Սաֆարովի նման ստահակներին, մարդասպաններին հերոսացողների ազգ է:

«Թող Հեյդարի թոռներն էլ իմանան, որ արծիվները լեռներում են ծնվում: Մենք այդ պատասխանը տալու ենք և շատ ուժգին ենք տալու: Սա այն հակամարտությունն է, որը պսակվելու է միայն մեր հաղթանակով»,-ասաց նա:

[MosJan]

http://youtu.be/NSydx_UJez8

[MosJan]

Ավիացիոն զորամասի շտաբի պետի տեղակալ, մայոր Վաչագան Ստեփանյանը, ով շփվել և ճանաչել է բոլոր երեք տղաներին, լրագրողների հետ զրույցում խոսեց նրանց մասին։

«Սերգեյը հոյակապ անձնավորություն էր` բարձր ինտելեկտով օժտված: Լեյտենանտ Սարգիս Ղազարյանը նույնպես շատ խելացի, իր գործին նվիրված մարդ էր, ավարտել է ավիացիոն ինստիտուտը կարմիր դիպլոմով, իսկ Ազատի երազանքն էր մասնակցել զորավարժությունների»,-ասաց նա։

Խոսելով հակառակորդի գործողությունների մասին՝ մայոր Ստեփանյանն ընդգծեց` հակառակորդը միշտ եղել է այն հակառակորդը, ով ունակ է եղել գիշերը կացնով հարվածել քնածին:

Նա նաև նշեց, որ իրավիճակի հետագա սրացում չի տեսնում:

17.36

Երևանի Նոր-Նորքի Սուրբ Սարգիս եկեղեցում է տեղի ունենում Ադրբեջանի ԶՈւ կողմից խոցված ուսումնավարժական ուղղաթիռի անձնակազմի 3 անդամների հոգեհանգստի արարողակարգը:

Զոհված անձնակազմի հոգեհանգստյան արարողությանը մասնակցելու համար եկեղեցու մուտքի մոտ մարդկային մեծ հերթ է գոյացել: Ժամը 18:30-ին Սուրբ Սարգիս եկեղեցի կայցելեն նաև ՀՀ Նախագահ Սերժ Սարգսյան ու Պաշտպանության նախարար Սեյրան Օհանյանը:

Նշենք, որ նոյեմբերի 25-ին, ժամը 13.00-ին զոհված օդաչուների աճյունները Սուրբ Սարգիս եկեղեցուց կտեղափոխվեն «Եռաբլուր» զինվորական պանթեոն: Նոյեմբերի 25-ին, ժամը 14.00-ին տեղի կունենա սգո միտինգ Եռաբլուրում և հուղարկավորություն՝ զինվորական արարողակարգով:

Հիշեցնենք, որ Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Հանրապետության Պաշտպանության բանակը youtube-ի իր ալիքում տեղադրել է նոյեմբերի 12-ին խոցված ուղղաթիռի վայրից անձնակազմի տարհանման մասին հատուկ նշանակության գործողության տեսանյութը։

Հիշեցնենք նաև, ԼՂՀ զինված ուժերը նոյեմբերի 12-ին դիմել են հակառակորդի կողմից խոցված ուղղաթիռի անձնակազմի ճակատագիրը անկման վայրում պարզելու և դրանից բխող խնդիրներ լուծելու հատուկ նշանակության գործողության:

Մարտական խնդրի կատարման արդյունքում դեպքի վայրից տարհանվել են ուղղաթիռի անձնակազմից մեկի դին, երկու օդաչուների մասունքները և ուղղաթիռի որոշ անհրաժեշտ մասեր: Իսկ Ադրբեջանի բանակը նոյեմբերի 20-ի լույս 21-ի գիշերը Արցախի սահմանին հայկական կողմի կրակից ունեցել է երկու կորուստ:

[MosJan]

http://www.tert.am/other/image/0%200%200%20/a-norq%20(1).jpg

[MosJan]

http://www.tert.am/other/image/0%200%200%20/a-norq%20(2).jpg

[MosJan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SE1JkiFt9ko

[Yervant1]

Trend, Azerbaijan
Nov 22 2014

Azerbaijan dismisses info on operation in Armenian helicopter's destruction zone

22 November 2014, 12:48 (GMT+04:00)

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:


The information about holding a special operation by Armenian armed
forces in the zone of destruction of the Armenian military helicopter
and the losses of Azerbaijani armed forces is absolutely unfounded and
is another Armenian provocation, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on
Nov.22.

An Armenian Mi-24 military helicopter flying 1,700 meters northeast of
the Kengerli village of Azerbaijan's Aghdam district attacked the
Azerbaijani army positions on Nov. 12. The helicopter was shot down by
the Azerbaijani side.

The Azerbaijani ministry presumes that the Armenian side may present
the remains of the previous losses as the remains of the helicopter's
pilots in order to deceive the Armenian people.

Unlike the Armenian side, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry immediately
provides information about any casualties on the front line and holds
solemn funeral of martyrs, according to the ministry.

Moreover, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that the Armenian side
constantly creates tension in the zone of the helicopter's destruction
and tries to involve the international structures in this issue.

Azerbaijani army hasn't suffered any losses in this direction and the
territory is under the full control, said the ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

[Yervant1]

Secret details of Artsakh rescue operation against Azeri murderers revealed

21:14, 23.11.2014


STEPANAKERT. - The source from the military command revealed to the
Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter some secret details about the special
operation conducted by Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Armed Forces to
rescue the bodies of Armenian pilots of helicopter destroyed by Azeris
in violation of the ceasefire.

According to the source, the counterterrorism and special operations
units of the Artsakh Armed Forces prepared for the operation for
several days, as the military experts planned and examined all details
in advance. Azerbaijani side expected that Armenians will not leave
their people and will attempt to rescue the bodies of Armenian pilots
from the helicopter crash site, so Azeris prepared a trap near the
helicopter, where they supposed to kill Armenian rescuers. However,
Armenians predicted that in advance and first Artsakh counterterrorism
and special operations forces destroyed the trap set by Azeris. During
the operation, Artsakh units eliminated the Azeri soldier who kept the
spotlight over the crash site and another Azerbaijani military
standing next to him. The entire operation and the elimination of
combat soldiers was done so quiet and fine that the Azerbaijani
sentinel next to the site did not hear anything.

After the elimination of the combat soldiers, Artsakh counterterrorism
and rescue units approached the helicopter crash site and rescued the
remains of three Armenian military servicemen. According to the
source, the shot helicopter split in two parts, and only one part of
it was burnt. The remains of two soldiers were partially burnt as
well, while the body of the third Armenian serviceman was preserved.

The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire and shot down
Artsakh Air Force helicopter on Nov. 12. The chopper was downed during
a training flight, and it crashed very close to the
Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact. As a result, three pilots were
killed: the commander of the helicopter, Major Sergey Sahakyan, as
well as Lt. Senior Sargis Nazaryan and Lt. Azat Sahakyan.The
adversary, on the other hand, was firing intensive shots toward the
crash site, thus, not allowing access to the area. However, the
remains of the three Armenian military servicemen and some necessary
parts of the chopper were removed from the helicopter's crash site
through a special operation by the Artsakh.


Armenia News - NEWS.am

[Yervant1]

DOWNING OF THE ARMENIAN HELICOPTER HAS CHANGED THE POLITICAL SITUATION: LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN

18:50, 24 Nov 2014

Anna Nazaryan
Public Radio of Armenia

The downing of the Armenian helicopter has changed the political
situation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and has made it clear
that the mediating efforts that started in summer have no effect on
Baku, political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told reporters
today. According to him, the international community does not possess
the set of tools to exert influence on Azerbaijan and the relative
peace is maintained only thanks to the efforts of the Armenian Army.

Melik-Shahnazaryan said the Karabakh conflict has entered a new
stage after the August events. He also presented details of the
special operation of retrieving the bodies for the four pilots of
the downed plane.

He said the operation was carried out by a four-member group after
the examination of the area, de-mining of some parts. Three types
of air devises were used in the operation, one of which was used for
the first time in the history of the Armenian military forces.

Doesn't' the incident mean that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs are unable
to solve certain issues and could this serve as a basis for changing
the negotiation format, something Azerbaijani is aspiring for?

"Of course, Turkey would like to see Turkish role here, because they
understand that the Minsk Group is also a club, where the superpowers
coordinate their policy on the South Caucasus. I think the resoluteness
of the Armenian party and the leaders of the Minsk Group co-chairing
countries will help maintain that format.

According to Armenia's ex-Ambassador to Canada, Director of the Modus
Vivendi center Ara Papyan said the operation of the Armenian side was
"necessary, but not enough." He considers that 2015 will be a decisive
year, a year of opportunities and risks.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/11/24/downing-of-the-armenian-helicopter-has-changed-the-political-situation-levon-melik-shahnazaryan/