German Historian, “War in Nagorno-Karabakh is a Struggle of Civilizati

[Yervant1]

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 4 2020

German Historian, “War in Nagorno-Karabakh is a Struggle of Civilization Against the Hitler of our Times”

Religious historian Michael Hesemann believes the war in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh is a war of Turkey's puppet regime of Aliyev against Armenia – which is the lighthouse of civilization in the midst of barbarism. He believes that Turkey’s goal is to silence the Armenian genocide by silencing the Armenian nation. Dr. Hesemann calls for stopping Erdogan and condemns Israel’s sales of weapons to Azerbaijan, saying that Artsakh is a red line that shouldn’t be crossed.

• Dr. Hesemann, as a historian who studied the Armenian genocide, can you comment on the current military-political support of Turkey on behalf of Azerbaijan against The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/Artsakh and Armenia in the light of Turkey’s long-term goals?

Turkey feels threatened by Armenia because more and more nations recognize the Armenian genocide. Everybody who is a member of the ruling class in Turkey today owes his riches and possessions to the Armenian genocide. Thousands of Turks robbed the Armenians and their houses after they were either directly massacred or sent on the death marches to the Syrian desert. So if indeed an international court would serve justice and demand a compensation from Turkey, just like Germany supports the state of Israel with billions of Euros as a compensation for the murder of 6 million Jews during the holocaust, Turkey with its fragile economy would collapse. This is why Turkey tries everything to silence talks about the Armenian genocide – and now tries to silence the Armenian nation! This is not a war of Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, but a war of Turkey's puppet regime against Armenia – always keep this in mind.

• What measures by the international community (especially countries that have recognized the genocide) can be effective in putting a stop to Azerbaijan’s aggression, if any? You once said, "had Turkey been condemned for genocide, the situation in Middle East would have been different". How about the current situation?

Turkey should become a total outlaw until it recognizes the Armenian genocide. You can only prevent future genocides if you don't let anyone get away with it. Genocide should be considered an unforgivable, major crime against humanity which in any case requires adequate retaliation. The denial of any recognized genocide, not just the holocaust, should automatically cause sanctions on the responsible state. The international community should recognize Artsakh, which has been an Armenian land for 5000 years or more; so is Western Armenia. Turkey broke the taboo of international justice and re-introduced genocide into modern history.

The Armenian genocide was the role model for the holocaust and any other subsequent genocides. Also, Neo-Ottoman aspirations caused the terrorist war in Syria, in Iraq and now in Libya and Artsakh. Turkey is the main aggressor in any of those cases, the power behind the murderous civil war in Syria, behind Islamist terrorism, behind the chaotic situation in Libya. First of all, Turkey deserves no place in NATO. It should be outlawed until it learns that terror is not a method of 21st century policy any longer. If Turkey is not willing to become a civilized nation, the international community should reinforce the Treaty of Sevres and return the stolen territory to the Greeks, the Armenians, the Kurds, the Aramaic and the Assyrians.

• As a citizen of Germany – a country which apologized and paid Israel for holocaust, how do you feel about Israel providing massive amount of arms to Azerbaijan fueling its intentions to destroy Artsakh and Armenians?

I love the state of Israel and would defend the Jewish homeland at all cost. But Israel ignores that holocaust was a brainchild of Turkish Islamic-fascism and that the Turks even planned to massacre the Jewish Zionist settlers in Palestine in 1917 and now they support Azerbaijan! This is a Schande – a great shame! Israel should be a natural ally of the Armenian people, especially because of their common history. I can only call the Israeli alliance with Azerbaijan extremely short-sighted, because Azerbaijan is just the puppet state of Turkey and Erdogan already openly declared that the ultimate goal of his policy is the "liberation" of Jerusalem, the Israeli capital. Liberated from whom? From the Israelis and from the Jews. The murderer of Armenians today is the murderer of the Jews tomorrow. Any Israeli who supports Erdogan should know that he supports the new Hitler, the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people and the great, beloved nation of Israel!

• Why should the world care about Armenia and about stopping Erdogan? To what extent do you see this as a fight against civilization or Christianity? What consequences would this have for Europe and the civilized world?

Because Armenia is a lighthouse of civilization in the midst of barbarism. The Armenians by nature are a peaceful nation of artists and intellectuals. Armenia has given so much to the world and has the potential to give even more. Armenians just need to live in peace. That's their nature. They are builders of civilizations, not destroyers. The civilized world has the responsibility to protect a peaceful civilized nation against any aggressor. Erdogan is the Hitler of our times. He inserted Islamist terrorism into Syria and Libya, he supported Islamist terrorism in Egypt. Why nobody stops him? Why is there appeasement everywhere, like there was in Munich 1938? Artsakh should be the red line.

The world should get up and tell the most dangerous dictator of our times, Mr. Erdogan, to stop now or he would be stopped. The Turkish aggression has to end right here and now. Not one step further. Otherwise, he will also go for Jerusalem, attack Israel, and then we all have to expect World War III. If you learned anything from history, from the great mistake of the masters of the "Appeasement" policy in Munich 1938, it is this: Never give any dictator the impression that the world would hesitate and close its eyes, since this always is understood as a permission to go one step further. Erdogan has to be stopped now by the international community, before it is too late. If we wait, we will all regret it sooner rather than later.

Interview by Nvard Chalikyan

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/11/04/German-Historian/2394508

 

[Yervant1]

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 4 2020

Halo Trust: Children are particularly vulnerable in Karabakh as cluster munitions bear a cruel resemblance to toys

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes and forced to abandon their belongings and livelihoods during the five weeks since the fighting that broke out across Nagorno Karabakh and the situation on the ground is desperate, The Halo Trust, which is engaged with clearing landmines and explosive in Nagorno-Karabakh reports.

It notes that people who have remained in Karabakh struggle to survive in cramped bomb shelters, where both shelling and COVID-19 pose a terrible risk. Rockets and cluster munitions have been found in civilian areas and the usually clean and peaceful streets are pitted with bomb craters, burnt out cars and shelled buildings.

“Most elderly people understand the dangers of landmines, but they’re not used to seeing these new types of cluster munitions in their backyard. Children are particularly vulnerable. Cluster munitions bear a cruel resemblance to toys, which prompts their innate curiosity,” the Halo Trust Program Officer notes.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, HALO is on the ground, supporting the local rescue service as emergency calls come in from members of the public to report explosives scattered in fields and streets. It notes that in the last five days alone, the Halo team has used its expertise and equipment to safely destroy over 150 explosive items. They are being supported by the global experts in explosive ordnance, who are using mobile communications to give real-time advice.

"Whenever there is a pause in the shelling, we have been delivering essential supplies to civilian shelters, including hygiene kits to reduce the spread of COVID-19, fuel and blankets. Our risk education teams are distributing vital educational materials by hand throughout Stepanakert, ensuring people know how to stay safe until full scale clearance is possible," the organization said on its website.

"Families here have already suffered many years of hardship as a result of the 1988-1994 Nagorno Karabakh War and the lethal legacy of landmines left behind. But they had begun to rebuild their lives. The minefields HALO has cleared over the last 20 years were transformed into fields of crops, children could play out safely and life was being restored. Today, as renewed attempts at a ceasefire continue to fail, the people of Karabakh need your support more than ever," said the organization.

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/11/04/Halo-Trust/2394340

[Yervant1]

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 4 2020

Around 60 militants fighting on Azerbaijani side killed within hours

The Armenian Unified Infocenter has released updated data on losses of the Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the source, some 60 militants fighting on the Azerbaijani side, were killed within hours of the ongoing intensive fights.

Since the launch of military aggression against Artsakh on September 27, Azerbaijan has suffered 7,155 losses in manpower, lost 252 UAVs, 16 helicopters, 25 warplanes, 697 armored vehicles and 6 TOS multiple rocket launchers.

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/11/04/Azerbaijan/2394495

[Yervant1]

News.am, Armenia

Nov 4 2020

Armenia MOD representative: Azerbaijani saboteurs will die in gorges in which they are trying to hide

What remains unclear is whether reconnaissance or strike unmanned aerial vehicles of the enemy were shot down in Gegharkunik Province at night. This is what representative of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said during today’s briefing.

Hovhannisyan stated that three UAVs were shot down in a short period of time, and no operation was carried out in other sectors of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

Asked if the Berdzor sector of the Goris-Stepanakert road is closed, Hovhannisyan explained that the sector is closed for civilians for security considerations and that the operation to eliminate the remainders of sabotage groups of the adversary is in progress. “The gorges in which the groups try to hide will become their cemeteries,” Hovhannisyan promised.

As for the question whether the Armenian side can use the data of space intelligence of partnering countries, Hovhannisyan stated that he can’t provide such data, but overall, he didn’t rule out the possibility.

https://news.am/eng/news/611574.html