Archives for November 2022

BY ALEXANDER RUBINSTEIN,

With Kiev exposed for a lie that could have triggered a third world war, it is time to examine past deceptions that Western media promoted.

A missile that exploded on Polish soil on November 15 killed two civilians and destroyed farm equipment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Western corporate media rushed to blame the explosion on Russia in apparent hopes of triggering NATO’s Article 5, which requires NATO states to defend one another militarily when attacked by a hostile force.

Polish and NATO members including US President Joseph Biden have since confirmed the missile that struck Poland was, in fact, a Ukrainian S-300 anti-aircraft missile. Yet Zelensky is sticking to his line, blaming Russia for the strike, while NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg still insists that “Russia bears ultimate responsibility.” Meanwhile, the media outlets that reflexively pointed the finger at Russia have been forced to take a step back from their initial reporting.

“Russian missiles hit Poland, the territory of our friendly country. People died,” Zelensky insisted on November 15, the night of the attack. “The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to anyone within reach of Russian missiles. To fire missiles at NATO territory! This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a very significant escalation. We must act.”

Zelensky held firm the following day, despite mounting evidence that his own country’s air defenses were responsible, declaring “I have no doubt that this is not our missile… I believe that this was a Russian missile, based on our military reports.” By this time, most analysts rejected the Ukrainian president’s assessment, including the founder of the US government-sponsored intelligence cutout Bellingcat, who wrote “At this point I think it’s fair anyone saying that a Russian missile hit Poland based on the current evidence is being irresponsible.”

A Russian attack on NATO member Poland could have triggered Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which compels its member states to consider “an attack against one Ally” to be “an attack against all Allies.” Such a mobilization would have amounted to World War III.

Despite the clear risk of such a catastrophic escalation – or perhaps because of it – Western corporate media immediately blamed Russia for the strike, never even posing the question of why Russia would consider Polish farmland such an important military target that it would be willing to risk a full-scale war with the 30-member NATO alliance. 

Initially, the Associated Press ran with the headline “Russian missiles cross into Poland during strike on Ukraine.” The article cited a “senior US intelligence official,” and later, “a second person.” 

On November 16, AP began redirecting the link to its original article to a correction that stated, “The Associated Press reported erroneously, based on information from a senior American intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity, that Russian missiles had crossed into Poland and killed two people. Subsequent reporting showed that the missiles were Russian-made and most likely fired by Ukraine in defense against a Russian attack.”

Time Magazine ran with the headline, “Russian Missiles Cross Into Poland During Strike, Killing Two,” and cited the AP report.

Fox News similarly announced, “Russian missiles cross into NATO member Poland, kill 2: senior US intelligence official, citing the Associated Press. MSNBC also blamed a “Russian missile” for the strike in its headline.

Then there was CNN, which reported, “Poland says Russian-made missile killed two, will consider invoking NATO Article 4.” NATO Article 4 deals with the meetings between NATO states that are to take place in the event one of them is “threatened” and would theoretically precede any invocation of Article 5. Like CNN, Reuters cited the Polish Foreign Ministry and ran the headline, “Poland says Russian rocket hit its territory as NATO weighs response.”

The New York Times stated in the second sentence of its report on the missile strike that “the blast came as Russia fired roughly 90 missiles into Ukraine.” Two lines later, the Times stated “local media suggests a Russian missile strike.” Readers of the paper of record would have to scroll down several times to even read that Russian officials denied responsibility.

Earlier in the war, in an article on “Ukraine’s online propaganda,” the New York Times sought to downplay the Ukrainian government’s penchant for pushing fake news, arguing that Kiev’s information war merely “dramatize[s] tales of Ukrainian fortitude and Russian aggression.” The article quoted an unnamed Twitter user, who wrote, “Why can’t we just let people believe some things? … If the Russians believe it, it brings fear. If the Ukrainians believe it, it gives them hope.”

The US media’s support for Ukraine’s propaganda efforts meant that it covered some of the most suspicious events without a hint of skepticism, and thereby encouraged more. 

These questionable incidents included the following:

• On March 8, Western media reported that a Mariupol maternity hospital was attacked by Russian aircraft. Zelensky claimed the attack was evidence of Russian “genocide” against Ukraine. However, a key witness – a pregnant woman in the hospital photographed by AP – stated that no such airstrike occurred, and that nearby explosions were caused by Ukrainian artillery shells.
• Source: https://thegrayzone.com/2022/11/18/zelensky-media-lie/

Syrian soldiers from air defense units continue to suffer the majority of casualties during the Israeli attacks

In the early hours of 19 November, the Israeli air force attacked Syria for the second time in the span of a week, killing and injuring several soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

“Around 6:30 am in the morning, the Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from over the Mediterranean Sea towards Baniyas, targeting the central and coastal regions. Our air defenses engaged the incoming missiles,” reads a statement by the SAA in the wake of the attack.

Reportedly, at least two soldiers from the air defense units were killed inside their vehicle, as the Israeli jets suppressed Syrian defenses to ensure a successful hit on their targets, per procedure.

Hours earlier, at least three Israeli jets were reported over southern Lebanon, causing several sonic booms over Hasbaya province. Sonic booms were also heard over Tel Aviv, as the Israeli air force was on standby for order to attack.

The attack followed the notable activity of two US Boeing RC135U and Boeing RC135W electronic intelligence planes, that monitored the Syrian coastal and eastern cities throughout the day, on 18 November.

Vardan Oskanyan,

By Anzhela Mnatsakanyan,

Armenia and Azerbaijan are post-Soviet republics in South Caucasus, with a profoundly complicated relationship, which is almost always interpreted as this “conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh,” which has nothing in common with reality.

Let’s briefly talk about Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a de facto independent country in the South Caucasus, historically part of Armenia, forcibly attached to Azerbaijan by Joseph Stalin’s one-night decision, and which was never part of independent Azerbaijan. Even more, Artsakh and Azerbaijan became independent according to the same domestic Soviet Law, so the legal bases of the independence of these two republics are equivalent. In 1994, Artsakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement, proving that Artsakh is considered a distinct legal entity.

After the forty-four-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan took control of almost 70% of Artsakh territory, more than Azerbaijan kept claiming since 1994. Nevertheless, you might probably ask, why, after that, is there no peace or even a working ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

The answer is more than simple, Azerbaijan wants not only the entire Artsakh but also Armenia and never tried to hide it; the President of Azerbaijan went so far as he claims Armenia’s capital Yerevan, Syunik, and Gegharkunik provinces of Armenia, as “historical lands” of Azerbaijan. To understand how groundless these claims are, it is enough to mention that the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, was founded in 782 BCE. Furthermore, Azerbaijan only appeared on the political map in 1918 as the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918-1920), which was never formally recognized by the international community or the League of Nations.

Azerbaijan made it clear that it has territorial claims over Armenia. Since 2021, it has started to prove it by openly violating Armenia’s sovereign territory almost every month and occupying more than 41 sq. km of Armenia.

However, this never gets enough covering; even when Azerbaijani soldiers were executing unarmed Armenian POWs on cameras and posting it on social media, the international community tended to turn a blind eye to it. Why? Because it was presented that “Armenia is a Russian strategic ally, and supporting Azerbaijan means countering Russia.” However, the picture seems to be different, as relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are way better than those between Armenia and Russia. Let me prove it with facts.

The economic relations between Azerbaijan and Russia are on the rise: Russia remains one of its leading economic partners in Azerbaijan. In 2021, trade turnover between Russia and Azerbaijan was 14%; in 2022, in just seven months additional 7% was added to that very turnover. Russian investment in Azerbaijan reached 4.5 milliard US dollar, which the President of Russia announced himself during the meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who added that, indeed, the relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan are developing dynamically. On February 22, 2022., just a few hours before the Russian-Ukrainian war, Azerbaijan and Russia signed a joint declaration on bilateral “allied cooperation,” which says that “to ensure security, maintain peace and stability, Russia and Azerbaijan may consider providing each other with military assistance.” One more thing you definitely need to know is that 25.5 percent of the gas resources of Azerbaijan TANAP Shah Deniz-2 field, which aimed to help the EU reduce its dependence on Russia for natural gas, belongs to the Russian Lukoil company.

So, Armenia is all alone against Azerbaijan, which Turkey fully backs, whose politicians are openly threatening Armenia with a new Genocide. Suppose you still wonder why Azerbaijan continues the endless war against Armenia, which caused the death of thousands of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. In that case, you need to know that Azerbaijan is a totalitarian country ruled by a few families, and the most powerful among them is the Aliyev family. The president of Azerbaijan inherited the Presidency from his father, Heydar Aliyev. In 2003, the current president of Azerbaijan announced that he “won” 76.84 percent of votes in the election before voting had even started. Due to changes in the Azerbaijani constitution, in 2017, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife as the first vice president and currently preparing Presidency for his son: Heydar Aliyev Junior. The current regime in Baku needs to distract attention from the fact that the country is turned into a family business, which keeps getting rich, in contrast with the population living in poverty with a grooving unemployment rank. Moreover, the Azerbaijani Government promotes Anti-Armenian sentiment, also known as Armenophobia, making the people believe that Armenia, is the reason for all their problems. From Azerbaijani war crimes against unarmed Armenian POWs, you can conclude that Azerbaijani Government succeeded: Azerbaijani citizens firmly believe that if Armenia and Armenians disappear, they will finally live healthy and wealthy, which has nothing in common with reality.

Why does Aliyev complain about Putin? Andranik Tevanyan Andranik Tevanyan, deputy of the RA NA “Hayastan” faction, writes: When Nikol Pashinyan announced that he would soon sign a document for which he could be considered a traitor and even removed from power, he meant the so-called Washington document on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Recognizing Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan was one of Turkey’s preconditions, and Pashinyan said “yes” to that precondition, because otherwise there would be no Armenian-Turkish contacts. His “yes” took the form of an agreement under the name “Vashingotnyan”. According to the Washington plan, Karabakh was recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Pashinyan officially agreed to this in Prague, in the presence of Aliyev, Michel, and Macron.

Aliyev spoke about it in Astana. Nikol Pashinyan also confirmed Aliyev’s words with his silence. After that, Moscow, based on its interests, was forced to play an open game. Russian President Putin made public the Washington plan. Pashinyan, out of fear of losing power, had to withdraw from Washington (at least it is so at the moment, but what will happen tomorrow is hard to say: Armenia has become a victim of Nikol’s geopolitical adventure).

Aliyev complained about Putin in the meeting with the European official. Aliyev accuses the latter of not allowing the final closure of the Karabakh issue, while Nikol Pashinyan agreed to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. In Sochi, that issue was “watered down” and Aliyev is nervous. Aliyev complains to the European official that Putin does not allow Nikoli from Gyoza to go on the path of tearing the region away from Russia, and the West does not help him in this matter, and something else hits him from the side. The French senate in turn irritated the corrupt leader of Azerbaijan.

As a result, Aliyev only had to complain. In fact, Armenia and Artsakh still exist despite the first faces of Armenia and Artsakh. Our country still exists, because it derives from the interests of Russia and Iran, as well as due to the fact of deep contradictions in the value system of the West with Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is very painful to record all this, because we are being disgraced all over the world. It is a shame for all of us that the Armenian people are presented to the world with Nikol Pashinyan and Arayik Harutyunyan.

Nikol Pashinyan constantly threatens his team. It threatens that if they think of leaving the government or going against it, they will become homeless, and society will tear them, their children, and their relatives apart. The only way to avoid such a fate is to remain faithful to oneself until the end, to serve unceasingly, to be a participant and accomplice in the crimes one has committed, and, in general, to be united. Nikol Pashinyan preaches to his teammates that as long as they are in power, they have security and well-being, as soon as they are deprived of power, they will be deprived of money, and they will be destroyed and destroyed.

This sermon of Pashinyan works quite well. within the team, they see that everything is allowed and available to them. they receive huge salaries and bonuses, they appoint their friends and relatives to lucrative positions, they win tenders and competitions, they earn a lot of money at the expense of the budget, they travel abroad at the expense of the state, and they live safely and happily. It is true that they constantly feel the disgust and hatred of society towards them, but they do not communicate with society that much, and besides, the hatred and disgust is mutual. On the other hand, they think that they, one way or another, are accomplices of Nikol Pashinyan, being or not being a participant in several new crimes will neither reduce their guilt nor be a mitigating circumstance. Now while they have the chance, 

If Armenia was a democratic country, and the “Civil Agreement” party was not the property of Nikol Pashinyan but belonged equally to the members of that party, we would witness a completely different picture. The members of the party would gather and decide that if Nikol Pashinyan, as the head of the government, has failed, he should be removed from that position and a new prime minister should be elected. In that way, the political responsibility for the overthrow would not be borne by the entire political team, but only by the head of the government with several members of his government. In all democratic societies, the change of the head of the country and the party happens just like that, not that the failed prime minister is elected as the head of the party, only because he has a pathological fear that, despite his blackmail, the team may rebel and turn against him.

Such a thing is impossible in Armenia for one simple reason. The public trust of Nikol Pashinyan’s political team is zero, the society did not vote for these people, they are not holders of power. During the parliamentary elections of 2018, the public knew Nikol Pashinyan and voted for him, and Nikol Pashinyan wrote those whom he considered suitable in the “My step” list and made them MPs. It was almost the same situation during the 2021 parliamentary elections. Nikol Pashinyan wrote whoever he wanted in the list of deputies, and left out whoever he wanted. Only with one difference. In 2018, Nikol Pashinyan had public trust and won the elections with his personal authority, he made up for the lack of public trust during the 2021 elections with election fraud. Its organizer was also Nikol Pashinyan.

If we compare the previous and current authorities, then the previous one was more democratic in its content, if only because during the previous authorities, a significant part of the candidates for the government were people who were able to secure votes for the team with their authority, human and financial resources. Pashinyan specially compiled a list of people who lack public authority and influence, who realize their true value and know that without Pashinyan they represent nothing. For this reason, they serve him unceasingly and devotedly, being participants and responsible for all political and criminal crimes committed by him, without even worrying about the prospect of being held accountable for them.

That is why the rumors that it will be possible to come to an agreement with Pashinyan’s team and nominate a mutually acceptable new candidate for the Prime Minister are completely meaningless. Pashinyan will always manage to keep the faction he created in a state of blackmail and fear, because he clearly knows both their human qualities and their management methods.

Avetis Babajanyan

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh issued a statement.

“One of the necessary and key components of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict settlement is the full format of negotiations, as well as the discussions and meetings taking place within this framework.

In this context, we consider it important to stress that Azerbaijan’s attempts to abolish the status of Artsakh as a party to the conflict, as well as to present the negotiations as a “conversation with Armenians living in Karabagh” and a process within the framework of Azerbaijan’s domestic policy are unacceptable for the Republic of Artsakh.

Armenia’s new Looters
Հայաստանի նոր թալանչիները