Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev met in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday for what they described as “informal” talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A short statement by Pashinian’s office said they “exchanged views” on the current state of the Karabakh negotiation process and “further discussions.”

In a separate Facebook post, the Armenian leader said the meeting held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum lasted for about 90 minutes.

Aliyev’s press service issued a virtually identical statement cited by the Trend news agency.

Aliyev and Pashinian spoke to each other for the first time on the sidelines of a summit of former Soviet republics held in Tajikistan in September. There has been a significant decrease in ceasefire violations around Karabakh and along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border since then.

The two leaders talked again during another ex-Soviet summit that took place in Russia in early December. Aliyev said afterwards that the year 2019 will see a “new impetus” to the Karabakh peace process.

The Russian RIA Novosti news agency quoted Aliyev as saying in Davos earlier on Tuesday that his previous conversations with Pashinian were “useful.”

For their part, the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers have met for four times in the last six months. The U.S., Russian and French mediators seemed particularly encouraged by the most recent of those meetings which took place in Paris on January 16.

In a joint statement, the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group said Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian and Elmar Mammadyarov “agreed upon the necessity of taking concrete measures to prepare the populations for peace.” They said another Aliyev-Pashinian encounter could “give a strong impulse to the dynamic of negotiations.”

With virtually no details of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations made public so far, it remains unclear whether the two sides have narrowed their differences on how to end the protracted conflict.

The popular messaging software WhatsApp has broken down, just a day after Facebook announced it would restrict some forwarding features to crack down on ‘fake news.’

Users around the world, on both iOS and Android, have been unable to log into the app at all on on Tuesday. Those fortunate enough to open the program could not send or receive messages. The cause of the outage is unknown.

On Monday, Facebook announced that it would be restricting the amount of messages users can forward, ostensibly to improve privacy and security.

“Starting today, all users on the latest versions of WhatsApp can now forward to only five chats at once, which will help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts,” the company said. “We’ll continue to listen to user feedback about their experience, and over time, look for new ways of addressing viral content.”

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Turkey and several other repressive governments are increasingly abusing their membership in the Interpol to harass and punish their opponents. Interpol or the International Criminal Police Organization, composed of 194 countries, focuses on fighting transnational crimes.

Although Interpol’s charter forbids the pursuit of individuals for political, religious, military or racial reasons, several member states continue to abuse the power of the Interpol to pursue their opponents.

The most recent case is the Turkish government’s demand to Interpol to have Enes Kanter, an NBA basketball player of Turkish origin, arrested and extradited to Turkey by placing his name on Interpol’s Red Notice list. Kanter declined to join his team, the New York Knicks, to fly to London for an NBA game. He said that he was wrongly charged by the Erdogan government as a ‘terrorist’ and feared that he may be assassinated by Turkish agents in London.

Abdullah Bozkurt wrote in the Turkish Minute website, on May 19, 2017, Kanter “barely escaped arrest while in Jakarta, [Indonesia] where he stopped as part of a global goodwill tour. The Indonesian army and secret service raided a school where an event was planned in order to detain him at Turkey’s request, but he managed to leave Indonesia for Romania. On his return trip to the US, Kanter was detained on May 20 at Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest because his passport was reported to have been cancelled by the Turkish government. The NBA star was subsequently released after the US government and NBA officials intervened on his behalf. He remains a staunch critic of Erdogan for his rights violations.”

In a Washington Post op-ed column, Kanter wrote: “Anyone who speaks out against him [Erdogan] is a target. I am definitely a target. And Erdogan wants me back in Turkey where he can silence me.” Kanter told Newsweek that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “the Hitler of our century.” According to ESPN, the Turkish government requested Interpol last November to have more than 80 people arrested in other countries and extradited to Turkey!

Several other Turkish dissidents have barely escaped the Turkish government’s long reach through the Interpol. Last October, Turkey requested that the Interpol arrest and extradite Can Dundar, the former editor of Cumhuriyet newspaper, and Ilhan Tanir, editor of the Ahval news website.  “I have not killed anyone, run a cartel, robbed a bank or done anything else to warrant a global manhunt,” Tanır wrote. “The Turkish government is pursuing me for my activities as a journalist.”

Ragip Zarakoglu, a journalist, author, publisher, and human rights defender, was placed on Interpol’s Red Notice list to be arrested and extradited to Turkey. He is currently in Sweden, safe from Erdogan’s clutches.

Another Turkish journalist was less fortunate. Hamza Yalçin, who had escaped to Sweden, was arrested at Turkey’s request to Interpol in 2017 during his visit to Spain. He was released after two months following pressure from the governments of Sweden and Germany.

“We welcome the Spanish government’s decision, which shows respect for international law,” Reporters Without Borders stated. “Hamza Yalçin’s release sends the Turkish government a clear message that Interpol should not be used for the political purpose of pursuing journalists who have fled abroad.”

Shortly after the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey made more than 60,000 Red Notice requests to Interpol. Red Notices are only for people accused of serious crimes, and Interpol’s constitution calls on countries not to use the system for political ends and to act within the spirit of international human rights standards. Turkey, China, Russia, and the UAE, are in blatant violation of these regulations, stated the Foreign Policy magazine.

In an April 2017 resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on Interpol “to continue improving its Red Notice procedure in order to prevent and redress abuses even more effectively.” Johann Bihr, the head of Reporters Without Borders’ Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, stated that “dozens of Turkish journalists have had to flee abroad since the coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016. But like other exile journalists all over the world, they are now threatened by political manipulation of Interpol. The reforms begun by Interpol must now be completed as a matter of urgency so that it is better able to guard against abusive requests from Turkey and other repressive states.”

Russian-Israeli travel blogger Alexander Lapshin, arrested and convicted in Azerbaijan for his Artsakh visit, has paid a visit to Armenia for the fourth time.

The blogger, who is in Armenia as a tourist, intends to visit the Syunik region, including the town of Meghri, as well as Armenia’s border communities to present the life of their residents amid Azerbaijani shelling, he told a news conference in Yerevan on Tuesday.

“I want to rent a car to tour the country and see what I haven’t seen yet. I have also submitted a request to the Defense Ministry’s press service to allow me to visit the border zone so that I can tell about the people, villages under Azerbaijani shooting, in particular the Noyemberyan region and several other areas,” he said.

The blogger stressed Armenia stands out from the 140 countries he has visited with its nature, architecture and interesting people.

However, Lapshin said he doesn’t plan to visit Artsakh this time, explaining the Azerbaijani authorities could use the fact of his visit to deviate the attention of its population from real problems amid the ongoing protests.

According to the blogger, the Azerbaijani society is tired of Aliyev’s dictatorship. He expects some changes in Azerbaijan over the next few years, but whether they will lie in Armenia’s interest or not is difficult to say.

“Aliyev, no matter how he acts, is not dangerous for Armenia. He can be dangerous for me, but he is not dangerous for Armenia. Those who will come to replace them will act more in the interests of the people not the clan, and it isn’t clear what breakthroughs will follow,” Lapshin added.

According to the blogger, Azerbaijani people are ready for peace, but the country’s leadership is not.

“Peace with Armenia will lead to the fall of the Aliyev clan. They realize it, that’s why they will try to keep the conflict in stalled state as long as possible. They do not need peace with Armenia, but an image of an enemy and power grip at any cost,” he added.    

Armenia is ready to cooperate with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Venice Commission on future reforms, said Edmon Marukyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, in his remarks at the discussion on Armenia’s snap parliamentary elections at the assembly’s winter session on Monday.

“Maybe I am rushing things, but I believe it is time to start discussions on changing the post-accession monitoring procedure for Armenia to a post-monitoring dialogue. We believe that democratic developments in Armenia make it eligible to request such a change and to start that dialogue and cooperate with the Council of Europe on future reforms,” he said.

The Armenian lawmaker also responded to the Azerbaijani delegates’ speeches on the early elections and Armenia’s former authorities, stressing Azerbaijani delegates should be the last ones to speak about ‘criminal regimes’.

“Right now, there are mass protests in Azerbaijan, with people demanding the release of political prisoners, whose rights and freedoms are restricted in the most disgraceful way. Azerbaijan does not follow judgments from the European Court of Human Rights on political prisoners but its delegates talk about the democratisation of Armenia, which is funny.

“There is no state of rest for democracy; it is either promoted or it regresses. I am very happy that democracy in Armenia is sustainably developing. Nevertheless, it is ridiculous to listen to allegations from Azerbaijan, a country with serious shortcomings in the fields of democracy and, more importantly, human rights and freedoms. I hope that everybody here understands that the aim of these provocative statements is to deviate from the general discussion of the agenda items of this plenary session, including the situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In any case, on behalf of the Armenian delegation, I say that we are glad to see how closely our Azerbaijani colleagues follow democratic developments in Armenia. We hope that they will learn from us how democracy is done. I advise them to engage in their own democracy. I wish them a velvet revolution as soon as possible, for their own goodness,” Marukyan said.

Speaking at the discussion, another member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, Naira Zohrabyan stressed it is possible for Armenia to become an exemplar for the world, showing that it is possible to put in place an innovative environment that makes it possible for innovative organisations to crop up and become the engines of the new economy.

“A few days ago, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, tried once again to threaten Armenia, declaring that he would isolate Armenia from participation in all regional projects. I continue to be optimistic, and I hope that such declarations will not be left without any response from our organisation or other international organisations or from the framework of the Minsk Group of the OSCE. Armenia must be given an exceptional role in the region. We are prepared to establish economic and political relations of a new quality with our colleagues, in for our democracy and our development to succeed,” the MP said. 

Source Panorama.am

YEREVAN.- Armenia’s National Security Service disclosed a criminal scheme with the participation of an official, working the State Revenue Committee.

According to preliminary data, a group of citizens organized the transportation of goods for sale (vegetables and fruits, clothes, household items, etc.) from Georgia, Turkey, other countries. The goods were delivered to the Armenian-Georgian border and left for storage in private homes in the village of Sadakhlo or in the neutral zone. Then the goods were given to individuals as their baggage.

Thus, the dealers managed to avoid paying taxes. At the same time, the food did not undergo due examination. A criminal case has been initiated. 

Forbes magazine has published an article dedicated to the Armenian and Georgian cuisine. The author Brandon Schultz writes about the history and traditions of different countries, as well as their history and religion influenced the tastes of the peoples living there.

“Whether you are a student of history, a lover of nature or are propelled around the globe by your appetite, the Caucasus, much like the traditional tables of their respective countries, have everything on offer: fresh produce; a balance of savory and sweet meat and grain-based dishes; and a deep, spiritual love of bread,” he said.

For 10 days in Armenia and Georgia, the journalist tried many different dishes, but highlighted the most tasty ones including ‘Armenian-style’ barbecue. “Barbecue isn’t only for Texas. In Armenia, khorovats are big business. Theyr’e spiced and skewered meats, often pork, barbecued on a grill and served at family gatherings.

Feast on khorovats at a quaint Armenian restaurant to experience this most traditional of local fare,” he wrote. The author also touched upon Armenian famous Ararat brandy. “Take a guided tour of the factory (with tastings, of course) and visit its museum to understand just how legendary this brandy is, and how artisan their production remains, from barrels built on site to its distinctive glass bottles,” Schultz noted.