University students in #Armenia are protesting govt policy to merge different units together. The policy doesn’t seem to be going down well. Russians and Iranians watch on. #Yerevan

Sheila Paylan , Human Rights Lawyer

Newsweek

In the wake of the latest carnage in the south Caucasus, the West seems inclined to step gingerly into a void left by Russia, a former regional arbitrator that is currently distracted elsewhere. That’s good—but now the West must take real action and call a spade a spade. Any potential peace without justice is unlikely to hold.

The Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict offers one of the most frustrating cases of “bothsidesism” on display in the world. Azerbaijan attacks, and then carries out the sleight-of-hand immortalized by the X-Files TV show: deceive, inveigle, and obfuscate. The media, thin on the ground, lazily reports that clashes “erupted,” and the sides blamed each other; the implication is of faintly ridiculous squabbling tribes, neither of which could possibly be blameless.

Luckily, in this case, French and U.S. officials at least we’re not completely fooled, with President Emmanuel Macron, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and others ultimately making clear that Azerbaijan was at fault. Specifically, Baku’s forces launched deadly cross-border attacks deep into Armenian territory on Sept. 13-14, which resulted in hundreds killed, thousands displaced, and apparent war crimes.

In recent days, Azerbaijani Telegram channels circulated a video displaying the execution, at point-blank range, of at least six unarmed Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijani forces, likely during the September invasion. The video sparked horror and was widely condemned, including by the U.S. State Department, French Foreign Ministry, UK Embassy, and EU External Action Service, all of which called on Azerbaijani authorities to investigate the killings.

The EU and the world community must do significantly more.

Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general did promise to investigate. But to be meaningful an investigation needs to be impartial, and the idea of this happening in Azerbaijan is absurd.

Countless cases of torture, mutilations, decapitations and killings of Armenians civilians and POWs have surfaced since Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, launched a brutal war two years ago to reclaim the autonomous and Armenian indigenous-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

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Azerbaijan was similarly urged to act then. A few people were arrested, but no trials or convictions took place. At least one of the soldiers arrested then was recently awarded a medal for his military service.

Any confusion about the nature of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s two-faced and dictatorial regime need only recall Ramil Safarov, who in 2004, was sentenced in Hungary to life in prison for axe-murdering an Armenian in his sleep. Eight years later, he was extradited to Azerbaijan to serve out the rest of his sentence, whereupon the government pardoned and declared him a national hero.

Indeed, so-called “Armenophobia” is a long-established phenomenon and even state policy in Azerbaijan, with public figures and government officials frequently inciting ethnic hatred against Armenians, as recently observed by the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Azerbaijan will no more investigate its crimes than Russia will prosecute its own in Ukraine. And the international community does not go through the charade of requesting such a thing. Instead, less than three weeks after Russia’s invasion, the United Nations established the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to investigate war crimes and human rights violations.

Vahe Makaryan

The police have put into circulation the project on defining the description and assessment criteria of significant contributions in the fields of economy, science, education, culture, healthcare, and sports, by which foreign citizens will be able to acquire RA citizenship due to making a certain contribution to Armenia. We made a separate publication about it yesterday.

According to the project, for example, the description of the significant contribution in the field of economy and the evaluation criteria are defined as follows:

1) gratuitous provision of funds in the amount of at least 150,000 US dollars for the purpose of supplementing the inviolable capital of a foundation established to carry out activities in the field of education or science.

2) investment in the charter capital (acquisition of shares) of a commercial organization in the amount of at least 150,000 USD for a period of at least 10 years,

3) acquisition of government bonds in the amount of at least 150,000 US dollars, for a period of at least 7 years.

This means that, for example, the representatives of our enemy nations, Turks, Azerbaijanis, can come to Armenia unhindered, make an investment of 150 thousand dollars and get Armenian citizenship, earning the right to participate in the management of Armenia’s internal life.

The former Prime Minister of Armenia, Khosrov Harutyunyan, considers it very dangerous to implement this project, raising the question of whether this is citizenship for investment, or under statehood of slow activity.

In a conversation with Hraparak.am , he reminded that they received such a proposal back in 2017 from a Canadian-Armenian person, but they rejected it.

“I was the chairman of the NA Economic Affairs Committee at that time, and at that time I rejected that proposal and sent a negative opinion to the National Security Service, because that proposal appeared in the National Security Service as well,” said Harutyunyan.

According to the former prime minister, the idea is as follows. it is obvious that if someone tries to move with that proposal, he should probably record that becoming a citizen of the Republic of Armenia gives him some additional advantages or opportunities that he does not have, being a citizen of his country.

“Because there can be no other incentive. If a person has to invest money to get RA citizenship, then he will need that citizenship very much. And his problem is not to improve our economic capabilities, but to obtain citizenship, assuming that in this way he acquires another, additional opportunity, which he does not have if he continues to remain a non-RA citizen. Agree that we, the citizens of RA, do not differ in any way from the citizens of the countries around us in that respect. An RA citizen does not have any extraordinary opportunities, say, to travel to Europe, China or other countries without a visa. Our tax burden on citizens does not differ much from the tax burden of our neighboring countries. In other words, what will become a citizen of the Republic of Armenia give to someone? We can state without reservations: nothing,” said our interlocutor.

In that case, what should be the interest in getting RA citizenship?

According to Harutyunyan, after the adoption of this project, it is obvious that our close neighbors will want to become citizens of Armenia, especially in the case of such sums.

“It is a very convenient way to enter your territory without fighting, without using weapons, and gradually change both the civil and political structure of your country, and, over time, gradually penetrating into political institutions, influence the process of forming the authorities of your country. This will be the only goal. In other words, imagine that Turks or Azerbaijanis can get RA citizenship by giving 150 thousand dollars, and over the years their share in our population can be quite impressive. In other words, it will become a fifth column, which will also penetrate into your political structures, public organizations, and, in fact, this will become a mine of slow activity at the base of our statehood,” said Khosrov Harutyunyan.

By Judith Brown and Zübeyir Koçulu,

Four years ago, a military coup was attempted in Turkey. It failed, and the fallout led to tens of thousands of soldiers, police, and civil servants being dismissed or suspended from their jobs, and thousands jailed.

A photo published in a Turkish newspaper shows rows of men partially stripped, hands bound behind their backs, kneeling in a horse stable after they were detained by police. Among them was Lt. Muhammed Emin Gundogdu, who had been attending a training course in the capital Ankara on the night of the coup.

Now in Germany, he has shared his story for the first time in an exclusive interview with Euronews.

Failed coup

On July 16, 2016, thousands of Turkish soldiers were arrested and brought to various locations around the country after the failed coup d’état which began the previous night.

The July 15 coup attempt resulted in the deaths of 251 people, and 2,200 were injured. The Turkish government accused the Gulen movement (a Muslim group led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen) of being behind the attempt, labeling them the “Fethullah Terrorist Organization” (FETO).

Since the failed coup, more than 500,000 people have been detained, according to a government source, and more than 150,000 have been dismissed from their jobs. Many thousands have fled the country, including security officers, judges, prosecutors, public servants, teachers, academics, and journalists. Soldiers and military cadets, some as young as 17, were captured and imprisoned. Many have received life sentences.

On July 15 Muhammed Emin Gundogdu, then 23, had packed his bags and was preparing a trip home to visit his family when his commander Muhlis Kocak sent a message on a WhatsApp group announcing a mandatory night training session that evening. Gundogdu canceled his planned trip.

“Our commander never showed up that night,” he says. At the training, they were briefed on a potential terrorist attack and provided with live ammunition, unlike in previous training.

The soldiers wondered whether they were under attack by the so-called Islamic State, or other radical groups.

They were then dispatched to various locations. Forty were sent to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential palace and assigned to protect him.

Those soldiers were positioned at the Gendarmerie Command base, opposite the palace, and later accused of attempting to kill the president, says Gundogdu.

Among the 36 “putschists” killed that night were Gundogdu’s friends Abdulkadir Karaagac and Ramazan Erdogan. They died believing they were defending the presidential palace, according to Gundogdu.

The government refused to give information about Karaagac’s body to his family. After 15 days, they located it in a tent on the campus of a forensic unit.

“They called him a traitor, even though he was one of the best people I have known in my life,” says Gundogdu. After being denied permission to bury their son in the local cemetery, Karaagac’s family buried him on a mountain, in an unmarked grave.

In another case, 21-year-old cadet Murat Tekin was beaten to death by an angry civilian mob in Istanbul after civilians came out to defend the government.

On the night of July 15, Gundogdu was tasked with defending their Gendarmerie Guard Academy Command post that housed a large number of weapons, including tanks and helicopters.

He says they only learned about a military coup against the Erdogan government later when Prime Minister Binali Yildirim made an announcement on television around 11 pm.

“We were not allowed off the base. I thought our commanders were anti-coup.”

Around 1 am, after nothing happened on the base, the soldiers retreated to their dormitories. Gundogdu says he slept for a few hours before being awakened by the sound of gunshots around 6 am.

“Colonel Veli Tire and ten of his men threatened to shoot anyone trying to leave the base,” he recalls.

Then Gundogdu’s Commander Kocak appeared, pointing his rifle at the soldiers. When no one responded, the commander put his gun down, sat with the men and told them that a group of soldiers had attempted a coup.

Gundogdu says the soldiers insisted they weren’t involved, after which he says they were detained.

Stripped, beaten and jailed

“We were 300 men, fully armed, being detained by 10 men with only pistols, but we did nothing. We followed instructions.”

As there weren’t enough handcuffs for 300 soldiers, Gundogdu says they helped by handcuffing each other with their own bootlaces. He says they were reassured that everything would be cleared up at the police station and that they would soon be released.

Instead, they were transferred to a horse stable in Ankara, where they were made to undress and kneel in rows.

He says the place was filthy and the smell was nauseating.

“They forced us to use the place where we were sleeping as a toilet.”

Gundogdu reports that everyone was being beaten and tortured. They were also photographed.

“I had bruises on my wrists from the tight handcuffs. We had to go to the bathroom, handcuffed, eat with handcuffs.” He says his hands turned purple from lack of circulation.

When they complained, one of the police officers told them: “You are traitors, be thankful you are still alive.”

An investigation by Amnesty International found that detainees were held for 48 hours in stress positions, denied food, water and medical treatment. “Turkish police verbally abused and threatened them and subjected them to beatings and torture, including rape and sexual assault.”

After two days in the stable, they were sent to another sports complex for four more days before being jailed for nine months in pretrial detention.

In 2018, Gundogdu says he was caught trying to escape from Turkey, resulting in 13 more months behind bars.

“They not only dismissed me from my post and jailed me, but also discriminated against me in society. They prevented me from having another job. My relatives cut off relations with me. Our neighbours verbally abused my family and me, calling us traitors.”

Escape to Germany

In January of this year, he managed to escape to Greece. From there, he traveled to Germany, where, according to the country’s government agency for migrants and refugees (BAMF), he is among more than 39,000 Turkish nationals who have sought asylum there since 2016.

In June this year, the Turkish army dismissed another 4,562 personnel, taking the total number to 19,583, according to Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

“Our aim is to purge terrorists from our ranks and not allow even a single traitor to wear this glorious military uniform,” Akar said in a statement on June 3.

In court last week, a Turkish prosecutor recommended life imprisonment for Gundogdu. As evidence, he pointed to a WhatsApp message Gundogdu had sent on July 15, which read, “We don’t know anything. We are waiting at the entrance [of the base] armed and ready. Let’s not share anything from here.”

To date, Ankara has dismissed or suspended more than 45,000 police and military personnel and more than 130,000 civil servants, as well as a third of the judiciary, according to a report published this year by the US embassy in Turkey.

Gundogdu claims the coup attempt was a game devised by the government to “remove the obstacles before Erdogan’s dictatorship.”

He says he never wanted to leave Turkey but was left without a choice.

“I had no right to live a normal life in my country.”

This article was developed with the support of Journalismfund.eu (www.journalismfund.eu)

“What issue are we solving by going to Nikoli? at least two important questions, he takes his oral agreements with him. We are gaining time.

Time is very important in this process,” said Ishkhan Saghatelyan, deputy of the “Armenia” faction, in a conversation with Gegham Manukyan, deputy of the NA “Hayastan” faction, talking about the internal political problems of the country. “The wind smells of blood, we are close to a new war. This is a celebration before the genocide… There is money in the country, part of the source of the origin of that money is known, part is not known to the public, but it is known to me that it is Turkish money to confuse the public. It is not a coincidence that the best concerts are held in Yerevan, they should be diverted,” Saghatelyan said, adding: “Those who say there is no way out, I say there is, let’s try.”

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Today, the most undesirable and extremely dangerous process for Armenia and Artsakh is taking place in our region, which can be conventionally called the “titans’ struggle”.

In other words, it is already obvious that the conflict between the interests of Russia and the collective West is taking on an openly harsh nature.

Judge for yourself, the European Union is trying to take the process of Armenian-Azerbaijani delimitation and demarcation from the hands of the Russians, the French president angrily accuses Russia of encouraging Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes, high-ranking American officials have already “registered in Armenia”.

Naturally, the Russians already openly accuse the West of implementing a policy leading to destabilization in the region and declare that they will oppose all attempts to “kick them out” of the South Caucasus.

For its part, Iran has already announced that it will not tolerate the activation of NATO countries along its borders and threatens to take “adequate” steps.

In short, we are witnessing a process that directly creates new ontological threats for Armenia and Artsakh.

And in this context, the most terrible thing is that instead of stabilizing the situation, our “velvet”, so-called super-professional authorities repeatedly take steps that simply encourage the clash of the superpowers.

I honestly wonder how much one should be detached from reality to try to play on the contradictions of the superpowers, trying to extract some benefits.

After all, one would have to be completely insane to think that Armenia or Artsakh can get anything positive if the Russians and the Americans/Europeans suddenly (God forbid) enter into a direct confrontation over Armenia or Artsakh.

In fact, this is not even a joke, this is completely abnormal.

P.S. By the way, have you noticed how the Turkish-Azerbaijani group, with a cheeky “smiling”, is watching how Armenia is consistently banging its head against the “wall” of the interests of the West and the East?

Come to your senses, it’s not too late.

Arman Abovyan