Ani Arakelyan

It is possible that Nikol Pashinyan seems to be doing a very important job by publicizing the monstrous plans of the Azerbaijani authorities to subject Artsakh to ethnic cleansing. It is possible that he thinks that the international community is not informed about what is happening with Artsakh and around Artsakh and his main task, as years ago in the position of editor, is to inform, to present the reality to the world. It is even possible that he thinks that this will somehow curb Azerbaijan’s appetite, showing that we are aware of your plans and will involve the world in the task of thwarting those plans. Even if we go a little further and give force to our imagination and optimism, maybe that awareness will really lead to some results. But one fact, nevertheless, speaks about the fact that these are the steps of the powerless, the poor, the weak. which will not give any results. And you know why?

If only because we yielded in everything and met the aggressor, in everything we went to meet his whim and appetite. And it is not the fact that we signed what they forced us to do, we gave what they wanted from us, but that we obeyed them at the level of words.

When Nikol Pashinyan, in his short speech at the government session, in which he tried to inform the international and his own public about Azerbaijan’s monstrous plans, he uses the term Nagorno Karabakh exactly 19 times and never once dares to say Artsakh, despite the fact that according to the constitution of the second Armenian state, the official name of the state It is Artsakh, he is talking about the fact that this is a lost game from the beginning. He talks about the fact that the RA Prime Minister does not even dare to oppose Azerbaijan and use the word Artsakh just once.

By the way, such an instruction was given to all CP officials and deputies. The day before yesterday, a representative of an apparently independent organization begged our journalist not to suddenly write the word Artsakh in his answers, but to write Nagorno Karabakh.
When and why this term became so fundamental and why Azerbaijan persistently demands that it be called Nagorno Karabakh, not Artsakh, and especially why the RA government submits to that demand, perhaps we should ask them.
But it is obvious that the government, which shows the obedience of a slave even in words, cannot protect the interests of Armenia and Artsakh. It is clear that they have already come to terms with the humiliating role of being the weak henchmen of Azerbaijan and Aliyev and are trying to reconcile an entire nation.

It is the 46th day of the siege of Artsakh. Today, the Prime Minister of Armenia presented the plan of his Azerbaijani partners at the government meeting:

“according to our information, Baku’s plan is as follows: to bring the economic and psychological pressure in Nagorno-Karabakh to a certain culmination point, after that to open the corridor for a few days, with the expectation that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh en masse will leave their homes, close the corridor again and then open it again for a few days and so on until the last Armenian leaves Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Certainly, Nikol Pashinyan is more informed about the plans of the Azerbaijanis, we have no doubts about that. But our sources from Artsakh convey other information to us.

Azerbaijan continues to demand that there should be no intermediary between it and Artsakh, that the authorities of Azerbaijan negotiate directly with the authorities of Artsakh. Moreover, not only Armenia should not act as a mediator, but also Russia and “Ruben Vardanyan appointed by Russia”. And the main condition for opening the road is one: the dismissal of Ruben Vardanyan from the position of the state minister. We were told that they sent a very tough message from Azerbaijan: the road will not be opened as long as Ruben Vardanyan is in office in Artsakh, and they will not make any concessions in this matter.

Unfortunately, a certain wave is already rising in Artsakh against the tenure of Ruben Vardanyan, and tomorrow, the next day, it is possible that protests will be organized with the demand to remove Vardanyan, so that the way is opened. But there are people in Artsakh who are against Vardanyan’s removal. The former president of Artsakh, Bako Sahakyan, and some representatives of the former authorities are also strongly against it. We were interested in the attitude of the Russian side. We were told that the Russians have become so passive and withdrawn that it doesn’t matter to them whether Ruben Vardanyan will hold office or not. On the contrary, messages were sent to the President of Achtsakh several times that he is free in this matter, he can release Vardanyan today.

In fact, in Artsakh they have found themselves in a dead end situation. Giving in to Azerbaijani demands and changing Ruben Vardanyan means opening the door for new concessions, not giving in and continuing to live on closed roads, in the blockade, is also fraught with dangers and the depopulation of Artsakh. Ultimately, if this situation continues, people will find a way to leave Artsakh.

Areg Margaryan

by Tom Rogan, National Security Writer & Online Editor Washington examiner

In order to be credible, a defensive military alliance requires the common confidence of its members that, should one member be attacked, other members will provide it with decisive support. Whatever other interests they may have with the United States and its NATO allies, it is now obvious that Turkey and Hungary cannot fulfill this expectation. Both nations should be suspended from the alliance. 

While there would be legal complexities involved in any suspension, it would be possible. Moreover, action toward suspension might itself induce significant changes in Turkish and Hungarian policy.

The most immediate cause for Turkey’s suspension is its obstruction of Finland and Sweden in their effort to join NATO. Turkey suspended related talks on Tuesday in response to Swedish protests, which have seen the burning of a Quran and an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The most immediate cause for Hungary’s suspension is the kowtowing of its Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Incidentally, Hungary is the only other member state yet to ratify Finland and Sweden’s accession.)

Suspension isn’t a step that should be taken lightly. Via its position at the Mediterranean entry point to the Black Sea and its proximity to Middle Eastern energy reserves, Turkey has long been a key NATO ally. As with Hungary, Turkey will hopefully one day restore NATO’s confidence. Still, an examination of the NATO treaty outlines where both nations are in breach of their obligations. 

• Under the treaty’s Article 2, a member commits to “contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions.”

Neither Orban nor Erdogan is “strengthening their free institutions.” On the contrary, both leaders have expanded state media dominance at the expense of truly free discourse. Both have cracked down on dissenting minority voices, politicians and activists, and nongovernmental organizations. Erdogan has thrown hundreds of journalists in prison, some simply because he says they insulted him. 

• Under Article 3, a member commits to “maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.”

Erdogan has shredded this commitment with his purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system, which is specifically designed to destroy NATO air forces. Doing so, Erdogan weakened NATO’s credibility and endangered its aircrews. 

Orban has shredded this commitment with his embrace of Russian intelligence activity and his undermining of European sanctions imposed on Russia. Those sanctions support NATO security by imposing costs for Putin’s aggression in Ukraine and thus deterring the Russian leader’s further aggression. 

• Under Article 8, a member “undertakes not to enter into any international engagement in conflict with this Treaty.”

Turkey has broken this pledge with the aforementioned S-400 purchase and Erdogan’s demand that Sweden abandon its free speech laws and extradite people without regard for due process. Of equal note are Erdogan’s threats toward fellow NATO member Greece, his wars of conquest in Syria, and his military support of Azerbaijan against Armenia. Yes, Turkey has legitimate grievances with regard to Kurdish terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. But Erdogan’s fetish for indiscriminate bombings is unacceptable.

Hungary has broken this pledge with its undermining of European sanctions and Orban’s service as Xi and Putin’s viceroy/servant boy within NATO and the European Union. 

To emphasize, an alliance has no value unless its members retain shared trust. Under Orban and Erdogan, Hungary and Turkey can no longer command that trust within NATO. Until that changes, they must be separated from this alliance in which they now do more harm than good.

Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/turkey-and-hungary-should-be-suspended-from-nato

Yesterday, Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan submitted her resignation to the National Assembly, and without waiting for the one week prescribed by law to expire in order to reaffirm her application, she hastily left the HRD office.

Yesterday we received news that he left Armenia. Before that, saying goodbye to the HRD staff, she announced that she received a new job offer and accepted that offer. In the near future, we will inform you more clearly about the offer.

As for the vacant position of HRD, we were informed that the new candidate of the authorities is Tatevik Stepanyan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.
Studying her biography, it will seem to an uninformed person that she is a 40-year-old woman who has come a long way and deserves this high position. But in fact, if you remove from the biography the participation in various courses (the course “Methods of support for children with reading and writing difficulties” at the International Institute of Education and Dyslexia of the Global University of London (UCL), the course “Autism Spectrum Disorders” at the University of California, Davis, the participation of the Asian Development Bank / AAU Women’s Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Communication Program of the Department of Continuing Education at the American University of Armenia, etc.), as well as public activities of an unknown nature, there remains one job fact: the position of manager of the Modamont clothing store chain, which she held from 2004 to 2020. date.

In 2020 on May 15, she was appointed deputy minister, which caused a great surprise in the system at that time. Today, in fact, she will register the next rise in her career, being appointed to the high and responsible position of HRD.

Ամբողջական հոդվածը կարող եք կարդալ այս հասցեով՝ : https://hraparak-am.translate.goog/post/a65236b1f6bf8649107f9116fd498243?_x_tr_sl=hy&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=nui,sc

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The pro-Armenian sentiment expressed during the Australian Open sparked a complaint from Azerbaijan tennis officials.

Karen Khachanov has defended himself after his support at the Australian Open for the contested Armenian enclave Nagorno-Karabakh sparked a strongly worded complaint from Azerbaijan tennis officials.

The Russian, who has Armenian roots, wrote a message on a television camera lens after his fourth-round win at Melbourne Park, which said: “Keep believing until the very end. Artsakh, hold on!”

Two people died and two were injured in a fire that broke out in the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Catholic Church in İstanbul, the Demirören news agency (DHA) reported on Tuesday.

According to DHA, the fire broke out late on Monday in the residential quarters of the 190-year-old church in the Kadıköy district and it was put out by a large number of firefighters who were dispatched to the scene from the surrounding districts.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

While the firefighters rescued four people who were trapped in the building due to the flames, two of them were taken to the hospital later on as a precaution.

Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Catholics of Turkey, and Beyoğlu District Governor Mustafa Demirelli went to the scene of the fire to observe the rescue work conducted in the area.

DHA said that a search and rescue operation was carried out in the building after the fire was extinguished, and the firefighters found the lifeless bodies of a man and a woman whose identities have not yet been determined.

The two bodies were taken to the morgue of the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), according to DHA.

168.am writes: Today’s state officials, when they first came to power, declared that the results of economic growth should be distributed equally among all groups of society.

From January 1, the salary of the president of the republic will increase by 341 thousand drams, that of the prime minister – by 324 thousand, and the chairman of the National Assembly – by 307 thousand. The minister’s salary will increase by almost 205 thousand, and the deputy’s salary by 171 thousand. And this is without the well-known bonuses and bonuses. There will be officials who will receive up to 2 million, maybe even more salary and bonuses. The salaries of others and especially those occupying high positions will also increase. Several dozen times more than the 3,000-dram increase in pension and benefits or the 7,000-dram increase in the minimum wage, which is considered a great benefit for the disadvantaged social sector.

However, life showed that it was also a deception. the citizen was left with an empty pocket, and those who came to power from the street managed to get rich and accumulate serious assets in a short time, they became the owners of expensive apartments and cars, they can afford great luxuries, they spend the state’s money as they want, they divide themselves and among his own. At the same time, society continues to get poorer. Even the official statistics cannot hide that the picture of poverty in our country is worse now than before these people came to power.

It will be worse in the future, as the results of economic growth remain elusive for many. The social policy implemented by the authorities and the disproportionate distribution of income also contribute to this. Despite the deepening of social polarization, the authorities give priority to the rapid increase of their incomes, rather than to the poor groups of society. Isn’t it clear that such disproportionate increases will deepen the polarization of society? Especially, it is done in conditions of such high inflation. The incomes of the social sector are increased by a few thousand drams, when the real impact of inflation is many times more than that. We are talking about inflation from before, which the authorities did not consider appropriate to compensate, at least by indexing social payments.

But the impact of inflation will not be limited only to previous years. It will be preserved this year as well. And those people will continue to become poor. The small social increases that have been made will be neutralized as a result of high inflation from the very beginning of the year. Under those conditions, they would have increased pensions and allowances at least from the beginning of the year, they decided to do it from the second half of the year. Their salaries, which are increased by hundreds of thousands, are increased from January 1, and pensions and allowances from July 1. Here, too, they decided to make “savings” at the expense of the poorest part of society, so that their salaries, bonuses and bonuses are not affected. This is how the results of economic growth are distributed. to them several dozen times more than to those who need this money the most.

But this is the basis of the social policy implemented by the authorities. They talk about lack of money, but they can afford any luxury. In order to make a difference in the eyes of the public, they allegedly reduced the bonuses, but in reality, they did not reduce anything, but they also increased the salaries and, as always, on the principle of many, more, few, less. What do they spend money on, when there are much more important problems? And not only in the social sector. For many sections of society, these small increases will not solve any problem. Again price increases are expected in a number of product markets. They will be the result of the legislative changes made by the authorities, which consistently lead to annual price increases of some products.

From the beginning of the year, as in previous years, the tax burden on sub-excise goods will automatically increase, sometimes quite sharply: drinks, cigarettes, fuel, etc. Let’s say: the excise tax on vodka will become 3430 AMD from 2640 AMD per 1 liter. It will increase by 790 drams or almost 30 percent. The excise tax on 1000 cigarettes will become 14.6 thousand drams from 12.7 thousand drams. These are inflations dictated neither from the domestic economy nor from outside. they are imposed by the tax policy implemented by the authorities. But, of course, the price increases will not end there. They will be both from the outside and from the inside.

Inflationary pressures may increase especially in connection with the weakening of the national currency. It is known that the dram strengthened not as a result of the developments of our economy, but as a result of a large amount of foreign currency. And if these flows stop or decrease this year, the dram will begin to weaken with the same success. Consumers know well what impact the devaluation of the national currency has on inflation. They faced such situations more than once. While a strengthening usually does not lead to a decrease in prices, a weakening is very quickly expressed in the form of a price increase. The probability that the inflation dictated by the exchange rates may become active this year is quite high. And in that case, the small supplements that the authorities feed the society will be neutralized even faster. At the expense of state funds, their salaries are increased by hundreds of thousands, and those of the socially disadvantaged sector by several thousand drams. Pensions and allowances were increased by 3,000 in order to attract attention

From January 1, the salary of the president of the republic will increase by 341 thousand drams, that of the prime minister – by 324 thousand, and the chairman of the National Assembly – by 307 thousand. The minister’s salary will increase by almost 205 thousand, and the deputy’s salary by 171 thousand. And this is without the well-known bonuses and bonuses. There will be officials who will receive up to 2 million, maybe even more salary and bonuses. The salaries of others and especially those occupying high positions will also increase. Several dozen times more than the 3,000-dram increase in pension and benefits or the 7,000-dram increase in the minimum wage, which is considered a great benefit for the disadvantaged social sector.

By Harut Sassounian

120,000 Armenians in Artsakh are trying to survive in sub-zero temperatures without heat, food and medicines due to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azeri eco-terrorists who are masquerading as environmentalists. However, Azerbaijan is not going to get away with its grave human rights violations without paying a steep price.

Azerbaijan has become the laughingstock of the world. Just about every government, except for Erdogan’s dictatorship, has condemned the inhuman blockade of Artsakh.

International organizations, such as the United Nations Security Council, European Parliament, Council of Europe, European Union, and European Court of Human Rights have criticized the government of Azerbaijan for blockading the population of the Republic of Artsakh.

Thousands of newspapers and television stations around the world have harshly attacked Azerbaijan.

Many politicians, prominent individuals and parliaments have urged Azerbaijan to immediately unblock the Lachin Corridor.

Thus, the billions of dollars Azerbaijan has paid in bribes to officials in Europe and around the world to gain positive PR have been wasted.

After countless violations of international law, everyone has become aware of the dictatorial regime of Azerbaijan.

From now on, no country will urge Armenia to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan given its genocidal actions. Besides the outright murder of a people, the UN also defines genocide as: “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Both sides of any conflict must be desirous of seeking peace. When Azerbaijan is hell-bent on destroying Artsakh and Armenia, how can anyone expect a peaceful co-habitation with such a murderous neighbor?

Pres. Aliyev has undermined his own claim that Artsakh Armenians can live happily under Azeri rule, just like all other citizens of Azerbaijan. Since the Azeris themselves are deprived of their basic rights, how would Artsakh Armenians enjoy any rights? It is inconceivable for Artsakh Armenians to live in Azerbaijan, a government that is starving its ‘future’ citizens.

Pres. Aliyev does not hide his mischievous intent. He regularly makes Armenophobic statements, claiming that in addition to Artsakh, the entire Republic of Armenia was historic Azerbaijan. Of course, this is a ridiculous statement. Whereas Armenia has existed for thousands of years, Azerbaijan is barely over one hundred years old.

The fake Azeri environmentalists have never protested the severe air pollution in their own country. They also ignored the Azeri military’s use of internationally-banned white phosphorus during the 2020 War which destroyed forests, humans and other creatures in Artsakh.

Many of the so-called Azeri protesters who have blocked the Lachin Corridor are members of the Azeri military. No Azeri is allowed to enter the occupied territories of Artsakh without the permission of Azerbaijan’s government. Particularly ridiculous is the female Azeri protester who was wearing a mink coat and acting as if she was an environmentalist!

Meanwhile, the government of Azerbaijan kept denying that Azeris were blocking the Lachin Corridor by showing videos of a handful of International Red Cross cars and Russian Peacekeepers’ trucks crossing the Corridor. The small amount of supplies they are allowed to bring to Artsakh is a tiny percentage of the 400 tons of supplies previously delivered daily to Artsakh from Armenia.

Artsakh’s inexperienced leaders made inexcusable mistakes which undermined their own interests. The Artsakh government unwisely decided to shut down their mines in response to Azeri demands to inspect them. Thus, the Artsakh government was deprived of the large amount of tax revenues it received from these mines and left hundreds of Artsakh miners unemployed and without income. Furthermore, instead of telling Azerbaijan that the Artsakh mines are none of its business, the Artsakh government announced that it would allow international inspectors to come and inspect the mines.

The other mistake made by a high-ranking Artsakh official was his announcement that Armenian bandits were making money by using side roads that bypassed the Lachin Corridor to smuggle people and supplies in and out of Artsakh. This inappropriate announcement was immediately publicized by the Azeri media which published a map of the alternate route to reach Artsakh, threatening to bomb that route and telling the world that there is no blockade of Artsakh.

Besides Azerbaijan, Russia is to be blamed for the blockade of the Lachin Corridor as it is its responsibility to keep the Corridor open, according to the agreement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at the end of the 2020 War. The Russian Peacekeepers should not have allowed the Azeri mob to reach the Corridor, let alone block it. Furthermore, 120,000 Artsakh Armenians, instead of slowly starving to death, should have forcefully removed the Azeri mob and opened the Corridor.

The Armenian government has its own share of responsibility for the blockade. By telling Artsakh’s leaders to deal directly with Azerbaijan to solve their dispute, Armenia’s leaders have washed their hands from Artsakh, leaving Artsakh to face alone the powerful Azeri enemy, even though Armenia had repeatedly declared that it is the guarantor of Artsakh’s security.

Finally, the Diaspora Armenian communities, instead of holding peaceful protests, should surround Azerbaijan’s Consulates and Embassies around the world, not allowing Azeris to go in or out of these buildings, the way they have blocked access to the Lachin Corridor.