The Minister of Emergency Situations of Armenia, RA National Hero Andranik Piloyan was arrested within the framework of the criminal case being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Committee.

The information was confirmed by the committee’s press secretary Marina Ohanjanyan in a conversation with 1lurer, but she did not provide any other information. Earlier, the Committee reported that law enforcement officers conducted a search in the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations. Piloyan assumed the post of the minister after the 44-day war, on November 20, 2020. On October 22, 2020, the then commander of the N military unit of the Ministry of Defense, Major General Andranik Piloyan was awarded the title of “National Hero”.

There was no accountability for violations committed during the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) unleashed by Azerbaijan and its aftermath, Amnesty International said in its annual Report 2021/22.

“No substantive progress was made in investigating war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law during the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and in its immediate aftermath or in bringing suspected perpetrators to justice,” the human rights group said.

Amnesty International recalled that by the end of 2021 Azerbaijan had reportedly handed over 60 captives to Armenia, some in exchange for minefield maps in the conflict affected areas.

“The exact number of people remaining in captivity in Azerbaijan at the end of the year was unknown,” it said.

“In its September report the Council of Europe raised concerns that dozens of captives continued to be held in inhumane conditions and subjected to speedy, unfair trials, while the fate and whereabouts of around 30 Armenian captives remained unknown amid allegations of their enforced disappearance and possible killing,” reads the report.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan attacked several Artsakh villages and reportedly cut off gas from inhabitants in below-freezing temperatures.

by Yelena Ambartsumian,

On March 10, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that “strongly condemns” Azerbaijan’s intentional destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh (or Artsakh in Armenian).

The resolution was adopted with 635 votes to two, with 42 abstentions, and with sponsorship by six of the seven groups of the European Parliament, except for the Identity and Democracy Party, a nationalist far-right group that ironically purports to “protect Christian heritage.” It read: 

“The erasure of Armenian cultural heritage is part of a wider pattern of a systematic, state-level policy of Armenophobia, historical revisionism, and hatred towards Armenians promoted by the Azerbaijani authorities, including dehumanization, the glorification of violence and territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia which threaten peace and security in the South Caucasus.” 

Azerbaijan’s “continued policy of erasing and denying the Armenian cultural heritage” in the area of Nagorno-Karabakh, the resolution added, violates international law and a 2021 decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)ordering Azerbaijan to “prevent and punish” the vandalism and desecration of Armenian churches, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries, and artifacts.

The resolution came several weeks after Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture, Anar Karimov, announced a working group of specialists to “remove the fictitious traces written by Armenians,” in reference to Azerbaijan’s debunked claims that the founding inscriptions on Armenian medieval churches and monuments, written in the Armenian language, are recent additions. (The minister later tamed his statement, saying the group will “study ancient Albanian heritage” in Nagorno-Karabakh and examine “alterations on the historical and cultural heritage.”) 

The concern for Nagorno-Karabakh’s cultural heritage is grave, since Azerbaijan, with the help of its ally Turkey, launched a war of conquest in late 2020, which saw attacks on civilian infrastructures, such as schools, homes, and a maternity hospital, in addition to religious and cultural heritage, such as churches and archaeological sites. Since the November 2020 ceasefire, which resulted in the handover of much of the Armenian-populated Republic of Artsakh’s territory to Azerbaijan’s control, Azerbaijan has reportedly continued to destroy and vandalize Armenian cultural heritage, while also refusing access to religious sites to Armenians seeking to worship there. After the Russian-brokered ceasefire, Azerbaijan and Turkey held a joint military “victory” parade in the capital city of Baku, during which they set their sights beyond Nagorno-Karabakh and laid claim to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, while also blessing the souls of the architects of the Armenian Genocide. Azerbaijan’s president then inaugurated a military “victory” museum, with wax mannequins depicting chained and injured Armenian prisoners of war (that Azerbaijan claims it does not have).

Azerbaijan’s destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh is not unprecedented. In Nakhichevan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that has been ethnically cleansed of its Armenian population, there have been no consequences for Azerbaijan’s destruction in the early 2000s of 89 medieval Armenian churches, 5,840 intricate cross-stone monuments, and 22,000 tombstones, as revealed by Simon Maghakyan and Sarah Pickman on Hyperallergic.

As was the case with Nakhichevan, UNESCO has failed to send an independent fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to survey the status of cultural heritage properties because of Azerbaijan’s refusal. The European Parliament’s resolution references this refusal and “[s]trongly insists that Azerbaijan enable UNESCO to have access to the heritage sites in the territories under its control.”

Unfortunately, for both the people and the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, it appears that their fate is intertwined with the national and regional interests of other players, namely the EU and its pressing need for an alternative to Russian oil and natural gas.

In February, news emerged that the EU allocated a €2 billion aid package to Azerbaijan, as it seeks to increase the latter’s export capabilities of its oil and natural gas.

Shortly after securing the aid package from the EU, petrol-rich Azerbaijan then signed an alliance with Russia on February 22. Paragraph 40 of Azerbaijan and Russia’s “Declaration on Allied Interaction” references the duty to protect and preserve the cultural and religious heritage of “national minorities living in the territories of the Parties,” though it is unclear whether these protections would apply to Armenian heritage. A few days earlier, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, Lukoil, increased its stake to 19.99% in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz natural gas project. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline, through which the EU seeks to increase its gas imports from non-Russian sources, originates in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field.

Thus, it is telling that the European Parliament’s resolution rejected the proposal by the Socialists & Democrats Group to “strictly condition” the €2 billion aid package on “Azerbaijan’s respect for its international commitments on human rights, including regarding the preservation and protection of the cultural and historical heritage on the territories under its control.”  

The resolution did, however, call out Azerbaijan as the aggressor. That is a notable departure from numerous false equivalencies and “bothsidesism” rhetoric from other governmental and intergovernmental players, whose statements would have one think that the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi (a city recently ethnically cleansed of Armenians for the second time in a century) somehow bombed itself. Twice.

At the time of the European Parliament’s resolution, Azerbaijan had cut off gas(needed for heat, cooking, and hot water) to the remaining 120,000 inhabitants of the Republic of Artsakh, by tampering with a pipeline originating from Armenia but part of which now passes through territory occupied by Azerbaijan. According to the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijani armed forces also opened fire on several Armenian-populated villages on the very day of the resolution’s announcement.

By Arman Tatoyan,

Tatoyan is the former Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia and an Ad hoc Judge in the European Court of Human Rights. Our country’s security system is simply crumbling because of political narrow-minded interests and gross mistakes:1)

In order to not point out our own mistakes and not to bring dissatisfaction, official announcements are made consistently, by which illegal Azerbaijani armed forces are justified or legalized in our villages and roads are in total disregard for the safety and life of the civilian population or the military.

What right does such a [acting] Minister of Defense have to do with the Armenian security system, who, for example, announced after blocking roads in Syunik, Azerbaijani illegal acts? “Police points operating in the territory of Azerbaijan are Azerbaijan’s to do,” “We cannot make a decision here,” “The road between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan is already paved,” and so on.

How can a President of the Republic perform his constitutional duties as a guarantor of the country’s security, who declares in response to the Azerbaijani criminal assaults shooting on villages, “Then what are they shooting?”By what right does the Government construct roads in Syunik so that they are under Azerbaijani engagement? Who gave these officials the right to play with the security of Armenia and Artsakh’s caused irreparable damage to our Homeland?

Which state or international institution do you expect support from such irresponsible and uncommon statements?2) The details of Azerbaijani criminal acts are not shown to the foreign world. everything is limited to political public statements. These facts are also hidden from the internal society and the Diaspora. And this frees Azerbaijan’s hands more to fill the world with frauds.

All those who emphasize these facts are under widespread pressure.3) There is a numbness of people’s alertness due to the announcements of various officials holding political positions.

At the same time, Azerbaijan deepens hatred and enmity. It speaks about peace with Armenia exclusively with threats of destruction of the country. Artsakh implements an ethnic extermination policy toward the population.

Without presenting the facts of Azerbaijani violations to the outside world and not using international mechanisms, the state’s hands have been tied in the international arena, and the country has become a victim of geopolitical interests. There is a state’s refusal of its obligations to protect people’s lives and safety. But it is very clear who is to blame for the continued collapse of the Armenian sovereignty and security system.  ·   ·

 

By Harut Sassounian,

The Turkish government is continuing its duplicitous game of playing on both sides of the fence, pretending to be the friend of both Russia and Ukraine in order to draw maximum benefit from its tightrope walk.

However, Turkey cannot keep playing this game for too long before it falls flat on its face from the teetering tightrope. For decades, as a member of NATO, Turkey violated its principles, bought problematic weapons from Russia while acting as a member of the Western military camp, refused to support the collective decisions of the organization, and got sanctioned by the United States, its NATO partner.

Turkey has played a similar erratic role as a member of the Council of Europe, violating the basic rules of the organization, including repeatedly refusing to implement decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. After all this, Pres. Erdogan has the audacity to complain that Turkey is not allowed to join the European Union. In reality, it should not even be allowed to remain in the Council of Europe. Too bad NATO does not have a provision on expelling one of its member states. Amazingly, Turkish leaders have appealed to the United Nations to have their country become the sixth permanent member of the Security Council with a veto power. Such a thing should never be allowed. It would be the end of the UN.

In the meantime, Turkey is continuing its two-faced “neutrality” between NATO and Russia in the Ukraine war. Turkey is the only NATO member that has refused to sanction Russia and has not closed its airspace to Russian aircraft. Turkey abstained while the overwhelming majority of the Council of Europe voted to suspend Russia’s membership. Turkey then turned around and voted twice in the UN General Assembly in March in favor of a resolution condemning Russia for invading Ukraine.

Furthermore, the Turkish Ambassador to the UN, Feridun Sinirlioglu, delivered a scathing attack on Russia. Sinirlioglu said the war in Ukraine is the result of the “blatant violation” of international humanitarian law by Russia, which he described as “unacceptable.” He then added, “For our part, we will not give up on our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.” These words indicate that Turkey is not neutral in this war.

While Turkey’s ambassador at the UN was sharply critical of Russia, Turkish businessman Ethem Sancak, one of Pres. Erdogan’s closest political allies and executive board members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), visited Moscow and told the Russian RBC TV channel that Turkey’s sale of drones to Ukraine was a big mistake. Sancak also said: “We will not join in the sanctions, because if Russia falls, Turkey would get divided. And if Turkey falls, the same goes for Russia…. We are allies with Russia.” Sancak described Turkey’s membership in NATO as “shameful….” He then added: “NATO is a cancerous tumor.”

In addition, “Having gained experience in sanctions-busting schemes that undermined both US and UN Security Council embargoes on jihadist groups and Iran in the past, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now poised to implement a similar playbook for Western sanctions on Russia. Hoping to make money for his business cronies and aid his country’s embattled economy and finances, Erdogan apparently saw the opportunity to make a profit by offering Russians a lifeline to help overcome the restrictions and beat the sanctions,” wrote Abdullah Bozkurt in Nordic Monitor.

In order to appease Russia, Turkey rejected U.S. suggestions to transfer to Ukraine the S-400 missile systems it had bought from Russia, which had resulted in the U.S. imposing sanctions on Turkey. Furthermore, in recent days, several Russian oligarchs have brought their luxury yachts and private jets from Europe to Turkey to avoid western sanctions. Bahadir Ozgur, a Turkish commentator who specializes in exposing organized crime, says Turkey is the “gangsters’ heaven,” the Al-Monitor news website reported.

As a result of long-running sanctions-busting activities by Turkey, the Biden administration is well aware of Turkish efforts to bail out Russia from U.S. and EU imposed sanctions. Neither the White House nor Congress is too keen to side with Erdogan who is constantly plotting to glorify himself and his country by trying to mend its damaged relations with Europe, the United States, Israel, Egypt, the UAE and Armenia.

In another failed public relations stunt, Pres. Erdogan announced prior to last week’s NATO Summit in Brussels that he would be meeting with Pres. Joe Biden in order to create a photo-op intended to raise Turkey’s questionable standing in the world and his own poor rating at home.

Despite Erdogan’s intense diplomatic lobbying, Pres. Biden refused to meet with him at the NATO Summit, undermining his desire to gain positive PR from such a meeting. The White House rejected a push by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for such a face-to-face encounter.

Pres. Biden, who has had a long-lasting personal dislike of Pres. Erdogan because of his anti-western policies, did the right thing by not providing him with further opportunities for self-aggrandizement at a time while he continues his close relations with Russia. There is also stiff resistance in Congress to any appeasement of Turkey.

Erdogan is constantly justifying his tightrope walk between East and West by claiming that he is trying to play a mediating role in the Ukrainian war. This is yet another misleading excuse for Erdogan’s self-serving attempts to give himself and his country undeserved importance.

PRESS RELEASE

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board President, Kelly Gonez has partnered with the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region’s (ANCA-WR) Education Committee to host a series of webinars for educators and families, focused on effective methods for implementing the Armenian Genocide education in classrooms and promoting cross-cultural understanding in the community. 

“This series continues our commitment as a school district to ensure that the Armenian Genocide is not only taught but that it is a critical lesson in recognizing cultural heritage and tolerance across lines of difference,” said Board President Kelly Gonez. “This series will provide our educators with resources to meaningfully integrate powerful lessons in our K-12 classrooms. I’m grateful to the ANCA-WR Education Committee for their ongoing partnership.” 

“As we get close to the 107th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, opportunities such as these are key to support educators with the most up-to-date educational resources and best practices for integrating the history of the Armenian Genocide effectively across the curriculum,” remarked ANCA-WR Education Committee’s Vice-Chair, Sedda Antekelian. “LAUSD Board President Kelly Gonez and her team are committed to ensuring that educators across the district are trained and supported in this way and that this chapter in Armenian history is covered in the classroom and not forgotten.” she continued. 

On March 30, 2022, the first webinar will be hosted for Elementary teachers, where the presenters will introduce teachers to a variety of educational resources that will support the themes of cross-cultural understanding, belonging, and community responsibility through the lens of Armenian culture and history. On the following day, Middle and High School teachers will engage with these themes and will learn about stories of survival and resilience as well as the unique role that the U.S. played in providing humanitarian support during and after the Armenian Genocide.

On April 20, 2022, a webinar will be hosted for families that will focus on how to have meaningful conversations about culture and identity to expand their skills for social-emotional learning and how to be responsible citizens in their community. 
Space for this workshop is limited. Educators will also receive 1.5 hours towards a salary point. Interested participants can register at http://bit.ly/teachersessions.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Citizens of any country can acquire non-agricultural real estate in Armenia. Suren Tovmasyan, Head of the Cadastre Committee of Armenia, told this to reporters in the National Assembly Monday.

“If I am not mistaken, since 2002, from the point of registration of rights until today, we have had the acquisition of 72 real estates [in Armenia] by Turkish citizens. Most of them were apartments, some—were small public facilities, etc. We do not see any problem here.

And when Azerbaijani citizens acquire property here, they are having travel passports; that is, they come [here], get a travel passport at us. The fears you mentioned during the procedure for obtaining that passport disappears. He comes, acquires real estate [in Armenia]. If I am not mistaken, the Azerbaijani citizens who have a travel passport of Armenia are 5-6 people,” Tovmasyan said.

And when asked whether the activeness of acquiring property in Armenia by Azerbaijani and Turkish citizens has been noticed recently, the head of the Cadastre Committee gave a negative response.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on March 27 that since the beginning of the special military operation, the Russian military has destroyed 289 unmanned aerial vehicles,

1656 tanks, and 169 multiple missile bases on the Ukrainian side. “A total of 289 drones, 1,656 tanks and other armored vehicles, 169 multiple rocket launchers, 684 field artillery shells and 1,503 units of special military equipment have been destroyed since the beginning of the special operation,”

Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that the Armenian side offered Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from our territory in the Yeraskh area, and we to withdraw several positions from their territory, was not taken seriously in Yeraskh, to put it mildly.

The residents heard his words, commenting on it, saying that it was a slip of the tongue, at best, confusion. Some of the residents of the community were surprised, others were angry with the news that they have panicked, the residents are leaving their homes. “What happened to the people of this community to leave their homes and go?” Say the men of Yeraskh. The residents of the border community are skeptical about the question “And if the enemy leaves the Armenian positions, the era of peace that Pashinyan longs for will finally be established.” And really, what peace, when even the small inhabitants of the village, when they meet us, are the first to tell about the enemy’s shots? Details in the video.

US President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” due to the invasion of Ukraine. He also warned Russian forces against moving onto “one single inch” of NATO territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power, and his war against Ukraine has been a strategic failure for Moscow, US President Joe Biden said on Saturday.

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden told a crowd in Warsaw at the end of a 2-day trip to Poland.

The unusually strong rhetoric was quickly played down by the White House, which said the president was not calling for regime change in Russia.

“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” the official said. “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.” 

When the Kremlin was asked about the US president’s remark, a spokesperson said “that’s not for Biden to decide. The president of Russia is elected by Russians.”

During his oftentimes fiery speech, Biden warned Russia against stepping foot on NATO soil but said American forces were stationed in Europe to defend NATO allies, not to engage with Russian forces.

He then cautioned that only “swift and punishing costs” would get Russia to change its course in Ukraine, in a reference to several rounds of sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow.

Biden said the war, now in its second month, had united the West, before telling the Ukrainian people: “We stand with you.”

During the speech that was broadcast on Polish TV, Biden also said he was “struck by the generosity of … all the Polish people … opening their hearts and their homes” to help Ukrainian refugees

Poland handed a ‘big responsibility’

Earlier, Biden held talks with President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw and sought to reassure Poland of Washington’s commitment to the defense of Eastern Europe.

He insisted that the NATO mutual defense pact was a “sacred commitment.”

“I’m confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on dividing NATO,” Biden said about the Russian president. “But he hasn’t been able to do it. We’ve all stayed together.”

As the largest NATO member in the former eastern bloc, Poland is playing a key role in the Western response to Russia’s invasion.

The US president noted that Poland was “taking on a big responsibility, but it should be all of NATO’s responsibility.”

Warsaw has called for NATO peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine, which Washington has rejected.

Duda, meanwhile, said he had asked Biden about the possibility of speeding up military purchases, referring to purchases of Patriot missile systems, artillery rocket systems, F-35 jets and Abrams tanks.

Biden also responded to speculation that Russia has changed its military strategy, after Moscow said its focus was now to completely “liberate” the breakaway eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.

“I am not sure they have,” Biden said when asked by a reporter if Russia had altered its course.