By Wally Sarkeesian

Authenticity is often praised as the highest virtue in our culture—“Just be yourself,” we’re told. But what if that very idea is a myth? What if no one is ever truly authentic?

In truth, being human means being social, and to be social is to perform. From early childhood, we learn how to adapt, please others, say the right things, and present ourselves in ways that are acceptable or likable. We play roles to fit in, to survive, to be loved. In that sense, we are all actors—constantly shifting our behavior depending on context, company, and circumstance.

Even those who seem effortlessly real or raw are often just skilled at appearing authentic. They’ve learned how to create that impression, how to project sincerity. But make no mistake: they are still performing, still choosing what to show and what to conceal.

The truth is, no one ever says exactly what they’re thinking all the time. We filter ourselves. We calculate. We adjust. The polished version of ourselves that we present to the world is curated, whether consciously or not.

So, when we admire someone for being “authentic,” what we’re often admiring is their ability to act authentic in a way that resonates. But it’s still a performance.

And maybe that’s not a bad thing. Perhaps it’s simply what it means to be human.

Significant developments are occurring. The leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, has invited Öcalan to the Parliament and requested him to make a call to “end terrorism and dissolve the PKK.”

A Kurdish politician named İbrahim Halil shared the following information, which he claimed to have received from PKK circles in Kandil, stating, “I am providing this as information, not as a comment.”

1- Abdullah Öcalan is to be released (possible date: Nevruz – March 2025);

2- Öcalan will announce that “the armed struggle is over and the PKK is being dissolved!”;

3- Öcalan may receive a “political ban” and will settle in Erbil;

88 senior PKK leaders will not be allowed to enter Turkey; 34 of them will stay with Öcalan in Erbil; the others may seek asylum in Norway or Greece! The remaining members can benefit from the repentance law and return to Turkey;

4- Sentences for those in prison will be reduced, and those who have completed their sentences will be released;

5- Both Kurdish and Turkish will be used in municipalities;

6- The principle of strengthened local governance is being accepted;

7- Kurdish will be taught up to the 8th grade (it is unclear whether it will be an elective course or the language of instruction);

8- It is agreed upon that Demirtaş will remain in prison for at least 22 years;

9- Regarding Rojava: The PKK has requested that Rojava be officially recognized by Turkey. Turkey, in turn, has asked for the removal of Mazlum Kobani from his position. A new name has been proposed, but it has not been disclosed to avoid any damage. The Rojava Kurds will either join the Free Syrian Army (FSA) affiliated with Turkey and come under Turkey’s control, or if they do not accept this, Turkey will act as a guarantor, and they will join the Syrian Army. The aim is to free Rojava from US control…

The item numbers are mine. Looking at the paper in front of him, the speaker also used expressions like “I won’t say this for now” for some items.

Source: Taner Akcam 

In 1980, Al-Sahir started teaching music. Two years later, he pursued studies at the Institute of Music of Baghdad.^[4] By 1988, he gained popularity in many Arab countries with compositions such as “Ladghat El-Hayya” and “Abart El-Shat”. His musical career was hindered by the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1990. After leaving Iraq, his songs and titles championed the Iraqi people while they lived under Saddam Hussein‘s rule and Western sanctions.^[5] In 2011, he was named a goodwill ambassador by the UNICEF.^[6]

Al-Sahir has performed a wide range of Arabic music from pop to classical and singing in most Arabic dialects.^[7] His music is known for fusing traditional Arabic melodies with diverse international music forms. He has collaborated with international stars such as Quincy Jones, Sarah Brightman, Lenny Kravitz, and had frequent partnerships with the revered Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. His romantic poetry in music has established him as a cultural icon.^[8]

He appeared as a judge in the television show The Voice: Ahla Sawt from 2012 to 2015, alongside Assi El Hallani, Sherine, and Saber Rebai.^[9] In 2020, he appeared on the frontpage of Vogue Man Arabia.^[10]

Biography

Al Sahir was born in Mosul, Iraq on September 12, 1957, to a Sunni father and a Shia mother from Najaf. His father lived in Baghdad but was a Samarra native from the tribe of Darraj.^{[citation needed]} Kadhem Al Sahir grew up and spent a large part of his life in Al-Hurrya neighborhood in Baghdad.

Apart from his mother, Al Sahir’s family were never supportive of his direction in becoming a musician. They had no faith in him that he would become successful, and instead wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer. Al Sahir’s brother once took him to different places where people usually sang, and told him it was his choice to sing in a respectful way, or he could choose to do it the bad way. He said that the only way to achieve success is for one to respect his music and respect himself.^[11]

Al Sahir left Iraq in the early 1990s after the Gulf War. He did not have a permanent residence and frequently moved, mainly between Cairo, Dubai, Beirut, and Paris, though as of 2022 he settled with his family in Rabat, Morocco. He has two sons, Wisam and Omar Al Sahir, both of them married.^[12] Kadim is also a grandfather to Wisam’s daughter Sana.^[13]

In February 2019, Kadim officially asked to change his last name from Al Samarai to Al Sahir.^[14]

Professional career

1995–2000

He later moved to Lebanon, where he met and formed a songwriting partnership with Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani in 1996;^[15] Qabbani wrote lyrics to his music before settling permanently in Cairo. Qabbani, who previously wrote lyrics for superstars of the 1960s and 1970s like Abdel Halim Hafez and Najat Al Saghira,^[16] wrote the lyrics to more than 30 of Al Sahir’s songs. In addition to Qabbani’s poems, Al Sahir sang both political and romantic songs for Iraq and Baghdad, highlighting the feelings of the citizens of Iraq as well as their tragedies.

Al Sahir continued to release albums and tour, having become a big name in Middle Eastern music. His ballads grew bigger and more romantic, but he would also write classically influenced works, even when they might hurt his popularity.

By 1998, he had ten albums under his belt and was lauded as an artist, not just a pop star. That prestige brought him wider fame and a growing international reputation that won him a UNICEF award for his song “Tathakkar“, which he performed in the U.S. for Congress and the United Nations–one of the first real post-Gulf War cultural exchanges. The following year, he recorded a tribute to the Pope with the Italian Symphony Orchestra.

Releasing numerous albums and touring extensively, Al Sahir has become both a high-grossing superstar and a respected musical artist. His reputation has continued to grow through collaborations with European and North American artists, including Sarah Brightman and Lenny Kravitz. He continues to live abroad, residing alternately in Cairo, Dubai, Paris, and Toronto.

2004–present: Collaborations

Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Al Sahir’s music changed to reflect new regional and global attention to Iraq during wartime. As scholar Christopher Phillips writes in Everyday Arab Identity (2012):

“Although Iraqi singers were not historically that well known due to their isolation from the wider Arab world during Saddam Hussein’s rule, Kathem al-Saher made a name for himself after 2003, singing in classical Arabic, often about the destruction of Iraq under occupation and war. His success might indicate a certain level of Arab solidarity, with viewers opting to show their support for Iraq through the purchase of songs depicting its misfortune.”^[17]

In 2004, Al Sahir collaborated with Lenny Kravitz and released an anti-war song at Rock The Vote, titled “We Want Peace”, and shortly afterward released a song entitled “The War Is Over” (Entahat al harab) with Sarah Brightman, which was released on her album Harem and his album Hafiat Al-Kadamain. Both of these international duets were executive produced by Dergham Owainati, of EMI Music Arabia, for Kadim’s part.

In 2004, Al Sahir continued to work with various international artists including Grammy Award-winning producers KC Porter, and Quincy Jones. His collaboration “Love & Compassion” (Hob Wa Haneen) was the title track for the Arab American National Museum Collector’s edition honoring the artists that have made the most significant difference with international audiences. The track features Grammy winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole, Def Jam recording artist Karina Pasian, and Luis Conte and was produced by KC Porter and Dawn Elder.^[18]

In 2004, he participated in the worldwide broadcast concert special “We are the Future” produced by Quincy Jones and coordinated by Dawn Elder at the Roman Maximos Stadium in Rome for the benefit of the children of the world. In December 2004, he participated in the opening of the Gulf Football Championship (Khaleeji 17) in which he performed the return of Iraq Operette which was broadcast live on 10 satellite channels. Additionally, in 2004, he was the first Arab artist to participate in Unity, the official album of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Releasing his album Ila Tilmitha on November 11, 2004. The album contains collaborations with the Moroccan Asma Lamnawar whom Kadim Al Sahir discovered earlier and introduced to the Arab world in her first due song with Kadim “ashko ayaman”. The album also included the song “Ahbeni,” written by poet Nizar Qabbani, shot as a video clip by Husien Duibes; it became a major hit in the year 2004 alongside the song “Ila Tilmitha.”

UNICEF named Al Sahir as the new Goodwill Ambassador for Iraq for the year 2011. For Al Sahir, this was a compelling reason to visit his country after 14 years^[19]

He sang Bokra (“Tomorrow”), a charity single that was released on November 11, 2011, at 11:11 pm, along with Rim Banna, Akon, Tamer Hosni, Diana Karazon, Marwan Khoury, Latifa, Souad Massi, Hani Mitwassi, Saber El Robai, Wa’ed, Sherine, and other Arab artists. The single distributed the proceeds of its donations to various organisations, especially institutions and charities with arts and culture programs. The eight-minute song was written by Majida Al-Roumi and was produced by Quincy Jones and RedOne.

He debuted as a coach for MBC The Voice Kids, and his team member Lynn Hayek from Lebanon was the winning contestant in the Season 1 Finale held on March 5, 2016.

In collaboration with an Abu Dhabi cultural foundation, he performed solo in his first virtual hybrid concert in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadim_Al_Sahir

By Harut Sassounian,

Azerbaijan’s dictatorial and corrupt government is paying $4.7 million to a US PR firm in order to whitewash its tarnished image before hosting the prestigious COP29 international conference in Baku this November.

In February, Azerbaijan hired the American public relations firm Teneo Strategy to make “the warring petrostate look like a Mother Teresa,” according to Nick Cleveland-Stout, who wrote an article in ResponsibleStatecraft.org titled “How Azerbaijan is ‘peace washing’ its image ahead of COP29; Baku is hosting the climate summit in November with some help from a high-priced PR firm.”

To earn its excessive pay, Teneo contacted “144 journalists in 88 different global media outlets some 500 times to promote Azerbaijan’s COP29 agenda….  In just one day, the PR firm … treated three journalists to dinner at a five-star hotel restaurant in Nagorno-Karabakh during a media forum. The very next day, one of them celebrated Azerbaijan’s newly established control of the region in an article published in Pakistan. A few weeks later, he tweeted that Azerbaijan is ‘lucky to have such a leader’ in President Ilham Aliyev.” 

An Azerbaijani official announced that his country had hired Teneo to “establish the COP29’s communications function, including narrative development, initial content development, communications and engagement campaign planning, issues management, organizational development, establishing media relations capability, and media training.” Nick Cleveland-Stout reported that “At least five Teneo executives are always on the ground in Baku — racking up a tab of $350,000 on airfare and hotels to date.”

Hikmat Hajiyev, Pres. Aliyev’s top advisor, shamelessly announced a “COP29 Truce,” meaning that Azerbaijan is calling on all warring parties in the world to declare a ceasefire during the November conference. Such a deceitful announcement is being made by a country whose leader has been issuing repeated threats to invade Armenia. This reminds us of the biblical admonition: “Physician, heal thyself!”

Nick Cleveland-Stout wrote: “Azerbaijan has become notorious for flaunting its oil wealth to court foreign officials, lawmakers, and journalists with gifts, free flights, and luxury hotels, dubbed ‘caviar diplomacy’…. According to a trip itinerary obtained by RS [Responsible Statecraft] via a Freedom of Access Act Request, state lawmakers from Maine spent nine days in Azerbaijan in May with flights, food, and lodging paid for by the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the same agency that hosted [NY Mayor Eric] Adams’ aides. Part of the itinerary included two days learning about ‘new development after liberation from occupation’ in Nagorno-Karabakh. ‘Guess I should locate my passport. I am very excited!’ wrote State Representative Jill Duson in response to the invitation. In June, Azerbaijan’s embassy in Washington even hired former Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) in part to coordinate congressional delegation visits to Azerbaijan.”

Furthermore, Nick Cleveland-Stout mentioned that Azerbaijan had hired another PR company, “The Friedlander Group, a firm retained by Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, [which] is leading the charge on Capitol Hill in Washington. An email obtained by RS shows that the firm sent an email on September 23 to members of Congress asking them not to sign onto a congressional letter calling for Baku to release Armenian prisoners ahead of COP29.” The firm’s CEO, Ezra Friedlander, wrote to members of Congress “we owe Azerbaijan praise, an apology and an open hand.”

Returning to the PR firm, Teneo, Nick Cleveland-Stout reported that: “When Azerbaijan flew out some 300 foreign journalists to the newly-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh region for a media forum in July, Teneo held meetings and hosted expensive dinners — during which it discussed interviews with Azerbaijan’s COP leadership team.”

The RS reporter wrote that: “Three days after meeting with Teneo, the influential Indian newspaper, The Hindu, published an article titled “Climate conference in November to emphasize ‘peace’ and ‘truce.’” The firm also “facilitated a New York Times article featuring [Mukhtar] Babayev [COP’s president] in Azerbaijan that was based in part on a trip to Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Teneo has assigned a 17-person team to the pro-Azeri PR task. Azerbaijan’s officials are very pleased by the propaganda Teneo is doing for their country. Babayev told Azeri TV that “the government’s media strategy to change international perceptions of Azerbaijan is a success story, including its ‘restoration of territorial integrity,’ referring to its offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. Without mentioning Teneo by name, he credited a new media team ‘consisting of serious specialists’…. Thanks to the work of this professional team, there has not been a week this year when we have not provided information and made statements to international media…. Now they all understand and see the strength of our country.”

The most unfortunate issue is that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is the one who allowed Azerbaijan to host the conference by lifting Armenia’s veto in return for the release of 32 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for two Azeri murderers who penetrated Armenia’s border in 2023 and killed an innocent Armenian worker. 

While I welcome the return of the 32 Armenian prisoners, I believe that Pashinyan should have bargained for Azerbaijan’s release of all Armenian prisoners of war and the eight Artsakh political hostages held in Baku. Pres. Aliyev was so obsessed with hosting the prestigious UN conference in Azerbaijan that he would have agreed to such a comprehensive deal.

If Pashinyan had made such a deal, Armenians and sympathetic non-Armenians around the world would not have needed to work so hard to pressure Azerbaijan to release all the Armenian detainees prior to the November conference.

On Monday, approximately 60 police officers attempted to storm the Simon Vratsian Center in Yerevan, the headquarters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia.

According to a statement from the Council, police officers “provoked and attacked party leaders who blocked their illegal entry into the building.”

The statement continued, “Using brute force—behavior typical of street hooligans or a pack of animals—dozens of officers detained ordinary citizens, including Ashot Simonyan, Chair of the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia and a Member of Parliament, employing overt physical violence.”

The ARF Supreme Council of Armenia characterized these actions as orchestrated by a criminal group aiming to undermine Armenia’s Constitutional order. “Nikol Pashinyan, the ringleader and head of this criminal group, is determined to pursue his anti-patriotic agenda. To advance his illegal actions against citizens and political parties, he has turned state institutions into tools of criminal activity,” the statement asserted.

The statement urged local and international organizations promoting democracy and human rights, as well as diplomatic representatives, to assess the actions of this group that has undermined the constitutional order and usurped the government.

“We are confident these crimes will not go unpunished. We demand that the Prosecutor General’s Office and investigative bodies immediately initiate criminal proceedings against the police officers involved in these crimes, as well as against Nikol Pashinyan, who authorized these illegal actions and guarantees their impunity. Otherwise, the Prosecutor General’s Office and investigative bodies will also face severe consequences as accomplices to these crimes,” the statement continued.

The ARF reaffirmed its stance that such methods will not stop them and declared that their campaign against the criminal regime destroying Armenia’s statehood will persist. “In the name of Armenia and the defense of the Armenian people’s rights, we call on Armenians to unite in support of this sacred movement,” the statement concluded.

By Harut Sassounian,

Even since Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, with his thousands of followers, started marching towards Yerevan, many wondered what would happen on May 9 once they reached the Republic Square, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s offices are located.

After arriving in Yerevan, Bagrat Srpazan gave one hour to Pashinyan to resign. When the hour was over and he did not resign, Srpazan announced that there would be acts of civil disobedience throughout the country beginning the next day. He urged his followers to act peacefully and not to commit any acts of violence.

Pashinyan was hoping that the number of protesters would dwindle over time and the movement would fizzle out. The regime did everything in its power to vilify and defame Srpazan and the protesters. Government propagandists announced that there were merely around 20,000 protesters in the Republic Square on May 9, whereas most observers estimated the crowd to be several times larger. After misleading the Armenian public for six years with thousands of lies, Pashinyan continued his deceptive practices by claiming without any evidence that the protesters are Kremlin’s agents who were paid money to participate in these protests. Government leaders ridiculed not only Srpazan, but also the Armenian Church, an institution that has shepherded the nation ever since 301 AD, particularly during the absence of an Armenian state.

To the disappointment of Prime Minister’s diminishing number of supporters, as his rating has gone down from 80% six years ago to 8% now, Srpazan held a second rally in the Republic Square with tens of thousands of followers in attendance. Despite the brutal actions of Pashinyan’s police which viciously attacked the peaceful protesters, the movement grew stronger rather than fizzling out. During the past week, Srpazan held separate meetings with groups of lawyers, doctors, retired military officers, artists, and dozens of opposition leaders.

Srpazan proved the falsehood of Pashinyan followers’ repeated mantra that no one else can replace the Prime Minister. Srpazan succeeded for the first time to unite the various opposition groups under his leadership. Large segments of the public, livid at Pashinyan’s defeatist concessions to Azerbaijan, responded enthusiastically to Srpazan’s peaceful, but urgent message for change.

Finally, Srpazan’s long-awaited big rally took place on May 26 during which several important announcements were made. The crowd was told that Srpazan would temporarily replace Pashinyan after which a coalition government will be formed, followed by parliamentary elections which will choose a new Prime Minister. Even though the Constitution requires that the Prime Minister be exclusively a citizen of Armenia for the preceding four years, Srpazan’s followers believe that his dual citizenship of Armenia and Canada would not prevent him from temporarily acting as Prime Minister. Srpazan made the commitment that he will be guided exclusively by legal requirements. Ironically, Pashinyan’s regime, which has violated just about every existing law, is demanding that the protesters comply with the laws of the country.

During the May 26 rally, Srpazan also announced that after consulting with other high-ranking clergymen and Catholicos Karekin II, it was decided that he will freeze his 30-year-long spiritual service in order not to combine political activities with his religious position.

Srpazan is attempting to topple Pashinyan the same way the latter toppled Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan. Pashinyan and his followers violated dozens of laws to come to power, blocking the streets, the Parliament building, the courthouse, and smashing the locked doors of the Armenian radio station. However, Pashinyan thinks that he is the only one who can get away with breaking the law. Amazingly, he even boastfully proclaimed: “is there a judge in Armenia who cannot do what the Prime Minister says?” If anyone else does what he did, his barbaric police are ordered, as he himself announced during the Parliamentary campaign in 2021 while holding a hammer in his hand, to smash the heads of his Armenian opponents, even though he falsely claims to be a democrat. Ironically, Pashinyan never uses such vile language against the real enemies of Armenia — Azerbaijan and Turkey — whose leaders make the most offensive comments about Armenia.

At the end of the mass rally in the Republic Square on May 26, Srpazan marched with his followers to the Prime Minister’s mansion and demanded that he meet with him and tell him to resign. However, it turned out that Pashinyan was not at home, visiting the flooded areas of Northern Armenia.

Srpazan then led the large crowd back to the Republic Square where the rally had started several hours earlier. He urged his followers to engage in acts of civil disobedience throughout the country to pressure Pashinyan to resign.

This is Armenia’s last chance to save the country from Pashinyan, a defeated and incompetent leader, who is willing to follow Aliyev’s and Azerbaijan’s orders, and make illegal and endless one-sided concessions, until the total loss of Armenia, after the loss of Artsakh!

By Harut Sassounian,

In a lengthy article published in the Irpmedia.irpi.eu in Italian on March 27, 2024, titled, “How Vatican helped legitimize the Aliyev autocracy in Azerbaijan,” Simone Zoppellaro exposes Vatican’s pro-Azerbaijan tilt due to financial donations, despite Armenia being a Christian nation, while Azerbaijan is Islamic.

On Feb. 22, 2020, the autocratic leader of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and his wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, the country’s Vice President, paid a state visit to the Vatican. They were received officially by Pope Francis, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher. Mrs. Aliyeva was at the Vatican to receive the highest honor awarded to a lay person by the Holy See: “The Grand Cross.” The award is proposed by the Diocesan Bishops “as a sign of appreciation and gratitude for services to the Church or to society reserved for Heads of State, ministers, ambassadors, and royalty.” However, the driving force behind Vatican’s interest in Azerbaijan is the financial support provided by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Ironically, despite Azerbaijan’s intolerance of minorities, dissidents and other religions, the Holy See expressed its appreciation to “Azerbaijan’s openness and peaceful attitude towards different faiths.”

Fearing the loss of Azerbaijan’s donations, the Vatican has been reluctant to allow any criticism of Baku, particularly by its own clergy. “Father Georges-Henri Russyen was expelled from the Pontifical Oriental Institute because he was critical of those who did not want to use the formula ‘Armenian genocide.’”

Given the expectations of benefiting from Azerbaijan’s “Caviar Diplomacy,” the Vatican has not been willing to say anything more substantial than emphasizing “the importance of intercultural and inter-religious dialog in favor of peaceful coexistence among different religious and ethnic groups,” meaning Armenians and Azeris. The Pope prayed for the inhabitants of Karabakh, hoping “that the talks between the parties, with the support of the international community, will foster a lasting agreement that will end the humanitarian crisis,” Even during the 2020 War, “the Church was unable of going beyond generic appeals for moderation ‘to all the parties involved and to the international community’ to ‘lay down their weapons.’”

On October 24, 2023, Prime Minister Nikol Pahinyan received from the Apostolic Nuncio José Avelino Bettencourt the same award given three years earlier to Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s Vice President. However, there was a major difference. While Aliyeva received her award directly from the Pope, Pashinyan was honored by an Apostolic Nuncio. There were also other differences which “helped consolidate the power of the Aliyev family, despite human rights violations in Artsakh.”

“Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, honorary president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture and chairman of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, is the highest Vatican official who has made the most efforts to open a dialog with Azerbaijan.” He was awarded the Order of Friendship in 2013 by the Azerbaijani authorities — a high honor offered for a “special contribution to the development of friendly, economic and cultural relations between Azerbaijan and a foreign state.”

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti is considered “the protagonist of the privileged channel” established between the Vatican and Baku. “Highly educated and polyglot, ambitious and lover of power, Cardinal Gugerotti has known the Aliyev family since 2002, when Pres. Heydar Aliyev, in power since 1969, was still alive.”

“In the early 2000s, Gugerotti met with the Azerbaijani authorities as Nuncio for the Southern Caucasus, a position he assumed in 2001. Before then this nunciature for the Holy See included only Georgia and Armenia. Those were the years in which Russia guaranteed a ceasefire in the region, after Armenia had defeated Azerbaijan in the first conflict. The ethnic hatred that is still fuel for the conflict was beginning to settle, but Nuncio Gugerotti called Azerbaijan a ‘country [that] is a symbol of peaceful coexistence between people of different religions.’”

“Ten years after he began his mission as Apostolic Nuncio in 2011, Gugerotti signed the historic agreement which, for the first time, regulated relations between Baku and the Catholic Church. At the time of ratification, recalls a 2019 book produced by the Foundation for the Promotion of Moral Values from Baku entitled ‘Christianity in Azerbaijan,’ Gugerotti expressed gratitude to the (Azeri) government for creating the conditions that made possible [the agreement], emphasizing that our country always remained committed to the principles of tolerance, and noting that the agreement was the first document of its kind, because the Vatican had never signed such an agreement with any state before.”

According to Gugerotti, “Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated its tolerance. Now the whole world is witnessing it. I am sure that this document will receive a positive response in the international world and will be remembered as a great historical event. The reaction of the press from day one proves us right. On behalf of the Holy Throne and the Crown, I extend my deep thanks for all this to President Ilham Aliyev and the Government of Azerbaijan.”

Since 2009, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by Mehriban Aliyeva, has funded various activities in the Vatican: restoration projects, exhibitions and concerts. Other projects funded by Azerbaijan included: the Roman catacombs, the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Apostolic Library, and Catholic churches in France and Azerbaijan. These donations amount to one million euros.

In 2013, Gugerotti received the Movses Khorenatsi Medal — the highest Armenian honor — from the then president Serzh Sargsyan for his important contribution to Armenian studies, but also the effort aimed at strengthening relations between Yerevan and the Holy See.

The author of the article concluded that the close relationship between the Vatican and Azerbaijan has had the effect, perhaps unintended, of strengthening the hegemonic role of the Azeri autocracy… which may contribute to a diplomatic normalization that would put in the background, or erase, crimes and aggressions committed by the Azeri autocracy.

“The police say that they did not detain me. What was it, if not to bring him into custody? Deputy Artur Khachatryan

Today, the police took Artur Khachatryan, deputy of the National Assembly “Hazdan” faction, to the Hrazdan police station from the Yerevan-Hrazdan highway. The deputy participated in the protest when the citizens blocked the highway.

In a conversation with “Hetki”, Artur Khachatryan said that he was already released. According to Khachatryan, taking him to the Police Department was not legal, as he is a member of parliament.

“They took him to Hrazdan police department using force. We went up to the third floor, then they escorted us down from the third floor, we went out, and after waiting for about an hour, we met with the head of the department. The police say at the police station that they did not detain me, but how will they explain that by using force, they entered the car against my will and brought me to the police station? What was it, if not to bring it into custody?” Khachatryan asks.

The deputy says that they will give a legal process to what happened in order to understand the grounds for bringing him into custody. Artur Khachatryan was released without any explanation.

According to him, a clash started after he spoke with someone in civilian clothes at the end of the action, who, according to the deputy, was a representative of law enforcement bodies and, according to his information, was the police chief of Kotayk region. After a tense conversation, a stampede started at the initiative of the given person, after which the MP was taken to the Police Department. “I said, ‘How do you propose that the citizens express their complaint?’, he said, ‘don’t ask me that question,’ and I said, ‘bring the person who has the answer to that question,'” says Artur Khachatryan.

Artur Khachatryan is currently at the Hrazdan police station because, according to him, two citizens’ cars were taken into custody on the charge that there is an enforcement proceeding. “Now we are trying to get the copies of those documents, that these cars are under the proceedings of the State Security Agency,” he said.

It should be noted that 17 people were arrested and transferred to different police departments today, April 26, during protests held in different parts of the Republic. The citizens were detained on suspicion of Article 182 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Failure to comply with a legal request of the Police). “Hetkin” was informed about this by the Department of Public Communication and Information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It should be noted that citizens continue to hold protests in various parts of the Republic, in particular, the Armenia-Georgia interstate highway is closed in the Noyemberyan section, the highway remains closed in the Kirantsi section as well. Today, a protest action was also held in a number of Yerevan streets, Yerevan-Echmiadzin, Yerevan-Hrazdan highways.

Let’s remind that on April 19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that on the same day, the eighth meeting of the Committee on the Demarcation of the State Border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Committee on the Demarcation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia was held: Under the chairmanship of RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafaev.

According to that report, at the initial stage of the demarcation process, the parties have preliminarily agreed on separate sections of the border, directly Baghanis (RA) – Baghanis Ayrum (AR), Voskepar (AR) – Ashagh Askipara (AR), Kirants (AR) – Kheirumli (AR) and Berkaber. (RA) – between the settlements of Kyzyl Hajil (AR) in order to conform to the legally justified inter-republic border that existed at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

After this announcement, protests started in Tavush marz and then in different parts of the Republic. Citizens’ concern is that after these areas come under the control of Azerbaijan, the border will pass near the village of Kirants and the main road.

Kevin Vandenboss,

In a significant escalation of its retaliatory measures against “unfriendly” states amid heightened geopolitical tensions, Russia has seized assets of the agricultural holdings company AgroTerra Group. The move, announced on April 8, 2024, has sent shockwaves through the agricultural sector and raised concerns over food security and international trade relations.

President Vladimir Putin’s decree places Dutch-registered firms AgroTerra Investments B.V. and AgroTerra Holdings B.V. under the “temporary management” of Rosimushchestvo, Russia’s federal property management agency. This action follows a series of similar asset seizures targeting Western companies, including multinational brewer Carlsberg and dairy giant Danone, which have sought to divest their Russian operations in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

AgroTerra, founded in 2008, is a major player in the agricultural industry, specializing in the production and supply of commodities such as soybeans, wheat and sugar beet. The company is recognized as one of the top 20 largest owners of agricultural land in Russia, with a cultivated area of approximately 265,000 hectares (654,829 acres).

The decree’s impact on AgroTerra’s operations remains uncertain. A spokesperson for the company stated, “As of now, the Company has not yet received any further details regarding the decree on the transfer of shares within the authorized capital of the AgroTerra Group to the temporary management of Rosimushchestvo.” Despite the lack of clarity, the company has assured that it is continuing its operations as usual, with a primary focus on the ongoing sowing campaign.

This seizure is part of a broader trend of Russia targeting foreign-owned assets in retaliation for sanctions and other measures taken against Russian companies abroad. In April 2023, Putin signed an executive order allowing Russia to take over real estate, securities, property rights and other assets from foreign companies with ties to “unfriendly countries.”

The implications of these actions extend beyond the affected companies and their shareholders. They pose a threat to the global agricultural supply chain, potentially disrupting food production and exports. Furthermore, the move could exacerbate tensions between Russia and Western countries, further complicating efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and stabilize international relations.