(Los Angeles, CA) – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) HyeVotes initiative hosted a candidate forum on Wednesday, June, 7th, 2023 for the Los Angeles City Council District 6 special election.
The panel, which was attended by nearly 100 community activists, was held at the Vatican Banquet Hall in Van Nuys (in CD 6) and featured the final two candidates facing each other in a run-off election on June 27: Marisa Alcaraz, who is Deputy Chief of Staff for standing LA City Councilmember Curren Price, and Imelda Padilla, a community organizer who advocates for community development in the San Fernando Valley.
LA City Council District 6 is a diverse and dynamic area in the San Fernando Valley that includes the neighborhoods of Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, and portions of Van Nuys and Sun Valley. District 6 has been without a representative since October 2022, when former council president Nury Martinez resigned following the leaked audio recordings of L.A. City Council in late 2022. The vacancy triggered a special election that took place on April 4, 2023, where a total of seven candidates competed for the seat. Alcaraz and Padilla garnered the two highest percentages of votes in the April 2023 special election (21.1% and 25.7%, respectively). With neither candidate surpassing the majority threshold, a special runoff election was set for June 27, 2023.
Prior to scheduling the Candidate Forum, ANCA-Western Region sent candidate questionnaires to the seven individuals who were running for the Los Angeles City Council District 6. Following the submission of the local candidate questionnaires, the ANCA- Western Region invited the two runoff candidates, Ms. Alcaraz and Ms. Padilla, to meet with the ANCA Western Region Board to discuss their candidacy and issues of concern.
The Candidate Forum was jointly moderated by ANCA-Western Region Government Affairs Director Ruben Karapetian and Editor-in-Chief of Asbarez, Ara Khachatourian. The candidates were asked questions about their positions on issues of importance to the constituents of CD6, which includes a growing population of Armenian-Americans, such as homelessness and housing, community safety, economic development, and support for small businesses. Moreover, the candidates also addressed their positions on a host of issues specific to the Armenian-American community, including Artsakh’s right to self-determination, promotion of Armenian culture, community visibility, and representation, and ensuring the safety of the Armenian-American community in light of the unprecedented rise of Armenophobic hate crimes which have troubled the community in recent years.
“The hate crimes are just unacceptable, period [….] These kinds of things cannot be tolerated. We have to prosecute them to the full extent of the law,” said Candidate Alacaraz when prompted with a question regarding the recent string of hate crimes and incidents aimed at the Armenian-American community and its institutions. Candidate Padilla responded to the same question, stating “If I am granted the opportunity to be your city council person, not only will I fight against the hate crimes that happen in your community, but you can see me as an ally that is willing to use my bully pulpit […] to support you.”
“Armenian-Americans are a growing constituency base here in CD6, and we sought to give the community an opportunity to meet the candidates and hear about issues that concern them both as Armenian-Americans and as constituents in the district,” said Nora Hovsepian, Esq., Chair of the ANCA-WR. “Armenian-Americans share common concerns with their neighbors in CD6, but we also experience unique challenges when it comes to the crisis our people are facing as a nation here and in our homeland. Our aim as a grassroots public affairs organization is to ensure that those elected to represent our communities are aware of these issues and are vocal about them, on all levels of government. We are grateful that the two candidates took the time to participate in our Candidate Forum and hear from our community, and we look forward to working closely in the future both with the candidate who prevails as the next City Councilmember, as well as maintaining our constructive relationship with both candidates regardless of the election outcome,” she concluded.
Registered voters in CD6 will have already received their mail ballots, which are due to be postmarked no later than June 27, 2023, or hand delivered to a polling station on June 27 by 8 PM. Voters who would prefer to cast their ballots in person may do so on June 27th. Armenian-American voters are encouraged to make their collective voice heard by exercising their right to vote and participating in the civic process. For more voter information visit HyeVotes.org.
The HyeVotes initiative is the only Armenian-American campaign dedicated to educating community members about elections, empowering community members to cast their ballots, and ensuring that Armenian-Americans are represented and accommodated in all aspects of civic engagement.
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.
For over a decade, Azerbaijani students engaged in activism have reportedly been detained, blackmailed, and barred from accessing further education for anything from requesting improvements to education to ‘insulting’ former presidents.
Ulvi Hasanli, an activist since 2005, was expelled from his university in 2007 for leading the Dalga Youth Movement’s campaign against corruption in Azerbaijani universities.
‘At that time, one of the most serious issues in Azerbaijan was bribery in universities’, Hasanli told OC Media. ‘My friends and I surveyed teachers who accepted bribes’.
‘After collecting the survey results, we held a press conference to announce the names of teachers who accepted bribes, and we appealed to law enforcement agencies to take action against those who did. As a result of these inquiries, I was expelled’.
Hasanli, who was 19 at the time, was a second-year student at the Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry. Although he repeatedly appealed to the administration and relevant agencies, he was only met with disappointment.
‘The university did not want to give me a formal decision regarding my dismissal, and it extended the process as much as possible. They were waiting for my appeal to expire so I could not go through with any legal procedure’.
Hasanli was eventually admitted into the University of Tourism, only to face the threat of dismissal yet again for his participation in the 2011 anti-government protests.
‘They wanted to expel me from this university as well, but when the academic council discussed the issue, some teachers defended me, saying that it would be a shame if I were expelled again’, said Hasanli. ‘As a result, I was not expelled from the university, but all courses I was taking that semester were cancelled’.
‘The dean of the university threw an ashtray at my head’, said the activist.
Though Hasanli received the brunt of state pressure, his family was not exempt from harassment.
‘The Ganja District Executive Power wanted to expel my mother and sister from the music college where they worked. As a result of my activism, my sister was fired’, said Hasanli. ‘My mother was not touched because she had worked as a piano teacher at that school for 30 years. However, the police repeatedly escorted my mother to Ganja’s main police department and detained her there for hours, pressuring her about my activities’.
Empowering Azerbaijani students
With university students at its forefront, the Student Power Center (SPC), an NGO, seeks to protect the rights of Azerbaijani students through awareness-raising campaigns and encouraging students to engage in socio-political activities.
Farid Imanov, chair of the SPC, said that members of his organisation often face government pressure.
‘Some of us were offered bribes by the university in exchange for silence, some were blackmailed, some were threatened, and some parents were repeatedly invited to the university to talk about their children’.
Imanov said that the severity of the pressure exerted on students varies depending on the university.
‘At the Azerbaijan State University of Economics, students are asked to meet and speak with the administration. On the other hand, Lankaran State University is more despotic — in 2020, a student named Nariman Abdulla was expelled from the university for active participation in a parliamentary election campaign’.
Speaking to OC Media, the Ministry of Education denied that universities persecute students for their social activism and instead accused the students of lying and ‘not wanting to study’.
OC Media has attempted to reach out to both universities for comment, but neither institution responded.
The consequences of demanding change
Amal Ata was a third-year student at the University of Tourism and Management in 2014, when he was similarly expelled for preparing a petition requesting improvements in the teaching programs and facilities.
These improvements included installing projectors, purchasing new whiteboards, changing the absence limit, and appointing security guards at the entrance to the university.
‘At that time, the university administration began to hate me, because the petition was covered in the media. The issue caused a stir on social media, so employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of National Security came to the university to look for me.’
‘The reason was to prevent the students from revolting’, said Ata. ‘As a result of the campaign, the administration bought new whiteboards and projectors and increased the absence limit’.
Despite his campaign’s success, Ata was still called in by the deanship of his university and dismissed.
‘Officially, I was expelled for causing problems with the administration and the lecturers and violating classes’, Ata said. ‘But the reason for my dismissal ended up being a meme I had shared on Facebook about the [former] Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev’.
‘My family and I have been trying to recover my status as a student for four years, but the university still refuses to do so’.
The future of student activism
Over a decade after beginning his fight against corruption in universities, Hasanli seems uninspired by the current state of Azerbaijani student activism.
‘Student activity is very low today’, he says. ‘Students do not seem interested in protecting their rights.’
Dalga Youth Movement, the organisation with which Hasanli first began his activism, is no longer active.
But Imanov remains optimistic, despite the ‘very serious obstacles’ and pressure that student activists face.
The SPC’s plans for the year ahead focus on new strategies — social media campaigns bringing its message to students and amplifying the voices of the Azerbaijani youth, organising training for students on their rights, and working with other civil society organisations to empower students.
Imanov hopes that these new approaches will allow the SPC’s voice ‘to reach the students, and for the voice of the students to reach us’.
Given the record of the past decade, it seems likely that authorities will be doing all they can to discourage those voices from speaking out.
Ali Zeynal is an independent multimedia journalist from Azerbaijan. Since 2016, he has worked as a reporter, presenter, fact-checker, and trainer for local and international organizations.
The “bespredel” of Nikol Pashinyan and his team continues to reach new heights, despite the fact that when they came to power, they promised that there would be no privileged people in the new Armenia. Life has shown the opposite,
in New Armenia “bespredel” is not only flourishing and developing, but under the patronage of Pashinyan, the participants of that “bespredel” are sometimes appointed to high positions, such as the case of the former governor of Vayots Dzor, Trdat Sargsyan, who was removed from the governorship after being brutally beaten by lieutenant colonel Ara Mkhitaryan. from the post, brought to the National Assembly.
Yesterday, another noisy incident was registered with the participation of another government official. Suren Torosyan, a close friend of Talin community leader Tavros Sapeyan, who after Sapeyan’s election was appointed the head of the Water Users’ Company of the enlarged community Aragatsavan administrative district, beat up Armen Sahakyan, a 24-year-old resident of the same community, suffering from epilepsy. During an argument that arose for unknown reasons, the official of the municipality first blew gas in the young man’s eyes, then hit him with a baton on the head and other parts of the body. The young man was sent home after being treated at the Tallinn Medical Center, two stitches were placed on the laceration in the head area. The victim contacted the police, but the official came to the attention of law enforcement only after when dozens of residents of Aragatsavan closed the interstate highway, then surrounded the house of Suren Torosyan, known by the nickname “Pchan Suro”. The latter was arrested late in the evening, a criminal case has been initiated under the first point of Article 195 of the Criminal Code, that is “Inflicting blows or committing other violent acts”, which is punishable by a fine of up to twenty times, or public works of 80-150 hours. , or with restriction of freedom for a maximum period of one year, or short-term imprisonment for a maximum period of one month.
It is not enough to say that Suren Torosyan is a member of the Communist Party, Tavros Sapeyan’s close friend took an active part in the revolution and received his salary by first working in the JOE as an ordinary employee, and was appointed the head of the JOE after Sapeyan was elected. Torosyan, who does not have a higher education, has always been distinguished by his aggressive behavior in the village, he was engaged in cattle breeding in the past. Administrative head Artur Nazaryan told us that he grazed their and the village’s cattle. After the revolution, he actively engaged in “loris” by giving work. one of the residents of the community told us that he walked around the community and neighboring communities for 24 hours, photographed the smallest incidents and filed a case with the police. Instead, he remained unpunished, despite the fact that he even personally made public confessions about his heroism. For example, weeks before the last incident, it turns out A 7-year-old minor boy of a family displaced from Artsakh and resettled in Aragatsavan was abused. Of course, not physical violence, but he left the 7-year-old child in the “choli” and left, proudly telling about it. After the incident the day before, that video was spread on the Internet, in which Suren Torosyan presented how some time ago he picked up a 7-year-old child from the road to take him to a place, but when he found out that the boy is from Artsakh and blames these authorities, his homeland in order to lose, he stopped and took the child out of the car, according to his description, “in the heat”. “He said I was from Karabakh. I asked if you came soon, he said, “the traitor Nikol gave the lands, and now Yerevan is going to give them away.” not physical violence, but he left the 7-year-old child in the “choli” and left, proudly telling about it. After the incident the day before, that video was spread on the Internet, in which Suren Torosyan presented how some time ago he picked up a 7-year-old child from the road to take him to a place, but when he found out that the boy is from Artsakh and blames these authorities, his homeland in order to lose, he stopped and took the child out of the car, according to his description, “in the heat”. “He said I was from Karabakh. I asked if you came soon, he said, “the traitor Nikol gave the lands, and now Yerevan is going to give them away.” not physical violence, but he left the 7-year-old child in the “choli” and left, proudly telling about it. After the incident the day before, that video was spread on the Internet, in which Suren Torosyan presented how some time ago he picked up a 7-year-old child from the road to take him to a place, but when he found out that the boy is from Artsakh and blames these authorities, his homeland in order to lose, he stopped and took the child out of the car, according to his description, “in the heat”. “He said I was from Karabakh. I asked if you came soon, he said, “the traitor Nikol gave the lands, and now Yerevan is going to give them away.” how some time ago he picked up a 7-year-old child from the road to take him to a place, but when he found out that the boy is from Artsakh and blames these authorities for losing his homeland, he stopped and took the child out of the car. in cholera.” “He said I was from Karabakh. I asked if you came soon, he said, “the traitor Nikol gave the lands, and now Yerevan is going to give them away.” how some time ago he picked up a 7-year-old child from the road to take him to a place, but when he found out that the boy is from Artsakh and blames these authorities for losing his homeland, he stopped and took the child out of the car. in cholera.” “He said I was from Karabakh. I asked if you came soon, he said, “the traitor Nikol gave the lands, and now Yerevan is going to give them away.”
And the family of the given child is in the state business, they work in the community hall. We will throw such types of “falsies” out of the system. I was surprised that a 7-year-old child was talking like that, I stood up, opened the door and told him to get down and go to the Choles,” said Suren Torosyan. CP-Akan is also remembered after the war, from the demonstrations organized in the Republic Square in support of Pashinyan, Pchan Suro presented heroic stories about how they fought in Artsakh, and then threatened those who demanded the resignation of the prime minister.
We asked Aragatsavan community head Artur Nazaryan yesterday if it is true that Torosyan always stood out for his aggressive behavior in the village, but he avoided saying, he only mentioned that he is young, like all young people. “Don’t ask me questions, I won’t be able to answer your questions.” Then he presented sharply. “Jahel is young, grew up in Aragatsavan, engaged in cattle breeding, kept cattle in his barn, took the people’s cattle to the pasture, cultivated gardens.”
The governor of Aragatsotn, Sergey Movsisyan, does not have an assessment of what happened, he says he will wait for the investigation by the law enforcement officers. To our question, whether the incident does not indicate “bespredel”, when an official representing the government uses violence, expecting to go unpunished, Movsisyan gave a brilliant answer that Torosyan cannot be called an official. “He is not the official you imagine, he is just the head of the JOE, Aragatsavani. Both are citizens, I cannot give an assessment for that, whoever is guilty should be punished. I don’t know why it spread like this, because there is no serious incident, similar things happen in all marzes and villages.” The governor responded to the reminder that the victim had a laceration in the head area and was stitched up. What could be more serious than that? “I know there were mutual blows,” and added that he was not interested in the victim’s health condition. “It was hard,
We noticed that the residents of the community do not block the street during ordinary disputes, which means that Torosyan always stood out in this way, becoming a scourge for fellow villagers. “To tell the truth, we will definitely ensure the demand of the residents of the community to get a fair legal solution, but there is another thing, that the head of the community, Suren, was offered a bribe by some people, but they did not take it and report it to the police, I guess that there can be people’s supporters, I don’t want to accuse, but I assume.
The regular 26th Supreme Assembly of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Armenia will start today. In the next few days, it will examine the activities of the ARF Armenia structure during the reporting period, address the challenges facing Armenia and Artsakh Republics, guide the strategy and tactics of the party’s Armenian organization for the next two years, and also elect the Supreme Body of the ARF Armenia.
We tried to find out what this Supreme Assembly is all about and what issues will be discussed during the assembly.
According to our information, the meeting will take place today at 14:00 in the Kotayk region, our source mentioned that the Supreme Assembly will take place either in Aghveran or in Hankavan, it has not yet been specified. 70 to 90 people will take part in the meeting, some confederates from the diaspora are also invited. It will last three days, on the third day the new composition of the Supreme Body will be elected. There will be resolutions, the work of the last Supreme Body will also be discussed.
When asked whether the Artsakh issue, the internal political situation, a new start of the struggle will be discussed, our source stated that the Artsakh issue is at the core of the Dashnaktsutyun’s daily discussion topics, but he said that he is not yet aware of the other topics.
It should be noted that Dashnaktsutyun always submits a resolution at the end of the Supreme Assembly about upcoming activities and plans.
Really, dear reader of “Hraparak”, are you not interested in how many prime ministers are left in our country? You remember, don’t you, that in the spring of 2018, according to the self-proclaimed “prime minister” Nikol, their number was three million. Then there was covid in Armenia under Nikol’s prime ministership. Well, it happened in the world, but I don’t really care. I cry the pain of my homeland, which, by and large, the world does not care about. Having not recovered from Covid, we fell into the clutches of the 44-day war under the general command of “Dukhov” Nikol. After somehow getting rid of it with Russian help, we fell into the clutches of the leader of the enemy country. And we still continue to dig in them.
As a result of all that, many Prime Ministers left their lives or the country without becoming proper Prime Ministers. Then the number of Prime Ministers was gradually reduced at the expense of the parents of the fallen soldiers. I forgot to say that a few tens of thousands out of 3 million were “wrong” Prime Ministers from the start, because they were in the opposition. Of course, at first he didn’t pay any attention to them, he was so carried away by the easy and lightning change of power. By the way, after the next change of power, it will surely become clear what happened in 2018. It is said that the underwater part of an iceberg makes up 90 percent of its mass. And now imagine the spring events of 2018 in the form of an iceberg and you will understand what is yet to be revealed…
We should also remove 11 thousand people from 3 million, because according to both Ilham and Anna Hakobyan, they were defectors. And such persons, understandably, cannot be placed in the ranks of Prime Ministers. Yes, I forgot to say that we should also exclude more than 300,000 RA citizens, because they voted for the opposition political forces in 2021. And, as we already know, according to the “friend of my enemy is my enemy” principle, they were excluded from that list. Those people (including the author of my lines) simultaneously consider Azerbaijanis and Turks as enemies. And those gossiping peoples, as is known, are no longer enemies of the “chief prime minister” personally and, accordingly, they cannot have a place in that list again.
And what about the 688,000 voters who voted for Nikol in 2021 or the half million to one million who didn’t go to the polls at all, the reader will ask. Do they remain on the Prime Minister’s list? I think some of them are already disappointed with reality. And he hardly wants to be the prime minister in today’s Armenia. It is difficult for me to estimate how many there are. It is necessary to conduct a special study to find out. But I am sure that in addition to those in power and their family members, there will still be indomitable Nicholas worshipers who can “decorate” that prime ministerial list. And it seems that at least half a million prime ministers still remain on the list. Or so many people who fit into the definition of “Nicolism”.
In fact, no matter how surprising it may seem in terms of the questioning of the title, there is only one prime minister in Armenia, and that is Nikol. And only one family of the Prime Minister – Nikol’s family. The members of which will be “worthy” to continue the nation-destructive tradition of “Nicolism”. So, in order to free Armenia from the clutches of “Nikolism”, it is not necessary to go after one and a half million people, but it is necessary to remove only one person from power. After freeing the government from “Nicolism”, we will be able to free Armenia and Armenians in general.
Local Non-Profit Board Member and State Commissioner launches campaign with support from over 200 individual campaign contributors.
North Hollywood, CA – Today, business owner and California State Commissioner Sam Kbushyan announced his campaign for Los Angeles City Council to replace Council President Paul Krekorian, who cannot seek another term due to term limits. Sam begins the campaign having raised $150,000.00 from 230 small business owners and neighborhood leaders. Sam started his career organizing In Home Supportive Services employees who are represented by SEIU Local 2015. Sam now owns and operates SKG which helps small businesses and nonprofits navigate government bureaucracy to deliver services to those in need. He currently serves on the boards of LA Community Alliance and the Immigrants Charitable Foundation. Sam and his wife Suzanna are raising their three children together in North Hollywood.
Kbushyan, who recently served on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s advisory transition team released the following statement:
As a small business owner, a husband and father of three schoolchildren, and a lifelong community organizer, I am running for City Council to fight for the residents, business owners, and all stakeholders of LA’s District 2. For years, career politicians who are part of the establishment machine made promises at every election only to ignore the community. So, our challenges have gotten worse. It’s said that if nothing changes, nothing changes. District 2 needs a grassroots person representing the people and values of our district’s diverse neighborhoods. Politics are usual, and establishment politicians who want to represent the district in the interim in their long-term political ambitions have failed us. Unlike them, I’m not here to cater to the elite donors and special interests. I fight for our neighborhoods, homeowners, renters, and business owners. My focus is to restore trust in our government and hold City Hall accountable.”
Council District 2 includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of North Hollywood, Studio City, Sun Valley, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, Valley Village, and Van Nuys.
Excusing the fatal mistakes of the Armenian side, Nagorno-Karabakh was just one more link in the spiral logic of using force to impose a new world order in the current widening world disorder, said former RA Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan in an article published in EVN Report.
According to him, in order to face the deadly challenges we face today, it is necessary to accept the geopolitical reality that surrounds us as well as the miscalculations without bias.
“Every war ends in peace, but, unfortunately, every peace is cyclically interrupted by war,” Ayvazyan emphasized in his article.
According to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the difficult and seemingly hopeless situation in which Armenia currently finds itself can and should be changed.
“Nevertheless, it should be understood that in today’s realpolitik world, power politics will not be restrained by any international guarantee or by the democratic values faithful to official Yerevan. As US President Theodore Roosevelt warned a hundred years ago, “what a nation cannot defend by its own strength, cannot be defended by the international community.” The use of force will be futile unless it can cause irreparable damage to the enemy. Armenia still has the ability to consolidate internal and external power sufficient to neutralize its neighbor’s ongoing aggression. Rather than dismantling the previous security architecture over time, it should be modified and expanded to include new partners in bilateral and multilateral formats; only under this condition will it be possible to prevent new wars or aggression and ensure
“Unfortunately, Armenia is steadily giving up its negotiating position,” Ayvazyan said.
He emphasized that in these dire times, Armenia needs people who will develop a great strategy to purposefully use all the assets of the state and the nation. This, he said, includes political and military leaders who can work towards a just, dignified and lasting peace.
I suppose that after the leaders of Western countries, the leadership of Turkey is also an authority for Nikol Pashinyan. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have run to Erdogan’s inauguration.
And once again, he would not appear in a humiliated state, witness the photos circulating on the Internet. And if I was guided by the principle of insanity, I would assume that he is doing this to show what it will look like to definitely get along with the Turks. Liparityan’s vision. Anyway, I can’t consider Pashinyan Nikol, who clings to the post of Prime Minister, to be insane. Unprincipled yes, but not insanity? However, observing his behavior shows that he has taken a line and will follow it to the end. It’s just principle that there is. It’s just that people are used to perceiving a positive meaning under that term.
But Nicolaitan “fundamentalism” is not without deviations. It is mainly manifested by the need of Artsakh residents to live in the territories inherited from their ancestors. Because they don’t want to migrate to Armenia and then to Russia or other countries. And Nikol has to turn to the international community. It is forced to look for some international mechanism in terms of ensuring the safety of the people of Artsakh. And this is where the first serious deviation of the Nicolaitan “principality” is manifested. Because if the latter agreed to leave Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, then it must admit that the search for an international mechanism is already an intervention in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan. I think he is clearly aware of that. Even if he did not realize it, both Azerbaijani and Turkish figures constantly remind him of it. For example, this last one (Turkish). “Armenia is still trying to put pressure on Azerbaijan through international organizations. That is not true” (President of the 75th (2020-2021) UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir). Moreover, the Turkish diplomat said it was “sad and unfortunate” in Shushi.
And now, if it’s not difficult, read the first sentence of the article again. I think that I can consider the Turkish diplomat Bozkir as part of the leadership of Turkey. And, according to that, if “honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Pashinyan” wants to take a place among Turkey’s partners, even the tenth, he should listen to the words of the Turkish politician. And, it implies, for example, that Armenia should not “impede the establishment of the connection with Nakhichevan, in particular, the opening of the Zangezur corridor”. And Nikol Pashinyan, as is known, is constantly trying to delay the implementation of this Azerbaijani-Turkish demand. Which means that in that sense, the Nicolaitan “principality” allows a deviation from the main line, the principle of steady implementation of the peace agenda. Of course, from the point of view of the interests of the Republic of Armenia, it would be much more useful if, instead of it being a diversion, rather, “our” approach to the Turkish-Azerbaijani couple would not be an enemy of Armenia at all. At least from a position of defeatism. But that’s a topic for another conversation, and I hope we’ll see that process soon as well.
Local and state government agencies in Armenia continue to sign contracts worth billions of drams from a company whose owner and director is accused of defrauding the government of 256 million drams (US$661,000) in 2019.
Hakob Stepanyan, who owns Regionstroyservice LLC is accused of embezzling the money when he served as director of another company, Ukrinvest LLC.
In the first five months of 2023, the ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the municipalities of Yerevan and Masis signed contract with the company worth 938 million drams ($2.4 million).
The company, founded in December 2020, paints road markings. Installs street signs and maintains traffic lights in Armenia. One month later, Armenia’s Police signed a 467-million-dram ($898,000) contract with the company to paint road markings on Yerevan streets.
On June 9, 2020, Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) issued a statement that in 2018-2019 the director of Ukrinvest company, as well as other persons affiliated with the company, organized and committed fraud and embezzled some 256 million drams.
On June 10, 2020, the SIS reported that the 256-million-dram damage caused to the state had been fully recovered and that the defendants signed affidavits not to flee the country.
The trial of Stepanyan and another defendant is ongoing.
The former Prime Minister of RA Vazgen Manukyan issued a statement in which it said:
“What is happening to us now is a deeply elaborated conspiracy directed against our people. When organizing that conspiracy, they used the natural desire of our people to live in a fair country and in peaceful conditions.
In fact, the “peace” agreement, the necessity of which many foreign powers are shouting about, will be the most devastating blow to our people.
About enclaves: the existence of enclaves was not fixed by any law of the Soviet Union. They were once given to Azerbaijan with the consent of the local authorities, therefore they do not have any legal force, that is, they are our territories also de jure.
If the enclaves are given to Azerbaijan, it means giving the enemy the best opportunities and creating a temptation to continue the war from within the territory of Armenia. That agreement will not become a peace agreement, but a war agreement.
As for Artsakh, not only is the idea that “let’s get rid of Artsakh and live in peace” absurd, but the issue also has a moral aspect. Show me a case in world history where a nation holds a part of its hundreds of thousands hostage (knowing that they will be massacred and displaced) in the vain hope that they will live well. Our people will not live well, and that stigma will not be erased from us for thousands of years. We will not respect ourselves, the next generations will spit in our face. We make ourselves and our generations unhappy and humiliated by committing an immoral step and national betrayal, getting war and not peace in return.
Only the fact that Armenia, regardless of its territorial integrity, does not declare the acceptance of the right to self-determination and independence of the Artsakh people and to contribute to the realization of that right by all political means, already humiliates us in the eyes of many peoples of the world. How can one live like this?
In fact, someone came and destroyed our history of thousands of years, a part of the people does not understand this, hoping that everything will be fine in the end, and a part of the people is making efforts to change all this, but they cannot.
In such a situation, the military, the power structures, whose main goal is to protect the state, have a very important role.
I specifically appeal to our power structures: you did not swear to protect Nikol Pashinyan, you swore to protect the Motherland, the state, the Constitution and state laws. What Nikol Pashinyan is doing and wants to do, first of all, contradicts our Constitution and laws, therefore Nikol Pashinyan is no longer legitimate. With his statements, his actions, and later also with his signature, he becomes a state criminal, and by protecting a state criminal, you break your oath, which is also a state crime.
I call on the power structures to carefully monitor what is happening in our country and prevent state crime in time, being ready to join the large part of the people that resists the implementation of national and state crime and tries to prevent national disaster and disgrace.”
