The relatives of the fallen servicemen of the D20 artillery division of the Tsor military unit in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are in front of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia.

Anahit Manasyan, a relative of one of these fallen soldiers, Hayk Melikyan, said that they are here to submit a report on a crime.

Harry Mazadoorian,

Visitors browse through an exhibit and interactive art project called “witness” about the Armenian genocide of 1915 at Grand Park in Los Angeles in 2015. Michael Robinson / TNS

On April 15, Armenians in Connecticut and all over the world will commemorate the Armenian Genocide of 1915, when more than 1.5 million Armenians perished in a vicious and unthinkable state action by the Ottoman Empire.

Despite overwhelming and virtually incontrovertible evidence of that horrific tragedy, the government of Turkey continues to shamelessly deny it. The United States, which had sidestepped the recognition issue for many years so as not to offend its NATO ally, formally recognized and condemned the genocide in 2020 with resolutions of both houses of Congress and then by President Joe Biden’s statement in 2021, courageously recognizing the genocide, which said of the victims, “We honor their story. We see that pain. We affirm the history … The American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide.”

Efforts for continued condemnation of all genocides is important to honor those who perished during those horrible times but equally to deter the ongoing threats of future genocides. Continued vigilance is needed as the world today witnesses an escalation of brutality in Ukraine, which the government now condemns as genocide. Continued atrocities in the historic Armenian region known as Artsakh further demonstrate the need to watchfully condemn ongoing genocides.

In addition to the increasing number recognition of the Armenian genocide by scholars, journalists and governments have been another event that has uplifted the hearts and souls of Armenians all around the world: In 2015, the year of the 100th commemoration of that tragic event, the Armenian Church took an unprecedented and truly remarkable step: The canonization of the martyrs of the genocide by the Armenian Church. The Synod of Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, under the auspices the Armenian Catholicos, formally recognized those who perished in the Genocide as martyrs and canonized them as saints of the Armenian Church.

The event was reported to be the largest canonization service in history. It was an occurrence of enormous consequence. It had been some 500 years since the last time the Armenian Church had canonized a new saint. While not widely reported in non-Armenian communities, the historic event was reverently and proudly proclaimed throughout Armenia and the diaspora. It was a monumental event filled with hope and symbolism.

His Eminence Archbishop Daniel Findikyan, primate of the Armenian Diocese of the Armenian Church in America, Eastern Region, before his ordination, produced a magnificent monograph titled “From Victims to Martyrs.” In it he wrote: “Never in (the) history of the Armenian Church had new saints been proclaimed with greater splendor, excitement or inclusiveness — every hierarchical jurisdiction of the Armenian Church was represented, as were a few sister churches throughout the world. … Unprecedented as well was the Armenian Church’s readiness, after one hundred years, to discern God’s redeeming grace from within the darkness and evil of that great crime against humanity.”

The Genocide victims are now martyrs. They can now provide intercession. Instead of praying for them, we now pray to them. It is something of incredible mystery and relevance. In the words of Father Untzag Nalbandian, pastor of Trumbull’s Holy Ascension Armenian Church “Many of us are the sons and daughters of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide, who gave us a new life in this country and or wherever they went. Since 2015, our generation became the children of saints, which puts on us a greater responsibility to be good, caring, helpful, and compassionate towards others. Genocide against one ethnic group is genocide against all humanity. We remember our martyrs, but now we also can ask for their intercession.”

Along with the canonization of the martyrs came the consecration and anointment of a new icon depicting the Holy Martyrs. It is present in all Armenian churches.

The canonization has proved to be an inspirational event for the entire Armenian community, and for the world. It is a reminder that despite the passage of time, helpless victims of the Armenian Genocide will be never be forgotten, but rather will be remembered for their faith and will forever serve to intercede on behalf of all of their descendants.

Harry Mazadoorian lives in Kensington. His parents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide in which three of his grandparents perished.

By Tigran Grigoryan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, addressing the country’s parliament on April 13, once again made a number of startling statements about the Karabakh conflict settlement process. Pashinyan’s most controversial statement referred to the international community’s insistence to lessen Armenians’ demands on the status of Artsakh. In that part of his speech, Pashinyan in particular mentioned:

“Today, the international community is telling us again: slightly lower your bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and ensure greater international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh. Otherwise, the international community says, do not rely on us, not because we do not want to help you, but because we can not help you.”

Pashinyan’s latest speech is part of a strategy that started in the summer of 2021. The ruling Civil Contract party’s Artsakh agenda was quite bold in the June 19 snap parliamentary elections last year. The party spoke about Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination through the application of the principle of remedial secession.

The program also mentioned that the Republic of Armenia will continue to be the guarantor of the security of the people of Artsakh. The ruling party promised to keep the de-occupation of territories of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region on its agenda.

However, just two months after Pashinyan’s Civil Contract’s victory in the snap parliamentary elections, two of the three provisions listed above – Nagorno-Karabakh’s self-determination through the principle of remedial secession and the de-occupation of territories – were not included in the government program.

Between the snap elections and the adoption of the government program, a number of events took place that changed the approach of the ruling party to the Karabakh settlement process by 180 degrees. It was during this period that Armenia was offered to abandon its previous stance on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and “lower the bar.”

First, the Foreign Ministers of Romania, Austria and Lithuania arrived in the South Caucasus on June 24-26, 2021. During a press conference concluding the visit, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu stated that further modernization and democratization of the country should become Armenia’s new strategic goal.

The unspoken part of this statement implied that Yerevan should gradually reconsider its priorities, renouncing some of its demands and positions on the Artsakh issue. This was a widely circulated point of discussion in the West after the end of the Second Karabakh War.

Following the Foreign Ministers’ visit, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi arrived in the region on July 8-9. At a press conference in Yerevan on July 9, Várhelyi announced that the EU would provide 1.6 billion euros to Armenia for a number of priority special programs and that another 1 billion euros would be raised from other sources for Armenia.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel visited the region on July 17-18. This visit kicked off the EU-Armenia mediation mission in the Armenian-Azerbaijani context.

During their visits to Yerevan, the EU officials most likely tried to explain to the Armenian authorities that raising the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independent status after the defeat in the second Karabakh war was unreasonable.

Instead, it is likely that Armenia was offered to soften its stance and agree to any status of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan. And the consolidation of the international community around Armenia and Artsakh, which Pashinyan mentioned in his speech on April 13, would be expressed in the form of 2.6 billion euros in financial assistance and promises of economic development.

The Armenian authorities have obviously accepted these EU conditions, as they did not see any particular prospects for Nagorno-Karabakh to achieve an independent status.

What has been happening in Armenian public discourse on the Karabakh issue over the past six months has been a direct consequence of this process. Various government officials regularly tried to convey to the public the idea that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan should be an acceptable option for the Armenian side.

The same goal was pursued by Nikol Pashinyan at a scandalous press conference at the end of last year, during which the Prime Minister simply repeated a number of Azeri theses on the conflict. On April 13, Pashinyan spoke more openly about his goals. His speeches on this issue are likely to become more honest in the near future.

This position of the European Union is understandable. Brussels is guided by strictly pragmatic principles. The EU first needs peace and tranquility in the South Caucasus. European officials are not so interested in which side’s interests will be trampled in the process of establishing peace.

By the way, hours after Pashinyan’s speech, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, wrote on his Twitter page, noting that many challenges still remain on the road to a comprehensive settlement, but it is important to move forward. “Armenia has the EU support in the search for a just peace.”

In this case, it is important to understand Azerbaijan’s stance in the process. At this stage, Baku seems to have adopted a more maximalist approach; it is not ready to even discuss the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status within Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani authorities continue to insist that the Karabakh conflict is over and that there is not even an administrative unit called Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, it can not be ruled out that Baku may temporarily soften its approach in the presence of various promises from the EU. However, Moscow’s position on this issue will be crucial. In conclusion, it should be noted that, if this process succeeds, Nagorno-Karabakh will face a complete ethnic cleansing of Armenians. The Armenians of Artsakh are not ready to accept any status within Azerbaijan. In case of such a development, they will simply leave their homes on their own volition. The era of peace will settle in the region alongside the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

Translated by Zara Poghosyan

Tigran Grigoryan is a political analyst based in Yerevan. He holds a Master’s degree in Conflict, Governance, and International Development from the University of East Anglia.

Irvine, California, April 12, 2022 Speaker after Speaker exposes and condemns Mayor Farrah N. Khan’s disturbing 2020 video that has surfaced showing Mayor Farrah Khan attending an event with members of the Turkish community.

In the video, Mayor Khan is seen joking with Ergun Kirlikovali — a notorious Armenian Genocide denier — about making Armenians “disappear.”The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website explains that the Armenian Genocide took place from 1915-to 1916 during World War I in the Ottoman Empire when the Turkish government rounded up and executed between 664,000 and 1.2 million Armenian people. During the Genocide, tens of thousands of Armenian children were forcibly removed from their families and converted to Islam.

Not only did Khan joke with Kirlikovali about making Armenians disappear, but the video also shows her telling the group that she stands with the Turkish community “no matter what.” Khan then appointed Kirlikovali to her newly-formed Mayor’s Advisory Council. Since becoming Mayor of Irvine in 2020, Khan has been seen at a number of events with Kirlikovali by her side.