For a long time, both open and covert policy has been carried out against the media and free speech in Armenia, President of the Union of Journalists of Armenia Satik Seyranyan, the editor-in-chief of the 168 Zham newspaper and 168.am news site, told the discussion “Against the media restrictions, for the sake of freedom of speech and the right to be informed” on Wednesday.

She stated the government and its close circles overtly target journalists and the media outlets have long been divided into “friendly and hostile” categories for them.

Seyranyan noted that campaign against the media is being carried on several platforms, adding in particular, an attempt is made to significantly restrict the work of reporters through legislative amendments, with the situation in the National Assembly being a “vivid manifestation” of it.

“All this is carried out with blatant cynicism; the government introduces yet another outrageous restriction, then tries to leave the impression of being progressive and tolerant by imitating a discussion with media representatives,” she noted.

Stressing that hostility towards the media is generated on public platforms and in the media, Satik Seyranyan stated: “It seems that the media and free speech may soon be declared a class enemy, which prevents the authorities from exercising their beloved steel mandate.”

She underlined that the issue does not only concern journalists, but also reflects the socio-political situation, the attitude of the authorities towards human rights and freedoms.

YEREVAN. – At around 11:10am on Wednesday, the Azerbaijani armed forces once again resorted to provocation, opening fire on the Armenian positions in Ararat Province, particularly at the Yeraskh village section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, as a result of which an Armenian contract soldier, Junior Sergeant Gegham Sahakyan (born in 1982), sustained a fatal gunshot wound.

The Ministry of Defense of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am that the ministry strongly condemns these actions by the Azerbaijani side, and warns that they will not go unanswered.

The entire accountability for the aggravation of the situation falls on the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan.

Twenty-seven members of Congress request a hearing from the Biden administration on Turkey’s drone proliferation

More than 25 members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this month, calling for a suspension of drone technology to Turkey and for a hearing on Ankara’s drone proliferation.

The letter was the latest push by members of Congress against Turkey, an ally of the US under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).

It claimed that the Turkish government was constantly violating its relationship with the US, particularly following Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile air defence system.

“As a result of our long-standing alliance, Turkey has received favorable terms from the American defense industry, including co-production rights for weapons systems, advanced weapons sales, and technology transfers,” the letter read.

“Turkish actions have continued to run contrary to its responsibilities as a NATO member state, despite its ejection from the F35 joint strike fighter program and the imposition of sanctions. These actions include the proliferation of drones.”

“We request a briefing from the Department of State that details potential ramifications of Turkish drone proliferation.”

The lawmakers requested a “briefing from the Department of State that details potential ramifications of Turkish drone proliferation” and “answers on whether “Turkey’s actions constitute yet another violation of NATO rules and bylaws”.

A State Department spokesperson told Middle East Eye that it does not comment on congressional correspondence.

The letter was sent on 9 August and confirmed to MEE on 17 August. A congressional source told MEE there had been no response to the letter.

Turkey-US tensions

Turkey has emerged as one of the world’s premier makers of armed drones, which helped ally Azerbaijan make sweeping gains in a six-week war with Armenia last year over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Turkish drones have also been deployed to the conflicts in Syria and Libya.

The drone technology has also been sought after by a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and Poland, which recently became the first Nato country to purchase Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles.

While Turkey and the US are allies under Nato, the rise of Turkish drone technology and its proliferation around the world has been a cause for alarm for both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate.

Top Senate Democrat Bob Menendez, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, called the use of Turkish drones in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which he said used US parts, “completely unacceptable” in a hearing last month.

Relations between Turkey and the US have been beset by a number of issues over the past few years, with the US imposing sanctions on Turkish officials in December 2020 under a law that bars significant military transactions with Russia.

Turkey was also removed from the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet programme by the Pentagon in 2019 due to concerns over possible Russian espionage through the S-400s.

US President Joe Biden also declared the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War I a genocide, in a move that further strained the already tense relationship.

After the 44-day Artsakh war, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan never left for Artsakh, while before that he had at least 12 similar visits. CivilNet sent a written request to the government, asking to explain why the Prime Minister is not leaving for Artsakh, when the next visit is planned.

The staff of the government avoids answering the CivilNet inquiry, noting that “proper information is given about all the visits of the RA Prime Minister.” It became known today that Nikol Pashinyan is going on a short vacation until September 3. The Prime Minister will be on vacation on the 30th anniversary of Artsakh’s independence, on September 2. A special sitting of the parliament will be held in Artsakh on September 1, the next day an event dedicated to the Independence Day, which, however, will not be attended by either the RA President Armen Sargsyan, the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan or the RA NA Speaker Alen Simonyan.

The Armenian Foreign and Defense Ministers also do not visit Artsakh officially. Ara Ayvazyan, one of the Armenian Foreign Ministers, last visited Artsakh on January 5. Ayvazyan’s visit caused great dissatisfaction in Baku, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry described it as “illegal” and Ilham Ali as a “provocation”. “These visits must be stopped. “If such provocative steps are taken again, we warn that Armenia will regret it much more,” Ali stated. After that, neither the RA President, nor the RA Prime Minister, nor the RA NA Speaker or the Foreign Minister left for Artsakh publicly. According to CivilNet, the newly appointed Minister of Defense Arshak Karapetyan recently left for Artsakh, but no message was spread about that visit.

The visit of the Minister of Defense of Armenia to Artsakh officially took place on December 1, 2020, when the newly appointed Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan met with the President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan in Stepanakert. CivilNet also inquired from the staff of the Prime Minister of Armenia whether there was external pressure on the Armenian side in terms of visits to Artsakh. That question remained unanswered.

Lawmaker from “I have Honour” faction Tigran Abrahamyan believes the recent statements about possible normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations voiced from both sides are a new trap for Armenia. 

“First, Turkey’s preconditions remain on the agenda, including the imposed issue of recognition of the Azerbaijani territorial integrity. Secondly, the the call for refusal from the policy of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is still there. At the same time, we should acknowledge that foreign political, military, economic and information policies of Turkey and Azerbaijan are harmonized in the region, and these states act according to  preplanned roles,” Abrahamyan wrote on Facebook, adding Azerbaijan continues its policy of border provocations which is not only coordinated with Turkey but also enjoys its full support. 

“Speaking about the possible normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations in this situation and the incoming positive signals are absolutely illogic,” Abrahamyan concluded. 

By Harut Sassounian

Another appropriate title would have been, “Parliamentarians fiddle while Armenia burns,” which is my version of the well-known historic phrase, “Nero fiddles while Rome burns,” referring to Emperor Nero’s inaction during a massive fire in Rome.

This is the tragic situation in Armenia. After losing a major portion of Artsakh and the lives of thousands of young Armenians in last September’s war, one would think that Armenians both in and out of Armenia would rally together to lick their wounds, strengthen the military and repulse the enemy’s further advances. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is happening. The culprit is not Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia or anyone else, but us. We are unwilling to unify even in the aftermath of a massive disaster. Before we blame anyone else, we need to hold the mirror to our faces.

Ever since Armenia’s independence, we have been boasting that Armenia has the most powerful military in the region, Azerbaijan would not dare to attack us, and if it did, we would march into Baku. Before last year’s war, Armenia’s Defense Minister David Tonoyan arrogantly proclaimed: “New War, New Territories,” meaning that if Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh, Armenia would conquer even more Azeri territories.

The former and current leaders of Armenia and Artsakh refused to make any concessions regarding the territories surrounding Artsakh, unless Azerbaijan first agreed to recognize Artsakh’s independence. Even though the rest of the world was urging Armenia’s leaders to make compromises and return at least some of the territories around Artsakh, we dismissed all such suggestions. That is the reason why no other country was willing to recognize the Republic of Artsakh. Even Armenia itself refused to do so, expecting that others would defend Artsakh’s interests ahead of us.

As a result, we squandered our unique chance to force Azerbaijan to recognize Artsakh’s independence in the 1990’s, while the enemy was defeated and weak.

Without getting into the meaningless debate of whether the former leaders or the current one was responsible for our defeat in 2020, I would say, we are all responsible for that disaster.

Since the end of the last war, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rejected repeated suggestions that he resign and allow a new leader to take the helm of the devastated state. He insisted that he is the only one who can remedy the country’s massive problems. How could the one who was in charge when the country suffered such a defeat be able to fix anything? But, he stubbornly held on to his seat. Using the state resources at his disposal, he managed to convince slightly over half of those who participated in the election to support him and his political party. In reality, most of those who voted for Pashinyan actually voted against the former leaders. As expected, almost a year after the war, not only Armenia’s problems have not been resolved, but in many respects, they have become much worse.

While the former leaders were not well-liked during their reign, the degree of antagonism and hatred that we see today in Armenia is unprecedented. Regrettably, the current Prime Minister made matters worse by constantly issuing threats and warnings against anyone who disagreed with him. He started his rule by preaching democracy and tolerance, but quickly became a dictator, dividing the public into “blacks” and “whites, and shockingly, held up a hammer while on stage during his recent electoral campaign threatening to smash the heads of his opponents!

In such a toxic atmosphere, uniting the nation against the common enemy is impossible. It is much easier to fight against your political opponents. Neither the government nor the opposition is willing to make any compromises to solve the country’s problems and defend the homeland against further hostile incursions.

Not surprisingly, when Pashinyan came to the Parliament last week to present his government’s five-year plan, several fistfights erupted as a result of which the Chairman of the Parliament Alen Simonyan ordered the security guards to enter the chamber and forcefully drag some of the opposition members out. The Parliament looked more like a military garrison than a legislative assembly hall. Simonyan frequently violated the free speech rights of opposition members if they dared to refer to the Prime Minister in a derogatory manner. He ordered that the speakers’ microphones be turned off and the cameras broadcasting the meetings shut off. These draconian measures are unbecoming of a country’s legislature. The ugly scenes of the fistfights were aired by TV stations around the world, embarrassing all Armenians.

As a result, the government’s proposed five-year plan was hardly discussed. Instead, there were repeated attacks by the Parliamentarians both physical and verbal.

In the meantime, Azerbaijan and Turkey, emboldened by their recent victory, and seeing the deep divisions within Armenia, are encroaching on Armenia’s borders and demanding more and more concessions. Armenia’s weakened leader is unable to resist the overbearing demands of Azerbaijan, while Armenia’s military ally, Russia, is pursuing its own interests in coordination with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In conclusion, I would like to make two points that are often debated on social media.

1) At the slightest criticism of Prime Minister Pashinyan, his supporters are quick to admonish the critics by saying that the Diaspora has no right to criticize the Armenian government. I reject such objections because Armenia is the homeland of all Armenians regardless of where they live. Criticism or praise is a sign that the individual cares deeply about his or her homeland rather than take the posture of a disinterested spectator. Why is it that we have the right to express an opinion about developments about any other country in the world, for example Afghanistan, but when it comes to Armenia, our homeland, we have no such right? It is also interesting to note that those who object to criticisms of the Armenian government by Diasporans have no objection when the latter praise Armenia. Therefore, the issue is not having the right to criticize Armenia, but not wanting to hear criticism about the Prime Minister.

2) In my opinion, constructive criticism is much more valuable than the blind support of a leader. Which is more patriotic — seeing something going wrong and keeping our mouths shut or speaking up and trying to correct it? In my opinion, taking corrective action is much more patriotic than remaining silent and allowing the error to continue.

I hope we stop “fiddling,” or in our case, feuding, and joining hands to create a strong Armenia that can withstand the incessant assaults of the barbarians at our gates.

The final flight capped a bloody and chaotic end to the conflict, as fighting and terror attacks amid the evacuation scramble left hundreds dead.

Around 1,200 people had been airlifted from Kabul in the previous 24 hours, a White House spokeswoman said early Monday morning.

But that leaves behind at least 100,000 people, by one estimate, and possibly many more who might be eligible for an expedited U.S. visa but now find themselves in an Afghanistan under the complete control of the Taliban.

Azerbaijan, with the complicity of Turkey, is sending militants from Afghanistan to the occupied part of Nagorno-Karabakh, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Foreign Minister David Babayan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“After the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, some of the Al Qaeda militants were immediately deployed in the Artsakh Republic territories [now] occupied by Azerbaijan. This is done jointly with Turkey, and pursues several goals. Naturally, Turkey wants to save the backbone of its militants whom it uses in various regions, mainly in the Middle East. The deployment of militants in the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh will create serious problems for Russia, Iran, and regional security in general, and is a kind of oversight over Azerbaijan proper. There are already many international terrorist groups—which are not actually overseen by Baku, but overseen by Turkey—in these regions.

Thus, Turkey is strengthening its position in Azerbaijan. Despite the slogans of ‘brotherhood,’ ‘one people, two states,’ Turkey uses levers of force to prevent the ‘brother’ from reconsidering its ‘brotherly relations’ on Ankara’s task.

We see a deeply thought-out geopolitical line where radical terrorist forces are actively used. In order to somehow hide what is happening, information is disseminated about the alleged relocation of Afghan refugees to the occupied part of Nagorno-Karabakh.

We all know that refugees from Afghanistan prefer Western countries. Since [these] refugees are people who have collaborated with the Western coalition in one way or another, they have views that differ from the Taliban regarding public order and state-building in Afghanistan, and they have nothing to do in Azerbaijan, especially in the occupied territories where Azerbaijan is destroying everything, turning those areas into a bridgehead. Therefore, it is necessary for this information to be re-checked by international organizations, and relevant structures of the interested states, taking into account what stability and security threat this transfer of militants poses,” said David Babayan.

It is with a sense of deep pain and tremendous concern that we follow the recent dire events facing the Lebanese Armenian community, brought on by unfolding socio-economic crisis.

As a result of the genocidal efforts by the Turkish Government, many of our brethren found refuge in Lebanon.  Within a short time, through their hard work and determination, the newly established Armenian community was successful in creating a thriving realm of Armenian neighborhoods, schools, churches, and community centers, creating a haven for Armenians, nurturing and educating new generations to uphold Armenian national interests and Christian values. 

In the following decades, the Lebanese Armenian community always stood tall and extended a helping hand to their compatriots in the homeland and diaspora, whenever and wherever a need arose. 

Now, an unprecedented and grave humanitarian crisis looms over Lebanon.   Amidst an unprecedented socio-economic situation, along with the average Lebanese, Armenians are in a state of dire need.   Tragically, children are deprived of milk, while adults cannot even provide bread to their families.   There are shortages of prescription medication, and a lack of fuel and electricity.  Day by day, the deteriorating circumstances are causing even those who work to be unable to secure basic necessities of life.  The conditions to allow for work are lacking.  The Lebanese-Armenian community is in difficult straits.

As a result of the aforementioned crisis, we call on all our people of Armenia and Diaspora, all organizations, and all foundations to financially and benevolently come to the aid of our brothers and sisters in Lebanon, with the aim of easing their plight. 

We urge everyone to make donations to existing fundraising efforts organized by well-established and reliable Armenian entities. Now is the time for all of us to stand together, in solidarity and come to the aid of the Lebanese-Armenian community. 

Pan Armenian Council of Western United States

YEREVAN (Sputnik) – Armenia’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that an intense firefight broke out on the border with Azerbaijan overnight.

“Starting from 12:20 p.m. on August 29 [20:00 GMT August 28], units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire from small arms of various calibers at Armenian positions in the Gegharkunik Province, in particular, in the Sotk village. As a result of the retaliation from the Armenian side, an intense firefight broke out which lasted for about two hours,” the ministry said in a statement.

It is also mentioned that at 2:25 a.m. an ambulance had arrived to the Azerbaijani side, after which the Armenian side ceased fire “allowing the enemy to evacuate the wounded.”

The ministry added that there were no casualties from the Armenian side.

Firefights on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border resumed in late July. Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia violated the ceasefire agreement that was struck in November 2020 after a six-week war broke out between the two countries in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.