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Karabakh President invites Obama, Putin and Hollande to Artsakh

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300x300Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), or Artsakh, President Bako Sahakyan has extended invitations—by way of the representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries—to Presidents Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and François Hollande of the US, Russia and France, respectively.

“In our view, the leaders of the [three] co-chairing countries cannot achieve a great success in dealing with the fate of a country, a people, without having direct contacts with that country.

“Today, too, we find that this is one of the biggest shortfalls in the activities carried out by the international community,” the NKR President told the Voice of America radio.

 

Source: news.am

‘Karabakh: Peaceful Life Next to War Ghosts’ – VOA film features second Armenian republic (Video)

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Voa filmThe Voice of America has released documentary about Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), referring back to the history of the land dispute and its value for the Armenians.

The movie, entitled “Karabakh: Peaceful Life Next to War Ghosts”, raises the voice of the Artsakh people who aren’t willing to hear a word about the continuing peace talks. “What is just a territory for the international community is a sacred fatherland for us,” they are quoted as saying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5747OPGy1EA

Armenia Slams Azerbaijan in Minsk Group Meeting

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nalb-minskYEREVAN—Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian harshly criticized Azerbaijan for its “destructive position and unwillingness to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” as he met with the US, Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on Friday in Yerevan.

The Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement that the meeting was held in preparation of another meeting to be held between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in late October in Paris.

Nalbandian was said to have drawn the attention of the co-chairs to the fact that Azerbaijan has again raised tension along the border with Armenia and the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh ahead of the Paris meeting. He said Baku has made this a tradition.

According to Nalbandian, Azerbaijan on the one hand is trying to push the negotiations to another ground, while on the other hand trying to disrupt the processes mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group which is aimed at the harmonization of fundamental principles of the settlement, backed by statements made by the heads of the co-chairing countries.

Nalbandian reiterated Armenia’s readiness to continue joint efforts with the OSCE Minsk Group for an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh issue.

Baku talks “major peace agreement” ahead of Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting

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October 15, 2014

183561It is Baku’s wish that every meeting on the Karabakh conflict settlement were effective to get the process off the ground, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said, adding that Azerbaijan is ready to start working on a “major peace agreement,” Trend reported.

As Mammadyarov noted, a number of proposals were put forth for the establishment of working groups to deal with the return of refugees, transportation and infrastructure issues.

“Azerbaijan is ready to begin such negotiations at the expert level,” the Minister said. “We expect a response from the Armenian side.”

Paris is expected to host a meeting between Armenian and Azeri leaders Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev on October 27.

Baku repeatedly expressed “readiness to ink a peace deal,” instead, undermining every attempt to reach an agreement. Thus on June 24, 2011 during conflict settlement talks in Kazan, Baku refused to sign the basic principles for conflict settlement. Instead, the Azerbaijani leader attempted to impose 10 new proposals, thus precluding the possibility of any agreement.

Azerbaijan shells Armenian border village

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ChinariAzerbaijan’s armed troops opened fire on the north-eastern border village of Chinari (Tavush region) on Tuesday, Tert.am has learned from the community’s governor.

Samvel Sahhoyan said that the gunshots, heard early in the morning, did not fortunately cause any damage or loss.
“The gunshots were in the morning. They have stopped now; we don’t have any damage or ruin,” he told our correspondent.

Karabakh serviceman dies in Azeri sniper attack

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183047Karabakh serviceman David Navasardyan, was killed in Azeri sniper attack on Monday, Oct 1.

The soldier received a gunshot wound in the head at the military unit of the Nagorno Karabakh defense army. An investigation is underway to clarify the details of the incident.

Over the past three months, repeated Azeri attacks against Armenia and Karabakh have resulted in over 20 deaths at the line of contact.

Nalbandian: Azerbaijan tries to move negotiation process to other formats

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Nalbandian-azerbaijanAzerbaijan tries to move the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process to other formats, where there is no deep understanding of that problem, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a joint press conference with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

“Azerbaijan is not ready for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the norms and principles of international law,” the Minister said.

The OSCE Minsk Group is not among the organizations named by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister in his speech at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, Nalbandian noted, adding that the organizations mentioned by the Azerbaijani FM
not only do not have that mandate, but they do not deal with such issues.

 

Armenia Fund: Achieving True Victory in War

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The-Newly-Constructed-Chapar-SchoolIn Chapar, a northern village in Artsakh, Armenia Fund has constructed a new school with modern amenities to serve the local population. During the time Armenia Fund has realized many projects in and around the area, 15 families have moved back and resettled in the village.

Fourteen year old boys usually have less serious things on their mind.

The ceasefire negotiations were underway and an independent Artsakh was in sight. On the verge of a monumental defeat, Azerbaijan, suffering from embarrassingly disproportionate military losses, chose to continue its hostilities. One of the targets for Azerbaijan’s special forces was the civilian population of Chapar village in northern Artsakh’s Martakert region. As recorded by Human Rights Watch, six Armenian civilians, including one 14-year old boy, were killed.

One of Artsakh’s oldest communities, picturesque Chapar is in northern Artsakh, close to the militarized border and the Azerbaijani-occupied Armenian region of Shahumian. Armenia Fund chose the village of 300 residents for the location a new school as a part of its Rural Development Program. The building of the new school was co-sponsored by the government of the Artsakh Republic.

4The school is built with the future in mind, bearing accommodations that will allow students to have a holistic educational experience. Among the different facilities are included biology and chemistry labs, a computer lab, and a library. A unique feature at the school that speaks to its precarious geography – and with a nod to its history – is a classroom specially built for military studies.

Spanning over 10,000 square feet, the school’s campus also houses a grass sports field, as well as an outdoor playground. For Chapar’s cold winters, a boiler room was installed so that the children and faculty could benefit from central heating and not have to limit class time for lack of it.

Despite now having a brand new building outfitted with the most modern educational equipment, Chapar School’s most valued possession is distinctly antiquated: a hundred year old bell. Having survived through some of the most tumultuous times in Armenian history, the bell will hang proudly from the new building where it will continue to see off the school’s graduates in the spring and welcome new students in the fall.

This is not Chapar’s first experience with Armenia Fund. In 2012, a water pipeline almost 2.5 miles long was installed and has since provided the village with regular access to drinkable water.

Chapar is also one of the locations along the new Vardenis-Martakert Highway which is being constructed by Armenia Fund with donations from Armenians throughout the world. These developments, together with the new school and a general improvement in the village’s conditions have encouraged 15 families that had left to return and continue their lives there.

In fact, in addition to the traditional trades of the villages, which include beekeeping, animal husbandry, and agriculture, many of the village’s residents have been hired to work on the Armenia Fund infrastructure projects in and around their homes.

We can’t know what the 14-year old boy who was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers would have been if he was able to grow up. But, by continuing to build the communities that were destroyed by the War for Independence and which continue to live on the razor’s edge, we can ensure that his innocent life, and that of many others like him, was not lost in vain. The real victory in war is giving the fourteen year olds of today and tomorrow that which the ones from yesterday did not have.

Karabakh Foreign Ministry welcomes referendum on Scotland independence

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on-scotlandSTEPANAKERT. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Republic of Artsakh) welcomes the holding of a referendum on the independence of Scotland.

Irrespective of the results, the referendum in Scotland is one more precedent enriching the world practice of realization of the right of peoples to self-determination and confirming once again the obvious fact that the recognition of the right of peoples to decide their own fate is a norm in a democratic society, the NKR Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“In this connection, we consider it necessary to remind that it was the breach of the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijan that led to the mass violations of human rights and deportation of the Armenian population of Azerbaijan, followed by the full-scale aggression of Azerbaijan against the NKR, as a result of which tens of thousands of people were killed, and hundreds of thousands became refugees.

The international recognition of the will of the people of Artsakh, realized in 1991 and affirmed in 2006, will ensure the irreversibility of the peaceful process and will allow focusing efforts on elaborating the necessary mechanisms and conditions for peaceful co-existence of two independent states – the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan that emerged as a result of the collapse of the USSR and the war imposed by Azerbaijan”.

As reported earlier, 55.3 percent of the Scottish voters rejected independence and voted for being a part of the UK.

Karabakh serviceman killed in Azeri sniper attack

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182572Armenian serviceman Mher Hakobyan, 24, was killed in Azeri sniper attack on Thursday, Sept 18, 9:15am.

The soldier received a lethal injury at the military outpost located in the southern direction of the line of contact between the armed forces of Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

An investigation is underway to clarify the details of the incident, Nagorno Karabakh Defense Ministry press service said.

 

 

Fallen Armenian soldier’s case will not go unpunished – Defense Minister

YEREVAN. – The military serviceman’s killing, on the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact on Thursday, is a result of the fact that the adversary is not withdrawing its snipers.Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan told the aforesaid to reporters.

“[But] these violations go unanswered in international arena every time. Armenia and the NKR [Nagorno-Karabakh Republic] Defense Ministry and Defense Army analyze these incidents; I’m sure it will not go unpunished.

“The life of each soldier, [each military] officer is very precious for us; they [Azerbaijan] are the ones that do not value the lives of their soldiers,” the minister said.

The aforementioned fallen military serviceman, Senior Lieutenant Mher Hakobyan, was from Vanadzor, Armenia.