occupation Archives

Karabakh has been a victim of occupation for 70 years: President

March 31, 2016 By administrator

President Serzh Sargsyan on March 30 visited the Kennedy School of the Harvard University

In the framework of his working visit to the United States, President Serzh Sargsyan on March 30 visited the Kennedy School of the Harvard University where he met with the Armenian students. At the School of Governance, the President gave a lecture followed by a Q&A session.

Dwelling upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Armenian leader made a reference to the frequent use of the word “occupation” in this context. Sargsyan said, in particular:

“Without entering into the realm of history, I have to make a small observation here. Those who use the word “occupation,” often forget that Karabakh was a victim of occupation for 70 years. I have a question for all those who consciously or unconsciously use the word “occupation:” what was Karabakh’s annexation to Azerbaijan in 1921 thanks to Stalin, if not occupation? After receiving this generous gift, Azerbaijan, instead of creating normal conditions for the people and using soft-power tools, created such unbearable conditions that the people of Nagorno Karabakh were the first to rise up, noticing signs of weakening Soviet power. The protests of 1988 were so powerful that the beginning of the collapse of the USSR is commonly associated with the Karabakh Movement. The initial occupation was the very cause of the conflict. Hence, Nagorno Karabakh has nothing to do with the notion of territorial integrity of the present-day Azerbaijan.”

According to the President, Armenians had a firsthand experience of Azerbaijan’s policy of complete depopulation of Nagorno Karabakh from Armenians. “There was indeed the bitter precedent of Nakhijevan—another region populated by Armenians. In addition to driving out the Armenian population, the precious cultural legacy of the Jugha khachkars was barbarically destroyed in 2005. Not even a tiny piece, not even a crumb of the marvelous medieval treasure survived. The whole region has been cleansed of Armenians and all traces of Armenian culture,” Sargsyan said.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

Greece puts a price tag on WW2 reparations: 279 billion euros

April 7, 2015 By administrator

Athens has said Germany should pay nearly 279 billion euros in compensation for the Nazi occupation of the country. The claim comes as Greece faces demands from the IMF to introduce more pension cuts and raise taxes.

Greece demanded 278.7 billion euros ($304.74) from Germany as compensation for damages it incurred during World War Two, Athens deputy finance minister Dimitris Mardas said while speaking to a parliamentary committee on Monday.

According to calculations by Greece’s General Accounting Office, reparations amounted to 278.7 billion euros, a sum which a parliamentary panel set up by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was trying to claim from Germany.

This is the first time the Greek government quantified its claims, which included seeking war reparations and a so-called occupation loan that Nazi Germany forced the Bank of Greece to make. Athens also demanded that Berlin return its stolen archaeological treasures.

Germany has rejected Athens’ demands, saying it settled the matter with a general compensation payment of 115 million deutschmarks in 1960. However, the issue continues to mar Greek-German relations and has gained more momentum amid Greece’s economic crisis and its government’s refusal to implement austerity measures.

Debtors had been concerned after speculation that Athens may default on its repayment of 450 million euros, due on April 9. However IMF chief Christine Lagarde announced that Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had confirmed his country would pay back the money. Varoufakis also said his country would try to seal an initial deal with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund by April 24.

Greece’s finance ministry has said the IMF is demanding that the government introduce more pension cuts and hike VAT as part of its reforms. Prime Minister Tsipras and his Syriza party, however, say they worry that such a cut may impact their voter base – voters who put Syriza in charge because of the party’s opposition to austerity measures.

European Union countries have also expressed concern about rumors that Tsipras may look for help from Russia, which he is scheduled to visit on April 8.

Finance Minister Varoufakis has assured critics that his country’s woes could only be solved within the “European family” and that discussions with Moscow will focus only on bilateral trade and investment.

mg/gsw (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

Iraq: 2003-2011: Half million Iraqis died in war, occupation

October 16, 2013 By administrator

Iraqis gather at the site of a car bomb explosion in Baghdad’s al-Sadriyah neighborhood, 18 April 2007, in which over a hundred people were killed. (AFP Photo / Ahmad al-Rubaye)
Almost half a million deaths in Iraq between 2003 and 2011 were caused by war and occupation, according to new research. The figure is around four times bigger than most previous estimates.

An estimated 460,000 deaths in Iraq from March 2003 to mid-2011 were caused by violence during the war with the US and the subsequent occupation by coalition forces, according to a statistical research published in PLOS (Public Library of Science) Medicine journal, an open access source.

Of those excess deaths, 35 percent are attributed to coalition forces, 32 percent to sectarian militias and 11 percent to criminals. The survey further details that the majority of violent deaths – 63 percent – were the result of gunfire and 12 percent from bombings.

The authors of the report claim their “findings provide the most up-to-date estimates of the death toll of the Iraq war and subsequent conflict,” as they carefully studied previous surveys on the issue and took into account the criticism which they inspired.

A group of interviewers collected data on deaths of family members from 2,000 randomly-selected households in 100 geographical clusters, situated in Iraq’s 18 governorates. The researchers then extrapolated the figures they received to the overall population of Iraq, an estimated 32 million, to come up with their estimate of Iraq’s national death toll.

The authors of the research argue they used more sophisticated methods than scholars who did their surveys earlier, but were still aware of the fact that any such estimates were “associated with substantial uncertainties.”

“One of the problems clearly is that we’re asking people to remember a very long period of time,” lead author, Amy Hagopian, an associate professor of global health at the University of Washington, told Los Angeles Times. “There can be a lot of forgetting, and that forgetting will be in favor of a lower count.”

A fresh analysis of the deaths in the Iraqi war has a strong anti-war message, the authors of the study believe.

“When researchers can refine methods to project death counts in advance, as well as to measure total deaths incurred as wars conclude, the public can make wiser decisions about the costs of entering into armed conflict. An authoritative worldwide body could assemble scholars to perfect these methods,” the conclusion to the survey reads.

Most of the previous estimates came up with figures that were several times lower. According to British-based Iraq Body Count research group, for example, 118,200 Iraqis died of violence between 2003 and 2011.

However, PLOS Medicine journal is not the first to make public much higher number of Iraq war casualties. A 2006 report in the authoritative The Lancet medical journal estimated 654,965 excess deaths (or 2.5 percent of the population) related to the war in between 2003 and mid-2006.

Meanwhile the body count continues in Iraq as blasts and shootings are almost a daily reality there 10 years after the US invasion.

The beginning of October saw a string of coordinated bombs attacks kill 38 people in Baghdad, the epicenter of ongoing violence.

The most recent UN report says the death toll for September alone is 1,000 Iraqis.

The country is witnessing an upsurge of violence this year, following a deadly crackdown by the Shiite-led government on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq in April. Five thousand Iraqis have died since that time.