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Armenian Americans stage protests in New York and Washington DC against Baku aggression

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NEW YORK NY / WASHINGTON DC – Armenian Americans protested escalating Azerbaijani aggression against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia in New York City and Washington, DC in recent days, in the wake of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s largest attacks since his April, 2016, 4-day offensive that claimed several hundred lives, reported the Armenian National Committee of America – Eastern Region (ANCA-ER).

“President Aliyev’s latest attacks this weekend represent a continuation of the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku from 1988-1990 and 25 years of escalating ceasefire violations that culminated in the April 2016 atrocities – the worst violence seen in decades,” said ANCA-ER Board Member Audrey Mardoian. “We continue to witness the cost – in innocent lives – of the refusal by the U.S. and the international community to clearly and unequivocally condemn President Aliyev’s aggression and put in place clear measures to stop his violence.”

The demonstrations, organized by the ANC of New York and ANC of Greater Washington, in cooperation with the local Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) chapters, were held on February 24th and 26th, respectively, and coincided with the 29th anniversary of the Azerbaijani pogroms against the Armenian population of Sumgait. Those massacres set the stage for similar attacks in Baku in 1990 and a cycle of violence that continues to this day. In Washington, DC, Vice-President Mike Pence’s motorcade passed within feet of protesters. At the end of demonstration, Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church pastor, Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian, led DC-area protesters in a prayer in memory of those who have perished as a result of Azerbaijani aggression.

Also on Sunday, February 26th, the ANC of NY organized a special commemoration of the Sumgait-Baku massacres, hosted by the St. Gregory Mission Parish of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church – Eastern U.S. and held at the Brooklyn Armenian School, with remarks provided by the ANCA Eastern Region’s Artur Martirosyan.

A small group of Azerbaijani counter-protesters converged in both cities, many brandishing the sign of the Grey Wolves, a Turkish terrorist organization.

The latest violence raises additional concerns about reports of Azerbaijan’s impending purchase of the Israeli made “Iron Dome” missile system, which includes sensitive U.S. technology. The ANCA has called on the US State Department to exercise its right to oppose the sale, noting that it will only further embolden President Aliyev to increase his aggression.

“We are here to protest Azerbaijan’s most recent attacks and its pattern of violence going back more than a quarter century,” said AYF Central Hai Tahd Council Chair Lara Ozdemirci. “As Americans, we can and must contribute to peace by challenging Azerbaijan’s aggression, cutting off military aid and arms sales to Baku, deploying gunfire locators along the line of contact, and imposing sanctions on Aliyev and his inner circle.”

Hundreds protested Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım who held a rally in Oberhausen, Germany today.

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German Left Party (Die Linke), Left Party Youth Organization and ‘No’ Platform of Europe have organised a demonstration in the German city of Oberhausen where Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım held a meeting today afternoon.

Demonstrators who gathered at the Oberhausen Central Train Station Haupteingang at 11:00 called for a ‘No’ organisation in European cities for the upcoming referendum against the genocidal policies of the Turkey’s ruling AKP government.

Speakers pointed out that Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP intended to cause a polarization of the migrants, and protested the Turkish state’s political genocide and policies of elimination and annihilation.

Demonstrators later staged a march to the area of Yıldırım’s rally where they united with the demonstration of German Greens (Grüne), chanting “Together against fascism” and “No to fascism, no to dictatorship in Turkey”.

Deadly Baghdad clashes rattle Iraqi leaders

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baghdad-protestIraqi leaders are on a damage control mode a day after clashes between followers of a cleric and police in Baghdad left at least four people dead. 

Influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on his followers to withdraw from a central square in Baghdad where they had gathered to demand political reforms.

“If any of my followers resorts to violence and does not withdraw or engages in an act of sabotage to put security in Baghdad or Iraq in jeopardy, I disavow it,” he wrote on his twitter account.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, meanwhile, called for an investigation into allegations by pro-Sadr sources that eight demonstrators had been killed in the clashes and more than 300 others injured.

The clashes began after thousands gathered in the central Tahrir Square to demand an overhaul of a commission that supervises elections ahead of a provincial poll due in September.

Police tried to disperse them as they attempted to cross the bridge that links the square and the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings, embassies and international organizations.

Several Katyusha rockets then hit the Green Zone on Saturday evening, but there were no casualties, a military spokesman said.

Sadr issued a statement saying the demonstration was peaceful and accused the police of using excessive force. He said his supporters wanted to get near the Green Zone to make their voices heard, and had no intention of storming it again.

An interior ministry statement said guns and knives were found on some protesters. Baghdad Governor Ali al-Tamimi said four protesters were killed in the mayhem.

“The demonstrators tried to cross Jumhuriya Bridge, the security forces fired tear gas to stop them but they insisted,” a senior police official said.

Iraqi news website Alghad Press reported on Sunday that two of the fatalities and 70 of those injured were members of the security forces.

As protesters approached Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone, however, police fired teargas to disperse them.

Some among the crowd, meanwhile, tried to break through a security cordon guarding the main road to Green Zone.

Iraqi Security forces fire tear gas at 1,000s of protesters near Baghdad ‘Green Zone’

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Iraqi security sources have deployed tear gas in Baghdad’s Green Zone against thousands of supporters of influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Protests against corruption, which are also demanding changes in the Iraq’s current election laws, are taking place in the center of the Iraqi capital for the second consecutive day.

On Friday, people gathered in Tahrir Square holding up placards reading: “Peace! No to corrupt authorities.” Similar demonstration took place on Wednesday.

The area, which is also known as the International Zone of Baghdad, is home to the Iraqi parliament, government buildings, and many foreign embassies.

A local activist and journalist posted a photo of one of the alleged victims. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called on the participants in the rally to “abide by the law,” Reuters reported.

Last year, thousands of the cleric’s loyalists staged two major protests just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone. In April of 2016, crowds entered the parliamentary building in the Green Zone, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency in the Iraqi capital.

Al-Sadr became a prominent figure after his so-called Mahdi Army fought US troops during the 2003 invasion. The Iraqi army was dissolved in 2008 and replaced by the Peace Brigades.

Students across US & Canada stage silent protest against Armenian Genocide denial

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On Thursday, February 9th, the All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA) coordinated the annual “Stain of Denial” silent protest against the continuous denial of the Armenian Genocide. The protests were simultaneously held by ASA chapters and affiliated organizations on their respective college and university campuses. “Stain of Denial” was initiated in 2011 as a silent protest in order to raise awareness of the ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide and the need for recognition and reparations.

The students, faculty, and community members who participated on Thursday stressed that the Armenian Genocide is not an issue only reserved for the month of April, but it has a profound effect on Armenians every day. Whereas April 24th is traditionally the day that the world commemorates the Armenian Genocide, the memory of the genocide and its ensuing denial continues to be a daily struggle. The All-ASA prioritizes this campaign because Armenian students in college, where the free interchange of ideas and perspectives is encouraged, continuously find that the denial of their history is an injustice that they are blatantly faced with.

The participating ASA’s have continuously increased throughout the years. This year, Armenian students from various schools in the West coast, East coast, and Canada organized on their respective campuses. The participating schools in this years protests were: UC San Diego, UC Riverside, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Glendale Community College, Pasadena Community College, Occidental College, University of Southern California, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Northridge, Woodbury University, Massachussets College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Emmanel College, Boston University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Suffolk University, Yale University, and Princeton University. For the first time, the protests reached an international scope, with participation from the following Canadian universities: University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and the University of Montreal. Members from the following organization also participated: ARF Shant Student Association, Armenian Youth Federation, Alpha Gamma Alpha, and Alpha Epsilon Omega.

Thousands of Armenian students, community members, and faculty, both Armenian and non-Armenian, took a stand and reiterated that the Armenian Genocide is not just a “day in April,” but a year-round struggle for justice.

The campaign also included an online component, as those who were not able to attend raised awareness through social media, by incorporating the hashtags #StainofDenial, #ArmenianGenocide, and #DivestTurkey into their online posts. While the protests highlighted the history of the Armenian Genocide and the consequences that still continue, it also raised awareness of the #DivestTurkey initiative. This included education about resolutions that ASAs have passed through their student government councils, including both Armenian Genocide recognition and divestment bills, the latter of which targets over $70 million of University of California funds allocated toward the Turkish government.

Armenia protests against extradition of blogger Lapshin arrested in Belarus to Azerbaijan

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armenia-protestArmenia condemned yesterday the attitude of Belarus, a member of two Russian alliances of former Soviet states, for arrested and extradited to Azerbaijan a Russian-Israeli blogger who visited Nagorno-Karabakh several times .

A senior representative of the Republican Party criticized Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and said Yerevan should demand the expulsion of Belarus from one of these blocs: the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Blogger Alexander Lapshin was transported to Baku on Tuesday evening, just after the Belarus Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision authorizing his extradition to Azerbaijan because of his trips to Karabagh. Lukashenko had predicted such a verdict late last week as he firmly defended Lapshin’s arrest in Minsk.

“The persecution of Alexander Lapshin and his extradition to Azerbaijan is a blatant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of speech and movement,” said Tigran Balayan, spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry .

Balayan expressed confidence at the same time that the precedent established by the Belarusian authorities would not discourage foreigners from visiting Karabagh without Baku’s permission. “There is no doubt that the influx of political and public personalities, artists, journalists and tourists into Artsakh will not stop but, on the contrary, will multiply,” he said. a statement.

The extradition of Lapshin provoked a storm of criticism in the Armenian Parliament yesterday morning. Deputies representing the HHK launched unprecedented verbal attacks against Lukashenko. The deputy speaker of parliament, Eduard Sharmazanov, who is also the main spokesman for the HHK, said it was the result of a “dirty deal” with Baku.

“As Co-Chair of the Armenian-Belarusian Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, I say on behalf of our committee that this is a shameful decision that does not stem from the logic of a peaceful settlement of Karabakh,” insisted Sharmazanov in the Parliament. “It is a movement against Russia, Armenia, and the peaceful settlement of the conflict.”

“No democratic regime could have taken such a step,” Sharmazanov added, clearly referring to the fact that Lukashenko has long been heavily criticized by Western powers and non-governmental watchdogs regarding human rights.

Vahram Baghdasarian, parliamentary leader of the HHK, accused Lukashenko of extraditing Lapshin to Azerbaijan in exchange for an Azerbaijani state medal he received from President Ilham Aliyev during a visit to Baku in November . The blogger was arrested two weeks after the visit.

Baghdasarian rejected some calls by opposition politicians to Armenia to suspend its membership in the CSTO. “We should rather raise the issue of ending Belarus’s membership in the CSTO,” he said.

The Russian government has on several occasions warned Minsk against the extradition of its citizen. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed yesterday its “deep disappointment”, saying that the extradition “does not correspond to the spirit of the alliance between Russia and Belarus.”

The Azerbaijani authorities claiming that Lapshin illegally entered the “occupied territories of Azerbaijan” when he visited Karabakh in 2011 and 2012 without their authorization. The 40-year-old, who holds Israeli, Russian and Ukrainian passports, has written extensive travel reports on his Russian-language blog.

Baku officially listed 600 non-Armenian foreigners who traveled to Karabakh from Armenia. The black list includes 180 journalists.

U.S. Armenians protest crackdown on journalist who visited Karabakh

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The Armenian National Committees of Greater Washington (ANC of GW) and New York (ANC of New York) on Sunday, January 29 held simultaneous protests in front of Belarus’ diplomatic missions in Washington, DC and New York City demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the Russian-Israeli blogger Alexandr Lapshin.

Lapshin currently faces extradition from Belarus to Azerbaijan for traveling and reporting from Nagorno Karabakh and speaking critically of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s dictatorial regime.

The gathered voiced their discontent and outrage over Azerbaijan’s continuous assault against free media and journalists over the past several years, with Lapshin being the latest victim.

“We condemn in the strongest terms any attempt to silence or intimidate journalists and individuals who travel to the free and independent Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh),” said ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian.

“Azerbaijan and Belarus are two of Europe’s last remaining dictatorships and for us it is absolutely unacceptable to silence journalists for speaking up about human rights offences or for expressing their support for the free and democratic Republic of Artsakh. We also call upon the United States government to take a strong stance on this issue in solidarity with the people of Nagorno Karabakh Republic, our democratic and reliable ally in the region.”

On December 15, 2016, police in Belarus detained Lapshin, a popular travel blogger based in Moscow, for his prior visits to Karabakh and for his criticism of the Aliyev regime. In his postings, Lapshin had expressed support for the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh. On January 20, 2017, at President Aliyev’s request, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus decided to have Lapshin extradited to Azerbaijan. An appeal to the ruling was recently denied.

Both Israeli and Russian diplomatic missions have made representations calling for Lapshin’s release and opposing the extradition. Lapshin was reported to be “in poor mental health,” “depressed,” and under pressure from Belarussian officials to agree to voluntary extradition.

Azerbaijan has declared 180 journalists personae non gratae – meaning they cannot enter the country – because of prior visits to the Republic of Artsakh.

Tens of thousands rally in Bucharest to protest planned changes to criminal law

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Tens of thousands packed the Bucharest University plaza starting at 17:00 hrs to protest the planned pardon ordinance and the amendment of the Criminal Codes, chanting slogans, carrying tricolor banners and placards reading “Mandated to represent, not to abuse,” “Crime gang, off to court”, “NO to pardon, YES to schools and hospitals”, “Referendum”, “Stop Corruption”, “No convicts at rule!”,” Dragnea tatters Romania!”, “PSD – the red plague!”

The crowds then swarmed towards Unirii Square, heading for the seat of the Justice Ministry.

The gendarmes are calling through loudspeakers to the mass of people to observe public order and not turn violent. AGERPRES (RO — author: Daniel Alexandru Florea, editor: Florin Marin; EN — author/editor: Simona Klodnischi)

Source: https://www.agerpres.ro/english/2017/01/29/tens-of-thousands-rally-in-bucharest-to-protest-planned-changes-to-criminal-law-19-21-54

Turkish people had enough with Dictator Erdogan Uprising in Progress

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Riot police scuffle with protesters trying to march to the Turkish Parliament as the lawmakers gather to debate the proposed constitutional changes in Ankara, Turkey, on January 9, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Turkish riot police have used teargas and water cannons to scatter hundreds of people staging a protest against planned changes to the country’s constitution that would envisage expanded powers for Turkey’s president.

Violence erupted on Monday after protesters from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkish Lawyers Association and several other non-governmental organizations had gathered outside Turkey’s parliament in the capital, Ankara, to voice their anger at a new draft constitution granting additional executive powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The amendments had been proposed earlier in the day, aiming to hand Erdogan greater authority as president and the possibility of serving two more five-year terms in office.

“They are trying to turn the democratic parliamentary regime into a totalitarian regime,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the opposition CHP leader, who was among the participants in the protest rally.

Witnesses said many of the protesters were forced back by Turkish police along a main road away from the gates to the parliament compound.

On December 30, 2016, the draft law, submitted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), passed the Turkish parliament’s constitutional commission.

Debate on the proposals is expected to last for two weeks and upon approval by the legislature, the reformed constitution will be put to a referendum before the spring.

Supporters of the draft say such a law would enable the head of state to restore stability to the country, which has been shaken by sporadic deadly terror attacks and a botched military coup last July.

Critics, however, denounce it as a means of restoration of the Ottoman Era powers to Erdogan, whom they see as an authoritarian figure.

The draft, if approved, would allow Erdogan to stay in office for two more terms until 2029, pave the way for the abolition of the post of prime minister, in which Erdogan himself served from 2003 until 2014, and enable the appointment of vice presidents.

It will also empower the president to hire and fire ministers.

Other proposed amendments would increase the number of seats in the 550-member parliament to 600, reduce the minimum age of legislators from 25 to 18 and set parliamentary and presidential elections on the same day.

The ruling AKP, which currently has 317 seats in the parliament, needs a majority of 330 out of the 550 seats available to call a referendum on the draft law.

New wave of protests in Istanbul

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A wave of protest actions started in the center of Istanbul after a footage of humiliation and burning of two Turkish soldiers captured by ISIL militants appeared on the web.

According to Cumhuriyet, the protesters gathered in Taksim square demanding the return of Turkish troops from Syria as people and soldiers are suffering because of government’s mistakes.

“We will not let blood spill in Syria anymore,” the demonstrators said.

Police dispersed the crowd by using force.