EU: Parliament adopts by a large majority a resolution recognizing the “Nagorno-Karabakh region” the right to self-determination

July 7, 2017 By administrator

EU Parliament adopts recognizing the "Nagorno-Karabakh region" On Wednesday 5 July (457 votes in favor, 124 against and 66 abstentions), the European Parliament adopted a resolution entitled “Recommendation of the European Parliament of 5 July 2017 to the Council on the seventy-second session of the General Assembly Of the United Nations, “in which paragraph (a) of the Peace and Security item refers to the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh as follows:

“Continue to advocate full respect for the sovereignty, internationally recognized borders and the territorial integrity of the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, in particular Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, Violations of international law committed in those regions; Support and re-launch diplomatic efforts to achieve a peaceful and lasting settlement of these ongoing and long-lasting conflicts and the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and to enforce human rights on the ground. Human rights, territorial integrity, the non-use of force and the equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination; Urging the international community to fully implement the policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of the Crimea; To actively strengthen the pressure on Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to resolve the conflict in Ukraine in accordance with the Minsk accords and the problem of the occupation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Ossetia from South ; Seek a political balance that rejects all the aspirations of exclusive spheres of influence; “

MEPs explicitly recognize the right to self-determination of the “Nagorno-Karabakh region” and if they are committed to “respect for the territorial integrity of the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus”, they insist Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine “, three Eastern Partnership states that have signed an association agreement with Brussels. But they do not explicitly mention Azerbaijan and Armenia, as Nagorno-Karabakh. Since the question of Artsakh (Karabakh in Armenian) concerns in law, the principle of self-determination of the Armenians in this region, mentioning only “Nagorno Karabakh” shows at the same time That this Republic of Artsakh is a party to the conflict, that Armenia is not, as stipulated in the 4 resolutions of the UN Security Council and that Azerbaijan does not see its territorial integrity specially mentioned. At this stage, it is a step forward for the rights of Armenians in Arsatkh, presumably because Azerbaijan is multiplying human rights violations, aggression against Armenians and acts of intimidation against Members of the European Parliament. But this vote is also due to the fact that Armenia is about to sign an association agreement with Brussels in November 2017, if all goes well. And as Moscow and Brussels seek to overcome their differences, Armenia has in this perspective a card to play.

Writing

Friday, July 7, 2017,
Ara © armenews.com

Armenia President thanks German President, Chancellor and Bundestag President

June 2, 2016 By administrator

sargiyan and merkel 400 YEREVAN. – President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan sent letters of thanks to the President of Federal Republic of Germany Joachim Gauck, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and Bundestag President Norbert Lammert on occasion of the adoption of the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

The President expressed gratitude to them, as well as all the political and public forces of Germany which had their final word in this issue. Sargsyan expressed conviction that the resolution will play its unique role in the recognition and prevention of genocides.

“The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by German’s Bundestag was indeed a historic step not only for Armenia and Armenian people, Germany and German people, but also the entire civilized world. It symbolizes democracy and supremacy of universal values, stressing the consistent role of Germany in maintaining those values. It is a message to the entire world on that the 100-year-old crimes are not only not forgotten, but also condemned and with accurate description,” the President’s letter reads.

Armenia: Yerevan Sends Draft Bill To Parliament On Recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh

May 7, 2016 By administrator

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By RFE/RL

Armenia’s government has approved a bill drafted by opposition lawmakers that calls for Yerevan to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The draft bill was sent to lawmakers on May 5 for debate.

In the past, the Armenian government has blocked previous proposals. But analysts say the government gave the green light this time mainly as a warning to Azerbaijan following a recent flare-up in fighting.

Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said the legislation would only be brought to a vote if Azerbaijan launched new attacks.

A parliamentary session to discuss the issue was called for May 10.

Azerbaijan condemned the Armenian initiative, which it said was aimed at scuttling international peace talks.

The Kremlin said on May 5 that it was monitoring the situation closely.

“We as before are counting on both sides of the conflict to avoid any steps that could destroy the rather fragile cease-fire and lead to an escalation of tensions in Karabakh,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Baku and Yerevan have been locked in a standoff over the breakaway region for more than two decades.

On April 2, Nagorno-Karabakh saw its worst violence since a shaky cease-fire was reached in 1994 between Azerbaijan and the Armenian-backed separatists.

About 75 soldiers from both sides were killed in April, along with several civilians.

A fresh Russian-brokered cease-fire deal went into effect on April 5 but has increasingly been violated since late April.

And there are fears of a possible escalation, with Turkey strongly backing Azerbaijan and Russia obliged to protect Armenia by a mutual security pact.

Armenia-backed separatists declared the region’s independence and seized the mainly ethnic-Armenian-populated region during a war in the late 1980s and early ’90s that killed about 30,000 people.

But Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence has never been recognized by any country.

Peace talks under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have dragged on for two decades without producing any tangible results.

With reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax

Armenia close to recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh – analyst

April 28, 2016 By administrator

The landmark moment for Armenia to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence is drawing near, says Stepan Grigoryan, a Yerevan-based political analyst.

According to him the process requires an appropriate consideration and timing. “Recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence implies automatically abandoning [the OSCE Minsk Group] format. Azerbaijan has embarked on diplomatic processes to unilaterally withdraw from earlier arrangements. Hence I don’t think we should be the side responsible for dismantling that format. But the moment of recognition is definitely drawing near,” he said.

Asked to comment on the necessary political efforts for Armenia, Grigoryan said he sees quite a lot of steps ahead.

“I have given recommendations many times before, but I see very little feedback. On April 2, for example, I said that Armenia should apply to the UN Security Council, calling for an ad hoc session and coordinating the plan with the Minsk Group. ”

As to why the Minsk Group is silent while it sees Azerbaijan attacking civilians, Mr Grigoryan said that it is now difficult to identify the conflicting party responsible for the escalation, whereas it was much easier to do on April 2, but was not done.

“When Azerbaijan launched hostilities, regrettably no one condemned Azerbaijan. And now that Azerbaijan resorts to provocations, our forces retaliate – and they are right – and it is difficult to say for certain. When the very first ceasefire violations take place, it is quite easy to identify the part responsible for that. Regrettably, the international community had not the strength to tell the truth,” Mr Grigoryan said.

It is the lack of necessary statements that are the cause of the current confrontation.

Reckless Retreat: Obama Not to Recognize Genocide in Final Term

April 21, 2016 By administrator

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan taps President Obama’s face

ANCA’s Hamparian: “This, sadly, is President Obama’s legacy – silence on the Armenian Genocide, complicity in Turkey’s denials, and encouragement of Azerbaijani aggression.”

WASHINGTON – White House National Security Council officials informed the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Thursday afternoon that President Obama will refrain from properly commemorating the Armenian Genocide, as he had promised to do as a candidate, in his eighth and final “Armenian Remembrance Day” statement, set to be released in the next few days.

“It seems President Obama will end his tenure as he began it, caving in to pressure from Turkey and betraying his commitment to speak honestly about the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who met with the officials along with Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian.

“President Obama’s unwillingness to reject Turkey’s gag-rule on the Armenian Genocide or otherwise confront the growing regional wave of anti-Armenian aggression – particularly at a time when both Ankara and Baku are placing targets on the backs of Armenians in Artsakh, Armenia, Turkey, the Middle East, and across our Diaspora – represents something far worse than simply a betrayal of his own promise. His reckless retreat from America’s anti-genocide commitments – under pressure from Turkey and Azerbaijan – in the face of their open incitement, outright aggression, and other classic genocide red flags – emboldens Erdogan and Aliyev to escalate their hostility, raising the very real risk of large-scale anti-Armenian atrocities. This, sadly, is President Obama’s legacy – silence on the Armenian Genocide, complicity in Turkey’s denials, and encouragement of Azerbaijani aggression,” continued Hamparian.

Prior to his election to the oval office, President Obama was clear and unequivocal in promising to properly characterize Ottoman Turkey’s murder of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children between 1915 and 1923 as genocide. In a January 19, 2008, statement he wrote: “The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

President Obama has broken that pledge in annual Armenian Remembrance Day statements issued on or near April 24th, the international day of commemoration of this crime.

The U.S. first recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1951 through a filing which was included in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Report titled: “Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.” The specific reference to the Armenian Genocide appears on page 25 of the ICJ Report: “The Genocide Convention resulted from the inhuman and barbarous practices which prevailed in certain countries prior to and during World War II, when entire religious, racial and national minority groups were threatened with and subjected to deliberate extermination. The practice of genocide has occurred throughout human history. The Roman persecution of the Christians, the Turkish massacres of Armenians, the extermination of millions of Jews and Poles by the Nazis are outstanding examples of the crime of genocide.”

President Ronald Reagan reaffirmed the Armenian Genocide in 1981. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted legislation on the Armenian Genocide in 1975, 1984 and 1996.

Political Response: Armenian lawmakers consider possibility of recognizing Karabakh

April 5, 2016 By administrator

Sharmazanov-RA-NA By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

President Serzh Sargsyan’s instruction to the Foreign Ministry to work toward signing a military cooperation agreement with Karabakh can serve as a basis for recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Armenian parliamentarians.

“The Republic of Armenia, as a party to the 1994 Ceasefire Agreement, will continue to fully implement its obligations to ensure the security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with Nagorno-Karabakh to elaborate an agreement on mutual military assistance. And here I would like to state what I have declared on many occasions – should military actions continue and escalate into larger scales, the Republic of Armenia will recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Sargsyan.

According to political analysts, military assistance agreement is the first step in the recognition of Artsakh. The bill on NKR recognition proposed by the Heritage party has repeatedly been rejected by the National Assembly on the grounds that it will fail the negotiation process. However, many politicians believe that Armenia today must recognize the independence of Karabakh as Azerbaijan has come out of the negotiation process.

“The world already acknowledges that hostilities have been renewed by Azerbaijan. By doing that the latter has rejected the 1994 agreements, and actually brought itself out of the negotiation process. Until now we were told that the recognition would mean a rejection of the negotiation process. But the negotiation process no longer exists, because Azerbaijan is not in that process:

Azerbaijan has found itself at war,” said former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan, who is an MP representing the opposition Armenian National Congress faction.

Eduard Sharmazanov, the National Assembly’s Deputy Speaker and spokesperson for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), said that the text of the treaty after being drafted by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, will be sent to the National Assembly of Armenia. According to him, the treaty after being signed may serve as grounds for recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia.

“This agreement will also serve as a basis for international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Our goal is international recognition of Artsakh, and sooner or later we will achieve it. Our goal has never been a unilateral recognition, our goal is that the people of the NKR have access to the international law according to international norms,” said Sharmazanov.

To address this question in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty NKR Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan said: “In this situation it would be right to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh by the international community, because experience shows that it is the only effective way to curb Azerbaijan’s ambitions.”

Political analyst Alexander Iskandaryan believes that now it is not the time for fighting with documents: recognition of the NKR’s independence is a document.

“I do not think that recognition will help to repel Azerbaijan, or will change the course of hostilities: Azerbaijan will not stop the war, on the contrary, large-scale hostilities will begin. It is clear that Armenia is the guarantor of the NKR’s security. It supports Nagorno-Karabakh irrespective of the fact of recognition. That could be a political act, but now the situation is different, it is not time for that,” said Iskandaryan.

Minister: Vietnam considers possibility of recognizing Armenian Genocide

October 23, 2015 By administrator

YEREVAN. – Vietnam considers possibility of recognizing Armenian Genocide, Vietnam’s Justice Minister Ha Hung Cưong said during his visit to Yerevan.

“We consider possibility of recognizing Armenian Genocide. On the whole Vietnam condemns genocide against any nation,” the Minister told Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent after visiting Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.

Speaking about relations between the states, Ha Hung Cưong described them as friendly. During the war in Vietnam, Armenia helped in manpower training. Many of the students who got education in Armenia are still working in state institutions and different organizations in Vietnam, he assured.

Armenia MFA welcomes Brazil Senate resolution acknowledging Armenian Genocide

May 29, 2015 By administrator

Armenia’s FM Edward Nalbandian

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s FM Edward Nalbandian issued a statement regarding the acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide by the Federal Senate of Brazil.

The statement reads:

“The irrevocable process of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is in the process.

Armenia welcomes the adoption of the resolution on the acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide by the Federal Senate of the Federative Republic of Brazil.

By the adoption of this resolution, Brazil made a significant contribution to the efforts of the international community in preventing genocides and crimes against humanity.”

The Federal Senate of Brazil unanimously adopted a resolution officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide on Wednesday.

Armenian hopes crushed as Obama decides not to use the word ‘genocide’

April 22, 2015 By administrator

By Noah Bierman contact the reporter

White House officials have decided that President Obama will not use the word “genocide” to describe the killings of more than 1 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks when he commemorates the deaths Friday, the 100th anniversary of the massacres.

The decision, revealed Tuesday in a meeting with Armenian American groups, backs down from a previous Obama pledge.

“As president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide,” Obama said while running for president in 2008. Report LATime

His decision not to do so now sparked anger from activists.

“The president’s surrender represents a national disgrace,” said Aram S. Hamparian, executive director of the Washington-based Armenian National Committee of America. “It is a betrayal of the truth, and it is a betrayal of trust.”

White House officials defended the decision as necessary to preserve the chance of cooperation with Turkey, a NATO ally, on Middle Eastern conflicts.

The Turkish Embassy, which has spent millions lobbying Congress on the issue, did not respond to a request for comment. the Turkish government has said that the mass killings do not meet the legal definition of genocide and that it would be a mistake for the U.S. to use the term. Some members of Congress have also warned that a shift in official U.S. references could hurt American foreign policy.

California has the country’s largest population of people of Armenian descent, with more than 200,000 living in Los Angeles County, according to U.S. Census data.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who has led efforts in Congress to recognize the genocide, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision.

“How long must the victims and their families wait before our nation has the courage to confront Turkey with the truth about the murderous past of the Ottoman Empire? If not this president, who spoke so eloquently and passionately about recognition in the past, whom? If not after 100 years, when?” he said in a statement.

After the meeting with Armenian American groups, White House officials released a statement that did not use the word “genocide.” The statement from National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said the U.S. would use the anniversary of the onset of the massacres to “urge a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts that we believe is in the interest of all parties.”

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comment on a diplomatically delicate issue, said the White House expects Obama to mark “the historical significance” of the Meds Yeghern, as the massacres are known in Armenian.

“We know and respect that there are some who are hoping to hear different language this year. We understand their perspective,” the official said.

But, the official added, “the approach we have taken in previous years remains the right one, both for acknowledging the past, and for our ability to work with regional partners to save lives in the present,” a reference to U.S. hope for cooperation from Turkey, particularly in the civil war in Syria.
White House national security advisor Susan Rice met Tuesday afternoon with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and urged him “to take concrete steps to improve relations with Armenia and to facilitate an open and frank dialogue in Turkey about the atrocities of 1915,” the White House said in a statement.

Hamparian said he and other Armenian American leaders learned the news at their White House meeting, which was attended by Denis McDonough, Obama’s chief of staff, and Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor.

During the meeting, which lasted just short of an hour, Hamparian said, the group was told that the U.S. would send a delegation to Armenia this week, led by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.