Day: June 17, 2024

The foreign ministeries of Armenia and Ukraine kicked off a round of political consultations on Monday in Kyiv.

The Armenian foreign ministry reported that the delegations engaged in the talks are headed by the deputy foreign ministers of the two countries, Mnatsakan Safaryan and Yevhen Perebiynis.

“During the consultations, a wide range of issues on bilateral political agenda was touched upon along with prospects for further enhancing the cooperation in the areas of mutual importance. The parties discussed cooperation in trade-economic, legal, and other directions,” the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Over the past two years, Yerevan has sought to advance relations with Ukraine, despite that country’s well-documented military and political support to Azerbaijan, especially during the 2020 Artsakh War.

A significant deterioration of ties between Yerevan and Moscow was punctuated in recent weeks, when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed that two member states of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, of which Armenia is a member, were actively supporting Baku during the war.

Last week, the foreign ministries of Armenia and Belarus recalled their respective ambassadors, with Pashinyan and official Yerevan accusing Belarus of assisting Azerbaijan during the war.

Pashinyan, however, did not mention Ukraine’s overt support to Azerbaijan before and after the 2020 war, as his close political allies, including the parliament speaker, made overtures to Kyiv.

According to the foreign ministry, Monday’s meeting “highlighted the importance of continuous contacts and exchange of views at different levels between the two countries.”

“The Ukrainian side was provided with detailed information about the situation in the region due to the aggression of Azerbaijan and the occupation of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia as well as on the efforts of the Republic of Armenia aimed at normalization of relations,” the Armenian foreign ministry said.

Safaryan also briefed the Ukrainian delegation about the Armenian government’s “Crossroads of Peace” initiative, which is “based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, reciprocity and equality and is aimed at ensuring stability and economic development in the region.”

U.S.-Armenia Local Democracy Forum participants in Yerevan on Jun 17

The United States announced on Monday that it has launched a new department that will facilitate direct contact between the U.S. and local and regional governments in Armenia.

The announcement was made by Ambassador Nina Hachgian, who is the first U.S, Special Representative for State and City Diplomacy.

“We have created this office because we know that local leaders are closest to the people. They also feel the impact of international issues like covid, climate change, cyberattacks. We want to connect these local leaders with leaders who are working in Washington and dealing with these issues,” Hachigian said.

Hachingian is in Armenia to take part on the first-ever U.S.-Armenia Local Democracy Forum, which also kicked off in Yerevan on Monday and is presided over U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma.

Hachigian explained that local leaders around the world, through the exchange of experiences, can share information about jobs, ideas, and create cultural connections.

Ambassador Nina Hachgian is the first U.S, Special Representative for State and City Diplomacy

“We want to help local leaders, for which we have brought to Armenia a group of local leaders from the US for the first time. We are creating links between them and their colleagues in Armenia. We hope that these relations will be long-term, communication will emerge between people,” she added.

Hachigian said that the first project of this new division will be decided by local leaders together with the business community who will work together here.

“The State Department never tells local leaders what to do, it’s up to them to decide. We create connections and help them,” Hachigian emphasized.

Verma and President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan opened the U.S.-Armenia Local Democracy Forum.

The Forum is billed as “the first of its kind,” and aims to bring together U.S. and Armenian mayors and regional, state, and provincial leaders for a two-day exchange about what it means to be a local leader in a democracy.

Verma and Hachigian are accompanied on the trip by Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Sarah Morgenthau. The delegation included Mayor Elen Asatryan of Glendale, California; Director Samuel Assefa for the Office of Planning and Research of the State of California; Mayor Paige Cognetti of Scranton, Pennsylvania; Mayor Wilmot Collins of Helena, Montana; Mayor Victor Gordo of Pasadena, California; Deputy Secretary Kelsey Olson at the Department of Agriculture of the State of Kansas; and Chief Information Officer Ted Ross of Los Angeles, California, the State Department said in an statement.

Armenian participants included Lilya Davtyan, Vanadzor Head of Development Programmes, Foreign Relations, and IT; Davit Gevorgyan, Head of Foreign Affairs Department, Yerevan; Governor Hayk Ghalumyan of the Tavush Province; Mayor Armen Grigoryan of Stepanavan; Arman Khojoyan, Deputy Minister of Economy; Edgar Martirosyan, General Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Syunik Province; and Mayor Vardges Samsonyan of Gyumri as well as several other Armenian local and national officials.

In the opening session of the Forum, local leaders announced their intention to form new city and regional partnerships between the city of Helena, Montana, and Stepanavan community; the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Armavir community; and the state of Michigan and Tavush province.

Following the opening session of the Forum, participants will discuss democracy building at the local level through cooperation with civil society and free media, transparency and accountability, election integrity, constituent engagement and other areas.

On the second day of the Forum on June 18, delegates will travel to Gyumri, meet with municipal officials, visit the Gyumri Technology Center, and hold in-depth discussions on topics such as IT development, fostering public-private partnerships, responding to climate change, and promoting tourism.

Participants will also hold meetings in their sister city and state pairs to share ideas for deepening their dialogue and cooperation over the coming months, with the intent to build robust partnerships that enhance mutual understanding, good governance, economic development, and peace and prosperity for the people of Armenia and the United States.

The Armenian parliament will hold hearings Friday about a potential referendum on Armenia’s application for membership in the European Union.

The parliament’s standing committee on European integration convened a special session on Monday.

According to the parliament’s press service, the Platform of Democratic Forces — comprised of mprising the Republic Party, the For the Republic party, the Christian-Democratic Party and the European Party of Armenia — has proposed to hold such a referendum.

This announcement came on the same day that Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan convened a meeting EU and member states ambassador accredited in Armenia.

It was announced that negotiations kicked off last week on a new partnership agenda with the EU.
“We do hope that with joint intensive efforts, we will succeed in implementing new steps aimed at deepening the bilateral partnership, building on the success achieved and in line with the aspirations of Armenian citizens to be closer to the EU,” Mirzoyan emphasized, said at the meeting.

Reference was made to the priorities of the partnership, the work carried out under the Belgian presidency of the European Council toward their successful implementation, as well as the expectations from the Hungarian presidency expected in the second half of the year.

Mirzoyan answered the ambassadors’ questions on topics including regional developments, the peace agenda, and the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Amid strong criticism from human rights groups, Armenian authorities have brought criminal charges against 12 people in connection with last Wednesday’s clashes in Yerevan between riot police and protesters demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation.

Eight of them were remanded in pre-trial custody and two others placed under house arrest by courts over the weekend.

The Investigative Committee said on Monday that one of the suspects was charged with participating in “mass disturbances.” The others are facing accusations of “hooliganism committed in a group” against police officers. The committee indicated that it may well prosecute more supporters Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the more than month-long antigovernment protests.

The law-enforcement agency indicted the 12 men just as it freed without charge all 28 protesters who were arrested on Wednesday on a street adjacent to the Armenian parliament building heavily guarded by security forces. Thousands of Galstanyan supporters gathered there as Pashinyan answered questions from parliamentarians.

During scuffles that broke out there, security forces hurled dozens of stun grenades into the dense crowd, injuring at least 83 people who required medical aid in hospitals. According to law-enforcement authorities, 18 policemen were also hurt.

Pashinyan and his allies have unequivocally defended the police actions, claiming that the protesters tried to break through the police cordons to storm the parliament. These claims are rejected not only by Galstanyan and the Armenian opposition forces but also local civic organizations.

In a joint statement issued on Monday, 17 mostly Western-funded NGOs strongly condemned the police actions as “unnecessary, disproportionate and therefore illegal” and demanded a criminal investigation into them. They were especially outraged by the unprecedented number of stun grenades used in the crackdown.

Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty International’s South Caucasus researcher, likewise expressed serious concern about “the level of violence during the latest street rally in Yerevan.”

“We call on the Armenian authorities to immediately and impartially investigate what happened, including allegations that the police may have used unnecessary or excessive force,” she said.
“Law enforcement officials should avoid the use of force; where this is not possible, force should only be used when it is absolutely necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate law enforcement objective, and to the minimum extent necessary,” she said.

As of Monday evening, the authorities reported no criminal or internal inquiries into police officers who inflicted serious injuries not only protesters but also a dozen journalists. Armenia’s leading media associations suggested on Thursday that the police deliberately targeted the reporters and cameramen who covered the protest.

Ruben Melikyan, an opposition-linked lawyer representing one of the indicted suspects, said that the authorities are pressing politically motivated charges against protesters in order to justify the use of force. He insisted that the charges are based on policemen’s incriminating testimony that cannot be corroborated by any evidence.

“Look at the testimony of those ‘victims,’” Melikyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “One of the policemen said, ‘I had a back pain, went to doctor and they said everything is alright.’ Another said, ‘An empty plastic bottle hit my helmet and I felt dizzy.’”

Melikyan’s client, Tigran Saribekyan, is now under house arrest. According to the lawyer, Saribekyan threw a wooden object towards several lines of riot police after being injured in a stun grenade explosion.

The latest indictments raised to 59 the total number of Galstanyan supporters prosecuted since the start of the antigovernment protests in late April. Twenty-nine of them are held in pre-trial detention.

DEARBORN, Mich. – A new community canvass of Michigan residents of Armenian heritage reveals persistent anger and outrage over President Biden’s decision to arm and abet Azerbaijan’s genocide of indigenous Armenians in their Artsakh homeland – adding to serious concerns held by the Biden-Harris campaign about the President’s ability to carry this pivotal swing state in November, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
 
“I supported President Biden in 2020, but just cannot see myself doing that again in 2024,” stated Michigan voter Abraham Keyvanian.  “The Biden Administration’s support for Azerbaijan is a deal breaker for me. Why the President maintained U.S. military aid to the dictatorship in Baku while they ethnically cleansed Armenians from Artsakh is hard – if not impossible – to understand. Speaking frankly, Biden has lost my support.”
 
Shant Jamgotchian concurred, noting, “Joe Biden has given me no reason to vote for him. I care deeply about Armenia, and the fact is the Biden Administration has been a total disaster in supporting Armenia and the Christians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Joe Biden made his decision to keep funding military assistance for Azerbaijan. That is, I suppose, his prerogative as President. As an American, I will be exercising my prerogative and will not be voting to keep him in office. We simply cannot reward genocide.”
 
This past February, Armenian Americans were well represented among the more than 100,000 (13 percent) Michiganders who cast “uncommitted” votes in the Michigan Democratic Presidential primary to protest President Biden’s complicity in Azerbaijan’s 2023 genocide of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenians. This ANC-Michigan driven electoral activism garnered international news coverage, including reports in POLITICO, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, BBC, and Reason Magazine.
 
“Joe Biden has been AWOL on protecting Armenia from Turkey and Azerbaijan. Even worse, he’s armed Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian aggression,” explained Sebouh Hamakorzian. “This is something that I do not respect. As someone who votes regularly, it bothers me that President Biden and his foreign policy team are advancing policies that seek to force Armenia under the control of two dictatorships – Turkey and Azerbaijan – that want to destroy Armenia.”

Lori Pilibosian concurred, noting, “The 2024 Presidential race is, for many Americans, a big disappointment. I support the freedom and liberty of the Armenian people in their ancient homeland. I was deeply disappointed that President Biden, after recognizing the Armenian Genocide, turned around and provided a green light for more American military aid to Azerbaijan, to commit a second genocide against the Armenians of Karabakh. That is the type of hypocrisy that makes me question how I will vote this November.”
 
In the days leading up to the Michigan primary, the Chair of the ANC-Michigan published an essay in The Armenian Weekly explaining that she was casting her “uncommitted” vote to “send a message that crimes come with costs, and enabling ethnic cleansing is not ‘business-as-usual.’ To cast a vote for Biden is to endorse his actions. To support him as the lesser of two evils is to accept evil. I will not do that.”
 
In the 2020 Presidential election, the winning margin of victory in Michigan was approximately 150,000 votes, out of over 5.5 million votes cast in the state. In the 2016 presidential election, the winning margin of victory in Michigan was approximately 11,000 votes, of which over 4.7 million votes were cast in the state. Likewise, the 2024 Presidential race in the State of Michigan is expected to be razor close – with both Presidential campaigns spending large amounts of money in the state to sway voters.
 
“I know that the Presidential race in my home state of Michigan will be close this year – just like it was in 2020 and in 2016,” stated Murad Tossounian.

“I care a lot about policy issues – including matters related to Armenia. As an Armenian American and active member of the Armenian Youth Federation, my view of the Presidential race this year is defined by Joe Biden’s callous disregard for human rights as it relates to my brothers and sisters in Artsakh. Instead of sanctioning Azerbaijan, which used violence and starvation against the people of Artsakh – Joe Biden just kept dealing with that petro-dictatorship with a business-as-usual approach. That type of foreign policy will not win my vote,” Tossounian added.