Weekly update
15 May
The United States urged Azerbaijan on May 14 to immediately withdraw its troops from Armenia’s border areas, reported azatutyun.am. “We expect Azerbaijan to pull back all forces immediately and cease further provocation,” a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Jalina Porter, told reporters. “Military movements in disputed territories are irresponsible and they're also unnecessarily provocative,” Porter said, adding that border demarcation issues should be resolved through negotiation and discussion. The State Department reacted more cautiously to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border standoff on May 13, calling on both sides to show “restraint in de-escalating the situation peacefully.” Acting Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker had separate phone calls with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers. Porter’s remarks came shortly after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused Azerbaijan of failing to honor a pledge to withdraw its forces from Armenian territory occupied by them this week. He again charged that Baku is trying to “provoke a large-scale military clash” six months after a Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Earlier on Friday, Armenia formally appealed to Russia and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization for military support. Azerbaijan has denied sending troops across the border and said its forces only took up new positions on the Azerbaijani side of the frontier.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31255782.html
14 May
Canadian senator Leo Housakos has labeled the Azeri actions at the border with Armenia as dangerous and aggressive, reported armenpress.am. In a statement on Twitter, Housakos called on democracies to stand with Armenia. “The violation of Armenia’s sovereign territory by Azerbaijani troops is a dangerous and illegal act of aggression that underscores the sustained threat that the Armenian people continue to face. Democracies must stand with Armenia”, he tweeted. On May 12, the Azeri military breached the Armenian state border in the Syunik border and advanced towards the Sev Lake. Azeri troops breached the border in some parts of the Gegharkunik province as well. Over 250 of the Azeri troops are illegally located in Armenian territory.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1052297.html?fbclid=IwAR37X_q_wnZ1Uo4if8H3grDEzVNHce5d7-ERkAsNe3GNzXyBgDJv5EimEJg
13 May
On the early morning of May 12, Azerbaijani Armed Forces crossed the Armenia-Azerbaijan border located on Syunik’s Sev Lake, and moved their positions 3.5 kilometers inside Armenia. Villagers in nearby Verishen reported the Azerbaijani incursion to CivilNet in the morning. In a late-night meeting with the Security Council, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the Azerbaijani advance. Pashinyan held another Security Council meeting on the same day. Few hours later he announced that Armenia has officially appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Since the end of the Second Karabakh War, Syunik has had new borders drawn with Azerbaijan in its eastern part. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, there was no border between Armenia-Azerbaijan as the territories adjacent to Syunik were controlled by Armenians in Karabakh. According to locals, no Armenian forces were stationed at the lake at the time of the incursion and no clashes occurred. Stanislav Zas, the CSTO Secretary General, discussed the current situation by phone with Acting Defense Minister of the Republic of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan and Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazyan.“The CSTO is closely monitoring the development of the situation in the border areas of the Syunik region of Armenia. As the situation develops, if necessary, actions will be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Collective Security Treaty and the CSTO Charter,” the statement read.
https://www.civilnet.am/news/607033/crisis-in-syunik-azerbaijani-forces-infiltrate-armenian-state-border/?lang=en
12 May
Freedom House issued the following statement on May 11, calling on Azerbaijan “to fully cooperate with the efforts of the European Court of Human Rights to investigate the validity of reports of dehumanizing treatment of Armenian detainees.” In line with hetq.am, “We are deeply concerned by the reports of dehumanizing treatment and abuse, including torture, of Armenians captured and detained by Azerbaijan after the recent armed conflict,” said Marc Behrendt, director of Europe and Eurasia programs at Freedom House. “We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to fully cooperate with the efforts of the European Court of Human Rights to investigate the validity of reports of dehumanizing treatment of Armenian detainees regardless of their status and ensure those still in custody are provided with all protections required under international human rights and humanitarian law, including freedom from torture and inhuman treatment, and that details of their repatriation are provided. As a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, Azerbaijan is obligated to fully cooperate with the court and provide all requested information to facilitate a transparent investigation of these serious issues.”
https://hetq.am/en/article/130734
11 May
24th of April 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden has recognized the Armenian mass killing in World War I as genocide on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, leading to a strained relationship between Turkey and the United States. According to theowp.org, in his speech Biden stated “Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring.“ The recognition comes 106 years after the beginning of the mass deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. Forced deportations and massacres between 1915-1918, led to the deaths of up to 1.5 million people. The killing was carried out as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, and Turkey’s modern state was being established. The U.S.-congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that the statement was long overdue and that “Truth-telling and full acknowledgment of injustice can be one of the most important steps towards healing.” According to the Armenian National Institute, the United States are now part of 30 countries that have recognized the Armenian genocide. Armenians have been long fighting for recognition of the killings as a genocide. Therefore, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomed Biden’s statement by tweeting “the U.S. has once again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to protecting human rights and universal values.” Also, diverse activists stated that the fight for justice was recognized and will be passed on to the next generation.
https://theowp.org/u-s-president-recognizes-armenian-genocide-despite-potential-fallout-with-turkey/
10 May
The early parliamentary election was finally officially triggered on May 10, 2021. According to evnreport.com on April 25, 2021, Nikol Pashinyan had formally tendered his resignation as Prime Minister, although he announced that he would remain in the role in an acting capacity, and seek re-election through an early parliamentary election. Political parties and alliances will have until 25 days before election day (a May 26 deadline) to submit their registration paperwork. Most of the big names have already made their intentions publicly-known: Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party will participate alone, dissolving its My Step Alliance with the much smaller Mission Party; Robert Kocharyan will lead the Armenia Electoral Alliance between the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the smaller Resurgent Armenia Party; Artur Vanetsyan will lead an electoral alliance between his Homeland Party and the Republican Party of Armenia; Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party will participate alone; Edmon Marukyan’s Bright Armenia Party will participate alone. There has been a flurry of new political party registrations in past months and some upstarts can also be expected to register. One or two may be successful in passing the threshold.
https://www.evnreport.com/opinion/election-finally-officially-triggered-here-are-the-possible-outcomes
9 May
Former President Robert Kocharian pledged to restore “dignified peace” and security in Armenia on Sunday as he rallied thousands of supporters in Yerevan after setting up an electoral alliance with two opposition parties, reported azatutyun.am. Kocharian again blamed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh and said Armenians will become a “nation of losers” if the latter holds on to power as a result of fresh parliamentary elections slated for next month. Kocharian, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the newly established Resurgent Armenia party formally created the alliance called Armenia with a joint declaration signed in the presence of journalists. They effectively kicked off their election campaign at an ensuing rally held in Yerevan’s Liberty Square. Kocharian said the Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in November also left Karabakh facing a “quite murky” future. He argued that the agreement allows Azerbaijan to demand in 2025 the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping troops deployed in the Armenian-populated territory. “That infamous agreement of November 9 means that in four and a half years from now Azerbaijan can renounce the Russian peacekeeping troops,” he said. “Has any of you heard from the current rulers what they are doing in that direction? Are they prepared for such a scenario or not? A government symbolizing defeat cannot be an effective negotiator.”
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31247629.html
8 May
Artsakh has almost four thousand historical and cultural monuments, including 241 chapels, churches and monasteries. Somewhere between 130 to 160 of those came under Azerbaijani control in the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh War. According to evnreport.com, as evident from these numbers alone, Artsakh has lost not just people, land and resources, but also a significant part of its indigenous Armenian cultural heritage. And that heritage is severely endangered. Azerbaijan, like Turkey, has long targeted Armenian monuments. The entire Armenian cultural presence in Nakhichevan has been entirely erased, including almost 90 medieval churches, 6,000 khachkars and over 20,000 tombstones that were documented in the late Soviet period. Armenophobia has been at the core of the Aliyev regime’s state-driven propaganda since the 1990s. Everything Armenian is labeled either “Albanian” or “fake.” During the war, when asked about the double strike on Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, Aliyev responded he was “not sure about what happened. We have doubts that that could have been done by Armenians in order to blame us.” In another interview, he simply downplayed it as “very minor damage.”
https://www.evnreport.com/spotlight-karabakh/artsakh-s-cultural-heritage-under-threat
Sources: www.azatutyun.am, www.armenpress.am, www.civilnet.am, www.hetq.am, www.theowp.org, www.evnreport.com