Armenian
News Network / Groong
Table of Contents
Living With Conflict
#WordsNotSwords
Panel Discussion on Robert
Kocharyan’s Interview
The SIS Charges Arthur
Danielyan
Nominees for the
Constitutional Court
The PM’s Outlook on the
State of the Pandemic
Hello, and welcome to
Armenian News Network, Groong.
This Week in Review we have a panel of scholars, journalists and
activist from Armenia and Azerbaijan discussing the violence between the
communities in cities around the world, and who initiated a call for peace on
twitter with the hashtag #WordsNotSwords, which gained many notable signatories
online.
We also discuss the interview
that former president Robert Kocharyan gave to three media outlets in the
Armenian press.
We close with a quick
lightning round of questions to our resident panel for analysis from Headlines from the past week.
From July 12 to July 17
Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed on their border, killing tens of servicemen and
civilians from both sides. In the following week the press and propaganda from
both sides picked up in an effort to align international opinion and sympathies
on their side, and some demonstrations in cities around the world got out of
hand, resulting in violence between protestors, injuries and arrests.
Even more worrisome, the
violence spilled over to ordinary citizens and businesses in some diaspora
communities. According to media reports restaurants and other businesses in
Moscow were attacked by groups from opposing sides. Individual Azerbaijanis and
Armenians, including children, were targets of random attacks. In some cases,
humiliating videos of the victims being beaten were posted on social media. In
Moscow police arrested over 30 people connected to the violence. We also read
reports of vandalism of an Armenian school
in San Francisco, attacks against individuals and businesses around the world,
including Turkey, Germany,
other places in Europe and in the US.
Observers indicate that this
level of animosity between communities did not exist even during the worst days
of war. The violence in the diaspora led some scholars, both Azerbaijani and
Armenian, to call on their respective communities to renounce from street
violence and re-engage in peaceful activism.
We are joined today by some
of the initiating signatories of that call:
●
Dr. Artyom Tonoyan -
Originally from Gyumri, Armenia, Dr. Artyom Tonoyan
is a Research Associate at the University of Minnesota's Center for Holocaust
& Genocide Studies, where his research is focused on the nexus of religion
and violence.
●
Arzu
Geybulla - Arzu is an Azerbaijani columnist and writer, with special
focus in digital authoritarianism and its implications on human rights and
press freedom in Azerbaijan. Arzu has written for Al
Jazeera, Eurasianet, Foreign Policy Democracy Lab,
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, CODA and more. She is a contributor at Open
Democracy, IWPR, and Osservatorio Balcani
e Caucaso.
●
Ulvi
Ismayil - Ulvi is a historian and researcher, based in Washington,
D.C. and originally from Baku. He works with international development
organizations such as UNHCR and USAID and has been involved in
Azerbaijan-Armenian peace-making multilateral projects since 2004. He has
written on the subject and has even developed his own peace proposal. Ulvi was a
co-author of a joint petition drafted in 2014 calling the sides to observe
peace along the line of contact.
●
Emil Sanamyan -
Emil Sanamyan, who is a senior research fellow at
USC’s Institute of Armenian Studies specializing in politics in the Caucasus,
with a special focus on Azerbaijan. He is a regular contributor to ANN/Groong.
●
Diana Yayloyan -
Diana Yayloyan is a Research Associate at the
Ankara-based think tank TEPAV, working on Armenia-Turkey civil society dialogue
supported by the European Union. She is also a Ph.D. Candidate at the Middle
East Technical University with a focus on Gender & Peacebuilding.
● Artyom Tonoyan’s tweet on #WordsNotSwords
● Dr. Katy Pearce’s geovirtual spread analysis on #WordsNotSwords
On July 29, former President Robert Kocharyan gave an interview to 3 news sources (5րդ Ալիք, Հ2, and Yerkir Media) where he talked about issues ranging from internal politics to NKR conflict and regional developments.
We are joined by our resident
panel, Asbed Kotchikian, Emil Sanamyan
and Alen Zamanyan.
Dr. Kotchikian
is Professor of political science and international relations at Bentley
University in Massachusetts.
Emil Sanamyan
is a senior research fellow at USC’s Institute of Armenian Studies specializing
in politics in the Caucasus, with a special focus on Azerbaijan.
Alen Zamanyan
is a software engineer in Los Angeles, and has been
consistently following and analyzing Armenian affairs for over a decade.
Our initial take on the interview.
● Robert Kocharyan’s interview with 5 TV, H2 and Yerkir Media.
This week the SIS brought charges against Arthur Danielyan for the fight with Alen Simonyan in the streets of Yerevan. No charges have been leveled against Alen Simonyan.
A
faction of ANC members and supporters of former president Levon
Ter-Petrosyan
have criticized the government’s nominee to the Constitutional
Court, Vahram
Avetisian. They say that his father was linked to former regimes, passing
several judgements on cases related to the March 1, 2008 events which Vahram Avetisian has never condemned.
The
Supreme Judicial Council elected Yervand Khundkaryan, who is currently chairman of Court of
Cassation, as their nominee for one of the three vacant seats in the
Constitutional Court.
And
Gor Hovhannisyan, a German legal scholar who was
already nominated once for the constitutional court in 2019, has said that president Sarkissian’s office had reached out to him again.
We discuss these nominations.
Prime Minister Pashinyan this
week declared that the situation over coronavirus has significantly improved in Armenia. He has also expressed hopes that the state
of emergency can be lifted by September. This perception is based on data from
recent days when the recovery rate has outpaced new infection rate. Do the
statistics support the Prime Minister’s declaration?
This week the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, is in Los Angeles on vacation. However back in Yerevan the Prime Minister fired most of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs. What’s going on?
●
Armenia’s economic
activity index declined by 4.7% in six
months. The downturn is attributed to the pandemic.
●
Over the weekend Vahram Avetisyan was nominated for the
position of judge of the Constitutional Court.
● Responding to concerns about Armenia’s newly adopted National
Security Strategy (NSS), Artsakh secretary of National Security Samvel Babayan
put out a statement. Excerpt: ”...There is no
alternative to the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh. The
security of Artsakh cannot be put for an auction...” Some of these issues were
discussed in ANN/Groong’s
Week in Review last week (Episode 4, 7/26/20).
●
Erdogan’s AKP ruling party proposed
a law strengthening state control over social media, threatening press freedom.
●
Moderna has launched large-scale Stage
3 trials of COVID-19 vaccine.
●
PM Pashinian responded to Margarita Simonyan’s
accusations, in an interview to RBC, a private Russian TV channel.
●
Renovation
of homes damaged from Azerbaijani shelling launched in Armenia’s
Tavush province
● Three
young Armenians attacked by the Azerbaijanis in Kumkapı/Istanbul.
●
Hate Among Us – a
documentary co-produced by David McKenzie, Dean Cain, Montel Williams and
Sergey Sarkisov has received a Daytime Emmy Award in
the Outstanding Directing Special Class category.
●
Armenians continued protesting Azerbaijani
aggression in London, Montevideo.
●
Mayors of a
number of French cities have issued a statement expressing solidarity with Armenia and supporting peace in the South
Caucasus.
● Azerbaijan accuses Azerbaijani activists abroad of having ties to Armenia.
●
Turkey and
Azerbaijan have launched large-scale joint military drills this week. Exercises are
scheduled in Baku, Nakhichevan, Ganja, Kurdamir and Yevlakh. Russia and Armenia are closely following the
exercises, which came as a direct response and pressure on Armenia following
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border conflict earlier this month.
Defense Minister Tonoyan
said the
tactical nature of these drills is not concerning, but they could turn into
provocative actions near the borders, defense structures and other
infrastructures of Armenia.
●
Armenia
gave notice that it will suspend the CFE-required military
inspections
by Turkey on its territory. Armenia
consider Turkey to be a security threat, which supports direct military
aggression against Armenia.
●
Guatemala’s Congress committee adopted a resolution on
Armenia-Azerbaijan border situation.
● FM Mnatsakanyan
called on Israel to stop deadly weapons deals with
Azerbaijan. He says these weapons are being targeted at civilians and civilian
infrastructure, and that he will pursue this issue vigorously.
● PM Pashinyan
declared that the situation over coronavirus has significantly improved in Armenia. This perception is based on
data from recent days when the recovery rate has outpaced new infection rates.
● Minister of High-Technology Hakob Arshakyan announced that the government will improve Digital TV network, communication and
Internet access in Armenia’s border villages.
● Armenian Ambassador to the US, Varuzhan Nersesyan’s op-ed in Newsmax.com.
● The Armenian government is
supporting a local program that includes $64,000 for installing solar stations in the wider Noyemberyan region. The program is funded by the USAID.
● Armenia has confirmed its participation in the Army-2020 forum to be held in
Russia August. This is a large-scale military Arsenal exhibit.
● Armenian winemaker cellars are 70% full amid coronavirus.
● Armenia’s Demanding Applicant initiative files two
lawsuits in court.
These are the high performing students who were not admitted to universities.
● Yerevan Appellate courts have twice now denied motions to arrest Mikayel
Minasyan, son-in-law of former president Serzh Sargsyan and former Ambassador
to the Vatican.
●
Turkish
actress Songul Oden, 41, has married ethnic Armenian
Arman Bichakchian (Arman Bichakci)
● Kanye West’s Yeezy Foam Runner named “Ararat” was in instant sellout
and hit with Armenian Americans.
● Burbank Police Department has increased police patrols around Armenian Centers in the city in
order to prevent possible acts of vandalism or violence. LA city councilmember Paul Krekorian warned the LAPD of a potential surge in hate crimes
against Armenians.
● The UK’s former envoy to
Turkey, Richard Moore was named MI6 Director.
● A faction of ANC members
and supporters of former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan have criticized the government’s nominee to
the Constitutional Court, Vahram Avetisian. They say his
father was linked to former regimes passing several judgements on cases related
to the March 1, 2008 events.
●
Nikol Pashinyan gave
an interview to the Russian RBC TV channel in which he rebutted Margarita Simonyan’s Facebook posting last week, as well as addressed
other topics.
●
A TUMO
center will open in Tavush region.
●
Japan
to provide grant to Armenia for purchasing
ambulance vehicles.
●
Azerbaijanis
attack Armenian-owned hookah bar
in Cologne, Germany.
●
Carpet production drops
in Armenia by 72․4% in 2020 year over year.
● Agos, an Armenian media outlet,
has reported three recent incidents targeting
Armenians living in Turkey as a result of the conflict involving Azerbaijan. Agos editor Bagrat Estukian and Turkish Armenian MP Garo Paylan
are quoted in this article by Armenpress.
●
Jirayr Sefilyan and
Arthur Vanetsyan were
summoned to the NSS for questioning.
●
Ten members of the staff in the Office of the
High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs were fired
by the Prime Minister. The High Commissioner, Zareh
Sinanyan, is on vacation in Los Angeles. The reasons
are yet unclear
and unverified.
●
The Supreme Judicial Council elected
Yervand Khundkaryan (currently chairman of Court of
Cassation) as their nominee for one of the three vacant seats in the
Constitutional Court. It is now the president’s
turn to offer a nominee. Gor
Hovhannisyan, a German legal scholar who was already nominated once for the
constitutional court in 2019, stated that president Sarkissian’s office had
reached out to him again on the topic of nomination
for one of the current CC vacancies. He indicated that he declined the
president’s office twice on the grounds that he doesn’t believe the removal of
three judges was constitutional.
●
Georgia announces suspension
of rail services with Armenia for 16 days due to maintenance.
Robert
Kocharyan, second president of the Republic
of Armenia, gave a major interview to three Armenian media outlets: 5
TV, H2
and Yerkir Media.
Arman Bichakchian (Arman Bichakci)
Turkish actress Songul Oden. He is a businessman,
working with uncle, jeweler Sevan Bichakci. His
father, Zaven Bichakcian,
is an Armenian clergyman in Istanbul.
Sources
●
Famous
Turkish actress marries ethnic Armenian businessman
●
Թուրք
հայտնի դերասանուհին ամուսնացել է հայ գործարարի հետ
Kanye’s Yeezy Foam Runner named “Ararat” was an instant sellout… ‘nuff said?