On May 15, Lebanon will head to the polls to elect a new parliament and government. The country, reeling from the devastating 2020 blast in Beirut, a severe financial crisis and ongoing street protests, is largely split along sectarian lines. Ara Sanjian, an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, talks to CivilNet about these crucial elections and how Lebanon’s large Armenian constituency fits into the country’s political system.
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Pashinyan says Armenia ready to host Karabakh
By Ani Avetisyan Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated Thursday in a Facebook Live session that according to their “assessment”, there is no “direct threat” for Karabakh’s Armenian population and that the residents should stay in their homes, with the Russian peacekeepers ensuring “safe and dignified” life for them in the region. In the event of a mass evacuation, the prime minister said that Armenia is ready to host 40,000 families from Karabakh. Following the Azerbaijani attack on Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian communities, the preliminary death toll from Nagorno-Karabakh mounted to over 200. Around 400 were wounded. The number of casualties might […]
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Opposition lawmaker beaten at anti-government protests in Armenia
Gegham Manukyan, a well-known lawmaker from the opposition Armenia Alliance bloc, says he was beaten by a police officer at an anti-government protest earlier this week in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. “Two days ago, during the protests, a conspiratorial, Nikol-supporting police officer tried to hit me while he was standing behind his friends,” Manukyan said in a Facebook video Thursday with bandages stretched across his nose. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll return to the ranks in a couple of days.” Since Tuesday, downtown Yerevan has been rocked by nightly demonstrations, with thousands of protesters calling on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to […]
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Baku & Artsakh Meeting: Negotiations at the Barrel of a
Hosts Eric Hacopian and Patrick Elliott discuss the negotiations in Yevlakh between the representatives of Artsakh and Baku, as well as the upcoming UN Security Council meeting and what that could mean for the fate of Artsakh. On September 19, almost 3 years to the day of the launch of the 2020 Karabakh war, Azerbaijan initiated a large-scale military attack along the contact line and into civilian areas of Artsakh. Eric and Patrick discuss the situation on the ground, what the Russian plan is, the United States’ and broader Western response, and what the future can look like for Artsakh […]
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Azerbaijan says it will send food, fuel to Karabakh
Officials from Stepanakert and Baku reached an agreement Thursday for Azerbaijan to supply food and fuel to Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh’s delegation “noted a particular need for fuel” and “asked for humanitarian aid in the form of foodstuffs” at a meeting in the town of Yevlakh, Azerbaijan’s presidency said in a statement, adding: “Their request was received positively.” It was not immediately clear when desperately needed food and fuel would reach Nagorno-Karabakh’s roughly 120,000 Armenians, who have been pushed to the brink of famine by Azerbaijan’s more than nine-month blockade. The Nagorno-Karabakh government has so far not commented publicly on Thursday’s meeting, […]
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Azerbaijan fires on Stepanakert with ‘reintegration’ talks underway
Azerbaijani forces have reportedly violated Wednesday’s ceasefire agreement and opened fire on areas near the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, even with “reintegration” talks between officials from Stepanakert and Baku underway. Azerbaijani troops “are using firearms in the suburbs of Stepanakert” and “gunfire can be heard from the center of the capital,” Nagorno-Karabakh’s state-run InfoCenter said Thursday afternoon local time. The authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh are “taking concrete steps with the relevant sides to resolve the situation,” the InfoCenter added. No other information was made immediately available. Earlier Thursday morning, delegations headed by Nagorno-Karabakh lawmaker Davit Melkumyan and Ramin Mammadov, Baku’s point person […]
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Russian media: Peacekeepers’ deputy commander killed in Karabakh
The Moscow-based newspaper Kommersant said the deputy commander of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh has been killed in an apparent Azerbaijani strike on his vehicle. Captain 1st rank Ivan Kovgan and an unknown number of other peacekeepers were killed, Kommersant reported Thursday, citing a veterans’ club in St. Petersburg and local media outlets in the northern Russian city of Murmansk. CivilNet was not able to independently confirm Kommersant’s reporting. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian servicemen had been killed Wednesday after their vehicle was shelled near the village of Chankatagh in northeastern Nagorno-Karabakh, but did not immediately provide the number of […]
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Officials meet for ‘reintegration’ talks as Karabakh death toll tops
By Mark Dovich Officials from Stepanakert and Baku convened Thursday morning for talks on “reintegrating” Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan, as the death toll in the region topped 200. The delegations are headed by Nagorno-Karabakh lawmaker Davit Melkumyan and Ramin Mammadov, Baku’s point person for talks with Stepanakert. Footage from Azerbaijani news sites shows Russian peacekeepers escorting Nagorno-Karabakh’s negotiators to the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh. The Nagorno-Karabakh government agreed to the talks in a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal Wednesday afternoon that will also see the Artsakh Defense Army fully dissolved. Armenia did not take part in those negotiations, according to Prime Minister Nikol […]
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Kremlin set up guidelines for media coverage of Karabakh crisis
By Angela Hassassian The independent Russian news agency Meduza says it has exposed Kremlin’s guidelines sent to media, which emphasized framing the Nagorno-Karabakh narrative to depict Armenia and its Western “partners” as the primary culprits for the current crisis. The same guidelines push for the portrayal of Russian peacekeepers as heroes rescuing civilians amidst ongoing shelling. Sent by the presidential administration to state and pro-Kremlin media employees on the evening of September 19, the manual recommends blaming Armenia and Western nations by underscoring that “the Armenian leadership has recognized the sovereignty of Azerbaijan over Karabakh.” The guidelines advise media representatives […]
