AND IN OTHER NEWS: 200+ Days of Blockade In Karabakh

Civilnet
Article Published: 12 Jul, 2023 09:18
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Chaotic changes on Twitter and the rise of Threads create uncertainty about the future of both platforms, while Armenians continue to tweet into the void in protest as the blockade of Karabakh / Artsakh surpasses 200 days. Since Twitter continues to be the primary platform for diplomacy, it still showcases Azerbaijani diplomats making death threats against EU officials, and EU officials trying their hardest not to say anything that might be remotely upsetting to Azerbaijan.

An important development last month was a hearing by the US House of Representatives Lantos Human Rights Commission on what its witnesses agreed was the possibility of genocide in Nagorno Karabakh. Another hearing is expected where State Department officials will be asked how US policy should address this threat.

One of the main recommendations made at the hearing emphasized the importance of enforcing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to prevent military aid to Azerbaijan in light of its constant violent rhetoric against Armenians. The US State Department has been placing pressure on Azerbaijan, however its apparent reluctance to put teeth behind its public words has only emboldened Azerbaijan’s sense of entitlement without accountability.

President Aliyev’s rhetoric has earned him yet another comparison to Saddam Huissein. Last week it used its perch as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement to attack France on multiple fronts, including condemning a dismantled display of 19th century war trophies in a French museum, in an effort to ‘even the score’ for the horrific press Azerbaijan received for its display of inhumane models and Armenian soldiers’ helmets as war trophies museum of Armenians).

Azerbaijani diplomats haven’t been content to merely criticize “enemies” but also to threaten their lives. Azerbaijani Ambassador and Head of Mission to the EU Vaqif Sadiqov has landed in a mess of trouble after tweeting a death threat at a delegation of European parliamentarians who visited Armenia, including a trip to the area near the Lachin corridor. In response to a photo of the parliamentarians overlooking the crossing from well within Armenian territory, the ambassador tweeted a photo of an Azerbaijani-made sniper rifle with the warning to “keep clear of Azerbaijani state border”. This is reminiscent of similar outbursts directed at the US Ambassador when she visited the area. Clearly Azerbaijan has a great deal of insecurity about any attention on the illegally-closed Lachin crossing.

A spokesman for the EU replied: “We condemn such behaviour which is totally unacceptable for an ambassador accredited to the EU”, and a former Azerbaijani ambassador, Arif Shahmarli, stated “it is ridiculous and unacceptable for an educated and experienced diplomat like Vagif Sadigov to write such a tweet, it is a pity.” Shahmarli sees the comment as echoing the kind of rhetoric coming from President Aliyev, and speculated that perhaps it was “an ordered post”. It has been public knowledge for some time now about a WhatsApp group of diplomats and hired hands through which the Azerbaijani government sends daily marching orders for social media posts. Despite all the heat Sadiqov has received Sadiqov has yet to apologize, another sign that perhaps his statement was approved from the top.

A few days after the gun threat, and during a meeting of Armenia and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers hosted by the United States, four Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh were killed by Azerbaijani artillery. The State Department spokesman offered this impotent tweet, which does not call out the offending party and does nothing to promote the peace it hopes for.

When it comes to impotent tweets though, nobody is more infamous than the EU’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar. On July 9, after weeks of gas delivery to Nagorno-Karabakh being cut off, Azerbaijan restored it… for about an hour. That was just enough time for Klaar to fire off a celebratory tweet in which he referred to Stepanakert by the name Azerbaijanis use for it, after which the gas went right back off. Klaar received a dressing down from European Parliamentarian Nathalie Loiseau for the numerous things wrong with his little tweet. Klaar ended the day with another tweet which clearly took some of the criticisms to heart and seemed, for once, to strike a slightly bolder or at least more frustrated tone, also returning the name Stepanakert to first billing, as has been the customary format all along. According to an unnamed prominent EU politician, “Klaar is absolutely the quietest of diplomats — he’s very afraid of saying the wrong thing and he’s under massive pressure from Azerbaijan.” Yet it is this same extreme carefulness which has completely undermined his position and done much more harm than good.

What Klaar has to realize is that his behavior has only been enabling the bloodthirsty sentiment within Azerbaijan which seeks endless attacks in the name of revenge against Armenians. The Azerbaijani government has already given the name Revenge-3 to what it terms an “inevitable” new war against Armenia (1 and 2 being the attacks of August and September 2022).

Amnesty International is not afraid to call out the situation for what it is.

An interesting, and perhaps inevitable, situation erupted into view before being silenced when an actual protest against environmental conditions took place in the Söyüdlü village of Azerbaijan’s Gadabey region, which borders Armenia’s Gegharkunik and Tavush regions. Local citizens protested the visible health dangers of the environmental damage caused by gold mining. Scenes of elderly women being violently attacked by security services played across social media. Analysts explained that Azerbaijan does not have environmental activists. The residents of this particular village were demanding basic health and safety.

Social media users couldn’t help but be snarky, as the same government which talked such a big game about protecting the environment when it was directed at Armenians responded with violence when faced with true protesters.

Perhaps Azerbaijanis will finally realize that the same “Iron Fist” they celebrated when used against Armenians will not spare them either?

Azerbaijan’s hasty attempts to delimit its borders with Armenia, part of its insistence that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is completely settled, to codify that it is the permanent victor, are not going much better either.

A story which has been in the making for some time – it was finally officially announced that French resistance fighter and Armenian Genocide survivor Missak Manouchian will be reburied in the French Pantheon along with his wife Mélinée. The Pantheon is a grand building in Paris which during the French Revolution was turned into a place of honorary burial for France’s heroes. One of the first to be interred there was the writer Voltaire in 1791, who was soon joined by the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. More recent honorees have included the scientists Pierre and Marie Curie, educator Louis Braille, and author Alexandre Dumas. This honor amongst the most revered of French history is particularly rare for Manouchian as he is not ethnically French, but as President Emmanuel Macron stated Manouchian was a “defender of the Republic” who embodied its values. It’s also another example of the deep ties between Armenians and France at a time when Azerbaijan is rabidly attacking that mutual affinity.

The past few weeks has seen a great deal of good Armenian football news, with this tweet from FIFA viewed over a hundred thousand times.

Described as “a night to forget in Wales” by the BBC, Armenia’s Men’s Football (Soccer) team shocked the much higher ranked Welsh team by defeating them 4-2. Armenian fans were given great hope for the future based on the team’s play, which saw the first ever international goals by up-and-coming stars Lucas Zelarayan and newcomer Grant-Leon Ranos. Three days later Armenia also defeated Latvia, and will face the big challenge of Turkey at a game in September.

Speaking of Turkey and football, this one is just weird…

And speaking of Wales, despite the football loss, the Welsh generously used the moment to rally support to Armenians. Member of the Welsh Senedd (Parliament) Llyr Gruffydd led a debate urging the UK to provide support to Armenians in the face of the blockade of Artsakh / Karabakh by Azerbaijan.

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