Your Namak for Friday, December 10
ICJ issues provisional measures for Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenian civilian killed in Nagorno-Karabakh, parliament speaker sparks outrage with remarks about POWs.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Nagorno-Karabakh Civilian Killed by Azerbaijani Servicemen
On December 3, an Armenian civilian from Chartar village in Nagorno-Karabakh was killed by an Azerbaijani serviceman while grazing cattle. According to a joint statement released by the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Prosecutor General’s Office and the Russian peacekeeping forces, the 65-year-old was kidnapped and shot after accidentally crossing the line of contact. The Human Rights Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh Gegham Stepanyan stated that the presence of Azerbaijani military posts in the immediate vicinity of civilian communities “are a direct and undeniable threat to the right to life, physical and psychological integrity of the peaceful population of Artsakh.”
10 POWs Returned in Exchange for Landmine Maps
On December 4, 10 prisoners of war returned to Armenia from Azerbaijani captivity. The soldiers had been captured on November 16 during clashes in the southeast Armenian region of Syunik. According to a statement published by the Azerbaijani State Security Service, Armenia provided maps of minefields in Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for the prisoners.
Parliament Speaker’s Remarks About POWs Spark Public Outrage
Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan has been widely criticized after a secretly recorded tape leaked in which he describes Armenian prisoners of war as “deserters.” “I regard those prisoners as if they already do not exist,” Simonyan said. “Those are people who have put down their arms and fled, and found themselves being taken captive.” In response to Simonyan’s statements, relatives of POWs held protests in Yerevan, blocking traffic on major thoroughfares throughout the city. When questioned by journalists, Simonyan doubled down on his remarks, saying that deserters should be criminally prosecuted.
World Court Rules on Provisional Measures in Armenia v. Azerbaijan
On December 7, the International Court of Justice announced its decision regarding the request for provisional measures by Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Court issued five measures in total: four against Azerbaijan, one against Armenia and one against both states. The Court stated that Azerbaijan must protect Armenian POWs from bodily harm, take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement of racial hatred and discrimination targeted at Armenians, including by government officials and institutions, and prevent and punish desecration of Armenian cultural heritage sites. The Court found that it has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the case –– indicating that the case can move forward.
Civil Contract Party Nominates New Human Rights Defender
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract Party has nominated Kristine Grigoryan to replace Arman Tatoyan for the post of Human Rights Defender. Tatoyan’s six-year term will end on February 23 and his replacement will then be elected by parliament. Grigoryan has served as Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Justice since July 2019. Following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, Tatoyan’s relationship with the government has grown tense, as the Ombudsman regularly criticizes top officials for decisions that he believes undermine human rights.
Yana Avanesyan: Meet a lawyer from Stepanakert helping her community with the tools law has to offer
“I am trying to do my best every single day to gather evidence, testimonies, and use the tools law has to offer to bring justice and fairness to our people.”
Yana Avanesyan is a lawyer from a place that many would consider ambiguous under the law. Born and raised in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital city, the 27-year-old admits she took peace for granted throughout much of her childhood. She did not live through the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, but the specter of unresolved conflict was a fact of life.
Yana admired lawyers from a young age, and loved watching movies where they fought tirelessly for justice.
“I have always had something inside of me, a thirst for fairness and justice,” Yana says. “That’s why I wanted to become a lawyer.”
She earned a Bachelor’s of Jurisprudence (LLB) from Artsakh State University in 2014, and then moved to Yerevan to obtain her Master of Laws (LLM) in International and European Law from Yerevan State University. Meanwhile, she also took classes on the international protection of refugees at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and on international humanitarian law at the International Committee of the Red Cross. But being a law student from an unrecognized state was not always easy.
She was discouraged from participating in international conferences and exchange programs, because hosting a participant from Artsakh would create discomfort for organizers.
“Being from Artsakh has definitely been a difficulty while studying law,” Yana says. “For many conferences, or programs and exchanges with international organizations, financed by the EU for example, I was told that I should not participate, because it would put them in a delicate situation to have a participant from Artsakh.”
Her birthplace sometimes even triggered questions about her professionalism.
“During conferences, they tell me I am not objective,” she says. “But actually, when you put on your lawyer cap, you cannot not be objective. In your mind, you can have a special intent of course, but in the end, you can only work with law and law tools.”
Rather than dissuade her from pursuing a career in law, these experiences fueled her work ethic and desire to effect change in her community. Yana moved back to Stepanakert as soon as she finished her graduate degree.
“Armenians would say it’s great that you are from Artsakh and have chosen this field of study because you will bring a great perspective, and because if we do not try to resolve our problems ourselves, who will?” she says.
Yana is now a junior lecturer at Artsakh State University, after having worked at law firms and as the spokesperson of the president of the Artsakh National Assembly, and co-founded The Roots, a café and venue space in Stepanakert dedicated to youth and cultural events.
Yana is calm and mild-mannered, and can even seem shy when you first meet her. But when she starts speaking about her field, her demeanor shifts. She was in Stepanakert when the 44-Day War started. You realize that her calmness comes from another level of maturity, that of people who have felt war on their own skin.
“One day you would walk in the street and see a rocket or a bomb had destroyed a place where you were yesterday,” Yana says. She and her family evacuated after a few weeks, but returned home immediately following the ceasefire. “I still felt better being here than away,” she says.
It is difficult to identify even mundane aspects of life that have not changed in some way for the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. Yana says she wakes up every day wondering whether a war will start again.
“We jump every time we hear a noise,” Yana says. “I know people who sleep with their clothes and shoes on, ready to run to the basement if it starts during the night.”
Yana did not expect to have to apply her competencies and the academic concepts she had learned so quickly to real life and in very challenging situations. At first, her primary goal was to assist with addressing immediate humanitarian concerns of the population. Her focus has since shifted.
“Even though all the social issues are not resolved yet, I am trying to refocus on law, and what we can do now,” Yana says.
While studying in Yerevan, she gained significant experience working with Armenian refugees from Syria and Lebanon. She now applies those skills to provide free legal counseling for residents displaced from regions of Nagorno-Karabakh that have fallen under Azerbaijani control. She helps displaced people apply for housing and financial assistance, and records their experiences to eventually submit to international institutions.
“I am trying to do my best every single day to gather evidence, testimonies, and use the tools law has to offer to bring justice and fairness to our people.”
To read: ICJ Orders Provisional Measures for Armenia and Azerbaijan, a legal analysis of the provisional measures ordered by the World Court and their consequences moving forward.
To watch: Bad Dream, a short film about the psychological and human toll of the 44-Day War by Arnold Ghazaryan, a young filmmaker from Nagorno-Karabakh who fought in the war.
To listen: Qami Pchi, an old-school Armenian R&B song from 2006 that has recently made a comeback. From taxis to sidewalk cafes, you’ll hear this tune playing all over Yerevan. Low-cut jeans, men all dressed in black and dramatic singing on a couch that looks just like grandma’s — you know you missed it.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.