| Your support is crucial! The Armenian National Committee of UK works tirelessly to advocate for the Armenian Cause and protect our community’s rights. We need your donations to continue this vital work. Every contribution makes a difference. Please donate today and help us keep our voice strong. |
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1- Our message for the commemoration of Independence of Artsakh
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| On September 2, 1991, the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) declared their independence from the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan responded by starting a war in 1991, bombing the civilian population of Artsakh. A four-year war ended with the victory of the Armenians. After a ceasefire in 1994, the people of Artsakh spent nearly 30 years building a free and democratic state, while Azerbaijan focused on buying weapons and preparing for another war.
In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a new war against Artsakh that lasted 44 days. Ignoring the ceasefire agreement and binding orders from the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan imposed a genocidal blockade in 2023, besieging 120,000 people for almost 10 months until it finally launched new attacks. The entire population of Artsakh was forcibly displaced, and its leaders were imprisoned.
The Armenian National Committee of the UK, together with Armenian Community Council of the UK, demand:
. The right to collective return under international protection.
. The release of all Armenian hostages held illegally by Azerbaijan.
. The protection of cultural and religious sites.
The Artsakh issue is NOT resolved and should remain on the international community’s agenda.
Genocidal ethnic cleansing does not resolve conflicts; it only exacerbates them.
We urge our community to help by sharing this message on your social media. |
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2. ANC Global Campaign to expose genocidal Azerbaijan ahead of #COP29
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| A global campaign was launched to expose genocidal Azerbaijan ahead of the COP29.
What you can do:
1- Follow @ProtestCOP29 on X/Twitter (https://protestcop29.org/) and share social media posts using the following hashtags: #COP29Exposed, #COPout29, #COP29, #COP29Azerbaijan, #StopGreenwashGenocide, #FreeArmenianHostages and #FreePoliticalPrisoners.
2- Find out who your newly elected MP is and send an email explaining the atrocities carried out by Azerbaijan and all the human rights violations. Demand they write to the Foreign Secretary asking for:
• Guarantee the right to return and their safety for indigenous Armenian people to Artsakh by implementing international mechanisms.
• Free all Armenian prisoners held illegally by Azerbaijan.
• The preservation of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh.
• Azerbaijan to withdraw from all territories incurred in sovereign and internationally recognised Armenia.
If you need help with the letter, please contact us and we can assist you. |
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| This is the fate of the Armenian POWs and detainees in Azerbaijan. The UN Climate Change Conference Baku #COP29 gives us the opportunity to put pressure on Azerbaijan and achieve their liberation. |
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| Political prisoners illegally imprisoned in Azerbaijan: Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan (3 former presidents). Other political prisoners include Ruben Vardanyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Babayan, Davit Manukyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan.
Captives/Prisoners illegally imprisoned in Azerbaijan: Gevork Sujian, Eric Ghazaryan, Rachid Beglaryan, Davit Davityan, Davit Allahverdyan, Gurgen Stepanyan, Vagif Khachaturyan, Levon Balayan, Alyosha Khosrovyan, Garik Martirosyan, Lyudvig Mkrtchyan, Madat Babayan, Vicken Euljekian, Melikset Pashayan, Vasili Beglaryan. |
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| Azerbaijan banned a dozen of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Deputies from entering the country ahead of the COP29 climate summit. On January, those Deputies voted in favor of limiting the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation at the PACE.
Frank Schwabe, head of the German delegation, said: “Entry bans in democracies only apply to extremists and violent criminals. I assume that my entry ban in Azerbaijan is more the hallmark of a flawless dictatorship.”
Markus Wiechel, head of the Swedish delegation, added: “I am not surprised at all. It was quite expected and inevitable. I have long criticized the Azerbaijani dictatorship and its actions against Nagorno-Karabakh.” |
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| Gas flaring in Azerbaijan, host of the UN #COP29 climate summit, hit a decade high in 2023, with facilities involving BP and the state oil company being among the culprits according to an analysis by Global Witness published in Financial Times. Flaring is the burning, instead of capturing, of gas that occurs when drilling for oil, and is a major source of emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, as well as black soot, that contributes heavily to global warming.
“Flaring increased at several facilities operated or owned by BP, a big player in Azeri oil and gas, and state oil company Socar over that period”, said FT. According to Patrick Galey, a senior investigator at Global Witness, the activity in Azerbaijan had “gone largely unnoticed” because the country “hasn’t bothered to report its emissions in six years”, although countries are required to report their emissions data every two years. |
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| Climate activist Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg) called Azerbaijan an “authoritarian regime which violates human rights” and called for the release of all political prisoners, including Armenians, ahead of #COP29.
“Once again, the climate summit is being held in an authoritarian regime, which violates human rights both within the country and not least against Armenians, and which depends on dirty fossil fuels for export and desperately tries to suppress voices that strive for change. All political prisoners must be released. We cannot have climate justice without social justice for all. Therefore, it is crucial that, while demanding climate action from those in power, we also center the perspectives and demands of Azerbaijani and Armenian climate and human rights activists”. |
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3. Campaign to #FreeArmenianHostages during the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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Formula 1 don’t be accomplice to human rights violations. Armenian prisoners are being held hostages less than a kilometer away from the Baku City Circuit of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be held on September 15.
You can help #FreeArmenianPrisoners by signing a petition here: https://freearmenianprisoners.com
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For this campaign we are writing a letter to F1 signed by parliamentarians and most community organisations. In the letter we have mentioned Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses and demanded Formula 1 to stop enabling regimes like Azerbaijan to sportswash their crimes. By speaking out against this injustice and calling for the release of the Armenian political prisoners in Azerbaijan, Formula 1 can demonstrate its commitment to human rights in the countries it visits.
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4. UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh
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| Question by The Lord Bishop of Southwark and answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington. |
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| We received a reply to our letters dated 16 and 24th of July to Stephen Doughty, Minister of State (Europe, North America and Overseas Territories):
“The UK Government has been consistent in calling for the release of all remaining prisoners of war, and the return of the remains of the deceased, from the conflict. Allow me to reassure you that this will continue to be a priority for this Government”.
“I would like to reassure you that we continue to review the situation and to consider all tools available to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region”. |
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5. News articles and recent developments
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| “Is the identity of the Old City of Jerusalem changing – house by house? This small patch of land is of vital importance to Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. But, amid accusations of dodgy deals, corruption and trickery, there are concerns that the Old City’s historic multi-ethnic and multi-religious identity is being altered. In the Armenian Quarter a battle is going on for the control of land which the local community says is essential to its well-being and even its survival”. |
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| Kerkonian Dajani LLP filed an OECD complaint against global design firm Chapman Taylor LLP on behalf of Avan Shushi partnership alleging OECD Guidelines violations and adverse human rights impacts tied to conduct in occupied Shushi, Artsakh.
According to the information, Chapman Taylor’s Group Board Director Adrian Griffiths decided which houses could be demolished, while claiming that they could “make some very rapid, positive progress” in Shushi without its residents. The firm modified and rebranded the Avan Shushi Hotel without the approval or consent of the Armenian owners.
Karnig Kerkonian, founding member of the Committee on the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of the Artsakh People, said: “Multinational enterprises are provided clear OECD parameters by which to measure their actions and associations, especially when it comes to fundamental human rights. Azerbaijan’s campaign to remove the indigenous Armenian people from Artsakh, and now even their heritage and history, is patent, it is unmitigated, and it is intolerable. It must be stopped immediately”. |
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| Recent satellite images show that Azerbaijan destroyed the village of Mokhrenes in the Hadrut region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The village came under the Azerbaijani control in October 2020 as a result of the 44-day war. The satellite imagery shows that the majority of the village houses, the school, the kindergarten, and other buildings have been pulled down. In total, over 40 homes and buildings have been demolished, while the St. Sargis Church of Mokhrenes was completely destroyed by October 2022. |
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| “Bahruz Samadov, a young Azerbaijani academic and writer, was arrested on August 21st. He has since been charged with treason, reportedly because he had written critical pieces about the country’s conflict with Armenia. His arrest was quickly followed by that of another peace activist, Samad Shikhi. These are the latest markers in a harsh and growing crackdown on the few remaining independent voices in the country. The arrests took place in the run-up to a general election on September 1st, which the ruling party, led by Azerbaijan’s autocratic president, Ilham Aliyev, will again dominate”.
According to The Economist, “defeating Armenia militarily means Mr Aliyev needs a new enemy”. Bahruz Samadov, a doctoral student researching “authoritarianism and the logic of exclusion in Azerbaijan” explained in 2021 how the state demonises Armenians and domestic critics in parallel fashion: “The enemy, internal or external, must be eliminated. |
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| The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published a report detailing how Azerbaijan obstructed the humanitarian work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) genocidal blockade. Despite the ICRC’s mission to provide humanitarian aid, Azerbaijan imposed severe restrictions and blockades that significantly hindered the organization’s ability to deliver relief to the region.
“Now, drawing on interviews, data about ICRC convoys provided by inside sources, and weeks of on-the-ground reporting, OCCRP has pieced together the most complete picture yet of how Azerbaijan impeded the work of one of the only international organizations that was providing life-saving humanitarian support on the ground”. |
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| Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, said that Azerbaijan has an obligation to facilitate “the return of the Karabakh Armenians to their ancestral homes” during an interview with Jam News.
“The EU has been very clear on the matter – and it is also my expectation – that the Karabakh Armenians will be part of the normalisation process and that there will be direct talks between Baku and them about their safe and dignified return to their home region”, he added. Klaar also called for the “release of all prisoners”. |
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| The film “The Golden Chain of Mercy” (director: Arman Chilingaryan, production: “Man Pictures Production”, Armenia) won 5 awards at the London Movie Awards international film festival in the UK.
Best Documentary Feature Film – Man Pictures Production
Best Screenplay – James Robbins with Valery Gasparyan
Best Musical Score – Artashes Kartalyan
Best Cameraman – Ashot Mkrtchyan
Best Editing – Tigran Baghinyan
The ground-breaking documentary about the Armenian Genocide tells the story of survivors and is a tribute to those unsung heroes who stretched ‘the Golden Chain of Mercy’ across the globe, a testament to humanity’s unwavering resolve to uphold justice and kindness in the face of unimaginable adversity. Amidst this darkness, a glimmer of hope emerges through the sacrifice of ANZAC unit fighters, alongside the benevolent citizens of Australia and New Zealand who came to their aid. |
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Make your donation
Please give today to help our campaigns
To continue our ever growing work in advocacy we urgently need funds to have paid staff. All our efforts are done on voluntary basis. Please donate so we can carry on working for the Armenian Cause and raise the concerns of the British Armenian community.
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You can now donate monthly!
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Why Donate?
The Armenian National Committee of the United Kingdom (ANC-UK) is the largest and most influential British-Armenian political grassroots organisation.
Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Britain and affiliated organisations around the world, ANC-UK actively advances the concerns of the British-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.
The work achieved by ANC-UK is currently on a volunteer basis. However, we are hopeful that in the coming years through the financial support of our community, the ANC-UK chapter will have the necessary funds to open a full-time office employing an Executive Director and a part-time Administrative Assistant.
Setting up an ANC-UK office will allow for our organisation’s goals to be achieved as they have been throughout the diaspora in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and Europe.
As a grassroots organisation, we rely upon you, our community and friends for financial assistance to advance our cause. Your donations support our goal of having a full-time office, to advocate on issues important to all British-Armenians and the Armenian cause.
Thank you for your consideration of our request for your support.
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