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1. APPG for Armenia Meeting and Armenian Wine and Brandy Tasting in Parliament
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| On December 3, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia held a meeting, followed by an Armenian wine and brandy tasting for parliamentarians.
Jessica Morden, the chairperson of the APPG, opened the meeting. During the meeting, we had a briefing from Chris Law about COP29, held in Baku, followed by Lord McInnes reporting on his recent trip to historic Armenia. The Ambassador spoke about the delicate peace process and how disappointed he was that the Armenian prisoners were not freed ahead of COP29. The group had quite a number of new recruits in the group.
Zara Serobyan presented a selection of Armenian wines, and the Embassy brought some cognac for tasting. There is considerable interest in Armenia, and everyone enjoyed the evening. A big thank you to Zara and her company GinVino for supplying the wine. |
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2. The winners of the ANC-UK essay competition visited the Parliament
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| On December 4, Amelie Berberian-Tuladhar, Raphael Berberian-Tuladhar, Orson Gulvanessian and Mrs. Sofya Grigoryan, the Armenian Saturday School Principal, had a special tour of the Houses of Parliament. Jessica Morden MP and Chairperson of the All Party Parliamentarian Group for Armenia graciously gave a tour of Westminster to the winners of the essay writing competition for their stories of the Armenian Genocide. The tour was arranged by the chair of ANC UK Annette Moskofian. Our special thanks to Jessica for this memorable tour during the festive season. |
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3. UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh
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| During a debate on the situation at North-west Syria, Lord McInnes of Kilwinning, member of the House of Lords, stated: “One of the minority groups that is very concerned in the Aleppo region is the Armenian community. In 2011, there were 200,000 Armenians in the Aleppo region, but that figure is now 10,000. If that community were to fear that it could face the kind of genocidal outpourings that have happened in other areas of the Middle East over the last 10 years, the Armenian Government have offered to relocate as many of those Armenians as they wish to Armenia. Would His Majesty’s Government give support to the Armenian Government to do so and engage with them if that situation were to arise?”.
Lord Collins of Highbury, FCDO Minister for Africa, UN, Commonwealth & Human Rights, replied: “I do not have a specific response on Armenia, but I have taken the noble Lord’s point and will certainly raise it in the department. As a general principle, we are very concerned to ensure that those fleeing the conflict are properly supported in neighbouring countries”. |
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4. News articles and recent developments
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| Stephan Pechdimaldji published an article in Newsweek on December 12 urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Ilham Aliyev.
“The ICC must also issue an arrest warrant for Azerbaijan’s petro-dictator, Ilham Aliyev, for committing similar war crimes and other human rights violations, including the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh last year, if they want the world to take them seriously”.
“Cherry-picking what represents genocide sends the wrong message to despots and would-be aggressors who see that type of validation as a green light to act with impunity and dismiss oversight from international regulators and legal authorities. By not treating Aliyev as a war criminal, the ICC further perpetuates a sense of hypocrisy in the enforcement of the law and gives critics an opportunity to question its authenticity”. |
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| Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), gave an interview to Armenpress during the 5th Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide on December 13.
“I definitely see an opportunity for return of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh”, stated Moreno Ocampo. “All developments that took place in Nagorno-Karabakh contain all methods and types of genocide, the creation of conditions for the destruction of a group of people: it was the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the exodus of the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the serious psychological harm inflicted upon Armenians, the fear, etc.”, he added. |
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| The legal team of Ruben Vardanyan, former Minister of State of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), businessman and philanthropist, reported that Azerbaijan prosecutors have unveiled a new and enormous array of some 45 potential charges against him and he could face life imprisonment.
Illustrating the extent to which the regime is desperate to justify its ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh and illegal imprisonment of its former leaders, the fabricated evidence is presented in more than 25,000 pages across 100 volumes, all written in Azeri. The alleged evidence is conveniently hidden both from Ruben and public view based on claims the charges relate to the “national security of Azerbaijan”.
A former State Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from November 2022 to February 2023, Vardanyan has been imprisoned in Baku in conditions violating international law. His political show trial—which has already been delayed on several occasions—is expected to fall far short of many international standards. |
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| In its plenary session in December 19, the European Parliament adopted the resolution on “The Continued repression of civil society and independent media in Azerbaijan and the cases of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, Anar Mammadli, Kamran Mammadli, Rufat Safarov and Meydan TV” with 434 votes in favour, 30 against, and 89 abstentions. This vote was preceded by a parliamentary debate on the subject on 18 December.
The Members of the European Parliament strongly condemn the repression of press freedom and the crackdown on dissent by the Aliyev regime and call on the EU executive to enact targeted sanctions against Azerbaijani officials violating human rights and suspending the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy. The resolution highlights the escalating crackdown since 2023, particularly intensified around the COP29 summit, and calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners. The resolution further highlights the routine violation of prisoners’ human rights, including inhumane detention conditions, torture, and targeted harassment of female political prisoners.
Crucially, the resolution mentions the 23 Armenian POWs “including leaders of former self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic” and calls for their immediate release along with all political prisoners in the country. During The parliamentary debate on the 18th of December, several MEPs raised the issue of the Armenian hostages as well as the policies of aggression and violations of human rights directed at the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. |
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| “Syria is not Azerbaijan. For one, Azerbaijan has faced no civil war, though it did lose far more conscripts in President Ilham Aliyev’s anti-Armenian jihad in Nagorno-Karabakh than Aliyev or Azerbaijan’s tightly controlled media are willing to acknowledge. But, like Assad, Aliyev comes from a family whose corruption and nepotism chafe even the elite, let alone ordinary people. While the Aliyevs horde luxury vehicles, watches, jewelry, and cash much as the Assads did, ordinary Azerbaijanis like their Syrian counterparts live in poverty”. |
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“All of Syria’s churches, whether of the larger Orthodox community or Catholic, are facing an imminent existential threat both from the new authorities and general political chaos following the Assad regime’s collapse”.
“Over the last 13 years, this Christian community saw jihadis systematically burn and desecrate their ancient churches, kill two beloved bishops and other clerics, subjugate and enslave women, take hostage entire Khabour Valley villages, and slaughter those who didn’t conform. Such brutality stemmed from the fanatical religious hatred nurtured by these same jihadi militants, whether called al Qaeda, ISIS or HTS. Christians are acutely aware that the militia now running their country is a terrorist group (designated as such by the US, UK and UN)”. |
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| The Swiss National Council adopted a resolution calling on the country’s government to organize an international peace conference to discuss the safe and collective return of the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
The resolution was adopted with 96 votes in favor, 80 against and 16 abstentions. The purpose of the conference will be to “facilitate the dialogue between the representatives of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh regarding the safe and collective return of the Armenian population under the supervision or presence of international actors”.
The resolution will also be submitted to the Swiss Council of States, the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. |
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| In 2020, Azerbaijan’s postal service issued a stamp depicting the extermination of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). From 2020 to 2023, Azerbaijan launched a war, a genocidal blockade and, finally, an ethnic cleansing of the complete native Armenian population of Artsakh.
Now, in 2024, Azerbaijan escalates its revisionist claims by issuing a stamp featuring Yerevan, Armenia, as part of the so-called “Western Azerbaijan”.
The term “Western Azerbaijan” is an irredentist concept promoted by Azerbaijan to claim the territory of modern-day Armenia as historically Azerbaijani land, based on the region’s historical rule by Turkic tribes and khanates prior to 1828. This narrative, endorsed by Azerbaijani officials, seeks to delegitimize Armenia’s territorial integrity and has intensified since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, drawing international criticism for threatening regional stability. |
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| An investigation by OCCRP and Transparency International UK revealed that the family of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev acquired luxury London properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars, many of which remain hidden behind offshore trusts. Despite UK transparency reforms introduced in 2022, loopholes allow these trusts to shield the true ownership from public scrutiny. New data revealed that Aliyev’s daughters own six luxury apartments in London. |
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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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