De Bruxelles à Sèvres , Lyon, Beyrouth, & le Tavoush (Arménie)

European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy – EAFJD

August – September 2020 Newsletter #22

From Brussels to Sèvres, Lyon, Beirut and Armenia's Tavush region: Causes that matter to us

Following the military aggression of the Azerbaijani armed forces on the villages of Tavush region of Republic of Armenia on 12 July 2020, on the initiative of Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Costas Mavrides (S&D, Cyprus), 29 MEPs from 7 different political groups sent a letter to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) Josep Borrell, urging Azerbaijan to install the OSCE investigative mechanism. The MEPs called on the EU “to use its leverage to put in place genuine and effective confidence-building measures, notably the OSCE investigative mechanism for cease-fire violations which would prevent the sides from blaming each other for initiating deadly attacks. Armenia has agreed to discuss the details of the mechanism. Azerbaijan must do the same.” Read the entire letter here.
In his statement after a phone call with both Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, the EU HR/VP Josep Borrell clearly referred to the Azerbaijani threats of bombing Armenia's Medsamor Nuclear Power Plant – which has long been defined as an act of terrorism by the UN. Read his statement here.

Solidarity with Lebanon

As a result of the catastrophic explosion in Beirut on 4 August 2020, the Lebanese people and the Armenian community of Beirut suffered devastating losses. In order to provide moral and material support, the European Armenians continue to send their much-needed contribution through the European branches of the Armenian Relief Society and other sister organizations.
You can still donate and contribute to the recovery and reconstruction of Beirut and its Armenian district including schools, churches, cultural and community centers, houses and stores.

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Twenty-nine years ago Artsakh declared independence

On 2 September 2020, we celebrated the 29th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). On this occasion EAFJD President said: “The European Armenians as well as all our friends across the continent will continue to support the struggle of the Artsakh people for justice and freedom.”
A number of European politicians congratulated the people of Artsakh, including MEP Demetris Papadakis (see his tweet ere), the members of the Belgian French-speaking Friendship circle with Artsakh (see declaration here in French) and members from the Dutch-speaking friendship group with Artsakh (see here).

Armenia has a new Ambassador to Belgium and head of mission to the EU

On the occasion of the appointment of H.E. Ms. Anna Aghadjanian as the new Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Kingdom of Belgium and the head of Armenia’s delegation to the European Union, the EAFJD congratulated her on her new mission (see more here) and sent a letter of appreciation to former Ambassador H.E. Tatoul Markarian for the effective and close cooperation (read the letter here in Armenian).
On 24 August 2020, Belgium completed the ratification process of the new bilateral agreement between the EU and Armenia – the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The Treaty of Sèvres is Alive

This year marks the 100^th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Turkey at Sèvres in France.

The Sèvres Treaty, by which Turkey recognizes Armenia as a free and independent state, is also the core of the Armenian claims in terms of just reparations, elimination of the consequences of the Armenians Genocide and establishment of historical justice.
Read here (in Armenian) the interview of EAFJD president Kaspar Karampetian on the occasion on the centenary of the Treaty of Sevres.

Condemnable Armenophobic acts in France

French citizens of Armenian origin were violently attacked by Turkish far-right extremists, members of Turkish fascist organization "Grey Wolves" in Lyon, France while peacefully protesting against the Azerbaijani aggression on Armenia. This act of anti-Armenianism was largely condemned by the French political class including the former French president François Hollande (see his tweet here), and former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (see his tweet here) and all the political groups. Le Comité de Défense de la Cause Arménienne (CDCA) – French chapter of the EAFJD – submitted a complaint against the perpetrators of this act of hatred. Read here (in French) the article of Le Parisien about the Armenophobic acts of the Grey wolves .