2023 November 8

Daily news wrap-up

Jerusalem drama explained /// Edmon Marukyan about Russia & peace agreement /// G7's message to Azerbaijan /// Anti-corruption /// And more...
by ar_david_hh

---

the legal dispute around "Cow's Garden" in Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter explained

MEDIA: The land in question is located within the Armenian Quarter. The patriarchate signed a 98-year lease agreement to hand it over to an Israeli company Xana Capital. The Armenian community has since organized multiple protests against the deal.

The latest protest took place on November 6. Representatives of Xana Capital, accompanied by dogs and Israeli ultranationalists, approached the Armenian protesters to intimidate them, claiming that the land belongs to the company now. Armenians did not back down and organized an emergency meeting with the participation of international lawyers. The Israeli settlers and Armenian protesters have since dispersed but the conflict hasn't ended.

It's not just the Armenian community who protested the agreement. Governments of Palestine and Jordan have expressed their concern and declared Patriarch Nourhan Manougian as illegitimate. The Patriarch, in turn, blamed Father Yeretsian for the situation and said that it was he who signed the land deal behind the Patriarch's back. Yeretsian was fired. The latter claims Patriarch knew about the deal and approved of it.

HAKOB CHRNAZEAN (activist from Jerusalem): The agreement was signed 2 years ago. The land is 19,000 m^2, stretching from the old city's wall to the local police department. Several buildings belonging to the patriarchate, houses of 5 Armenian families, and the local garage are all located on this land. The Israeli company wants to build a 7-star luxury hotel in their place.

The agreement was signed in violation of the patriarchate's rules. It prohibits any lease longer than 49 years and any deal that would violate the territorial integrity of the Armenian district. The agreement also contains various lies and fraud.

REPORTER: Why did the Patriarch sign it? Wasn't it finalized with his personal signature?

CHRNAZEAN: Yes. His signature is on the document. But it's also worth noting that Yeretsian's is also there. Yeretsian played a big role in the negotiations with Xana. He was the one who presented the document to the Patriarch. Patriarch claims that not all details were presented to him and that he only signed to give a smaller territory that does not include the aforementioned structures and houses. Patriarch claims he didn't know all those structures would be included.

REPORTER: But Yeretsian claims the Patriarch knew about everything.

CHRNAZEAN: Yes. But Yeretsian also insists that this agreement is beneficial for the patriarchate. One cannot agree with that assessment after reading the agreement. Yeretsian can make many claims, but sadly, on the ground, the Armenian community and the patriarchate are facing a serious threat.

REPORTER: Are there protests?

CHRNAZEAN: In May, when the community learned about all the additional territories and structures affected by the deal, we began organizing weekly protests with demands for the patriarchate to explain its actions and cancel the deal.

REPORTER: We are talking about a very important territory, even on a global scale. How could the patriarch not have read the agreement before signing? Is this a kindergarten and tun-tunik? Does the church not have lawyers go through a document before signing?

CHRNAZEAN: I agree. This Armenian community is around 2,000 years old. Any land agreement you sign must be scrutinized first.

REPORTER: How did the governments of Palestine and Jordan respond to the deal?

CHRNAZEAN: They responded 2 years ago and warned that this agreement will introduce serious challenges. They held several meetings with the patriarchate. Sadly, at the time, Yeretsian strongly criticized the governments of Jordan and Palestine, telling them it was none of their business. So the two decided to freeze their relations with Patriarch Manougian.

REPORTER: So the governments of Jordan and Palestine were more concerned than our own church?

CHRNAZEAN: We appreciate their support. They were following this topic closely.

REPORTER: What was the position of church headquarters in Ejmiatsin, Armenia?

CHRNAZEAN: Patriarch Garegin B (Armenia) and Aram I (Cilicia) held a phone call in May with Patriarch Manougian. The latter promised to do everything possible to cancel the agreement. The governments of Palestine and Jordan also held discussions with Garegin B and the government of Armenia 1.5 years ago, but we have not seen a change yet.

REPORTER: The Israelis who came to intimidate Armenian protesters, are they ordinary Israelis or goons hired by the company?

CHRNAZEAN: A bit of context. On October 26, the patriarchate sent a notice of canceling the agreement to the company. The company refused to cancel it and sent tractors to damage the walls in Cow's Gardens. The community members blocked their way. A few days ago the company management arrived, accompanied by a group of extremists hired by them. They removed the Armenian activists from the area. Around 200 members of the community and the Patriarch arrived to support the Armenian activists and remove the extremists. We succeeded. They were gone by 8 p.m. Our activists guarded the area all night and they are still there.

REPORTER: What does the government of Israel say?

CHRNAZEAN: They have been silent.

REPORTER: This appears to be a legal dispute. Can we apply to international courts?

CHRNAZEAN: There are lawyers hired by the patriarchate and the community, as well as Armenian lawyers from within the community working pro bono. There is a concerted effort to invalidate this agreement. We will contact international courts if efforts fail locally but we hope it won't come down to that because we have enough serious evidence to win here.

REPORTER: Why did the patriarchate agree to this deal initially? Was there a financial benefit for them?

CHRNAZEAN: The patriarchate owns a lot of lands in various areas and towns. Some territories bring profit while others do not. The patriarchate is not facing financial hardship. There was no reason to agree to this agreement.

REPORTER: The patriarchate wants to cancel the deal today because they believe some parts of the initial agreement have been violated. But in any case, they have never been against the construction of the 7-star hotel itself. Why?

CHRNAZEAN: This agreement does not even benefit the patriarchate, let alone the community.

REPORTER: How far away is this territory from the holy areas?

CHRNAZEAN: Cow's Garden is 30 meters away from the St. Hakobyants Cathedral [St. James Cathedral]. It's an 8-minute walking distance to St. Harutyan Cathedral [Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Church of the Resurrection?]. It's very close to holy sites.

REPORTER: Alright. How is life in Jerusalem otherwise? Are they firing at you?

CHRNAZEAN: There are days when we hear the bombardments. Right now the situation is tense but stable. Schools and businesses are reopening. It's not as bad as initially. But the situation is more tense in other parts of Israel.

REPORTER: Final message before we end the interview?

CHRNAZEAN: We must unite and fight to defend our territories in the Armenian Quarter. If we succeed, it will give us the strength to return the other territories taken from Armenians elsewhere.

[source,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-aMdYjmVC8) [source,](https://mirrorspectator.com/2023/11/05/standoff-at-cows-garden-of-jerusalems-armenian-quarter/)

ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan about Armenia-Russia relations

EDMON: We must continue to work with Russia to address the existing issues. Hopefully work is being done in this direction.

REPORTER (CivilNet with very slow mobile website): You are an ambassador of special missions. Aren't you aware of the ongoing AM-RU diplomatic work?

EDMON: No, it's not my field. I work around the peace agreement, lobbying, etc. We should hold a dialogue with Russia to understand who Armenia is in the eyes of Russia and the obligations that we have towards each other. Are we allies or not? If we are allies, do we get weapons at reduced prices or not? If we are allies, is the territorial integrity being defended or not? Our foreign ministries can't forever exchange jabs. They need to discuss the issues behind closed doors.

REPORTER: I'm under the impression that the Armenian government has decided to distance itself from Russia.

EDMON: PM Pashinyan has spoken about it. But it's not about distancing from Russia, it's about not placing all the eggs in one [Russian] basket. The topic of security and reforms is widely discussed today. I know that certain changes are happening today. For example, there are engineering works on the frontlines, and efforts to acquire new weapons from India and France. Shouldn't we take advantage of these newly found opportunities? Of course we should. But we cannot allow Russia to become our enemy because of this process.

REPORTER: But it appears that's where we are headed to. The AM-RU relations are the worst since independence.

EDMON: We need a restart.

REPORTER: The restart didn't work well between Russia and the U.S.

EDMON: Because they weren't strategic partners previously. It's a different case. We need to sit down with Russia and understand what their goals are in the South Caucasus.

... Edmon Marukyan about enforcing peace agreement with Azerbaijan

EDMON: Every member of the UN Security Council has spoken about the importance of a peace agreement and lasting peace in the region. Therefore, the UNSC should adopt a resolution to confirm the AM-AZ peace agreement. If one party violates the agreement, the other party would be able to apply to the UNSC to end the violation. Individual states cannot provide guarantees because of constant geopolitical changes and the possible weakening of their positions.

... Edmon Marukyan about Nagorno-Karabakh

REPORTER: It appears that the Armenian government no longer views the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as a barrier to the AM-AZ peace agreement. Is the topic of return to Artsakh closed?

EDMON: You have not been paying attention. The deputy foreign minister made a statement a few days ago about the need to have an international safety mechanism to ensure the return of civilians to Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia is working on this in various institutions, including in the Hague [UN World Court]. In other words, the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh were subjected to ethnic cleansing and have the right to return to their homes. Their human rights and property rights must be protected. The international community has acknowledged that people were forced to leave due to a lack of basic conditions for a safe life.

REPORTER: You are firmly against the presence of any exiled Nagorno-Karabakh government institutions in Armenia. Why?

EDMON: If we allow them to operate here, we will never have peace with Azerbaijan. There are also legal questions about their operations in Armenia because we have never recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent republic.

[source,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3veoVghbU?t=613)

Azerbaijan organized a military parade in the capital of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh

President Aliyev visited Stepanakert to give a speech and watch the parade.

[source,](https://factor.am/708909.html)

G7 countries released a statement about the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians

G7: We are gravely concerned over the humanitarian consequences of the displacement of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh after the military operation conducted by Azerbaijan.

We urge Azerbaijan to fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and welcome international efforts to address urgent humanitarian needs for those who have been displaced //

[source,](https://arka.am/en/news/politics/g7_countries_express_concern_over_forced_displacement_of_armenians_from_artsakh_/)

Armenia and UAE aim to develop economic cooperation

PM Pashinyan hosted Minister Sayegh. The latter said the meeting was fruitful. They discussed the expansion of cooperation and new projects. The trade has grown 10x in the last 3 years and reached $1 billion.

[source,](https://arka.am/en/news/economy/armenia_and_uae_aim_to_develop_economic_cooperation/)

anti-corruption: good cops bad cops

AUTHORITIES: The Interior Ministry's police department conducted an internal investigation and learned that 2 officers took bribes from several citizens to hire them. They have been suspended. The investigation continues.

[source,](https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/273169)

Sweden is officially an alpha male chad (no need for NATO)

Sweden's ambassador Patrick visited Syunik with a binocular and a bulletproof vest. He met the EU border observers in the border town of Kapan.

The alpha male club was established in 2021 with the official visit of the U.S. ambassador Tracey to Syunik. The club has since expanded and includes several A-list countries with big bank accounts.

In other news. Joseph Borrell welcomed Canada's decision to send border observers to join the EU-led efforts.

[source,](https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/273205) [source,](https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/273198)

European Commission greenlights EU candidacy for Georgia

President Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission supports the aspirations of Georgian citizens to join the EU but the Georgian government still needs to implement 9 additional reforms.

If the EU Council follows the Commission's recommendation, it will reverse the earlier decision to deny Georgia's candidacy.

Ukraine and Moldova are one step ahead of Georgia. The two could launch accession talks with the EU soon.

[source,](https://oc-media.org/european-commission-greenlights-eu-candidacy-for-georgia/)

---

Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/17qvujz/jerusalem_drama_explained_edmon_marukyan_about/