in Russian – https://crossroadorg.info/zoom_31-5-2020/

On May 30, 2020, as a part of the project of public organization “Crossroad” (“Khachmeruk”) took place an online discussion in Zoom on the theme “Artsakh in the information war. How can we help?”

Announcement of the meeting was in three languages:

• on the web site “Crossroad:  http://crossroadorg.info/en/zoom_30-5-2020_en/

in social networks

• Facebook – in the groups ArmPeterburg, in Ararat forum etc.
• VK.com  https://vk.com/wall-51442422_1517
• OK.ru   https://ok.ru/armpeterburg/topic/151740215737194

and via the electronic mailing and whatsapp.

Experts from eight cities participated: Moscow, Yerevan, Beirut, Simferopol, London, Stepanakert, Nizhnekamsk, St. Petersburg. The list is at the end of this article.

 

In the first part of the online meeting

Professor A.S. Manasyan spoke. He noted that the topic of Artsakh in the information war begins … just with a word, with the words that has become so familiar terms. Therefore, the series of his broadcasts on Artsakh TV is called the “Word in a conflict”. (Videos with dozens of weekly analytical and educational programs and interviews by A. Manasyan are available on the websites of “Crossroad”, “AGA-Tribunal”, “Miaban”) Unfortunately, very often, even from the first rallies in 1988, words, terms, wordings are incorrectly used, accents are incorrectly put. The negative result of this practice we see in life. On 21 min and 40 sec in the video (see below) of the meeting on May 30, Alexander Manasyan says that the number of semantic errors in terms, formulations and presentation of the information and our position is very large.

 

Fragment of the video of the first part of the meeting (in Armenian, 31 min)

This time, Alexander Manasyan bringing it as an example spoke about three topics that he covered earlier in the media:

0 – 16:00 — About toponym Karabakh (see also a video, 21 min –  https://youtu.be/ybpi1fX84y0)
16:00 – 22:15 — Msmna is Artsakhian Sardarapat (see also video, 15 min – https://youtu.be/GB83fHl7VvM)
22:15 – 24:40 –  — June 12 (1921) — Declaration (Decree) on the proclamation of Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Armenia.

The third topic is actual because of approaching date in June. We need to prepare for such dates in advance and present them correctly in the information field – both in Armenian and in the external.

24:40 – 30:30 – comments by Mariam Avagyan.

 

The goal of the online discussions initiated by the “Crossroad” organization is to consolidate experts interested in promoting various topics on different and multilingual information platforms. The topic of Artsakh is of highest priority. Therefore, various experts, representatives of different information resources from different countries will be consistently invited to such online discussions.

The horizontal integration of information resources and the harmonization of the common agenda is one of the specific operational goals of the “Crossroad” project. So, in this meeting there were representatives of eight cities of five countries. Participants present dozens of popular long-term and important information resources.

The following structures, whose representatives met online on May 30, have this experience of horizontal cooperation between their members in the information field:

• Coordinating council of Russian-Armenian NGOs (7 years of operation)
• web resources of the Parliament and Government of the Republic of Western Armenia (7 years)
• web resources on the political and legal assessment of the Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan (3 years)
• forum on politics in Big Middle East region (10 years)
• Ararat forum (5 years with the previous resource)

and others.

Now the task is to develop cooperation between them and many others.

So, on the topics of Artsakh, the Genocide, the exposure of radical pan-Turkism and anti-Armenian publications, it is proposed to form an International Information Coordination Center.

 

In the second part of the meeting

on May 30, participants were answering the question “Artsakh in the information war. How can we help? ”

Hovik Avanesov noted several areas in which he works: Legal aspects of the military rhetoric of Azerbaijan; Turkish-Azerbaijani policy of blockade of Armenia; Mechanisms of bringing Azerbaijan to legal liability for war crimes.

Oleg Gabrielyan reminded that the Armenian side is not always ready for information attacks, not always in time and fully responds to anti-Artsakh actions.

Georg Gabrielyan believes that our attitude to the information field should be built as it is been done by marketers of goods in order to promote our information products and concepts in a specific market.

Here is one more of the many aspects mentioned during the meeting.

A large role in protecting the interests of Artsakh in Russia and the world potentially belongs to the Armenian communities (by the way, 8 out of 13 participants in the meeting were from outside Armenia and Artsakh). But the effectiveness of communities at the present stage is an old and big problem related to interaction with Armenia.

In particular, lawyer Ruben Kirakosyan expressed his critical opinion on the current situation in Russia, based on his broad human rights practice. “We can conclude,” he said, “that not one of the Armenian structures in Russia fully performs its functions in the field of consolidation of the people: neither the embassy, ​​nor the church, nor the community, nor the parties, especially in the field of popularization of Armenian values, the community “building, explaining to the Russian-speaking population about what is happening in Armenia. Armenia itself, for its part, also does not have so far a coherent policy towards Diaspora.” In this regard, Kirakosyan suggested further discussing such topics as: the world Armenian diasporas and their representation in Armenia; reformatting of communities, creation of an international Armenian human rights information center to counter fake propaganda and clarify the Armenian position, the creation of Armenian trade unions, the formation of refugee issues in a legal vein with the definition of the subject of liability.

Aram Khatchatryan: “I express my satisfaction with such format of the online video conference. As a representative and public figure of the Armenian Diaspora of Russia, I believe that such a format and public discussions on the problems of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Armenia, and on counteraction of the impudent information war of Azerbaijan and Turkey against the Armenians, Armenia, Artsakh, will be able to pull together and unite us. It is good that separately in each country we are doing very important things, but it is very sad that we hardly know about each other. In many countries, the diaspora does not know about the practical affairs of the Armenian Diaspora in Russia. And it is desirable that our activities become accessible to many, and it will also be pleasant for us to be informed about the activities of the Armenian communities in other countries. We are ready to actively engage in the dissemination of such information. The further holding and development of conferences of this kind can destroy many obstacles and become an important step in uniting the efforts of active representatives of the intelligentsia of the Armenian diasporas in different countries towards real actions. Perhaps this will also help to create the International Armenian interaction information center. I am sure that this will give its practical results! ”

 

Unfortunately, the time limit in Zoom did not give an opportunity to listen in more detail to the participant from Beirut Yeghia Tashjian. Thus his opinion after the end of the online group session was separately recorded on video (6 min)

 

By the way, many of the participants in the meeting on May 30 were not familiar with each other before, especially with guests from London and Beirut. The Berlin Wall, about which one of the participants spoke at a large pan-Armenian media forum in July 2019 in Antelias (Lebanon), the Berlin Wall between the fighters of the information front of different countries – begins to collapse. It depends on us whether a unified and cohesive international network information fist will take place.

 

Participants of the online discussion on May 30:

• Alexandr Manasyan, Ph.D. in philosophy, professor (Yerevan),
• Aram Khatchatryan, public figure, journalist, historian, human rights activist and lawyer, editor-in-chief of the information-analytical website http://russia-armenia.info, executive secretary of the Coordinating Council of Russian-Armenian Organizations (Moscow),
• Garen Arevian, blogger, public figure (London),
• Ruben Kirakosyan, dvocate, president of Russian-Armenian lawyers association ARMROSS (Moscow),
• Ernest Grigoryan, Ph.D. in philosophy, professor (Yerevan),
• Mariam Avagyan coordinator of the Congress of Refugees from the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan  (Yerevan),
• Oleg Gabrielyan, Ph.D. in philosophy, professor, dean of the faculty of philosophy of the Crimean Federal University named after V. Vernadsky, chairman of the Board of the Cultural and educational charitable Fund “Luys” (Simferopol),
• Hovik Avanesov, research associate of the Center of Caucasian studies, Mesrop Mashtots University (Stepanakert),
• Yeghia Tashjian, journalist in a number of media, blogger (Beirut),
• Mariam Yegyan, Ph.D. in history, associate professor, Yerevan branch of Plekhanov University and Pedagogical University of Armenia (Yerevan),
• Georg Gabrielyan, public figure (Saint Petersburg),
• Aram Astvatsaturov, blogger (Nizhnekamsk),
• Vahan Babakhanyan, public organization “Crossroad” (“Khatchmeruk”), representative of the standing committee on the recognition, condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and reimbursement for damages of the National Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic of Western Armenia, moderator of few web sites and groups in social networks, in that number   http://crossroadorg.info/   https://aga-tribunal.info/   https://miaban.ru/  (Saint Petersburg).