Richard Kashmanian’s Post

The stick figure diagram in this post depicts Armenia ‘thrown under the bus’, a victim of US foreign policy. It is important to clarify that the stated priority of the US state department policy is not the destruction of Armenia, as suggested by the illustration, but the containment of Iranian threat. The United States has considered Azerbaijan and Turkey as important countries in the region, counterbalancing Iran's influence and supporting Ukraine's defense against Russia. US support of Azerbaijan also relates to Israel’s close relationship with Azerbaijan, as an access point for intelligence on Iran, actively exporting advanced Israeli military weaponry to Azerbaijan for such access and for hydrocarbon imports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Nobody likes to get thrown under the bus, intentionally or inadvertently as the case may be here. But it may be more important to highlight that the US State Department's strategy of appeasing autocratic Azerbaijan may be flawed due to true differences in strategic priorities of the US and Azerbaijan. The US aims to stop and handicap the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereas Azerbaijan's primary objective, as stated by President Ilham Aliyev, is not containment of Iran but the eventual occupation of Armenia. This disparity in strategic priorities may impact the outcome desired by the US which is containment of Russia and Iran - (while Christian Armenia, an emerging democracy, is ultimately destroyed by Azerbaijan and Turkey).  The US Can’t Afford to Gamble on Azerbaijan | American Enterprise Institute - AEI https://lnkd.in/gEBRWzwK Perhaps a recent example of a similarly flawed decision, was to allow Turkey to invade Syria in 2019 with the intent of helping eliminate ISIS. Here the US strategic priority was elimination of ISIS, the Turkish strategic priority was elimination of the Kurds. Then president Trump's decision to abandon the Kurds (who had been instrumental in fighting ISIS) and allow Turkish forces to invade Syria undermined the progress that had been made against ISIS and allowed the terrorist group to regroup [2][3]. The Turkish forces did not play a significant role in defeating ISIS. Instead, they focused on attacking the Kurdish people, whom they view as a threat to their national security [1][3]. The Turkish invasion of Syria also led to the release of ISIS prisoners, who had been held in Kurdish-run detention centers [2] [3].   [1] https://lnkd.in/gKf8-8TK [2] https://lnkd.in/gPgUZmPv [3] https://lnkd.in/giwu4nPN

Today, the barrier between my personal-world and work-world broke. Upon entering the workforce, I have always operated under the assumption that it is imperative to separate work from personal life. This morning, I woke up to the news that the Republic of Artsakh will be dissolved as of January 1, 2024. A nation of hundreds of thousands of indigenous Armenians were forced to flee from their homes to avoid extermination. Not only was their right to self-determination stripped from them, but their basic human rights taken by the hands of the barbaric dictator, Ilham Aliyev. Armenians everywhere have peacefully protested for over a century and yet few people have come to answer our cries. Following this devastating loss (generations of Armenians who gave their lives for the safety and security of Artsakh, historic churches and symbolic monuments that will certainly be destroyed), my asks to the global community are the following: 1. Many of Artsakh’s leaders have either been abducted, or have turned themselves in to the corrupt Azerbaijani regime as a sacrifice to save the remaining Armenians of Artsakh. We need the global community’s support to ensure their safety and return. Ruben Vardanyan is one such example. A globally renowned humanitarian, a co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Prize and a selfless leader to us all, is in need of our united help. 2. My second ask is much more simple. Everyone knows who the Armenian’s are in their place of work. Check in on your coworkers - believe me - it goes such a long way. While no workplace is the same, my coworkers proved to me this week that who I am as a person is just as important as who I am as their colleague. My plea is that you recognize individuals are suffering, both directly and indirectly. They each require your support. Without your help, this devastation will certainly continue. If you can please engage with these posts to promote visibility I would greatly appreciate it. If you have two minutes to message your representatives, you can do so here: • Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) www.ANCA.org/alert If you have the capacity to send humanitarian aid, please consider the following non-profit organizations: • All for Armenia www.allforarmenia.org • Armenian Relief Society, Inc. www.ars1910.org • Kooyrigs Inc. www.kooyrigs.org #humanitarian #support #help

It is a pleasure to meet the Secretary General of Rajya Sabha( Upper House of Indian Parliament) Mr. P C Mody during his official tour in France. Our discussion covered a wide range of topics including Indo-France bilateral relations, contemporary geo-political scenarios, and economic development. It was a truly fruitful conversation that highlighted the importance of continued collaboration and partnership between both countries. #IndoFranceRelations #BilateralRelations #Geopolitics #EconomicDevelopment

Indian Constitution | Centre-State relations | Day 47/51 🇮🇳 The Constitution meticulously orchestrates the dance of Centre-State relations in our federal structure, ensuring a balanced exercise of authority. 🏛️ The Seventh Schedule delineates the distribution of powers between the Centre and States, fostering coordination. 🗺️ Articles 1 and the First Schedule define India's territories, shaping administrative divisions. 🔄 Article 3 empowers Parliament to adjust boundaries, respecting federalism while meeting regional aspirations. 🤝 Article 256 underscores States' obligation to adhere to Union laws, promoting coordination for effective legislation implementation. 🤝 Together, these constitutional provisions form a harmonious symphony guiding us toward a united India. #Constitution #Federalism

I bring to your attention a groundbreaking report, exposing Azerbaijan's alarming genocidal Armenophobia. Backed by concrete evidence, the report unveils a disturbing state-sponsored policy, including the renaming of streets after the masterminds of the Armenian 1915 genocide. Of grave concern is Azerbaijan's irredentist agenda, notably the creation of "Western Azerbaijan" and its illegal territorial claims against Armenia. The report provides access to maps promoted by the government of Azerbaijan, offering an insight into their aggressive intentions. This is not just about history; it's a call to action against a plan that threatens the very existence of the Republic of Armenia and Armenians. I urge you to read the full report to understand the gravity of the situation. Follow Center for Truth and Justice for more. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eNGKsPe4 #genocide #nagornokarabakh #armenia

Today (April 9) marks 16 years since the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. I researched many constitutions of various countries of the world, but I can proudly say that Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is one of the most advanced constitutions in terms of human rights protections. Its comprehensive framework and adherence to international standards have been praised by various human rights organizations and experts globally. It also has the strongest legal guarantees for protection of minorities. The Constitution's emphasis on equality, freedom, and justice sets a high standard for promoting and safeguarding human rights in Kosovo and serves as a model for other nations aspiring to strengthen their legal frameworks. https://lnkd.in/g5Wd59TS

Thirty years after the #OsloAccords, it is important to examine what remains of the original promise in the agreement and whether these remnants can survive the challenges facing the #PalestinianAuthority today. In a must-read study, Neomi Neumann details the PA's #political, #financial and #security struggles and explains why deep structural reforms and a credible successor could help advance #Israeli and Palestinian interests. #middleeast #mideast #oslo #essay #research #analysis

https://lnkd.in/egpt7KnT If Azerbaijan is so hell-bent on calling all its diabolical moves as efforts to "reintegrate Armenians" are they willling to accept their position as a constituent of a larger confederation of states under South Caucasus and allow Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) its legitimate right to integrate with the rest of Armenia and join in as another constituent under a South Caucasan confederation of states? Georgia could be the third. The assumption may be hypothetical but it certainly had a precedent when the three states came together under a federation with the fall of czarist Russia and before the Bolsheviks made their inroads into the region to take control. It's worth revisiting the pages of recent history with a fresh perspective.

The newly independent country #SouthSudan faced two civil wars after the independence in 2011 from #Sudan. The political tension between the President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar ended with civil war which adversely affected the #humanrights and #humanitarian situation. Read more in #ICWAIssueBrief by Syamkumar V, Research Associate, ICWA. Click - https://bit.ly/3vrtWgZ

<< The refusal of confrontation, the party of appeasement or the government of tenderness are doomed to end up objectively as collaborators of the only appeasement known to the bourgeois order, bourgeois appeasement >>. Frédéric Lordon. If we replace bourgeois with authoritarian, we arrive at the impasse in which soft opposition to governing groups with authoritarian tendencies and a strong inclination towards perpetual government finds itself. As far as Cameroon is concerned, we might nevertheless ask whether the radicalism that did not flourish yesterday with the upheaval of Um and Ouandié can flourish today, even though the Cameroonian social body abhors radicalism. It is clear that opposition groups in Cameroon are on a knife-edge, torn as they are between the understandable desire to play the game of institutional democracy and radicalism as a means of triumphing over a regime that has been in power since...1958. Netjeri Kheperu, Le Méditant !