The California
Courier Online, August 4, 2022
1- UN Official
Deletes His Tweet on Armenian
Genocide,
After Pressure from Turkey
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Baseball
Hall of Fame honors Tim Kurkjian with Career Excellence Award
3- Paul
Chepikian Set to Appear in Upcoming Steven Spielberg Film
4- ‘Armenia Without
Nikol’, Resistance Movement Marches On
5- Armenia
Continues Fight Against COVID-19
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UN Official Deletes His Tweet on Armenian Genocide,
After Pressure from Turkey
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
The Turkish government resorted to its customary bullying tactics last week to
force a high-ranking United Nations (UN) official to delete his tweet on the
Armenian Genocide.
On July 27, President of the United Nations General Assembly
Abdulla Shahid issued a tweet with four photos showing him placing a wreath at
the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.
He wrote in his tweet: “Laid a wreath at the Memorial to the Victims of
Armenian Genocide. Special thanks to Museum-Institute Director Harutyun
Marutyan & Hasmik Martirosyan for a tour of the Museum.” Marutyan presented
to the visitor books on the Armenian Genocide and showed him the three
cross-stones dedicated to the memory of Armenians who were killed by Azerbaijan.
The wreath placed by
the UN General Assembly President had white and blue flowers and was decorated
with a blue ribbon with “United Nations” written on it. In the other photos of
his tweet, he was seen observing a moment of silence at the Eternal Flame of
the Memorial, taking a tour of the Armenian
Genocide Museum,
and signing the Guest Book in which he wrote: “I am very moved by my visit to
this museum. I thank you for warmly receiving me as a part of my visit to Armenia.”
During his three-day visit to Armenia, the President of the
UN General Assembly met with various Armenian officials, including the
President of Armenia Vahagn Khachatryan, Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum
Matevosyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Vice Chairman of the Parliament
Ruben Rubinyan, female diplomats of the Foreign Ministry, and spoke at the
graduation ceremony of the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic School.
Shortly after Shahid’s visit and tweet, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry issued an official statement condemning him for visiting the Armenian
Genocide Memorial and alleging that his trip “to Armenia has been exploited
with the purpose of exposing one-sided Armenian claims and it is in that
context that he paid a visit to the so-called genocide memorial.” The Turkish
Foreign Ministry added: “He would have been expected to act in a fair and
impartial manner, to be more careful and responsible in this regard.
Representatives acting on behalf of the UN authorized bodies must carry out
their duties in accordance with the UN legal instruments and relevant norms and
rules of international law, particularly the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide dated 1948. We condemn and reject attempts
to distort historical facts and international law through political
manipulation. Türkiye is of the opinion that the facts regarding the events of
1915 should be dealt with in a full, fair and honest framework.”
Shahid, who is also the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Maldives, immediately deleted the tweet
about his visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, succumbing to Turkish
pressures.
Whereas the Turkish government had succeeded in imposing its
will on the UN official, not a single Armenian official who met with the
President of the UN General Assembly bothered to question him why he deleted
his tweet, let alone criticize him.
Of course, nothing can excuse the submissive behavior of the
high-ranking UN official who caved in to the directive of a dictatorial regime,
contrary to the UN principles that he was sworn to uphold. Two sources
confirmed some of the actions of the Turkish government: The Passblue.com
website disclosed that Turkey
rescinded its invitation to Shahid to visit Ankara. The Turkish Superhaber.tv further
revealed that Turkey
withdrew Shahid’s invitation to attend the Ambassadors’ Conference to be held
in Ankara on
August 8-12. Turkey
probably used other behind-the-scenes measures to pressure Shahid.
It is highly offensive that Shahid, by agreeing to delete
his tweet, disrespected the Armenian Genocide which had been corroborated by
the UN itself. On August 29, 1985, the UN “Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities” adopted a report on genocide by a
vote of 15 in favor, 1 opposed, and 4 abstentions. The “Revised and Updated
Report on the Question of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide” was prepared by British Special Rapporteur Benjamin Whitaker.
Paragraph 24 of that report stated: “The Nazi aberration has unfortunately not
been the only case of genocide in the twentieth century. Among other examples
which can be cited as qualifying are the German massacre of Hereros in 1904,
[and] the Ottoman massacre of Armenians in 1915-1916 ….” The report also
included an extensive bibliography on the Armenian Genocide. An earlier version
of that report, prepared by UN Special Rapporteur Nicodeme Ruhashyankiko of Rwanda, had
included in its paragraph 30 a reference to the Armenian Genocide which was
subsequently deleted after excessive pressure by the Turkish government. I know
these facts first-hand because I spent from 1978 to 1985 at the UN in Geneva as the
representative of a non-governmental organization on human rights, countering
the repeated Turkish attempts to delete the reference to the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian
government may not be aware of these facts. I suggest that the Armenian Foreign
Ministry file a strongly-worded complaint with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations to have the deleted tweet reinstated and apologize to the
Armenian nation.
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2- Baseball Hall of Fame honors
Tim Kurkjian with Career Excellence Award
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.—The love affair
that ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian has enjoyed for decades with the sport of baseball—and
everyone associated with it—reached its pinnacle on Saturday when he was
honored as this year’s recipient of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.
“This has been the most overwhelming, most overpowering
experience of my life,” Kurkjian said during his speech.
In accepting the award, which is presented annually to a sportswriter
“for meritorious contributions to baseball writing,” Kurkjian takes his place
alongside the list of heroes, mentors and friends who have been previously
honored.
Baseball was the “primary language spoken” in the Kurkjian
household and has been a key thread in the fabric of his life, tracing back to
his baseball-loving father and two older brothers who played for Catholic University. A native of Bethesda,
Maryland, Kurkjian played baseball and
basketball at Walter
Johnson High
School — named after the Hall of Famer pitcher.
While there, he wrote for the school paper called “The Pitch.”
Kurkjian was honored during a private ceremony at the Alice
Busch Opera Theater at Glimmerglass Festival outside of Cooperstown.
Kurkjian, 65, has authored three books about baseball and
his experiences in it. His professional career began in 1979, when he joined
the Washington Star. By 1981, he was covering the Texas Rangers for the Dallas
Morning News, followed by a four-year stint covering the Orioles for the Baltimore Sun.
After seven-plus years with Sports Illustrated, Kurkjian
joined ESPN in 1998. Since then, he has worked as a columnist and become a
prominent part of ESPN’s broadcast coverage of baseball. He has been a fixture
at Baseball Tonight, contributed to SportsCenter and worked as a reporter and
analyst during game broadcasts. Kurkjian has twice been honored for his work in
television.
Kurkjian has transcended his long and a varied résumé simply
by becoming one of the most beloved figures in the baseball world and a person
who exudes a bonafide joy of the game. The son of a mathematician, Kurkjian has
long been known for his meticulous work habits.
Kurkjian has become as known for his relentless positivity
and generosity as for his skill in writing and broadcasting, not to mention an
encyclopedic knowledge of baseball, about which no tidbit was trivial in
Kurkjian’s eyes.
Kurkjian’s love affair with baseball is ongoing and it
reached an all-new level on Saturday, when Kurkjian earned a permanent place
among the immortals of the sport.
“Baseball is the greatest game, it is the best game of all
time,” Kurkjian said. “It is the hardest game in the world to play. It is a
beautiful game and the number of people I have met in this game over a number
of years who will be my friends for the rest of my life.”
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3- Paul Chepikian Set to Appear in
Upcoming Steven Spielberg Film
(Armenianfilmsociety.com)—Paul Chepikian is set
to appear in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film, The Fabelmans.
"It’s official, I am now listed on IMDB as a cast
member on the latest Steven Spielberg movie, The Fabelmans. I play the owner of
the Pinnacle Peak Restaurant. It will be released on November 25th, 2022. Thank
you to my agents, Terry Soil Mandel and Jan Rosenthal, from Abstract Talent.
And as always, to my Angel, Terry Mason," said Chepikian in a Facebook
post on July 29.
The film has completed production and is scheduled for a
limited theatrical release in the United States on November 11,
before expanding wide on November 23.
The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical film and is a
portrait of the formative years of Steven Spielberg, before he became a
celebrated director. The film stars Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano,
and Gabriel LaBelle.
Chepikian says he thrives on the creative process. Chepikian
is credited in the film as “Pinnacle Peak Owner.”
Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse was a restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona,
where Steven Spielbeg shot his first film, The Last Gunfight, at the age of 11.
The young Steven Spielberg fulfilled his request for the photography merit
badge by filming the nine-minute film. The director and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona
in 1957, where Steven Spielberg grew up. The restaurant closed in 2015.
Paul Chepikian is a Greek-Armenian born in Jidda, Saudi Arabia.
He lived in Cairo, Egypt
and Beirut, Lebanon
before moving to New Jersey
in 1963 when he was 8 years old. He speaking Armenian, Greek, Arabic, Turkish,
and French
He spent twelve years with the Harvey Lembeck Professional
Comedy Workshop honing his comedic and improvisational skills.
In 1992, Deep Dish TV, a show Chepikian co-produced,
co-wrote and acted in was nominated for a Cable Ace Award as Best Comedy
Special on the ShowTime Network. **********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- ‘Armenia Without Nikol’, Resistance
Movement Marches On
YEREVAN—On July 29, the rally of “Resistance” movement
marched on, starting once again in Yerevan’s
France Square.
“This struggle is not political, this is not for someone,
this is a struggle for the homeland, and victory is very close. Those who
gossip about this struggle will not be able to look their children in the eyes
tomorrow, our path is straight, victory is near,” said Narek Mantashyan, who
spent 7 months in a detention center, and wished freedom to the other political
prisoners who remain in detention.
During the rally, it was announced that three young people
affiliated with the “Resistance” movement, who were arrested in the case of
allegedly beating the “grandfathers” of Gyumri, were released on bail. Taron
Manukyan and Gor Sargsyan will continue to remain in custody.
“We came out to fight not only for our security, to remain
Armenian, to protect our homeland, but also to live well in our homeland. This
government of the “Apikars” not only surrenders our homeland, but also leads to
Turkification, it does everything to make the Armenian person live worse every
day in his/her homeland, because this government has no national goal, no
national dream. Their dream is only to keep their seats,” saod Tadevos
Avetisyan, member of the National Assembly from the “Armenia” faction, in his speech
“The EU ambassador to Armenia
says that there are supposedly no political prisoners in Armenia. It is
a statement detached from reality and supporting today’s authorities,” stated
Aram Vardevanyan, another member of the National Assembly from the “Armenia”
faction.
According to him, the leaders of the day will not apply
amnesty, because they spread widespread fear in order to cling to their seats.
Hayk Mamijanyan, a member of the National Assembly from the
“I havehonor” (Pativ Unem) faction, said in his speech that “the document being
developed between the EU and Azerbaijan does not say anything about Armenian
prisoners of war, there is not even a word that they are kept in inhumane
conditions in Azerbaijan.”
According to him, even the RA Foreign Ministry does not
mention the status of Artsakh and the right of self-determination of nations in
its official messages.
“There is no state today. All structures have been usurped
by the traitor Nikol and his henchmen,” said Ishkhan Saghateyan, the
representative of the ARF Supreme Body of Armenia.
He also mentioned that the opposition had set before it the
task of removing the current authorities in a short time, but, unfortunately, Armenia still
continues to be led by Nikol Pashinyan.
“But if the struggle is prolonged, it should not be
depressed, but rather we need to record the gaps, solve the problems and move
forward. We should make the struggle our daily routine. We must reorganize,
mobilize our forces and go after victory. We are guided by that principle,”
Saghatelyan said.
He emphasized that if the opposition participates in the
parliament, it will only be with the agenda formed by the people; the removal
of the current Prime Minister of Armenia, to fight against the threats facing Armenia and
Artsakh.
“The majority group in the National Assembly cannot drag us
into its anti-patriotic and anti-national conspiracy by blackmailing us to
deprive us of mandates. The CP backpacks (parliament members from Pashinyan’s
party) will see the back of their own heads, but they will not see us in the
parliament participating in their fake agenda. Unfortunately, the Armenian
people no longer have a platform for united _expression_ other than the street
and this square. Our street struggle at this moment has no alternative,” said
Saghatelyan.
According to Saghatelyan, the government still continues to
carry out political persecutions.
“Many of our comrades in struggle are currently in prison as
political prisoners. But they are much freer than those who gave the order to
detain our boys,” said Saghatelyan.
“Unity, Struggle, Victory” chanted the participants of the
rally.
Then the march of the “Resistance” movement started and the
participants walked through the central streets of Yerevan,
returning to the “France”
square where the rally ended. Touching upon the upcoming activities of the
movement, Saghatelyan stated that there will be regional visits in August.
According to him, the regional councils have already been formed.
A pan-Armenian resistance forum is planned for the middle of
August, to which well-known political figures and intellectuals from Armenia,
Artsakh, Diaspora will be invited. According to Saghatelyan, a rally will be
held in France Square
on September 2 on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Artsakh.
On the same day, rallies and events are also planned in Artsakh.. ***********************************************************************************************************************************************
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against
COVID-19
More than 2.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered
in Armenia
since commencing the vaccination program a year ago, authorities said on July
25. Armenia
has recorded 424,400 coronavirus cases. Armenia has recorded 8,629 deaths;
for the sixth week, no new deaths were reported. There are 3,110 active cases;
412,661 have recovered.
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