Author: Adrine Hakobian

Chess: Two of Armenia’s players leading World Chess Championship R2

Adrine Hakobian
Pan Armenian, Armenia
Nov 15 2017
Two of Armenia's players leading World Chess Championship R2

The second round of the World Junior Chess Championship was held on Wednesday, November 15, with two Armenian grandmasters snatching victories again.

After a successful start in round 1 and 2, Hayk Martirosyan and Manuel Petrosyan are leading the championship alongside 20 other players.

International master Tigran Harutyunyan drew in the second round too, while Siranush Ghukasyan from the girl's team lost the match.

Harutyunyan and Ghukasyan have one point each.

The championship is set to run through November 25.

Art: New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to host exhibition dedicated to Armenian culture

Adrine Hakobian
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 4 2017
Culture 10:42 04/11/2017World

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, one of the world’s prestigious cultural centers, will host an exclusive exhibition presenting the historical and cultural heritage of the Armenian people in the 4th-17th centuries. The opening of the exhibition is scheduled for Armenia’s Independence Day on September 21, 2018.

Hayern Aysor, citing Asbarez Daily, reports that on October 22, facilitator of the Byzantine Section of the Department of Medieval Arts and Monasteries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Helen Evans provided details about the exhibition at Ararat Eskijian Museum.

“The exhibition will present the history and culture of the Armenian people starting from the early Middle Age and ending with the 17th century, including the adoption of Christianity, the Armenian alphabet created by Mesrop Mashtots and its impact, samples from the years of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, manuscripts of different centuries and the first print books in Armenian,” Helen Evans informed.

The exhibition will mainly feature samples from the Museum of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts-Matenadaran and the History Museum, certain treasures of Armenian medieval culture kept at the St. Hakobyants Armenian Church of Jerusalem, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia and the Mekhitarist Congregation. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and certain non-Armenian sources will also provide samples.

Helen Evans stated that this is an exclusive opportunity to present the historical and cultural heritage of a nation bearing one of the world’s ancient cultures through a modern method.

Film: “The Last Inhabitant” to close the Scandinavian Film Festival

Adrine Hakobian
Panorama, Armenia
Oct 27 2017
Culture 20:11 27/10/2017World

"The Last Inhabitant” by Armenian filmmaker Jivan Avetisyan will be screened on October 28 to close the Scandinavian International Film Festival. To remind, the movie won awards at the film festival, taking “The Best Feature” and “The Best Actor” nominations.

A co-production of five countries, the movie is based on Tsovinar Khachatryan’s short story “Gyurjevan’s Last Inhabitant”. Masis Baghdasaryan is the co-writer of the script. Music, performed by Hover Chamber Choir and the National Philharmonic Orchestra is written by Serj Tankian. “The Last Inhabitant” was filmed in Khachmach village, Artsakh.

The film cast features renowned actors from Iran, Lithuania, Greece, USA, Russia and Armenia.
The “The Last Inhabitant’s” international promotion started with screening at the Venice Production Bridge of the Venice International Film Festival in Italy. The Armenian premiere took place in the scope of the 13th edition of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF).

Over the past months, the film was screened in Lebanon, the US, Russia, Iran, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, with new screenings scheduled for the coming future.

To remind, the film depicts the life in an Armenian village, evicted in the result of the Karabakh conflict. Abgar, the main character, stays behind all alone in a gradually shrinking enemy ring. He is waiting for his daughter, who has become a witness to her husband’s murder by an angry mob and was hospitalized with a mental disorder. An Azerbaijani named Ibrahim, for finding and bringing Abgar’s daughter, suggest that he work on the construction of a mosque. A few days later, Ibrahim finds the girl, named Yurga, in one of the psychiatric hospitals of Baku and brings her to Abgar.

Stir in Debate on Project against Domestic Violence (video)

Adrine Hakobian
  • 17:55 | October 9,2017 | Social
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During the public discussion of the “Fight against Domestic Violence. The work carried out and subsequent steps ” a little stirring took place.

Representatives of public organizations and individual citizens complained that the organizers of the discussion, the Ministry of Justice, did not let them speak up, did not want to hear the opposite opinion, thus making a stir in the Matenadaran hall.

Most representatives of the public sector came out of the hall, underlining that this law is against the notions of our Armenian traditional family, and they were not allowed to speak, their views were not considered. About 15 minutes the situation was unmanageable.

The discussion is going on at the moment. Some of the public organizations left the discussion, and the organizers went to the compromise so that the questionnaire started sooner.

Dean Cain and Montel Williams Challenge Armenian Genocide Denial Across Capitol Hill

Adrine Hakobian
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8 hours ago

Dean Cain and Montel Williams with Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs (left to right) Dave Trott (D-CA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA).

Executive Producers of Armenian Genocide Documentary Join ANCA in Advocating Passage of H.Res.220 and S.Res.136

WASHINGTON – Internationally acclaimed celebrity activists Dean Cain and Montel Williams – executive producers of the powerful anti-genocide documentary “Architects of Denial” – joined the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) on Capitol Hill last week in calling on U.S. legislators to reject Turkey’s gag-rule and adopt legislation (H.Res.220 and S.Res.136) applying the lessons of the Armenian Genocide to the prevention of future atrocities.

The meetings with over a dozen senior legislators, Republican and Democrat, took place around the September 26th Washington DC premiere of Architects of Denial, held at the U.S. Naval Memorial before a capacity crowd of policymakers, diplomats, and DC influencers.

“We were honored to be joined on Capitol Hill by Dean Cain and Montel Williams, two of America’s most eloquent and effective human rights advocates, in challenging U.S. legislators to – at long last – reject Turkey’s gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.  “As they made so very clear – in their film and across the Hill – no nation – especially as one as hostile as Turkey – deserves a veto over U.S. human rights policy.”

Cain and Williams reminded legislators that genocide denial leads to it perpetuation, connecting the Armenian Genocide with ongoing official Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh. Among the legislators who took the opportunity to discuss the legacy of the Armenian Genocide and Turkey’s denial on the geopolitical realities of today were, House Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-SC), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Representatives from throughout the U.S. including Reps. Kevin Kramer (R-ND), Dan Donovan (R-NY), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Jody Hice (R-GA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Juan Vargas (D-CA), among others.

Dean Cain and the ANCA’s Aram Hamparian and Raffi Karakashian discussing the Genocide Prevention Resolution (H.Res.220) with Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-SC).

Photos from the meetings are available at:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ancagrassroots/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155159019591859

Cain and Williams also discussed efforts to secure passage of the Armenian Genocide legislation with Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dave Trott (R-MI) and David Valadao (R-CA) and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA), several of whom recently returned from a trip to Armenia and Artsakh.

On September 27th, Cain talked to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson regarding ongoing efforts to suppress broad-based distribution of Architects of Denial, including the since-resolved advertisement controversy at Glendale, California’s Americana Shopping center.  Watch the Fox News interview here:  https://youtu.be/kwjHshm1I9M

Earlier, on September 26th, Williams was a guest on the CBS program Great Day Washington, where he discussed the very real ongoing impact of genocide denial. “The Armenian people have been the subject of persecution now for close to a hundred years and no one wants to recognize it,” stated Williams.  “So this movie is about the Genocide and the Armenian people, but it’s also about the bigger discussion about what’s going on in this world.”  Watch excerpts of Great Day Washington here:

Montel Williams Warns of Dangers of Armenian Genocide Denial

Montel Williams on Great Day Washington, speaking about his anti-genocide documentary film Architects of Denial: "The Armenian people have been the subject of persecution now for close to a hundred years and no one wants to recognize it. So this movie is about the Genocide and the Armenian people, but it's also about the bigger discussion about what's going on in this world."

Posted by ANCA on Friday, September 29, 2017

‘Architects of Denial’ Available On-Demand and Opening in Over 10 Cities October 6th

Cain and Williams’ Architects of Denial will be holding its Los Angeles premiere on Friday October 6th to a sold-out audience, as the ANCA Western Region kicks off its Grassroots Conference.

With powerful footage from the Armenian Genocide and ongoing attacks against Armenia and Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the documentary includes testimonials from Wikileak’s Julian Assange, historians Dr. Greg Stanton, Dr. Taner Akcam and Dr. Ugur Ungor, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, publisher Harut Sassounian, and eye-witness accounts by Aregak Bagirian, Movses Anehyan and Yepraksi Gevorgyan.

The film will be premiering on October 6th and playing through October 12th in the following cities and venues.  To reach the maximum audience, producers have opted to make the film available on demand at the same time on national cable outlets, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Fandango Now. For more information, email: [email protected]

To view the Architects of Denial Trailer and for more information, visit: architectsofdenial.com

Dean Cain and the ANCA’s Aram Hamparian and Raffi Karakashian discussing Architects of Denial with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Architects of Denial – October 6 -12 – Theater Listing

California

Pacific Glendale 18

322 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210

http://www.pacifictheatres.com/glendale/

Laemmle Music Hall

9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211

https://www.laemmle.com/theaters/4

Roxie

3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA

ARCHITECTS OF DENIAL

Colorado

AMC Highlands Ranch 24

103 W Centennial Blvd, Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80129

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/denver/amc-highlands-ranch-24

DC-Maryland-Virginia

AMC Hoffman Center 22

206 Swamp Fox Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22314

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/washington-d-c/amc-hoffman-center-22

Illinois

AMC South Barrington 24

175 Studio Drive, South Barrington, Illinois 60010

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/chicago/amc-south-barrington-24

Massachusetts

Embassy Cinema

16 Pine Street, Waltham, MA, 02453

https://www.landmarktheatres.com/boston/embassy-cinema/film-info/architects-of-denial

Michigan

AMC Forum 30

44681 Mound Road, Sterling Heights, Michigan 48314

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/detroit/amc-forum-30

Minnesota

AMC Eden Prairie Mall 18

8251 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 4000 Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/minneapolis-st-paul/amc-eden-prairie-mall-18

New York

Village East Cinema

181-189 2nd Ave., New York, NY

For tickets, visit:

https://www.citycinemas.com/villageeast/film/architects-of-denial

Pennsylvania

AMC Loews Cherry Hill 24

2121 Route 38, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08002

https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/philadelphia/amc-loews-cherry-hill-24

BAKU: The Guardian’s Laundromat affair

Adrine Hakobian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 6 2017
6 September 2017 13:20 (UTC+04:00)
256

By Alan Hope

Karabakh is to blame once again

On Aug 23, 2017 an Azerbaijani football club, from the presently Armenian occupied “ghost city” of Agdam, called Qarabağ (Karabakh) despite the 2-1 loss to the Danish F.C. Copenhagen won on the away goals and became the first Azerbaijani team to reach the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, forcing Armenians to rub their sore eyes with their sore elbows, once again.

The plot for “Laundromat”

The Armenian response wasn’t long awaited, as the realization of an inevitable catastrophic defeat in the current standoff with Azerbaijan had dawned upon them. So, within the framework of their usual modus operandi, they have utilized all the resources at hand, came up with yet another brouhaha claim, added a few well and, a few other, not so well-known journalists and, with the help of an unusual ally, had created the recipe for yet another smudging campaign.

The execution

Thus, on Sept. 4 a new wave of the Armenian smearing campaign had started with the publication of the Danish “Berslinksge Business” Simon Kruse’s article, who, without any provision of a single shred of evidence, mimicking his fellow countryman Hans Christian Anderson’s style, but not the latest writing language, told a fairy tale, filled with unsubstantiated accusations of money laundering and political lobbying against Azerbaijan’s president and his family. The bonnet was promptly picked up by UK’s “The Guardian,” which came out with a series of publications widening the topic and, as a Russian S-400 missile system, aiming for the multiple targets simultaneously.

The authors

“The Guardian” campaign was spearheaded by a well-known foreign correspondent Luke Harding, whose involvement in this charade has raised a few questions of his integrity and biasness in the matter. First of all, Harding’s article was co-authored by Caelainn Barr and Dina Nagapetyants.

Barr is well-known for her work in the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Nagapetyants, on the hand, have started her collaboration with Harding, seemingly, in 2016, and co-authored his pieces on North Korean defector and a Russian oligarch’s wife. The involvement of a person of an Armenian descent, regardless of his/hers professional qualities, by the world-renowned journalist in the sensitive matter dedicated to Azerbaijan, goes either to Harding’s ignorance, which undermines his professionalism, or his prejudice.

The targets

The second question is related to Harding’s choice of targets, which are not limited to country’s elite, but directed to include a former Council of Europe MP Luca Volontè, a former German MP Eduard Lintner and the former head and now a consultant of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Kalin Mitrev.

The US President Donald Trump, British PM Theresa May and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been unwittingly turned into collateral damages. Volonte and Litner were targeted for their stance on the Karabakh conflict, in support of Azerbaijan. Mitrev was targeted, as an asymmetric blow against his wife, the interim Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, and at the prospects of Azerbaijani candidate for her post Polad Bulbuloglu, as well as to undermine the Baku visit of the EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti planned for the June of 2017.

Trump had received shrapnel due his business activities involving Azerbaijan, although he had stopped it once in the office. Merkel is “guilty by association” with Litner, as a member of his sister party. May – because it happened on her watch, though she has been in the office since 2016 and Harding’s story covers 2012-2014.

Another surprising target is Russia. “The Guardian’s” graph attached to the article shows the Russian government as one of the parties channeling finances into the “secret fund,” and yet Harding doesn’t elaborate on the issue or even mentions it. It seems that his old grudge against the official Moscow still holds, but he avoided further escalation and didn’t try to avenge his diminished dignity.

The premise

The third question is on Harding’s premise itself. He states that “Danske [Bank] admits that controls at its Estonian branch to detect and stop money laundering were not good enough,” but concludes that in experts’ opinion “pattern combined with the sheer ‘velocity’ of the transactions should have raised red flags.” Could such a scenario be viable in a post 9-11 era? Doubtful!

An unusual ally

In the midst of the havoc “The Guardian” campaign had created an unforeseen Armenian ally had appeared on the scene. The official Baku had claimed that, trivial financier George Soros is the actual puppeteer of the whole charade. Soros, well known for his barbaric financier methods, involving his usual play for the short of the sovereign currencies, like his latest affair with the Thailand’s Baht, raises the issue of his possible play for devaluation of the Azerbaijani manat. Recalling his constant involvement in the rainbow-colored revolutions, it’s plausible to estimate that he might be trying to overthrow the legitimate Azerbaijani government. Notwithstanding, it’s hard to imagine that Baku would voice Soros’s name without a concrete evidence of his involvement.

The “unfortunate” conclusion

Sheer audacity of the latest campaign could have been adhered to a fake website publishing, like the one witnessed in August of 2017, when theguadıan.com site attributed its faked publications to the “The Guardian.” Unfortunately, Harding and his fellow journalists addressing the issue had proven that “The Guardian” with its scandal-mongering and hunt for sensationalism had turned into yet another source of tabloid journalism.