Author: Alex Jidarian

Armenia, France officially launch Armenian cultural heritage preservation program

Alex Jidarian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Alina Hovhannisyan

ArmInfo.Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Ms. Anne  Louyot and Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of  Armenia Vahram Dumanyan signed a memorandum on the official launch of  a large program aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of Armenia,  developing the potential of specialists in this field, as well as  implementing and development of "Armenia.

Exploring, preserving  and  enhancing heritage" museum project.  Minister Dumanyan noted that  cultural heritage is a priority for the Armenian government,  especially after the 44-day Artsakh war, when Azerbaijan launched a  policy of cultural genocide, which created challenges for the  preservation of Armenia's cultural heritage outside the country.

Noting that the Armenian-French agenda is expanding from year to  year, Doumanyan expressed hope that the program will be long-lasting.  "I hope this project will contribute to the development of effective  Armenian-French cooperation, creating new opportunities for the  implementation of new programs," he said.

According to Ms. Louyot, the program includes 3 components that cover  various areas of cultural heritage and rely on the skills and leading  experience of French and Armenian specialists. In particular, within  the framework of the first component, it is planned to strengthen and  develop the skills of Armenian specialists in the restoration and  preservation of cultural heritage through retraining at the National  Heritage Institute of France in cooperation with the Scientific  research center of the historical and cultural heritage.  In this  regard, the director of the Institute, Charles Personnaz , emphasized  that the institution was involved in the process of developing a  retraining program from the very beginning. In addition, he noted  that the program also provides an opportunity to exchange  specialists. In this regard, Personnaz remarked:  "We also have  something to learn from Armenian specialists."

He also stressed that Armenia and France are countries with an  exceptional heritage, including architectural style. "Our task is to  make cooperation long-term in order to increase the value of the  existing heritage for the whole world," he said.

The second component of the program, as noted, concerns the  restoration of the monastery complex of "Tatevi Mets Anapat  ".  At  the first stage of the project, it is planned to conduct a historical  and architectural study of the monuments, and before the actual  restoration, to organize the first volunteer labor camp together with  "Rempart" and the Terre et Culture association ().  The second component is also implemented by the French National  Heritage Institute in collaboration with the Scientific research  center of the historical and cultural heritage. The program is still  at the development stage. At the moment, a work schedule is being  drawn up.

The third component is related to the reorganization and  modernization of the Erebuni Museum's permanent exhibition in order  to increase the value of the latter. It is noteworthy that the  project will be implemented jointly with the world's leading museum -  the Louvre. This is the first project in Armenia in which a museum of  this level has been involved. Head of the Oriental Antiquities  Department of the Louvre Museum , Ariane Thomas, noted: "It is a  great honor for me to participate in the program to develop a new  concept for such an important museum for Armenia as Erebuni. And we  will be happy to participate in the revival of the museum>.

In turn director of the Erebuni Museum Mikayel Badalyan said that  practically since 1983 the exposition of the museum has not been  updated. He called the support of the Louvre invaluable, noting in  this regard that there is a limited number of specialists in Armenia  involved in holding exhibitions in museums.

The total cost of the project is 600 thousand euros. According to the  signed memorandum, the project will start in July this year and end  in December 2023.

The project was developed by the Ministry of Education, Science,  Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia in cooperation with the  National Heritage Institute of France, the Louvre Museum, the  Scientific research center of the historical and cultural heritage  and the Erebuni Museum.

Final agreements between Yerevan, Baku on Artsakh issue, analyst says

Alex Jidarian
Panorama
Armenia – July 8 2022

All statements made by the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities as well as their steps indicate that there are final agreements between Yerevan and Baku on the Artsakh issue, according to political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan.

“Simply, both sides do not have enough courage to openly tell the public about it,” he wrote on Telegram on Friday.

“Instead, they are busy with something else, trying to capitalize domestically on both their achievements and failures. They have no equal in this matter,” he said, adding their “targets” are the same in many cases.

Armenian President visits US Ambassador’s residence ahead of Independence Day

Alex Jidarian

 

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 15:13, 29 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan visited today the residence of the US Ambassador to Armenia ahead of America’s Independence Day, being celebrated on July 4, the Presidential Office said. 

President Khachaturyan congratulated US Ambassador Lynne Tracy, the embassy staff and the whole people of the United States on the national day, wishing all the best. 

The President highly valued the US support provided to Armenia since independence aimed at registering progress in country’s development and democratic processes. 

The current agenda of the Armenian-American relations and the development prospects of the bilateral partnership were also touched upon during the talk.

Armenian PM’s spouse to hold official meetings and discussions in Nice, Monaco and Cannes

Alex Jidarian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
Armenian PM's spouse to hold official meetings and discussions in Nice, Monaco and Cannes
20:59, 26.06.2022

Armenian Prime Minister's spouse Anna Hakobyan accompanied by Zareh Sinanyan, Armenia's Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, arrived in Nice.

According to the RA Prime Minister's wife's office, Anna Hakobyan will take part in the ceremony of celebration of the 35th anniversary of Parsamian College.

During her visit, the First Lady will have official meetings and discussions not only in Nice but also in Monaco and Cannes.

Armenian MP: CoE, its bodies hide behind ‘political correctness’ and fail to call things by their name

Alex Jidarian
Panorama
Armenia –

Opposition MP Armen Gevorgyan, a permanent member of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on Tuesday delivered remarks at the debate “Recent challenges to security in Europe: what role for the Council of Europe?” held as part of the PACE summer session. His full statement is provided below. 

"Thank you.

Mr President,

In the past decades our organisation has tried to pursue issues like minority rights, gender equality, diversity, and other important issues for democratic statehood. But we also failed to address more fundamental aspects of democratic peace. That is the protection of the right to life and the right of people's self-determination.

It seems to me, we have began to treat human destiny rather selectively and very often in the context of geopolitics.

Some debates in this Assembly show that we have allowed political expediency to make suffering of some Europeans more important than for other Europeans. To make the right of some European people's for self-determination unconditional, while for others only decorative.

We have put much effort to abolish capital punishment in member states, but turning a blind eye on how high-tech industry creates new deadly weaponry and is freely sold in the market. I have never heard of any investigation or fact-finding missions to explore how certain member states use prohibited types of weaponry, such as, for example, white phosphorus bombs.

Certain member states have demonstrated that by the using of force and money some issues can be resolved while ignoring fundamental rights and freedoms.

Mr President, it has become a strange tradition for our organisation to avoid discussing violations of certain fundamental rights and freedoms, explaining that the Council of Europe does not deal with security issues. This is a very unacceptable position which essentially encourages new violations.

Where and how it is decided that the right of people to self-determination is outside the interest of the Council of Europe? That any military aggression by any member of our organisation that kills thousands of innocent people is not our mandate?

I try and fail to understand how can the European Parliament speak the language of values and human rights by adopting the relevant language and resolutions, for example, on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, while the Council of Europe and its bodies, including this Assembly, hide behind political correctness and fail to call things by their name.

Mr President, I'm raising all these issues with only one aspiration: to contribute to the development of our organisation and making it a better fit to our troubled world. I believe it's through the re-establishing of an environment of respect trust and dialogue that we can make our organisation a relevant forum for international cooperation and the protection of values of the free world.

Thank you."

Boosting Iran-Armenia economic cooperation to enhance political ties – official

Alex Jidarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –


, 15:56

 1 minute read

Continuous cooperation between Iran and Armenia in the fields of trade and economy will lead to bolstering of political relations of both sides, Head of Chabahar Trade Zone Nasrollah Ebrahimi said at a meeting with Arsen Avakian, the new Ambassador of Armenia to Iran, adding that over 30-years-long diplomatic ties between the two countries have been based on fraternal relations, Mehr News Agency reports.

Chabahar has welcomed investors from all across the world, he said, noting that neighboring states, undoubtedly, are a top priority to this end.

Terming Chabahar as a center of international communication, he said that the Trade Zone is not subject to economic sanctions.

Arsen Avakian, for his part, elaborated on his country’s main objectives pertaining to the current visit and said that evaluating Chabahar’s capacity and infrastructure for investment is the main goal of the trip to Iran.

“The second goal is to develop relations between India, Iran and Armenia,” he further noted.

Armenia, Iran interested in expanding cooperation in energy and transport

Alex Jidarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – June 16 2022
June 16, 2022, 10:45

 2 minutes read

The delegation led by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan was hosted by President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi.

The meeting focused on Armenia-Iran multilateral cooperation, which is based on the centuries-old friendship between the two peoples, close historical and cultural ties.

Outlining the ways to promote cooperation, the parties expressed readiness to continue the dialogue through joint efforts and to further enrich the agenda of bilateral cooperation.

President Riaisi highlighted the cooperation of the legislatures in strengthening the existing warm relations between Armenia and Iran.

The interlocutors touched upon bilateral economic relations and implementation of joint infrastructure projects, the development of which has many preconditions.

Alen Simonyan said the Armenian side attaches great importance to the signing of mutual agreements in the fields of energy and transport.

“In the context of development of regional transport communications, the establishment of railway connection between Armenia and Iran is among the most important issues on our agenda,” said Alen Simonyan.

The Speaker briefed the Iranian President on the situation after the war unleashed by the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem against Artsakh, the humanitarian issues and the issue of preservation of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage of Nagorno Karabakh, which are currently under the control of Azerbaijan.

Alen Simonyan said that Azerbaijan is destroying its valuable heritage at the state level, and Iran can serve as an example for Azerbaijan in this regard.

The meeting highlighted Iran’s consistent efforts to establish peace and stability in the region.
Expressing gratitude for the reception, the Armenian Parliament Speaker expressed conviction that the Armenian-Iranian cooperation has a great potential for development and expansion and pledged his willingness to support the development of mutually beneficial cooperation for the benefit of two friendly peoples.

“We are friends of difficult days for all our friends, this is what we are guided by. On happy days, everyone can be by anyone’s side, but real friendship is shown in times of difficulty,” said Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi.

Alen Simonyan conveyed the warm wishes of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and an invitation to pay an official visit to Armenia.

The Speaker also informed the Iranian President that a working group has already been set up in the National Assembly to simplify the legislation on the implementation of the joint work of the Armenia-Iran agenda.

The President noted that he had given relevant instructions to his staff to present initial proposals for establishing closer ties with Armenia.

Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs visits Rome

Alex Jidarian

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 10:34, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan met with representatives of the Armenian Catholic Church and institutions in Rome on the sidelines of the UN Ministerial Conference on Ageing, the ministry said.

The minister was accompanied by Ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See Karen Nazaryan.

On June 15 Minister Khachatryan visited the Levonian Armenian College and the St. Nicolas Church.

During his meetings Minister Khachatryan presented the programs and priorities of the Armenian government in the field of social protection, highlighting the cooperation with the Diaspora organizations operating in this sector.

Narek Mkrtchyan also visited Vatican where he met with representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Holy See Archbishop Khajag Barsamian.

Next rally of Resistance Movement will take place on 24 June

Alex Jidarian
NEWS.am
Armenia –

Our actions will continue next week, and the next rally will take place on 24 June at 7:30 p.m. on France Square," Ishkhan Saghanyan, coordinator of the resistance movement, said after the march.

He said that every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on France Square the leaders of the movement will meet with citizens to hear their opinions and suggestions.

"We will also soon publish information to which committee you can apply, meet, and submit your proposals," Saghatelyan said.

59% of respondents in Armenia consider defeat in 44-day war as biggest failure of Nikol Pashinyan`s government

Alex Jidarian
ARMINFO

Armenia – June 8 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.59% of the respondents in Armenia consider the defeat in the 44-day war as the biggest failure of Nikol Pashinyan's government. These are the results of a  study conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC).

So, when asked what, in your opinion, was the biggest failure under  the rule of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Armenia in the  period from 2018 to 2021, 59% of respondents mentioned the defeat in  the second Karabakh war, 14% – insufficient diplomatic efforts to  prevention of the war around Nagorno- Karabakh, 3% – the weakening of  state administration and the constant change of personnel, 2% -  unfinished high-profile trials (for example, around Robert  Kocharyan), 14% – gave other answers. Another 6% of respondents did  not see failures in Pashinyan's policy.

At the same time, in response to the clarification about the biggest  achievement under Pashinyan's rule, 12% of respondents said they were  inspired by hope for the democratic development of Armenia in 2018.   Another 11% consider the reduction of corruption to be the biggest  achievement, 8%mentioned the strengthening of democracy, 6%-  elimination of the enironment of fear and ensuring the realization of  freedom of speech, 6% – development of infrastructures, and  especially the construction of roads, 4% – holding free and fair  elections, 11% – other answers, another 43% did not see any  achievements.

According to respondents, during the government of third President of  the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in 2008-2018, the greatest  achievement was political stability(8%), another 3% mentioned foreign  policy, 2% – improvement of the business environment, 16% – gave  other answers, and 72% think that there were no achievements.

At the same time, the April war of 2016 and some territorial losses  of the Republic of Armenia (there were no territorial losses of  Armenia – ed. note) are considered the biggest failure under Serzh  Sargsyan – such an answer was given by 21% of respondents. At the  same time, 16% of the respondents mentioned the increase in poverty  and the outflow of the population, 11% – the lack of desire or the  impossibility of a political settlement of the Karabakh conflict, 8%  – the spread of corruption, 5% – the abuse of human rights, 4% -  uneven economic growth, 4% – the weakening of public administration  and an increase in internal discontent (the capture of a regiment of  teaching staff), 2% – lack of communication with society, 23%- other  answers. Another 6% of respondents did not see failures in Sargsyan's  policy.

At the same time, 31% of respondents said that economic growth is the  greatest achievement during the government of Second President of  Armenia Robert Kocharyan in 1998-2008, , 3% – high rates of  construction, 2% – peace and border security, 1% – complimentary  foreign policy, 1% – strengthening ties with the EU, 1% – expansion  of public services, 7% of respondents gave other answers, and 51% did  not notice the achievements.

And 22% of the respondents mentioned the terrorist attack in the  country's parliament on October 27, 1999, as the biggest failure  during Kocharyan's rule. 13% mentioned the bloody events of March 1,  2008, 12% – the withdrawal of Nagorno-Karabakh from the negotiating  table, 10% – the transfer of state property to Russia in exchange for  debt, 6% – violation of human rights, 5% – an environment of fear and  lack of communication with society , 23% – other answers, another 10%  did not see failures.

And 24% of the respondents mentioned the victory in the first  Karabakh war as the greatest achievement of first president of the  Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan in 1991-1998, 20% – the  declaration of independence and international recognition of the  Republic of Armenia, 1% – the liberalization of the economy, 4% -  other answers, another 51% did not see any achievements.

the energy crisis and food shortages was mentioned as the biggest  failure of Ter-Petrosyan's policy – 31%, another 25% called the  economic collapse, 13%-the inability to politically consolidate the  military victories in Nagorno-Karabakh and the final solution to the  conflict, 7% – the ungovernability of the country, 4% – the spread of  corruption, 17% other answers, another 3% did not see failures.

The study was conducted from December 18, 2021 to February 4, 2022.  The study involved 1648 respondents over 18 years of age. Citizens  were selected from the republican electoral lists of 2018.  Accuracy  +/- 2.4%. Conducted face-to-face surveys.

31% of respondents are from Yerevan, 32% – from other cities of the  republic, another 37% – from villages.  55% are women, 47% are men,  of which 52% are unemployed and 48% are employed. 35% of the  respondents had a secondary education, 28% had a secondary vocational  education, 25% had a higher education, 1% had a postgraduate  scientific degree, 3% had an incomplete higher education, and 7% had  an incomplete secondary education.