Author: Alex Nanijanian

Ivory Coast international Serge Aurier was arrested and placed in police custody on Monday after he was involved in an incident in Paris, the BBC reports.

The 23-year-old, who plays for French side Paris St Germain, is alleged to have had an altercation with police.

The incident occurred in the Champs Elysees area in the early hours of Monday as Aurier left a nightclub.

Paris St Germain officials said the club will wait for further information before making any comment.

Coach Laurent Blanc briefly suspended Aurier in mid-February after the defender posted a video online in which he insulted Blanc and fellow PSG players, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Angel di Maria.

HayPost will participate in the biggest international philatelic exhibition: World Stamp Show – NY 2016.

World Stamp Show -NY 2016 is a major once-a-decade eight day international philatelic exhibition which will take place May 28 through June 4 in New York, USA.

More than 120 philatelic associations and organizations and over 50 national postal operators from all over the world will take part in the event. HayPost will participate at such a major exhibition for the first time and will present Armenian philately in a strategically situated boot, thus bringing recognition to Armenia and Armenian philately. At the event Armenian stamp issuances from 2013 -2016 will be presented.

In the Framework of the event HayPost will cancel and put into circulation two souvenir sheets dedicated to “World Stamp Show 2016” and “Rio 2016” Olympic Games.

Continuing the innovative philatelic tradition HayPost CJSC has prepared a surprise for the philatelic society. The perforation of the new souvenir sheet is performed in the form of an apple (New York is also commonly known as the Big Apple)

In the Framework of the World Stamp Show a philatelic competition will be organized at which HayPost SJCS will also take part in a philatelic competition organized in the   Framework of the World Stamp Show – NY 2016.

“The war that started for the sake of recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is not yet over, it will come to an end after the international recognition of NKR independence, and first of recognition by Azerbaijan,” Major-General Artak Davtyan, Head of the Operative Department of the General Headquarters of the Armenian Armed Forces, said in an interview with .

Speaking about the term “four-day war” used for the large-scale military actions in early April, the Major-General said: “Before the April events we had a ceasefire regime, which the rival was periodically violating, forcing us to respond.”

He said the ceasefire violations grew more intensive over the past few years. “What happened on April 2 was also a violation of the ceasefire, but unprecedented in scale, in terms of the weapons and equipment used and with the number of losses,” Artak Davtyan said.

He refrained from comments on the recognition of Artsakh, saying “it’s a political issue.”

The Public Radio of Armenia will air the full interview at 19:00 today.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov who has arrived to Armenia on official visit.

At the meeting discussed were issues pertinent to the Armenian-Russian relations and situation resulting from the military offensive unleashed by Azerbaijan on April 2-5 in the NK conflict zone.

Welcoming the RF Minister of Foreign Affairs to Armenia, President Sargsyan noted that the agenda of the Armenian-Russian relations is pretty full and that at different, including high-level meetings, the parties discuss a wide range of issues. “As it happens, the visit of the Chairman of the RF Government Dmitry Medvedev and your visit are taking place at the moment when the situation in our region is rather tense. It is no secret that the situation has been created by the irresponsible actions of Azerbaijan. By unleashing large-scale military actions against Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan has proved once again that Karabakh and Azerbaijan have nothing in common. Azerbaijan, which utilized its entire military force, certainly received a worthy counterblow. However, in my opinion, the actions of Azerbaijan have thrown the process of negotiations far from its track. In that process, we were always constructive, were always confident that eventually the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group would present their vision for the resolution of the problem, and would spell out the name of the party which rejects the proposals. Unfortunately, the Azeris decided that they could violate with impunity the agreement signed in 1994-95 as well as the commitments which were reached in the course of these lengthy negotiations. We started this phase in 2007. Nine years in a row, we were an active participant and witness to the process, trying to find mutually acceptable solutions; we were trying to be constructive. We were convinced that the problem could be solved exclusively based on compromise, through peaceful means, however today we have what we have. For that very reason, your point of view is very important to me: why did it happen? We certainly have our own ideas, however you are much more informed and we would appreciate if you present us your point of view,” said President Serzh Sargsyan.

The RF Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov thanked the President of Armenia for the opportunity to meet with him and presented the results of the negotiations conducted prior to his meeting with the President of Armenia. “We have already had good negotiations; have observed the course of implementation of the bilateral agreements which you have reached with President Putin. In some instances we are having delays; however adherence to all principled agreements is there. It is our main objective – to work on the tasks issued by the Presidents. We have also discussed the situation with the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue, and we are deeply concerned with what has happened. As you know, from the very beginning, the Russian side, the President personally has been working to stop the breach of the agreements signed in 94-95 which are of permanent nature. Today we have reiterated that and called to under no circumstance disregard these most important documents. The bloodshed was stopped. Nevertheless, as you understand, the situation has not entirely stabilized, and we believe that at this stage it is extremely important to call to life agreements between you and the President of Azerbaijan reached five years ago with the Russian mediation – about the mechanisms for the investigation of the incidents, prevention of incidents and confidence building measures, so that any threat of confrontation is reduced even if through simple technical steps. Corresponding instructions have been given to the OSCE, and now we want the German presidency engage in it actively. I understand what you mean, Mr. President, of course, that at the moment it is difficult to come back to the table of negotiations. The situation should calm down a little, people should calm down a little. We once again express our condolences for the victims of this conflict, but I agree with you that there is no military solution to the conflict, which means we need to make efforts for its political resolution.

As for why the situation has reached such a critical point, I cannot speak for Armenia, Azerbaijan, or Karabakh, but I think if we were able to move forward in the political process, even a little, if we were able to preset the general principles which could have been accepted by the sides at least as a basis for the creation of the legally binding documents, it would certainly played an important role for resuming the negotiations and would also become a constraint against the outbreak of hostilities. But I repeat that only the parties themselves can find solutions. We have been trying and will continue to try to help the Co-Chairs together with Americans and French. We have a consolidated position, and as I understand, Armenia supports the position that the triumvirate of the Co-Chairs together with the OSCE should continue its work as the main coordinator in accordance with the mandate which the parties agreed to provide to that mechanism. We do not welcome a search for other, parallel avenues, or attempts to create mechanisms which are not endorsed by all parties. It will only deviate from the main problem, i.e. to ensure security, to prevent new loss of lives, but at the same time conditions for the political process should be created,” said the RF Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.

St Gregory of Narek, a Doctor of the Church, urges us to recognise the evil within us and the world

By Vahan Dilanyan

This Sunday Armenians and people of good will around the world will commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

A century ago millions of men, women and children – including Assyrians and Greeks – were brutally tortured and exterminated upon the direct order and plan of the Ottoman Turkish government, thereby emptying the region of its indigenous populations and deliberately destroying millennia-old Christian heritage.

Armenians were martyred also because of their Christian faith and as recently as last year the Armenian Apostolic Church canonised all the victims of the genocide as saints.

It is tragic that the cycle of genocide continues to this day in various parts of the world. Part of the reason behind it is the impunity of the past crimes and the unwillingness of the international community to undertake meaningful measure to stop it. Only by fully facing the tragedies of the past and dealing with them in a truthful and just manner can the humanity move forward.

These ideas are enshrined in the work of a 10th-century Armenian monk, St Gregory of Narek, whom Pope Francis proclaimed a Doctor of the Church for his invaluable contributions towards the Christian theology and community at-large.

St Gregory of Narek is best-known for his work the Book of Lamentations (also called Book of Prayers), which outlines profound ideas about the purification and sanctification of humanity. The book is a monologue structured as a prayer to God “from the depths of the heart” in which St Gregory ascribes to himself all possible sins, exposing himself and confessing to God.

The saint suggests a way of human perfection through repenting to God. This was a revolutionary idea aimed at dispelling the ignorance of the Middle Ages. Long before Martin Luther, St Gregory advocated direct communication with God. Centuries later this idea was to become the basis of Reformation.

It is worth mentioning that there is not a single mention of “Armenian” or “Armenia” throughout the entire text, which proves the work’s universal nature.

St Gregory’s ideas have a crucial meaning in the modern world full of violence and intolerance. While losing spiritual and moral values in the euphoria of development of civilisation, humanity’s image of divinity has been degraded. St Gregory provides for a path towards salvation through repentance.

The idea of repentance is of particular importance in the context of the recognition of Armenian Genocide, since the 101st anniversary of the genocide serves as a new milestone to dispel the gloom and struggle against the denial of the crime by Turkey in the 21st century. As Pope Francis said, “concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.”

The denial and impunity of a crime enable its repetition in the future, as proven by the cases of the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, as well as the ongoing genocide against Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in the Middle East at the hands of ISIS.

This cycle will continue for as long as the world does not repent of the sins that have remained unacknowledged to this day. Only with the proper recognition and true justice can peace be established in the world. St Gregory’s ideas are as relevant today as they were in centuries past.

Vahan Dilanyan is the Assistant to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. He previously served as the Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. He has a PhD in Political Science

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to the Yazidi community of Armenia on the occasion of Melek Taus.

“I cordially congratulate Yazidi of Armenia on the occasion Melek Taus – the New Year. For the Yazidi community of Armenia, as well as for our entire nation, this bright New Year holiday was darkened by war actions and suffered losses. The Armenian people always share with their Yazidi brothers joy, sorrow, and the pain of loss. Brotherhood of the Armenian and Yazidi peoples withstood the test of centuries and became only stronger.

Dear Yazidi Compatriots,

I wish that New Year bring you only bounty and happiness, and that finally peace prevails on the borders of our country. I am confident that together we will build a thriving and secure country where all live in prosperity and dignity,” reads the congratulatory message of President Serzh Sargsyan.

Former French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen has been fined 30,000 euros for calling the Nazi gas chambers a “detail” of World War Two, the BBC reports.

He was convicted of contesting crimes against humanity.

The former Front National chief was convicted of the same charge in 2012 after saying France’s Nazi occupation had been “not particularly inhumane”.

France has strict laws against Holocaust denial.

Mr Le Pen told a journalist his remarks “corresponded to my thought that the gas chambers were a detail of the history of war”.

Asked if “millions of deaths” could be called “point of detail”, Mr Le Pen said: “It is not a million deaths, it is the gas chambers. I’m talking about specific things. I have not talked about the number of dead. I spoke of a system. I said it was a detail of the history of warfare.”

 

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will arrive in Nagorno Karabakh by the end of the day to contribute to the de-escalation of violence, TASS reports, quoting a source in the OSCE.

The visit aims to “establish dialogue with the political leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan with a view of ensuring the return of all parties to the conflict to the negotiating table.”

Syrian government forces and their allies pushed forward against Islamic State fighters to reach the outskirts of the historic city of Palmyra on Wednesday, Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, Reuters reports.

Clashes raged around the town after government forces took control of most of a nearby hill with air cover from Syrian and Russian warplanes, it said.

The Syrian army is trying to recapture Palmyra, which Islamic State seized in May, to open a road to the mostly IS-held eastern province of Deir al-Zor.