Author: Ani Kharatian

Armenia’s Refusal To Withdraw Forces From Karabakh Jeopardizes Peace Efforts – OpEd

Ani Kharatian
   

By Eurasia Review and Vasif Huseynov

On July 15, in a cabinet meeting about the results of the first half of 2022, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan disclosed some details of the recent negotiations with Russia and Armenia on the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. He reiterated that Armenia was supposed to pull back all its armed forces from the region in accordance with the trilateral statement of the November 10, 2020, signed by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan along with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and ended the Second Karabakh War. 

“Over the one year and eight months since the end of the war, Armenia has yet to fulfil its obligations”, he stressed. 

On June 28, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Sahak Sahakyan had openly admitted the transfer of Armenian military servicemen to Karabakh when he said in an interview with journalists on June 28 that the Armenian military and political leadership had decided that “contract servicemen will serve in Karabakh [instead of conscripts]”. “Our last call is the summer call of 2020 and demobilization will be held from July 1 to August 30, 2022, there will be no more conscripts in Karabakh,” he said. The colonel said that “a broad package has been created for the attractiveness of the service, according to which contract servicemen will serve”.

Such a blatant disregard of the Armenian leadership to its commitments outraged both the Azerbaijani public and government and raised questions, among others, also about Russia’s role in this process.  

President Aliyev likewise criticized Moscow’s unwillingness to guarantee the implementation of the trilateral statement. According to him, a high-ranking Russian official, in the course of his visit to Baku a few months ago, promised to ensure the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces by June 2022. “We are already in the middle of July, but this promise has not been fulfilled”, he protested.  

His speech gave us some insights into the situation in Karabakh, Russia’s approach to the trilateral statement, and possible reaction of Azerbaijan if Russia and Armenia continue to refuse to implement the obligations they undertook in the trilateral statement. 

First of all, the commitment that the Russian official undertook a few months ago demonstrates that, on the contrary to what is claimed by Armenians and some other observers, there is a consensus between the signatories of the trilateral statement [at least between Russia and Azerbaijan] about the 4th clause of the statement which envisaged the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Karabakh in parallel with the deployment of the peacekeeping mission of the Russian Federation. The failure of the Armenian leadership to fulfil this clause is, therefore, a breach of the agreement of November 10 and a grave threat to peace and security in the region.

Second, President Aliyev’s strong-worded statements about this situation reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s determination to ensure the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the region. He has made it clear that the existence of the illegal armed forces of Armenia on the territories of Azerbaijan is seen in Baku as the violation of the country’s territorial integrity. No sovereign state in the world would agree with the deployment of illegal armed forces to its territories and Azerbaijan is no exception.

In this context, this issue distinguishes markedly from other elements of the trilateral statement that have yet to be implemented (e.g., the opening of transportation channels). The 4th clause holds the highest potential to cause a military confrontation between the sides and spiral into another full-scale war should it remain unimplemented in the future. 

The recent history of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict should have made it clear that the misuse of peace negotiations is a risky gamble and could result in an all-out war eventually. President Aliyev mentioned two such cases that reveal a contradiction between the deeds and words of the Armenian government: 

(1) The Armenian leadership, on the one hand, declares that Armenia had already recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in 1992, on the other hand distributes documents in international organizations which claim that “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic became an independent state in 1991”. 

(2) There was a verbal agreement amongst the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia during the talks on the trilateral statement on November 10 that the sides would not raise the status of Karabakh in future talks. Although the Armenian government kept this promise for a while, they have recently restarted talking about it at the highest level, President Aliyev noted.

Therefore, for President Aliyev, despite frequent meetings between the officials of Armenia and Azerbaijan at varying levels and in different locations, there are few positive results that have so far been achieved. For him, the establishment of the international commission on the delimitation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and Armenia’s consent to start the peace negotiations on the basis of the five principles Azerbaijan presented in early this year is some of few positive instances. 

The Armenian government, however, has yet to establish its working group for peace negotiations, start work on the construction of the railway and highway between the western parts of Republic of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and, more importantly, has yet to withdraw its armed forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

In this context, it is important that on July 19, a few days after the President Aliyev’s speech, the Armenian government declared that the Armenian armed forces deployed to Karabakh during the Second Karabakh War will be withdrawn and no more Armenian military servicemen will serve there. Hopefully, Armenia will act accordingly and kept its promise this time. This would be conducive to more constructive dialogue between the sides and as such would create a favorable basis for the future of peace negotiations. 

About the author: Dr. Vasif Huseynov is Head of Department at the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) and Adjunct Lecturer in Baku, Azerbaijan.




Real and sincere efforts necessary for lasting peace – Head of European Parliament delegation

Ani Kharatian

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 20:57,

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. Lasting peace in the South Caucasus region can only be established as a result of comprehensive solutions, which requires real and sincere efforts from both sides, ARMENPRESS reports after the meetings held in the National Assembly of Armenia, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament David McAlister said, whose delegation is in Yerevan on a regional visit.

"Discussions with our Armenian partners were very useful to better understand the concerns that Armenia has in the current situation regarding security and humanitarian issues. It is very clear that lasting peace can be achieved through comprehensive solutions. This requires real and sincere efforts from both sides. These efforts should be based on the political will and commitment to implement the agreements reached to date. Our visit is a very clear indication of the importance that we, as the European Union, attach to the entire South Caucasus," McAlister stated.

In this context, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament emphasized the active mediation efforts of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in the negotiations between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"Within the framework of this initiative, Prime Minister Pashinyan met with the President of Azerbaijan Aliyev in Brussels in April and May," McAlister reminded, adding: "We hope that the contribution of the European Union will be useful in solving long-standing problems and paving the way for the establishment of lasting peace."

David McAllister reminded that the European Parliament has expressed its view on the issue with several resolutions adopted. In particular, in May, 2021 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Armenian prisoners of war, demanding Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians without any preconditions. And on March 10, 2022, adopted a resolution condemning the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, under the title "Destruction of the cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh".

The delegation led by the Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister, came to Armenia on a regional visit. In Yerevan, the 6 members of the delegation had meetings with the Prime Minister, the President and Vice President of the Parliament, and the Chairman of the National Assembly Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the representatives of all three political parties represented in the National Assembly. Before that, the delegation was in Azerbaijan and Georgia.




Armenia official: Our border with Azerbaijan has changed

Ani Kharatian
NEWS.am
Armenia – July 12 2022
14:38, 12.07.2022

We are not always a victim. Deputy defense minister Arman Sargsyan told this to reporters Tuesday at the National Assembly of Armenia—and when asked why the Armenian side does not respond to the Azerbaijani shootings, and is more like a victim in this regard.

Sargsyan did not wish to respond to the reporters' questions regarding the border situation, and urged them to follow the official news feed, rather than trying to get information from him in this regard.

"If there is information that they [i.e., the Azerbaijanis] shot, I would ask [you] to follow that information, and take that information as a starting point. The Ministry of Defense [of Armenia] cannot conceal anything; that is, there cannot be a border incident about which the Ministry of Defense be silent," he added.

"Our border has changed, it is not ruled that shots will be heard in other places as well," said Sargsyan.


Armenia official: Police and Rescue Service chiefs will also be deputy interior ministers

Ani Kharatian
NEWS.am
Armenia – July 12 2022
16:44, 12.07.2022

The Chief of Police and the Head of the Rescue Service will combine their positions with the position of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. Deputy Minister of Justice stated this Tuesday during the parliamentary hearings on the process toward the establishment of a Ministry of Internal Affairs in Armenia.

Sargsyan, in fact, coordinates the development of these reforms at the Ministry of Justice.

Speaking about the necessity of forming a Ministry of Internal Affairs in Armenia, the deputy justice minister emphasized, in particular, that currently there is an "unsuccessful symbiosis" in the form of the Police of Armenia. According to her, this is an agency that simultaneously de facto develops and implements the policy of the entire domain.

"According to the current legislation, the Police are not engaged in the development of policies, but they develop bills, structural changes. By creating a Ministry of Internal Affairs, this problem is resolved, as the [aforesaid] ministry will develop the policy, whereas the Police will implement [it]. This will ensure oversight and deterrence mechanisms. Also, this will avoid cases of repetitive and interweaving functions. Each structure will know what functions it is responsible for," explained the deputy minister of justice of Armenia.

I feel so at home here: Oscar-winning screenwriter, director Terry George is in Yerevan for Golden Apricot film festival

Ani Kharatian
NEWS.am
Armenia – July 11 2022


14:31, JULY 11

By Syune Arakelyan

Oscar-winning screenwriter and world-known director Terry George is in Armenia.  "The Promise" director is the head of the jury at the Golden Apricot international film festival the opening ceremony of which took place the day before at Aram Khachatryan concert hall in Yerevan. NEWS.am STYLE met the director on the red carpet and asked about his emotions for being in Armenia.  

It's the third time that the director visits Yerevan, "I came here for research for "The Promise", then I came here for the premiere of the movie and now I'm back again for this wonderful festival".  

Terry George yet didn't have chance to watch all the movies included in the program of the festival, but he knows for sure what he is looking for, "I have watched only one movie yet and we will see 11  movies over the next 8-9 days, so I'm looking forward to all of those. And also several of my movies will be showing-"Hotel Rwanda", "Some Mother's Son" and "The Shore", so I'm delighted that I got the chance to show them to the people of Armenia. I think that the films included are independent ones, so I'm looking forward to the movies that have great humanity and tell stories. I think there are too many Marvel movies at the moment, too many movies that have no story, that just are popcorn".  

The director also shared his impressions on Armenia, saying he sees some similarities between Armenian and Irish people, "What I like most here is the people, the food is great, the weather is excellent… I expected it to be much more humid.  And I think, that the Armenians are so similar with the Irish, that's why I feel so at home here. They have the same spirit, I really love Armenia".


Film: Motherland Documentary World Premiere Red Carpet Interviews

Ani Kharatian
July 12 2022



Bionic Buzz® got to cover the world premiere of the documentary Motherland at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, CA. Motherland is a 90-minute documentary feature film about Azerbaijan’s, Turkey’s unprovoked genocidal attack and ethnic cleansing against Armenians of Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, starting on September 27, 2020. Azerbaijan with the declared assistance from Turkey reawakened the conflict from dormancy by launching a large-scale offensive against Artsakh. In its war effort, Azerbaijan relied on thousands of Turkish-paid jihadist mercenaries airlifted from terrorist camps in Syria, Libya, and Pakistan, and brought to fight alongside the Azerbaijani Army. The 2020 invasion opened a new chapter in the history of regional warfare and involved unmatched suffering of the civilian population. For 44 days, the world largely watched in deafening silence as over 4,000 Armenians were massacred.

It took 106 years before the United States formally recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. On April 24,2021, President Joe Biden became the first US president to officially recognize the Armenian genocide and to recommit preventing such an atrocity from occurring again. Tragically, history is repeating itself with Turkey’s ongoing genocidal attack and ethnic cleansing against Armenians as we’ve witnessed recently in Artsakh. “Motherland” tells the story of this ongoing tragic chapter through the lens of Armenian-American journalist and LGBTQ+ activist, Vic Gerami.

With illegal and banned weapons, including cluster bombs and white phosphorus munitions, the aggressors destroyed towns and villages, indiscriminately killed people mainly between the ages of 18-21, and occupied approximately 80% of Artsakh.

By November 9, 2020, when a new ceasefire was declared, 100,000 people, 2/3 of Artsakh’s population was driven out of their ancestral land and made refugees. Despite calls from bipartisan Congress members to intervene, most of the world stayed silent. Many nations, mainly in Europe, are heavily invested in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas and the Caspian pipeline that delivers it to Europe.

Through a journalist and activist’s lens, Motherland focuses the world’s attention on the atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh and Armenia. It chronicles the struggle of the Armenian people to come to terms with its fate, mourn the loss of almost 5,000 people, and pick up the pieces and carry on as they have for millennia. It includes interviews with war heroes, displaced refugees, American and Armenian high-profile elected officials, and ordinary people.

The film also accounts for the apathy of the greater world community, the hypocrisy of public figures who preach about human rights but show inaction when reality hits, and how the press is easily manipulated by a rogue nation’s campaign of hate, disinformation, and propaganda.

On the red carpet, our host Rachael Fisher got to interview, Vic Gerami (Writer, Director & Producer), Jeffrey Prang (LA County Assessor), Nicole Goesseringer Mij (Publicist & Writer), Henrick Vartanian (Producer), Chris Damadyan (editor), Oshin Hartootoonian, John Dennem, Judy Chu (Congresswoman), Eric Strong (LA Sheriff Candidate), Mitch O’Farrell (LA Council Member), Shant Sahakian and Kat Kramer (actress & producer).

Our throwback interview with Vic Gerami from from October 28, 2020.

Connect:

https://motherlanddoc.com
https://www.twitter.com/MotherlandDoc
https://www.facebook.com/MotherlandDocFilm/
https://www.instagram.com/MotherlandDocFilm


What Pashinyan-Erdogan phone talks mean for Armenian-Turkish normalization process

Ani Kharatian

July 13 2022

  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Pashinyan-Erdogan telephone conversation

Armenia and the international Armenian diaspora are buzzing about the telephone conversation between Pashinyan and Erdogan. The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Turkey held a telephone conversation on June 11. The message distributed by the Armenian government does not say on whose initiative the conversation took place.

This was the first direct contact between Pashinyan and Erdogan. It is reported that the leaders of the two countries emphasized the importance of the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Armenian politicians consider the Pashinyan-Erdogan telephone conversation as a “step forward” in the normalization of relations. They say that it should not be overestimated, but it cannot be underestimated.

  • “No turning points in sight” – what to expect from ongoing Armenian-Turkish normalisation process
  • IRI polls in Armenia: “Turkey and Azerbaijan are a threat to Armenia’s security”
  • Armenian-Turkish “normalisation” process: aspirations and asymmetry

Much like after the meetings of the special representatives on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, after a telephone conversation between Pashinyan and Erdogan, the parties issued statements of identical content.

Pashinyan congratulated the President of Turkey on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, the official website of the Prime Minister of Armenia reports. Erdogan also congratulated the Prime Minister of Armenia on the upcoming Vardavar holiday. This is a traditional holiday in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

“The heads of state stressed the importance of the bilateral process of settling relations between the countries, which will also contribute to strengthening peace and stability in the region”, the statement says.

Pashinyan and Erdogan expressed hope that the agreements reached on July 1 during the last meeting of the special representatives of the two countries “will soon be implemented”.

Earlier, on July 7, Pashinyan touched upon the implementation of agreements with Turkey during a government meeting. He instructed the Armenian departments to work in coordination with the state structures of Turkey so that the agreements reached could come into force as soon as possible.

Four meetings have already taken place between the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kilich: three in Vienna and one in Moscow. During the meeting on July 1, the parties agreed to ensure the possibility of crossing the Armenian-Turkish land border for citizens of third countries, as well as to start direct air transportation of goods. Yerevan and Ankara do not report when these agreements would be implemented.

So far, the only practical result of the Rubinyan-Kylych talks is the restoration of direct flights between the two countries.

Cavusoglu showed the ‘gray wolves’ gesture during his working vsit to Uruguay. How will the Armenia-Turkey dialogue continue after Tirkish FM showed Armenians in Montevideo a gesture of the ultra-right nationalists?

The Patriarch of the Diocese of Constantinople of the Armenian Apostolic Church, that is, the spiritual leader of the Armenians living in Turkey, welcomed the conversation between Pashinyan and Erdogan. The conversation was “a gift to a world that is outraged by war news”, Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan wrote on his Twitter page:

“I pray that peaceful methods of diplomacy prevail, and not weapons, wars and death. I hope that this telephone conversation will help open a new page of friendship in the thousand-year-old Turkish-Armenian relations”.

Member of the Turkish Parliament, an Armenian by origin, Garo Paylan wrote in his microblog on Twitter:

“I hope that the telephone conversation between President Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan will accelerate the ongoing process of normalizing relations between the two countries”.

The first meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey took place in Antalya. Turkish FM ha described talks as “productive and constructive”, as both parties bid to restore relations without preconditions

The Armenian Special Representative for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations positively assesses the fact that the leaders of Armenia and Turkey have spoken and discussed the process.

As for the agreements reached during the talks with the Turkish special representative, Ruben Rubinyan assesses them as substantive and concrete.

“One of the most important moments in such complex processes is the rapid implementation of the first agreements. If they are implemented quickly, then this is very conducive to building trust, if they are not implemented, on the contrary, they undermine this trust”, he said and expressed hope that the results would be very soon.

Rubinyan did not give specific dates but said that it would be logical to put the agreements into practice in the coming months.

He did not specify whether the special representatives were preparing a telephone conversation between Pashinyan and Erdogan, but said that no intermediaries were involved.

At the moment, there is no agreement on a meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan said.

Armenia’s special representative argues that the success of the normalization process depends on Turkey’s political will. He assures that Armenia is ready to open its borders tomorrow and establish diplomatic relations with Turkey:

“If this does not happen tomorrow, and if Armenia is ready for this, then the implementation depends on the political will of Turkey, because Armenia obviously has such a political will”.

The lifting of the year-long ban on the import of Turkish products to Armenia caused serious concern among local producers and experts

Any step towards a settlement improves the Armenian-Turkish agenda, political analyst Areg Kochinyan believes. He emphasizes that the Pashinyan-Erdogan telephone conversation should not be overestimated, but it should not be underestimated either. It should be seen as a “step forward”.

The political scientist says that the conversation between the leaders of the two countries can lead to different conclusions:

“Someone can say that a substantive process is underway, and as a result we will come to the normalization of relations. Another point of view may be that Turkey is more interested in creating an imitation of the settlement of relations than in a real settlement. It seems to me that reality is somewhere in the center.

The normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is based on two key “footholds”: Turkish-American and Russian-Turkish relations, says political observer Hakob Badalyan:

“The suggestion that without balancing these two factors any significant progress in the Armenian-Turkish settlement is possible is wishful thinking. And this balancing act is a very difficult task, especially today.”

The observer recalls that the conversation between Pashinyan and Erdogan was followed by a telephone conversation between Erdogan and Putin. And a few days before that, the Russian President raised the issue of resolving Armenian-Turkish relations in a conversation with Pashinyan.

“The significance of the current Armenian-Turkish work is more correctly viewed as a process that is part of a much more complex and multifaceted game, and not as a work that has one goal – the normalization of relations”, emphasizes Hakob Badalyan.

He believes that a correct assessment of the Armenian-Turkish process will give Armenia the opportunity “not to fall into illusions and not have high expectations, and also prevent the risk of becoming a bargaining chip.”


Tbilisi Hosts Meeting Between Azerbaijani, Armenian Foreign Ministers

Ani Kharatian
 Civil Georgia


17/07/2022 – 13:29

On July 16 the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, and Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Georgia to meet with each other in a meeting hosted by the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss stability and peace in the region. The pair also held separate meetings with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili.

The Georgian MFA welcomed the visit and underscored “its commitment to contribute, through joint efforts, to peace and stability in the region.”

The Ministry expressed hope that through “concerted efforts to ensure peaceful coexistence in the South Caucasus and stable development of the region, it will become possible to solve various issues on the agenda, create positive dynamics and develop the potential of the region.” 

The Armenian Foreign Ministry stated after the meetings that a wide range of issues was discussed aimed at “normalizing” relations between the two nations.

During the meeting, Minister Mirzoyan reiterated the significance of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for achieving sustainable peace and underscored the need for using the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship towards this end. The Armenian FM stressed the need to resolve humanitarian issues regarding the release of Armenian prisoners of war and the issue of missing persons.

For its part, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry highlighted the need to fully implement the Trilateral Statement, signed by leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia, for “building good neighborly inter-state relations” between the two. Minister Bayramov also raised the issue of people who remain missing from the Azeri side after the conflict.

Both Ministers expressed gratitude for Tbilisi hosting the meeting and interest in continuing dialogue between their countries.

Meetings with Georgian PM

Prior to the meeting, both the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs had the opportunity to meet with PM Garibashvili to discuss relations in the country and Georgia’s Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative, a platform it proposed for confidence-building in the South Caucasus with the participation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, the U.S., and the EU.

The Georgian PM underscored the need to “bolster the dialogues positive dynamic further” while meeting with Minister Mirzoyan. The pair also discussed how to build on areas of economic and bilateral trade.

With FM Bayramov, PM Garibashvili discussed the situation in the region and relevant challenges. The pair also touched on developing Georgia’s relationship with Azerbaijan, especially in the areas of transportation and energy.

​Georgian PM, Armenian FM discuss cooperation, Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative

Ani Kharatian
Georgia –

Georgian PM, Armenian FM discuss cooperation, Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative


Agenda.ge, 16 Jul 2022 – 13:35, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Saturday discussed the former's Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative and its role in normalisation of relations in the South Caucasus region, as well as an upcoming meeting between Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart in Tbilisi.

Garibashvili highlighted the importance of the scheduled meeting and noted it would contribute to developing “positive dynamics” of dialogue in the region, the Government Administration said.

The officials also discussed the “existing and future cooperation” prospects between Armenia and Georgia, including economic and bilateral trade relations.

The current situation in the Black Sea region was also reviewed at the meeting, with the sides stressing the importance  of “joint efforts” to deal with the challenges created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The head of the Georgian Government thanked Mirzoyan for Armenia's "strong support" for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zoryan Institute’s Animated Film Featured at Golden Apricot International Film Festival

Ani Kharatian
 by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Arts & Culture, Film, Latest, News, Top Stories
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“Aurora’s Sunrise” graphic

YEREVAN—The Zoryan Institute announced that “Aurora’s Sunrise,” an animated film, has been featured in the International Competition at the 19th annual Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival. The film was screened on July 14 at 12:30 and 8:00 pm, in Yerevan, Armenia.  

“Aurora’s Sunrise” is a historical animated documentary film about the life of Armenian Genocide survivor Aurora Mardiganian, who shared her brave story of survival with the world, raising millions of dollars in humanitarian aid for survivors following the genocide. The Zoryan Institute’s objective with this animated film is to bring the story of an incredible survivor from its oral history collection to life on the big screen, to empower young women and girls to represent their communities in the face of great adversity and violence.

This documentary film was made possible by the financial partnership of Eurimages, along with the majority ownership and financial partnership of “Armenian Group”, composed of the Zoryan Institute Armenia, the National Cinema Center of Armenia, and Bars Media. The film is based on the audio-visual oral history testimony that Aurora gave to the Zoryan Institute in 1984, and was made possible by the academic contribution of the Zoryan Institute.

The film is directed by Inna Sahakyan and produced by Bars Media, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion & Artbox Laisvalaikio Klubas, with contributions made by the Lithuanian Film Center, ZDF/ARTE, Public TV Armenia, and LRT.

Atom Egoyan

Atom Egoyan, Honorary Chairperson of the Festival, had this to say about Aurora in the Foreword of the 2014 edition of “Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian”: “What makes Aurora a super survivor is that she not only witnessed the elimination of her family and community, but also inspired a dramatic retelling of this experience… Aurora lived through the experience of genocide, lived through the experience of making a film about the Genocide, and then witnessed both events effectively disappear – one through the denial of the perpetrators, the other through the physical laws of the film itself.”

Nearly 40 years ago, the Zoryan Institute made an investment to conduct interviews with survivors of the Armenian Genocide with technologies that were considered ultra-modern at the time: video recording. This medium not only captured the voices of survivors, but also their presence, expressions, and their raw emotions. This was the first oral history project to do this, and it made a huge contribution to the preservation of an invaluable part of the Armenian people’s experience and history. The animated film allows audiences to visualize all of the elements that are confined to one’s imagination when watching these recordings. Viewing the experience of genocide unfold on the big screen will make Aurora’s amazing story eternally accessible. 

Theodore Bogosian

“Aurora’s Sunrise” is not the only film that was based on and used Zoryan Institute’s oral history archives. The 1988 PBS hit, “An Armenian Journey,” by award-winning documentary filmmaker, and former Chairperson of the Zoryan Institute, Theodore Bogosian, features 70-year-old Mariam Davis who returned back to Eastern Turkey for the first time since she was 10 years old. Mariam Davis was the very first Armenian Genocide survivor that the Zoryan Institute had the pleasure of interviewing for its Armenian Genocide Oral History Program in 1983.

Discussing the impacts of “An Armenian Journey,” Bogosian stated: “Millions of PBS viewers (watched the film) during its premiere week of 24 April 1988.  An Armenian Journey broke the Turkish taboos… Without Zoryan‘s oral history program the film would not have the same ring of truth and it might never have been broadcast.”

Dr. Rouben Adalian

Dr. Rouben Adalian, a Member of the Zoryan Institute’s Board of Directors, who interviewed Aurora in 1984 concluded a recent interview with the Zoryan Institute stating: “[Aurora] was clearly someone who already knew how to tell her story. She taught us, and me personally, that as a researcher you can be armed with all kinds of questions, to try to present the facts in a scientific manner, but  a survivor with the energy and personality that Aurora had could tell her story in her own way, and our obligation was to listen more than to ask questions…”

“I think it is Aurora’s spirit, energy, ability to share her story… that now [led to this film] that future generations can analyze and find inspiration in the history that previous generations may not have noticed,” said Dr. Adalian, commenting on the incredible legacy that Aurora is passing down to future generations, and now sharing with the rest of the world.

“This is Aurora’s legacy. This is the value of this interview. This is the unprecedented and important contribution that the Zoryan Institute made when I sat down with this survivor, as with many other survivors, but in this one case, with a woman whose name meant the very dawn that sheds light on the fact that on how important it was to talk to the survivors and save their stories,” Dr. Adalian concluded.