Dutch church holds 800-hour service to save Armenian family

WPXI Pittsburgh
Nov 30 2018


Updated: Nov 30, 2018 – 8:06 AM

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A Dutch church is holding an around-the-clock service that has lasted more than 800 hours, to shield an Armenian family from deportation. Under Dutch law, police officers are not permitted to enter a church while a religious service is taking place. 

To prevent the Tamrazyan family from being removed from the country, hundreds of pastors and volunteers have been meeting to maintain the 24/7 service. The service has been ongoing for more than a month.

Theo Hettema, Chairman of the General Council of Protestant Ministers in the Netherlands told CNN, "We are severely, severely convinced that hope can change society, and hope can change politics. How long that will take, we don't know but we leave that to God, we pray. Yeah, we have this service here. We have some 450 pastors who are leading part of the service, an hour or more going on. And that's so much faith and love and hope. It must affect something I am sure about that." 

The idea for the nonstop service was hatched in secret to protect the safety of the family until they were able to be moved into the church building. That was on October 26. The family's only hope now is for the government to intervene in the case and allow them to stay. 

In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for the Dutch minister for migration Mark Harbour said, "The minister for migration has the power to decide cases involving specific exceptional and urgent circumstances." However, he added that "factors such as a long period of residents in the Netherlands and enrollment in education in the Netherlands are not sufficiently exceptional circumstances." 

Despite that, church leaders say they are having behind-the-scenes talks with the government about the case and are hopeful of a resolution. But until the family is allowed to stay, they say the church service will continue, as Hettema said, "as long as it's necessary."

Aram Sargsyan: The most promising candidate is the candidate who is less known

The representatives of the “Menk” (We) alliance met today with the residents of the Arabkir administrative district of Yerevan with the slogan of “You and I become We.” Aram Sargsyan, who leads the list of “Menk,” and Khachatur Kokobelyan and Anzhela Khachatryan, who are in the top three, held a campaign in Vanadzor.
The journalists asked Aram Sargsyan whether he is not worried that winning would be difficult because their rating candidates are not known. Aram Sargsyan replied: “The most promising candidate is the candidate who is less known. The time has passed for the famous ones. They are considered as one who did not keep the promises.”

Newspaper: My Step alliance tears down Bright Armenia Party posters, posts its own instead

News.am, Armenia
Nov 28 2018
Newspaper: My Step alliance tears down Bright Armenia Party posters, posts its own instead Newspaper: My Step alliance tears down Bright Armenia Party posters, posts its own instead

11:11, 28.11.2018
                  

YEREVAN. – The campaign season for the upcoming snap parliamentary election in Armenia is underway for two days already, and we can say that unusual events and incidents have not occurred yet, Zhamanak (Time) newspaper reported.

“In their public address before the start of the campaign, virtually all [political] parties, [MP] candidates urged to maintain politeness toward contending forces, or rating [i.e. territorial representation electoral system] candidates.

“[But] the Zhamanak correspondent yesterday [Tuesday] informed that at Shengavit administrative district (…) of [capital city] Yerevan, the Bright Armenia Party candidates’ election posters posted on the walls are being destroyed by the members, or supporters of [acting PM Nikol Pashinyan-led] My Step alliance, [and] posting their own [posters],” Zhamanak wrote.

Campaign season for the upcoming snap National Assembly (NA) election has gotten underway Monday in Armenia.

The campaign season will conclude on December 7, whereas December 8 is election silence day, and December 9—election day

Eleven political forces—two alliances and nine parties—are running for parliament.

As a result of this election, the NA seats will be distributed proportionally among the political forces that have passed the respective minimum thresholds: 5% for parties, and 7% for alliances.

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: The main aspects of Armenia’s foreign policy were presented during Bolton’s visit

Arminfo, Armenia
Nov 2 2018
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: The main aspects of Armenia's foreign policy were presented during Bolton's visit

Yerevan November 02

Ani Mshetsyan. The visit of such a high-ranking US official as John Bolton to Armenia is very important, especially considering the geopolitical situation in the world. This was announced on November 2 in the Armenian parliament by the acting president. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

"It is very important for us to discuss the geopolitical situation, to have support and understand each other on all the issues related to our national security. For us it was a very good reason to explain the logic of our actions with our partners from the United States," said Mnatsakanyan.

He also stated that this was neither the beginning nor the end of the Armenian-American cooperation. "It was a good opportunity to discuss and compare our approaches on a number of issues that are of primary importance for us. Our policy is pro-Armenian and formed within reasonable assessments, and one of the most important goals for us is to explain this policy to our foreign partners. Bolton's visit to Armenia is important. This is an opportunity to hear our colleagues, become a friend, become more understandable and continue our cooperation, "said Mnatsakanyan.

He noted that Armenia is a small country, and the issue of its security is a priority, since the republic faces various challenges. "We have a dialogue with Russia, with Iran. We have opportunities to develop our cooperation at all platforms where we can express our position. And when we talk about the importance of Bolton's visit, we should note that this importance lies in the fact that touched a very rich foreign policy agenda. Our main goal was to make our policy understandable. The dialogue was very successful, and the US understood our logic of relations with the Russian Federation, Iran, our position on the Nagorno- Karabakh issue, relations with Turkey, etc. Moreover, we noted h for we do not build our relations with this or that country, at the expense of relations with other partners ", – concluded Mnatsakanyan.

Azerbaijani Press: Authorities refused the request of the Karabakh committee to hold a rally

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press
November 1, 2018 Thursday


Authorities refused the request of the Karabakh committee to hold a rally


Baku / 01.11.18 / Turan: Baku Mayor"s Office refused to authorize the
rally of the Karabakh Public Committee, demanding to take decisive
measures to liberate the occupied territories. The city administration
considered it inappropriate to hold a rally on November 24.
"Negotiations on Karabakh are conducted transparently, all events are
thoroughly covered in the media," said the mayor"s response.

On September 29, the "Karabakh" committee held a rally under the
slogan: "Freedom to Karabakh", demanding that the authorities take
decisive measures in this direction.

* The Karabakh Committee was established this summer with the
participation of 17 public organizations: the Karabakh Liberation
Organization; the party of the "Classic" Popular Front, Nationalist
Action, Civil Solidarity, Islamic, National Democratic, and others.
-03Ñ06--

"Sydney" district to be built in Artsakh

ArmenPress, Armenia
Oct 26 2018
"Sydney" district to be built in Artsakh


YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. This year the Artsakh Roots Investment is celebrating its 10th anniversary. During these years the investment company has carried out activities in Artsakh by implementing investment programs in the fields of agriculture and housing construction.

The representatives of the company, which consists of more than 200 Diaspora-Armenian businessmen, recently visited Artsakh to get acquainted with the results of the activities of the previous years, as well as to outline the upcoming steps.

Vahan Gasarjian, member of the Board of Trustees of the Artsakh Roots Investment, told ARMENPRESS that they are going to build new houses in Kashatagh. There was a proposal to call this section “Sydney” district.

“In order to expand its programs the investment company is cooperating with investors of different countries. This time working with our compatriots of Sydney, they made a decision to make investments in Artsakh. As the housing construction program will be implemented by the funds of the Australian-Armenians, there is a proposal to call the district Sydney”, he said. “During this period we have conducted activities in Kashatagh and Shahumyan. Investments have been made in agriculture, housing construction sectors. The results satisfy, there is quite activeness in these districts. Some launch new agricultural programs by these funds, and some expand what already exists. The construction of houses contributes to the increase of number of local residents. There are already residents from Syria, Lebanon”, Vahan Gasarjyan said. The new houses will have 2 or 3 rooms. They will be provided to large families, war volunteers, those who move to Artsakh to live and etc.

Vahan Gasarjian stated that the Artsakh Roots Investment is a platform through which people from different countries make investments in Artsakh. The investments contribute to the people to come, live and work in Artsakh.

The Artsakh Roots Investment launched its activities with 12 investors. But now the number of investors exceeds 200. They are mainly from Lebanon, also France, the Arab countries, Australia and other states. There are plans also to work with the US, other European countries in the future. The investors provide the funds to the government at affordable interest rates, and the government in its turn subsidies some part.

“Most of our investors are Armenians, they understand that these are not just business programs, it’s not a matter of earning money, they strengthen Artsakh by these programs”, he added.

The Artsakh Roots Investment plans to hold an investment forum to presents its activities.

Interview by Anna Gziryan

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

PM Pashinyan assures Armenian Government will support all innovative and creative ideas

ArmenPress, Armenia
Oct 10 2018


PM Pashinyan assures Armenian Government will support all innovative
and creative ideas



YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Government will support
anyone wanting to do business in Armenia with the condition that their
activities will be fully in line with the law, ARMENPRESS reports
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced in his speech at
the economic forum in the sidelines of the Francophonie summit.

The PM welcomed the participants in Armenia, at the symbolic “Tumo”
center, which, according to the PM, embodies the new Armenia.

“As you know Armenia is in a stage where once again its commitment to
values such as freedom, democracy, equality before the law, human
rights was reaffirmed. These values are also the basis of Francophonie
and the slogan of the velvet revolution. The velvet revolution was not
just a political act, but also a revolution of values. Finally, that
revolution will have no value if we fail to carry out an economic
revolution. In that sense, now we are in the most important stage of
our revolution and we have to ensure economic success with clear rules
for everyone who want and can start a business in Armenia”, Nikol
Pashinyan said.

The PM noted that those rules have been announced numerous times. But
the PM, taking advantage of the presence of numerous businessmen,
reiterated that they have two preconditions for anyone who wants to do
business in Armenia. “Any activity should be fully in line with the
law and we will help everyone to create maximally many jobs and of
course, pay taxes”, Pashinyan said, reassuring that the Government
will support everyone who will respect the two rules.

The PM noted that he was glad to learn that the main emphasis of the
works of the economic forum was on digital economy, since the goal of
the Government is to transfer Armenia into a high-tech country from an
agrarian one. “Those who are familiar with Armenia know that there are
enough human resources for implementing the economic transformation”,
PM Pashinyan underlined, adding that any creative and innovative idea
will be supported by the Government of Armenia.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie represents one of
the biggest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than
just a common language. They also share the humanist values promoted
by the French language. The French language and its humanist values
represent the two cornerstones on which the International Organisation
of La Francophonie is based.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970.
Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member
states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together
represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and
account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274
million French speakers.

IOF organizes political activities and actions of multilateral
cooperation that benefit French-speaking populations. Its actions
respect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the
French language, peace and sustainable development.

IOF has concluded 33 cooperation agreements with international and
regional organisations and has established permanent dialogue between
the major international linguistic zones (the English, Portuguese,
Spanish, and Arab-speaking zones).

The IOF has its head office in Paris as well as four permanent
representations in Addis Ababa (at the African Union and at the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa), in Brussels (at the European
Union), in New York and in Geneva (at the UN). It has three regional
offices (West Africa; Central Africa and Indian Ocean; Asia-Pacific)
located respectively in Lomé (Togo), Libreville (Gabon) and Hanoi
(Vietnam) and two regional antennas in Bucharest (Romania) and in
Port-au-Prince (Haiti).

Alongside the IOF, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie and
the four direct operators are responsible for implementing the
programs decided at the Summits. The four direct operators are: the
Academic Agency of La Francophonie, TV5Monde, the International
Association of Francophone Mayors and The Senghor University of
Alexandria.

58 Member States and Governments: Albania, Principality of Andorra,
Armenia, Kingdom of Belgium, French Community of Belgium, Benin,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada,
Canada-New-Brunswick, Canada-Quebec, Cape Verde, Central African
Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, , Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon,
Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos,
Lebanon, Luxembourg, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco,
Niger, New-Caledonia, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Säo Tomé
and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia,
Vanuatu, Vietnam.

26 Observers: Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Canada-Ontario, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Dominican Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia,
Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay.

Armenia is a member of the organization since 2008 and will assume the
presidency over the organization during this summit.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Sports: Azerbaijani Judo Federation claim Armenia lied after pull out of World Championships in Baku over security concerns

Insidethegames.biz
Sept 22 2018
                                                   

  • Saturday,

The Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF) has accused Armenia of lying over the reason for their decision not to attend the 2018 International Judo Federation (IJF) World Championships here, having cited security concerns.

As reported by JAMnews, the question of the team’s safety was discussed not between Governments, but between the AJF and European Judo Union (EJU).

Fears were mainly expressed for the team’s trainer Armen Nazaryan and star athlete Ferdinand Karapetyan, who beat Azerbaijan’s Hidayat Heydarov to the men’s under-73 kilograms title at this year’s European Championships in Tel Aviv. 

The Armenians claimed they feared he would not be properly protected.

Commenting on the situation, the AJF told 1news.az: "This is yet another Armenian lie.

"Azerbaijan has always provided security measures at Government level.

"This is how it was during the first European Games [in 2015] and during other international competitions. 

"Moreover, we presented the [Armenian] Ministry of Sport with an official letter which confirms that Azerbaijan guarantees the security of all participants on a State level."

Nazaryan claimed Azerbaijan did not provide any guarantees relating to security.

"We were told that the guarantee of security given to all other athletes would be enough for us, and that there was no need to take separate, 'personal' measures," he said.

"This leaves room for doubt. 

"Thus, the Azerbaijani side, not having presented a guarantee of security, used the opportunity to deprive Ferdinand Karapetyan, who had a real shot at the medal, of participating in the World Championship. 

"In 2018, he was the European champion, having won against an Azerbaijani athlete."

Armenia competed in a number of sports at the Baku 2015 European Games, including judo ©Getty Images

JAMnews reported that Nazaryan and Karapetyan were in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi while negotiations between the AJF and EJU were taking place.

They waited for news about a guarantee of security in order to leave for Baku, but ultimately returned home to Yerevan.

Tension has existed between Azerbaijan and Armenia ever since the two countries received independence in 1991 following the break-up of the Soviet Union over ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked region in the South Caucasus which lies within Azerbaijan's internationally recognised borders.

More than 30,000 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced before Russia brokered a cease-fire in 1994.

Armenian athletes have participated in several sports events in Azerbaijan, including the European Games three years ago.

In the months leading up to the Games, Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited predominantly by ethnic Armenians, provoked more tension after Azerbaijan shot down what it claimed was an Armenian military helicopter on their territory east of the mountainous region, killing three crew members.

It took much mediation to find a solution to allow Armenian participation at Baku 2015.

The 2018 World Judo Championships are scheduled to run until September 27.

Had Armenia been represented at the event, Karapetyan would have been competing today in the men's under-73kg category.

Home favourite Heydarov was beaten in the semi-finals by Japan's Soichi Hashimoto before going onto defeat Mongolia's Tsogtbaatar Tsend-Ochir in their bronze medal match.