10:24,
STEPANAKERT, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Weather conditions and low visibility prompted Artsakh authorities to halt search and rescue operations for the missing-in-action of the 2020 war, the Artsakh State Service of Emergency situations told ARMENPRESS.
So far Artsakh rescuers retrieved the bodies of 1518 servicemen and civilians.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
09:28,
YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. “Step Towards Home” program of the Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia this year will have 400 participants from different communities of the Diaspora.
Hayk Yengibaryan, head of the program implementation department at the Office of High Commissioner, stated that the project will be implemented at four stages, and they will accept 100 participants at each stage.
“In the past the number of participants at each stage was more than 100, however, this time we have set this number conditioned by the pandemic. The participant arriving in Armenia must have a negative COVID-19 test from the past 72 hours. Everything will be done for maintaining all the safety rules connected with COVID-19, the children will have hand-sanitizers and face masks”, he said.
The participation to the program has already been announced, the application process has started. But before this the Office of the High Commissioner tried to check the moods within the Diaspora-Armenians related to the project. Hayk Yengibaryan noted that the moods they saw among the Diaspora-Armenians served a base for holding the project this year. Last year it was held online due to COVID-19.
“There was a high demand for the project because Diaspora-Armenians wanted to have an opportunity to come to Armenia on the sidelines of this program. I would like to note that there are interests from Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, even Brazil, USA”, he added.
“Step Towards Home” will launch on June 21 and will last until August 14.
Diaspora-Armenians aged 13-18 can take part in the program.
Yengibaryan stated that interesting program is waiting for the participants. There will be a 14-day camping program, a cognitive visit to Armenia’s historical-cultural sites, museums, educational facilities and rural communities. Meetings will be held with state, public, cultural and art figures. Sport and cultural events are also planned.
All expenses during these 14 days will be covered by the Government of Armenia.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Artsakh's FM, Armenian Defense Minister discuss security issues in Artsakh
19:53,
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh David Babayan, who is on a working visit in Yerevan, met with Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan on March 16.
As ARENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Artsakh, the sides touched upon issues related to the security of Artsakh, the implementation of the peacekeeping mission, and the current political and military developments in the region.
Humanitarian issues were also discussed at the meeting. The Ministers, in particular, emphasized the need to intensify efforts to retrieve the bodies of the Armenian servicemen killed during the Azeri-Turkish armed aggression unleashed against the Republic of Artsakh on September 27, 2020, as well as to release all the Armenian prisoners of war and hostages, highly appreciating the role of the Russian Federation peacekeeping forces in this process
The work of the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia is assessed 'very favourable' according to the survey results conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI). As the Ombudsman Office reported, it is the second highest ranked institution by public, according to the polls.
The first highest performing institution is the Army, that received 50 percent of 'very favourable' votes, while the Armenian Apostolic Church received the rating "very favourable" by 30 percent of the respondents.
The survey was conducted on behalf of IRI’s Center for Insights in Survey Research by Breavis(represented by IPSC LLC) between February 8 and February 16, 2021. The data was collected through phone interviews with 1,510 Armenian residents aged 18 or older.
Human rights activist, former Artsakh Human Rights Defender and Armenia’s former Deputy Justice Minister Ruben Melikyan has denied any connection with a fake Facebook account opened in the same of a certain “Gagik Soghomonyan”.
According to a report of a Telegram channel, Melikyan has been included in the National Secirity Service (NSS) list of persons who have used the same IP address of a server called ProtonVPN which has been used by the fake account, the human rights activist said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“Yes, in October or November I downloaded the free version of ProtonVPN. I didn't really understand the software, but I logged in several times to read materials of interest to me which could not be accessed through an Armenian IP,” he wrote.
“I don’t know which countries’ IP addresses the program was using. ProtonVPN software is still installed on my phone.
“I don’t know whether I have actually been included in the NSS list related to “Gagik Soghomonyan”. I am not “Gagik Soghomonyan” and I have no connection with it or any other fake account. This is not my style.
“If you are going to arrest me, it is desirable to do it right now – on the eve of March 8,” Melikyan said.
Newly appointed Ambassador of Finland delivers credentials to President Sarkissian
17:54, 11 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of Finland to Armenia Kirsti Narinen (residence in Helsinki) delivered credentials to President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office.
President Sarkissian congratulated the Ambassador on the occasion of assuming the post and wished productive work. The President expressed confidence that the Ambassador will contribute to the strengthening of relations between the two friendly countries.
During the meeting the sides also referred to the opportunities of cooperation between the two countries, as well as exchanged views on regional issues.
Prosperous Armenia party is not planning to meet with the president of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan told the reporters today.
Asked about meeting with Nikol Pashinyan, Tsarukyan said the meeting will take place but did not mention exact date.
At the same time he stressed that the agenda of the meeting has remained unchanged – Pashinyan’s resignation and snap elections.
Asked whether in case of Pashinyan’s resignation and nomination of NA speaker Ararat Mirzoyan the PAP will vote for him, Tsarukyan said the PAP will not nominate candidate and the votes of the opposition will not be determining in this issue.
Pope Francis ended his historic tour of Iraq on Monday, departing by plane from Baghdad after visiting conflict-torn cities, meeting Muslim and Christian leaders and preaching peace and coexistence over war.
During his trip, the first ever papal visit to Iraq, Francis toured four cities, including Mosul, the former ISIS stronghold where vast areas still lie in ruins.
As Catholic Philly reports, in the northern city of Mosul, Francis prayed in a square containing the remnants of four churches — Syriac Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean — nearly destroyed in the war to oust ISIS from the city.
Pope Francis listened to the stories of Christians forced to flee, the fear many have to return and the encouragement of Muslim neighbors committed to making the city a thriving, multicultural metropolis again.
It is noted that the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces battered the city but the biggest, most horrifying blow came in early June 2014 when militants of the Islamic State group launched an offensive. They controlled the city for three years, terrorizing the population, executing hundreds and kidnapping, raping and selling women. They blew up major landmarks, both Muslim and Christian. They destroyed libraries and museums and tens of thousands of lives.
Later, in the Christian town of Qaraqosh, where an entire Christian community was forced out by the brutality of ISIS militants, Francis urged Christians to forgive their oppressors and rebuild their lives.
The Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) on Friday commemorated the victims of the Khojaly Massacre in front of Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
The event took place after morning prayers at the iconic Istanbul mosque and it was attended by TÜGVA head Enes Eminoğlu, Azerbaijani deputy Nagif Hamzayev and the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation's Ferit Cafarov among others.
In his speech, Eminoğlu said that the massacre is one of the darkest stains in human history and that as a foundation, TÜGVA will continue to inform and raise awareness about the tragedy among young people.
TÜGVA's Istanbul Representative Emrullah Şanlan said that 29 years ago, Armenia violated every law of war and committed genocide before the eyes of humanity.
"Armenians, who were not satisfied with only land occupation, massacred the local people – including children, women and elderly – brutally tortured prisoners, committing one of the bloodiest massacres of the 20th century," Şanlan added.
On Feb. 26, 1992, with the Soviet Union newly dissolved, Armenian forces took over the town of Khojaly in the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh after battering it with heavy artillery and tanks and assisted by their infantry.
A total of 613 civilians were killed by Armenian soldiers in Khojaly, a strategically important settlement originally inhabited by 7,000 people. The attack killed 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people. The massacre is seen as one of the bloodiest atrocities by Armenian forces against Azerbaijani civilians in the region, which was mostly liberated by Baku last fall after decades of occupation.
Some 487 people, including 76 children, were critically injured, while 150 of the 1,275 Azerbaijanis the Armenians captured during the massacre still remain missing. Eight families were completely wiped out, 130 children lost their fathers and some 25 children became orphans in the massacre. According to investigations launched by the Azerbaijani government and based on expert statements and the testimonies of 2,000 survivors, Armenian forces tortured their captives by burning them alive; slaughtering them; peeling off their scalps; cutting off their ears, noses and sexual organs and removing their eyes, alongside mass killings.
Marking the 29th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said his country has avenged the victims by liberating the occupied territories in Karabakh from Armenia.
Aram Khachaturian concert hall will host a concert on March 18 at 19.30 to celebrate the 100th birthday anniversary of Arno Babajanyan, one of the greatest Armenian composers, pianist, People's Artist of the USSR and a laureate of Government awards. As the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra reports, the concert will feature State Symphony Orchestra (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Sergey Smbatyan) performing with pianist Alexander Ghindin, soprano Siranush Gasparyan, baritones Ilya Kuzmin, Gevorg Hakobyan. The concert will be conducted by Sergey Smbatyan.
The programme features "Heroic ballade" for piano and orchestra "Bring me back the music" for piano and orchestra, Nocturne (Concert piece for piano and orchestra) songs and film scores "Grateful to you", "Ferris wheel", "My heart is in the Highlands" and other famous works of the composer.