Author: Arbi Tashjian

 11:54,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Inna Sahakyan’s animated documentary Aurora's Sunrise has been included in MovieWeb’s 16 Best Animated Movies of 2023.

“Animation has a significant advantage over live-action filmmaking in that it can convey abstract ideas in a way that makes sense, both visually and spacially. Though there's a stigma surrounding animation in the west, with some likening the medium to children's entertainment, we occasionally get a film that demonstrates a level of maturity and emotional depth you simply can't find elsewhere.

“This is best exemplified by Aurora's Sunrise, an animated documentary film based on the life of the titular Aurora Mardiganian. A survivor of the Armenian Genocide, Aurora's life is depicted with a unique combination of live-action footage and brilliant animation, showcasing her journey from Eastern Anatolia to the streets of Hollywood. Inna Sahakyan directed this melancholic tale, with Aurora Mardiganian appearing in a handful of snippets taken from the 1919 film Auction of Souls.

“The animated portions of Aurora's Sunrise illustrate Aurora's journey in a way that simply wouldn't be feasible otherwise. Through the utilization of Armenian symbolism along with interview segments and archival footage, we're given an intimate viewing of Aurora's life against the backdrop of the Armenian Genocide. For those who may not have a full grasp of the Armenian Genocide's impact, Aurora's Sunrise presents this tragic event from a unique and informative perspective. Aurora's Sunrise is streaming on PBS,” MovieWeb said in the review.

[see video]

 21:17,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan on December 20 received the delegation headed by  UNICEF's  Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Regina De Dominicis.

Paruyr Hovhannisyan highly appreciated the work of the United Nations Children's Fund in Armenia, including the program cooperation in a number of directions, as well as the involvement of UNICEF in humanitarian responses and support for forcibly displaced refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign ministry said.

According to the source, during the meeting, the complex support provided to refugee children, assessment of needs, and protection of children from the most vulnerable groups were emphasized by both sides. Regina De Dominicis noted the progress registered in the field of children's rights in Armenia, highlighting the active cooperation between the government agencies of the Republic of Armenia and the United Nations Children's Fund.

 12:48, 13 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenia envisions the effectiveness of peace talks with Azerbaijan in the same platform where it started, a senior lawmaker said Wednesday.

“Armenia is always ready for talks,” Sargis Khandanyan, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, representing the ruling Civil Contract party, said at a press briefing when asked to comment on the latest statement from Moscow claiming that Armenia has turned down Russia-mediated negotiations, whereas Azerbaijan has agreed to it.

“Unfortunately, in the past months we’ve seen that Azerbaijan is the one who’s avoiding the negotiations and not participating. We expect our colleagues to be able to bring Azerbaijan to the negotiations table,” Khandanyan said.

The MP said it’s the content of the talks that matter, and not the type or format.

“A certain logic of negotiations has been developed, which must be continuous. Perhaps changing the platforms of negotiations is a tactics by Azerbaijan in order to avoid the negotiations. This is the reason why we want the logic of the negotiations to be continuous. And we envision the effectiveness of it in this format, meaning, to continue the conversation where it had begun,” Khandanyan said.

Asked whether Armenia finds the Russian platform to be trustworthy considering the fate of the November 9 agreement, which Russia failed to guarantee as a party, the MP said this is a legitimate concern and question.

“And unfortunately, today we’ve appeared in a situation where main principled issues of the November 9 statement relating to ensuring the security of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and their stay in Nagorno-Karabakh, also relating to the Lachin Corridor haven’t been fulfilled, and are disrupted. That legitimate concern and question still remains,” the MP said.

MP Artur Hovhannisyan from Civil Contract added that Armenia doesn’t differentiate between the platforms of talks if the principles are maintained – recognition of territorial integrities, unblocking of roads under the sovereignty of the countries.

“There was the November 9 statement, and everyone saw what happened. And basically the trust and sentiments stem from the realities,” he said.

 11:49,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia expresses readiness to restore motorway and railway connection with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked Developing Countries, which Yerevan is hosting.

Speaking about the possibility of restoring railway communication with Azerbaijan, Pashinyan  noted that it could be carried out  through two pre-existing railways.

“The first is the northern route, which connects the Azerbaijani Kazakh region with the Tavush region of Armenia. The second is the southern route, which, among others, also connects the western regions of Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan. We believe that the western regions of Azerbaijan can be connected with Nakhichevan and the outside world through the northern route. We have officially expressed this readiness, and today, we reiterate it," Pashinyan said.

According to the Prime Minister the motorways also can have northern, middle, and southern routes, which will open new opportunities for the region.

“Basically, through the Crossroads of Peace, Armenia can connect and be connected with other countries along the north-south and east-west axis,’’ said Pashinyan.

“Moreover, we express the same readiness in terms of reopening the Armenia-Turkey railway, as well as in terms of reconstructing, reopening the two Armenia-Turkey motorways, which will have a significant impact not only on our region, but also on international economic relations, cultural, political ties, and global security issues, in general," noted Armenian PM.

Additionally, the Prime Minister underscored that all routes of communication must operate under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass.

“The next principle is as follows: each state, through its state institutions, ensures border control, customs control and security of all infrastructures, including the passage of citizens, goods and vehicles,'' noted PM Pashinyan.

 10:22, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Sixty U.S. Senators and Representatives, led by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), called on congressional leaders to send security assistance to Armenia and provide additional refugee relief aid for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the national security supplemental funding bill, set to be reviewed as early as next week, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Specifically, the Padilla-Eshoo letter calls for $10 million in U.S. foreign military financing (FMF) for Armenia and requests humanitarian assistance allocated in the supplemental aid bill to be made available to Armenia to meet the needs of over 100,000 forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Azerbaijan’s brutal, unprovoked military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh on the heels of their months-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor has created a horrific humanitarian crisis, forcing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees to flee their homes,” said Senator Padilla. “The U.S. must step up to address this emergency. I strongly urge Congressional leadership to include essential security and humanitarian assistance for Armenia in the foreign aid package.”

In the letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), legislators cite Azerbaijan’s September 19th attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and forced displacement of over 100,000 indigenous Armenians.

“We are particularly concerned that Azerbaijan will continue its aggression by invading the sovereign territory of Armenia. Ominously, Aliyev recently referred to southern Armenia as “western Azerbaijan” and called for the “liberation” of eight Armenian villages along the Azerbaijani border,” state the congressional lawmakers. They go on to stress, “At this inflection point for the Caucasus, U.S. leadership is needed to deter further Azerbaijani aggression and enable Armenians to defend their democracy.”

“As a small democracy in a region dominated by autocrats, Armenia is particularly vulnerable. This is especially true now that Armenia has distanced itself from Russia, Armenia’s traditional security guarantor, in pursuit of closer ties with western democracies,” the U.S. lawmakers said in the letter.