Author: Arsine Chaltikian

Azeri claims prove the international community should recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

“Uncovered claims of Azerbaijan towards the territories of Armenia openly prove why the international community should recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, whereas Azerbaijan should bear international responsibility for the aggression unleashed against the self-determined Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and its consequences,” Shavarsh Kocharyan said in comments to Armenpress.

The comments come after the recent statement of the President of Azerbaijan, in which the latter presented territorial claims towards the Republic of Armenia.

On November 30 the United Nations Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York hosted a dinner in honor of Ban Ki-moon, whose nine-year term as UN Secretary-General will conclude on December 31, 2016. The co-founders of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan expressed their gratitude to Ban Ki-moon in an open letter:

“Dear Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

On behalf of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, we would like to publicly express our gratitude for your unyielding commitment to raising awareness and rallyingsupport forthe world’s most vulnerable people during your term as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

We greatly admire and appreciate your tireless efforts to mobilize and spur action to address humanity’s most pressing challenges. You have brought to life the spirit of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, which seeks to recognize those risking themselves for the benefit of others, in your work to advocate on behalf of the defenseless. Throughout your term of office you have remained steadfast to your goal of making the United Nations the pinnacle of progress, delivering meaningful results that advance women, children and the vulnerable around the world.

In particular, we want to acknowledge your commitment to embracing the learnings of the past to better inform judgment and action in the future. The Aurora Prize is given annually on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors. In this spirit, we are grateful for your approval of the resolution establishing December 9 as . We are pleased the resolution acknowledges that the prevention of genocide remains a specific obligation under modern international law. Thanks to your work, December 9 now represents an important annual moment for the global community to come together toraise awareness of the Genocide Convention, its role in combating and preventingthe crime of genocide, and thecommemoration of thevictims of mass violence – today and in history.

As your term draws to a close, we join with the many people around the world in thanking you for your commitment to public service, and we hope to play a role in continuing your legacy.

Yours sincerely,

Noubar Afeyan                                              

Vartan Gregorian                                          

Ruben Vardanyan

Co-Founders, Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity”

Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan hosted a group of intellectuals today to present the proposed program of increased social security benefits to be paid to the families of servicemen killed or handicapped in action.

The participants exchanged views on the expediency of implementation of the proposed program, formation of effective management mechanisms, the willingness of the society to support the families of the servicemen, the need for transparent oversight, etc.

The participants of the meeting stressed the importance of public discussions, noting that is provides an opportunity to get full comprehension of the initiative and present different public perspectives.

Famous French scientist, one of the forefathers of the internet, Executive Director of Open-Root organization Louis Pouzin received the Armenian Presidential Award in the area of Information Technologies.

Mr. Louis Pouzin is the seventh recipient of the RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the area of information Technologies. The first award was bestowed on the former President of the Board of Directors of Intel Corporation Greig Barrett in 2010, the second one was given in 2011 to Steve Wozniak – a co-founder of the Apple Computers corporation, the third one – in 2012 went to Federico Faggin – the Honorary President of the Synaptics Company, the fourth award went to Tsugio Makimoto, the President of Semiconductor Industry Association, President of the Techno Vision company, former CEO of the Hitachi Company, the fifth – to Chief Development Officer of Sysco Systems, Inc., Mario Mazzola, the sixth – to Director General of Kaspersky Lab Evgeni Kaspersky.

The RA Presidential Award for the global contribution to the IT area was founded by President Serzh Sargsyan’s decree of July 6, 2009 and is aimed at the enhancement of the area’s development. The award is annual and is bestowed on the individuals who have made outstanding contribution to the area and whose input – technological, educational, organizational, financial or other has resulted in significant developments in the area of information technologies. The nomination program is carried out by the award committee designated by the President of Armenia and the international commission. The award represents a medal symbolizing Armenia and high technologies, a diploma and a souvenir.

Peter Balakian received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for poetry at the 100^th  anniversary Ceremony of the Pulitzer Prizes held at Columbia University on Oct. 13. Balakian was one of the seven recipients in the fields of Letters, Drama, and Music, the reports.

Among the other recipients were Viet Thanh Nguyen in fiction for his novel The Sympathizer, Lin-Manuel Miranda in drama for the musical Hamilton, and jazz composer Henry Threadgill for “In For a Penny In for a Pound.” Among the fourteen prizes in journalism were Kathryn Schultz for Feature Writing at the New Yorker, Alyssa J. Rubin for International Reporting at The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times Staff for Breaking News Reporting.

Professor Daniele Allen, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center For Ethics at Harvard University, was the keynote speaker. The awards were presented by Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University.

The Pulitzer committee cited Ozone Journal for “poems that bear witness to the old losses and tragedies that undergird a global age of danger and uncertainty.” Writing about Ozone Journal in Consequence Magazine, Keith Jones wrote: “Balakian is a master of—the drifting, split-second mirage, the cinematic dissolve and cross-cut as well as the sculptural, statuesque moment chiseled out of consonant blends and an imagistic, jazzman’s ear for vowels… beautiful, haunting, plaintive, urgent, in our dying world’s age, these poems legislate a vital comportment to the demands of our shared present, timely and untimely both.” And David Wojahn in Tikkun wrote: “Few American poets of the boomer generation have explored the interstices of public and personal history as deeply and urgently as has Balakian.”

Balakian is the first Armenian American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize since William Saroyan in 1940.

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

The whole world is following with great interest the flood of internal emails released by WikiLeaks: over 400,000 emails of the Turkish ruling party (AKP), 2.8 million U.S. diplomatic emails, over 30,000 emails sent or received by Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State, and 27,000 emails and attachments hacked from the Democratic National Committee.

I will single out a few out of the hundreds of leaked emails that touch upon Armenia or Turkey:

1. On April 19, 2015, Jake Sullivan, Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy adviser, sent an email to a half dozen senior campaign staffers, including Chairman John Podesta, asking if they should issue a statement on the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Sullivan also wanted to know if Clinton would use the term “genocide” as she did as Senator and presidential candidate eight years ago, or will she avoid that term as she did as Secretary of State? Sullivan pointed out that “the White House studiously avoided using ‘genocide’ so far,” and would probably continue to do so. Sullivan wondered whether Clinton’s campaign should proactively issue a statement on the Armenian Genocide or wait until asked to do so by “Armenian groups.” Sullivan ended his email by acknowledging that the Armenian Genocide issue “matters enormously to Armenian-Americans.” Within hours, Podesta suggested that a quotation from Pope Francis acknowledging the Armenian Genocide be included in the genocide statement which ultimately the Clinton Campaign decided not to issue.

2. Ismail Cobanoglu, First Counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., sent an email on Sept. 9, 2015 to Campaign Chairman John Podesta, asking if Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu could “pay a courtesy call on Mrs. Clinton,” in New York, between Sept. 26 and 30. Strangely, Cobanoglu stated that he had first written to the State Department, but was told that Clinton was no longer Secretary of State! Cobanoglu told Podesta that Davutoglu is making this request “in light of his prior friendship with Secretary Clinton dating back to the time when they were colleagues as Secretary of State/Foreign Minister.” On the same day, Podesta told Cobanoglu that Mrs. Clinton’s “schedule is quite difficult, but this would be a priority meeting if at all possible. Huma Abedin, the campaign’s Vice Chair, will follow up.” Podesta then asked Ms. Abedin: “How do you want to handle?” She responded the next day to Cobanoglu informing him that Mrs. Clinton “would be happy to meet with the Prime Minister but we aren’t certain that she will be in New York any of days you suggest. We will let you know as soon as we are more clear on her schedule. We will be in touch soon.” It is not known if the requested meeting ever took place.

3. On December 17, 2010, Huma Abedin, who at the time was Secretary of State Clinton’s Deputy Chief of Staff, forwarded her news about a ruling by the Federal Appeals Court, allowing heirs of Armenian Genocide victims to seek compensation from three German life insurance companies. Interestingly, and ominously, the subject line of Abedin’s email stated that Foreign Minister Davutoglu referred to this court case in his earlier phone call to Clinton. The next day, Harold Koh, Legal adviser of the State Department, sent a copy of the court verdict to Jake Sullivan, Clinton’s Deputy Chief of Staff, and Joe MacManus, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State, asking them to forward this important document to Secretary Clinton. Koh added that “since FM [Foreign Minister] Davutoglu mentioned it in his phone call to her on Friday, we wanted to get this to her ASAP.” Sullivan sent the court verdict to Secretary Clinton with the following note: “Importance: High.” In my opinion, this was an unwarranted and blatant interference by the Turkish Foreign Minister in the US judicial system, seeking to enlist the Secretary of State in pressuring the courts to reverse the verdict! It is not known if Mrs. Clinton took any action in this regard. However, the Federal Court of Appeals subsequently struck down the earlier decision.

4. Finally, in a March 17, 2016 email, Campaign Chairman John Podesta listed 39 individuals as potential Vice Presidential candidates for Mrs. Clinton. One of the surprising names on the list was Muhtar Kent, a Turkish-American who is Chairman of The Coca Cola Company. His father, Necdet Kent, was Consul General of Turkey in New York City, where Muhtar was born. He attended high school in Mersin, Turkey. As we know, Mrs. Clinton ended up picking Tim Kaine as her running mate, not Muhtar Kent.

Today, at the Presidential Palace started a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in the restricted format with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambaev, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakijan Sagintaev, and Secretary General of the CSTO Nikolay Bordzyuzha. The session is chaired by the President of Armenia which was presiding in the Council between the sessions of 2015-2016.

Welcoming the participants of the session and noting that today Armenia’s presidency at the CSTO comes to an end, President Sargsyan underscored that Armenia attaches great importance to the success of the Yerevan summit.

“We have tried to do our best so that our mutual work is sapid and efficient, for the benefit of the cooperation of our countries in the Organization and for the development of the CSTO in general. It is expected that today we will discuss a wide range of issues related to the earlier adopted decisions. Discussed will be a number of documents, adoption of which will set the guidelines of our cooperation in the nearest future.

I am confident that traditions of a constructive mood and mutual assistance will be with us during this session too, which will allow to operatively endorse and adopt important decisions.

Once again, as the accepting side, I welcome you to Armenia. Welcome to Yerevan,” said the President of Armenia during his welcoming remarks addressed to the participants of the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council.

The session in the restricted format will be followed by the session in the extended format with the participation of the official delegations of the CSTO member states.

President Serzh Sargsyan has left for the Republic of Kyrgyzstan for a working visit.

President Sargsyan will participate in the sitting of the Council of Heads of CIS member states.