Author: Arsine Chaltikian

The Syrian Army announced today that its troops alongside the country’s popular forces have made a significant advance and captured more heights after a tough battle against the terrorist groups in the Western part of Aleppo province, Fars News Agency reports.

“The pro-government forces’ operation in the Western part of Aleppo province has forced the militant groups to withdraw forces from al-Zeitoun and Hazmar Heights,” the army said.

“The militant groups left scores of dead and injured members and fled the battlefields,” the army added.

“The government forces have started to hunt rest of the militants in the newly captured heights,” the army went on to say.

The Syrian army also continued to advance against the Takfiri militants in a key town of Damascus province after fierce clashes with the terrorists.

Informed sources said on Monday that the Syrian troops continued to advance in al-Bilaliyah village in Eastern Ghouta, and reached to the area of Dawar al-Bilaliyah after fierce clashes with militant groups that left a group of terrorists dead and injured.

The army also managed to secure a road in the region where the soldiers are combing the roads and defusing the mines and explosive devices there as the terrorists fled in a state of confusion.

Kurdish groups in southeastern Turkey have called for self-rule, separate from Ankara, as heavy fighting between them and the Turkish Army continues, Reuters reports.

Over 200 Kurdish militants were killed on Sunday during a security operation by the army.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had cancelled a planned meeting with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Saturday, saying its politics were rooted in violence.

The call came at the tail end of a summit of the Democratic People’s Congress (DTK), a coalition of non-governmental Kurdish groups.

“To form a democratic autonomous region including one or several neighbouring provinces, one needs to take into account their cultural, economic and geographic affinities,” said Hatip Dicle, Leader of Kurdish Democratic People’s Congress.

The final resolution of the meeting called for the formation of autonomous Kurdish regions, including several neighbouring provinces.

On Saturday, December 26, young French singer of Armenian descent, Hakob, 12, won the first prize in a contest of classic singers during the “Prodiges” program broadcast on the French TV France 2, Jean Eckian reports from Paris.

He sang “Voi Che Sapete” (The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart), and was accompanied by the national orchestra of the Capitol de Toulouse in the city of Albi. 3.5 million of televiewers followed the show.

This is the second edition of this competition of the French TV held in three categories: musician, singer, dancer.

Hakob lives in the city of Lille. He will receive a prize of €5,000 to continue his musical education.

Today, President of Armenia, Commander-in-Chief Serzh Sargsyan held consultations at the Ministry of Defense. Present at the consultations held at the administrative complex of the Ministry were the Prime Minister, Ministers of Defense and Finance, other officials, as well as the senior staff of the Ministry and commanding officers of the RA Armed Forces. The participants of the consultations summarized the results of the Defense Strategic Review process carried out in 2014-2015. In the framework of the agenda, discussed were plans for the development of the Armed Forces in 2016-2020, as well as the state program on the Development of arms and military equipment.

At the meeting presented were possible modes and means to conduct warfare, the commanding structure of the Armed Forces and main areas of its development, and the works aimed at the continuous augmentation of the Armed Forces with modern weaponry and defense technology. Reference was made to the results of the implementation of the previous 2011-2015 state program, for the Development of arms and military equipment, and it was noted that the plan was carried out in its entirety.

The President of Armenia underscored that along with the process of equipping the Armenian army with supermodern technologies, it is necessary to pay due attention to a continuous improvement of the professional skills for their proper use. President Sargsyan issued instructions related to the implementation of the results of the Defense Strategic Review, setting deadlines and procedure for reporting on the execution of the main guiding documents.

The leadership of the Ministry of Defense assured the President of Armenia that the execution of the development plan and arms program, as well as the adoption in the Armed Forces of new approaches and principles will allow to significantly increase the combat readiness of the Army, provide for the advancement in line with the modern standards, and will allow to continue to ensure the infallible defense of Armenia and Artsakh.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov made has said in Tbilisi that Sergey Lavrov presented a proposal on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement during his recent visit to Armenia. According to Mammadyarov, this implies that “one should focus on the withdrawal of the Armenian military forces, return of internally displaced persons and establishment of contacts between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno Karabakh.”

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responded to the claims at the Eastern Partnership Informal Ministerial Dialogue in Tbilisi, Spokesman for Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan said in comments to Radio Liberty. Minister Nalbandian said, in part:

“All of us, gathered here, can only express bewilderment, as we did at the Riga Summit, when Azerbaijan rejected the wording proposed by everyone, including the EU member-states and EaP states in the Summit’s Final Declaration on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, which was based on the well-known statements by the Heads of Co-Chair states. It is known that they reflect the principles and elements of the settlement as an integrated whole. The joint approach of the Co-Chair states – Russia, United States and France, is well-known, that selective approach to those principles and elements will make the settlement of the conflict impossible.

Azerbaijan’s approaches should not be presented as a position of the Co-Chairs, especially given the fact that those principles and elements are published in the five well-known statements.
Regarding to what Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister presents and how he attempts to ascribe it to Sergey Lavrov, such an approach has not been proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia to the Armenian side, and I do not think that he would have proposed such an approach to the Azerbaijani side.
One should not turn the reality upside-down.”

Syrian fighters fired at a Russian helicopter forcing it to make an emergency landing in a nearby government-held area in Syria’s Latakia province on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, Reuters reports.

A Syrian insurgent group, recipient of U.S. Tow missiles, said its fighters hit the helicopter with an anti-tank missile.

President of the Republic of Armenia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan visited the defense positions in the northeast of the country.

Accompanied by Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and the senior command staff of the Armed Forces, the President toured the frontline military units and visited the defense positions.

The President attended simulation exercises involving divisions of the Second Army Corps, listened to a report by the commander of the Corps on the situation and problems in the military unit under his command.

In one of the military units President Sargsyan participated in the opening of a new canteen for servicemen.

The same day President Serzh Sargsyan left got the Nagorno Karabakh Republic for a working visit.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 16^th annual Pan-European Phoneathon, led by the fund’s French affiliate, will take place during November 18-22. Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, and Patrick Devedjian, president of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine, will serve as the godmother and godfather of the Phoneathon, respectively, making appeals for support throughout the five days of the event.

Proceeds from the Phoneathon will be used to build community centers in Nagorno Karabakh, expand agricultural-development projects in Armenia’s Tavush Region, and provide assistance to Armenian refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, the fund’s French affiliate stated: “Today France, our country, lies wounded after being assailed at the hands of barbarians. We are in mourning. Many of the children of our own nation, which was subjected to similar atrocities in 1915, are now being forced out of their native communities in Syria and Iraq and once again taking the road of exile. The November 13 attacks in Paris were a blow to a civilization built on compassion, respect for human dignity, tolerance, and freedom. Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are part of a civilization that shares those very same values. We must, therefore, safeguard the borders of the twin Armenian republics, and also support the tens of thousands of Armenians who need our urgent assistance. As agreed by Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Patrick Devedjian, the godmother and godfather of our Phoneathon, we will carry the event through, exactly as planned. The words ‘You don’t scare us,’ which are emblazoned on buildings at Paris, fully reflect our stance.”

The Phoneathon was preceded by an opening Gala Dinner on November 12, held at the Paris City Hall under the auspices of Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

In the course of the Phoneathon, more than 600 volunteers stationed in Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, and Lyon will call some 50,000 households, businesses, and organizations in France, Germany, and Switzerland to request their support. The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s other affiliates in Europe — including those of Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, and Greece — as well as Cyprus will organize their own fundraising events in the run-up to the fund’s Thanksgiving Day Telethon on November 26.

Photos by Christie Goodwin

 

By Pierre Perrone

Three songs into what turns out to be a lengthy, 2-hour long set you’d hardly expect from a 91 year-old, now officially the oldest performer to headline the regal London venue, Charles Aznavour takes off his slate-coloured jacket and flings it on the grand piano as he reveals a pair of bright red braces.

The most diminutive chanson legend means business and punches the air after dramatically hitting the high note at the end of ”Paris Au Mois D’Août“ (Paris In The Month of August), the title song of a doomed love affair film he made with Susan Hampshire five decades ago. In fact, he’s not just singing to the French expats who have wandered up from South Kensington with a glass of rosé – fact! – the British and the London-based Armenian community love him too, and with good reason.

He makes fun of the téléprompteur that enables him to give a masterclass in song-writing in between duetting with his daughter Katia on ”Je Voyage” and delivering a sublime ”She”, the 1974 chart-topper revived by Elvis Costello for the Notting Hillsoundtrack 15 years later. If this is your entrée into the thousand-plus chansons Aznavour has composed, you’re in for a treat. After nonchalantly singing ”The Old Fashioned Way”, he returns for ”What Makes A Man A Man”, arguably the first song about homosexuality by a non-homosexual. Its message of acceptance is magnified by the bouquet of flowers he carries on the shoulder like a gun as he wanders off stage, an impish smile on his face. He promises to be back when he is 100. Don’t bet against it! Chapeau Monsieur Aznavour!

The Italian city of Ravenna has recognized the Armenian Genocide.

The Resolution unanimously adopted by the Ravenna City Council notes that “taking into consideration an application of the Armenian union in Italy and taking note of the fact that the tragedy of Armenians has been recognized as genocide by a UN Human Rights Subcommittee, the European Commission, the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Pope Francis, the Ravenna City Council recognizes the Armenian Genocide and expressed its sympathy to the Armenian people on the 100^th anniversary of the massacre.”