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Author: Babken Chilingarian

Hamlet Petrosyan: Armenia deliberately left out of conference on late antique urbanism in Southern Caucasus

Babken Chilingarian
Panorama, Armenia

Armenia, Armenian cities and Armenian specialists were deliberately left out of a conference on late antique urbanism in Southern Caucasus to be held in Denmark in October, historian Hamlet Petrosyan, the head of the archaeological expeditions of Dvin and Artsakh’s Tigranakert, wrote on monumentwatch.org website on Sunday.

“With pain and disappointment we inform that in such a tragic situation in the Caucasus, a number of our esteemed colleagues have taken the path of obvious political approaches, taking the initiative to join “Cities on the Edge. Exploring Late Antique Urbanism in the Southern Caucasus (AD 300–600)” conference, where Armenia, Armenian cities and Armenian specialists were deliberately left out (details are available here),” he said.

“It is impossible to present the urban culture of the Caucasus without Armenian cities, Armenian primary sources and researchers. But this is not a new thing. I am sorry that my good friends Lara Fabian and Murtuzali Gadjiev, who are on the list of participants, did not report such an outrageous breach of academic conduct.

“It is not a matter of misunderstanding, but of deliberate orientation. If personal interest is higher than scientific integrity, there is no point in asking, explaining or expecting honesty.

“We are sorry and disappointed,” Petrosyan said.

Hot election campaign without any obvious favorite – International press about Armenia’s early parliamentary elections

Babken Chilingarian

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 18:36, 20 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. The struggle is between the ‘’Civil Contract’’ Party led by acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Armenia Alliance led by 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan in the early parliamentary elections taking place today, June 20, but non of them is an obvious favorite. ARMENPRESS reports the international press referred to the early parliamentary elections of Armenia.

Summing up the morning data of June 20, BBC noted that the participation rate is higher than expected.

Russian ‘’Ria Novosti’’ also noted the queues at the polling stations, which can be caused not only by the hot competition between the political forces, but the protracted electoral procedures.

Reuters also covers the early parliamentary elections of Armenia, noting that the elections are extremely competitive.

Al-Jazeera has also noted that, adding that acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan lost most part of his public trust following last year’s defeated war and now is in very close competition with Armenia Alliance led by Robert Kocharyan.

Interestingly, the majority of the leading international news agencies link the elections in Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh issue and the war of 2020.

For example, German Deutsche Welle writes that the reason of the early parliamentary elections in Armenia is the war of 2020 and the situation created after it. ‘’Armenia had never seen such a hot pre-election campaign’’, writes DW.

Defining expenditure needs based on geography and demographics in Armenia

Babken Chilingarian
Council of Europe
June 22 2021
Yerevan, Armenia 15 June 2021

– Salle de presse de la gouvernance démocratique

Participants to a public roundtable discussion on the topic of local finances in Armenia heard how the calculation of standard expenditure needs for local authorities based on geographical features and socio-demographic characteristics of the local population can improve local public services and make local governance more efficient.

This new methodological approach to designing systems for local finances based on standard expenditure needs was presented to Armenian participants based on examples from Italy and Lithuania. This methodology, widely recognised as an example of best practice, has also been applied on a pilot basis to a representative sample of consolidated communities in Armenia and the preliminary results were also presented in the context of the roundtable.

Following a lively discussion involving representatives of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, local organisations, consolidated communities, civil society and the international donor community, participants recognised the value an approach to equalisation based on standard expenditure needs and expressed a desire to delve deeper and find out more.

In light of the comments and requests expressed in the course of the roundtable, a series of focus group discussions will be organised with stakeholders to discuss the different criteria, variables, and services to be applied when establishing standard expenditure needs in Armenia.

The “Democratic Development, Decentralsiation and Good Governance in Armenia” project is financed by the Austrian Development Agency and implemented in the context of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022.

Armenian Ombudsman sends video of conservation between Azerbaijani President and Turkey’s First Lady to EU leaders

Babken Chilingarian

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 10:31,

YEREVAN, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan has send the video showing the conversation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and wife of the Turkish president Emine Erdogan about the Armenian prisoners of war, illegally held in Azerbaijan, to the top leadership of the European Union with additional letters.

“I today sent the undeniable video-evidence between the Azerbaijani President and Turkey’s First Lady to the top leadership of the European Union with additional letters:

  1. The President of the European Council
  2. The President of the European Commission
  3. High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

The video proves that all Armenian captives in Azerbaijan are held as hostages for political bargaining and trade.

Therefore, all trials against the captives are fake, and their detentions are a forbidden punishment.

The letters show how the Azerbaijani authorities mislead the international community, including the EU.

The letters sent today are based on the alarms of the families of the captives and the results of our examinations, show their sufferings caused by the Azerbaijani authorities”, the Ombudsman said, adding that he raised the issue of the immediate return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan as a compulsory international demand subject to unconditional implementation.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Displaced Students Face Difficult Graduation

Babken Chilingarian
By ICC’s Field Correspondent

06/24/2021 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by first lady Emine Erdogan and several Turkish officials, arrived early Tuesday, June 15 in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

Upon his arrival, he traveled to the beautiful green but decimated town of Fuzuli (Armenian: Varanda), located to the southeast of Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh). This was the first town that Azerbaijani forces won back during the 44-day war in fall 2020 from ethnic Armenian forces, who have controlled it since the early 1990s.

As part of his official visit, Erdogan’s mission included travel to the city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s seizure of this mountain fortress city in early November was a crucial moment in the war. It gave Baku a tactical advantage over the Armenian forces and led to a Russian-brokered cease-fire that ended the fighting.

Turkey’s president was honored in Shushi with an official greeting ceremony. This was a historic day for both countries (Turkey and Azerbaijan). For more than 300 years, the leaders of the Ottoman Empire, and later the Young Turks, sought to conquer the fortress city of Shushi in the heart of the mountainous part of Artsakh to control the entire region. Even in the historical absence of a state, the Armenian forces in Artsakh had previously resisted the attempts of the Turkish armies.

After the greeting ceremony, Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev signed an 11 paged document called the Susa Declaration on Allied Relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is expected that because of this document, a Consulate General of Turkey will soon be opened in Shushi, Azerbaijan will start producing UAVs, and the “Zangezur corridor” connecting Azerbaijan and Turkey will be opened.

While the Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders were busy admiring their occupied territories, the same day not far away from them in Stepanakert (the capital of Artsakh), another beautiful but sad ceremony was ongoing: displaced Armenian high school students from all over the Artsakh region were graduating the school. They had lost everything because of Turkish-Azeri aggression: their homes, their personal belongings, and other types of invaluables. On the faces of the students, one may see dignity and silent resistance. But one could not see happiness. On their ribbons were the names of the villages and towns of Artsakh the students are originally from. These students were supposed to graduate there, but now it is occupied by the enemy. On one giant poster, the students held a written sign, “We’ll win our territories back.”

For more information about the humanitarian implications of the war, see ICC’s recent field trip report: Nagorno-Karabakh: A Humanitarian Perspective.

Karabakh opens criminal case on Azerbaijan vandalism of Armenian cemetery of Askeran

Babken Chilingarian
News.am, Armenia
June 16 2021
14:55, 16.06.2021

STEPANAKERT. – The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case in connection with the vandalism committed by Azerbaijanis in the Armenian cemetery of Askeran town, the committee informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The criminal case has been launched under the Artsakh Criminal Code article on desecration of a corpse or burial sites on the grounds of national, racial or religious hatred or enmity.

It should be noted that unlike Azerbaijan, the graves of Azerbaijanis have been preserved in Armenia for more than 30 years already.

Election in Armenia, meant to end political crisis, is too close to call

Babken Chilingarian
NASDAQ
Contributor
Dmitry Antonov Reuters 

MOSCOW, June 18 (Reuters) – Armenia's political fate hangs in the balance ahead of a parliamentary election on Sunday with opinion polls putting the party of acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and that of former President Robert Kocharyan neck-and-neck.

The Armenian government called the snap election to try to end a political crisis that erupted after ethnic Armenian forces lost a bloody six-week war against Azerbaijan last year and ceded territory in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Pashinyan has been under pressure ever since, with regular street protests demanding he step down over the terms of the peace agreement that ended the conflict. Under the deal, which was brokered by Russia, Azerbaijan regained control of territory it had lost during a war in the early 1990s.

Pashinyan himself called the agreement a disaster, but said he had been compelled to sign it in order to prevent greater human and territorial losses.

According to a recent Gallup International poll conducted on June 7-10, 24.1% of voters are ready to vote for Kocharyan's Armenia Alliance and 23.8% for Pashinyan's Civil Contract party.

Whoever forms a majority in parliament gets to elect the prime minister, who is nominated by the president.

Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, is a close ally of Moscow, though Pashinyan, who came to power on the back of street protests and on an anti-corruption agenda in 2018, has had cooler relations with the Kremlin.

"We wish a successful election to our close ally and partner," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Turkey, which supported Azerbaijan in last year's conflict, will also be watching closely.

Pashinyan's main rival is Kocharyan, a native of Nagorno-Karabakh, the region that was fought over last year. It is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has long been claimed by ethnic Armenians too.

He was president of Armenia from 1998 to 2008 and was accused of acting unlawfully when he introduced a state of emergency in March 2008 following a disputed election. At least 10 people were killed in the clashes that followed between the police and protesters.

In a recent interview with Russia's RT TV channel, Kocharyan accused the then Armenian leadership of inaction during last year's war and pledged to start negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh's borders if he came to power.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

((;))

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/election-in-armenia-meant-to-end-political-crisis-is-too-close-to-call-2021-06-18

New York City Opera names Constantine Orbelian as Music Director and Principal Conductor

Babken Chilingarian

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 14:40, 8 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, ARMENPRESS. Director of the Armenian Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater after Alexander Spendiaryan Constantine Orbelian has been appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York City Opera, the NYCO reports.

Maestro Orbelian will conduct his first NYCO production this summer when the company performs a newly created version of Rigoletto on Sunday, August 29 at the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice in Kingston, New York, followed by an encore performance of the Verdi favorite on Friday, September 3 as part of Bryant Park’s annual Picnic Performance series

“We are indeed very fortunate to welcome the world-renowned maestro, Constantine Orbelian to the New York City Opera Family. Maestro Orbelian brings decades of international experience conducting opera’s greatest stars both in performance and on award-winning recordings and will offer the company and its audiences many world-class performances in the future. I have no doubt his skill and experience will be central to restoring City Opera to its place in the American and international Opera scenes”, Michael Capasso, General Director of the New York City Opera, said.

“I am thrilled to accept the position of Music Director and Principal Conductor of the venerable New York City Opera,” said Maestro Orbelian. “It is a great opportunity to help bring this historic, culturally significant musical institution back to life after a challenging time of Covid closures. We will give opera lovers the thrill of hearing extraordinary singers from across America and beyond. Staying true to the NYCO tradition, we will provide contemporary composers a great platform in which to premiere their works”.





Creation of new mechanisms for strategic relations with Russia: Armenian National Congress presents pre-election program

Babken Chilingarian

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 17:08, 7 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Congress party highlights necessity of creating new mechanisms for deepening and harmonizing the bilateral and strategic relations with Russia, party member Arman Musinyan said by presenting their party’s pre-election program relating to the security sector.

“It will allow the state to neutralize the existing real treats at least in the short-run and put the grounds of Armenia’s long-term security already in the medium and long-run”, he said.

Taking into account the fact that the status of Nagorno Karabakh is not determined yet, Musinyan said their party considers necessary the engagement in active negotiations with Russia and the other OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, as well as with Azerbaijan aimed at finally settling the issue.

The party also attaches importance to the launch of a number of urgent actions within Armenia, connected with the improvement of the public administration system and ensuring public stability.

The electoral campaign for the snap parliamentary elections officially launched in Armenia on June 7.

The campaign will last until June 18.

The snap parliamentary elections will take place on June 20, but the electronic voting will kick off on June 11 until June 13.

26 political forces – 22 parties and 4 blocs, are participating in the elections.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Yerevan court rules to end prosecution of Serzh Sargsyan’s nephew

Babken Chilingarian
Panorama, Armenia
June 1 2021

Judge Anna Danibekyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction on Tuesday ruled to end the criminal prosecution of Hayk Sargsyan, a nephew of Armenia’s second President Serzh Sargsyan.

He was acquitted of illegal arms possession, while the charge of attempted murder under Article 235 of Armenia’s Criminal Code was replaced with a charge under Article 120 – negligently causing serious bodily injury.

However, the statute of limitations was applied in that case, in fact leading to the end of the prosecution against Hayk Sargsyan.