Author: Christine Harutyunian

​Philanthropist Konstantin Ishkhanov joins charity program for Artsakh children

Christine Harutyunian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
Philanthropist Konstantin Ishkhanov joins charity program for Artsakh children
15:19, 24.12.2020
 
A good friend and a longstanding supporter of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, as well as a cultural philanthropist renowned in many countries, the founding president of the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) Konstantin Ishkhanov continues providing great support in the cultural life of Armenia․
 
By providing support, Konstantin Ishkhanov has come up with a substantial contribution to the orchestra's new initiative, launched jointly with the co-organizers of the New Year charity screening-concert of the animated film “Frozen”.
 
In these difficult times, with a considerable personal donation, he has also joined this New Year charity concert program which will be hosting children of the families affected by the 44-day war in Artsakh.
 
Konstantin Ishkhanov has always stood by the Armenian people by contributing to the projects of spreading Armenian culture both in Armenia and abroad.
 
It is not surprising that Konstantin Ishkhanov has supported the initiative in these difficult times in Armenia: for many years, the foundation headed by him has been constantly contributing to the development of cultural life and acting as an organizer of a number of events.
 
These are both classical music festivals held in Armenia, as well as concert tours of many famous young Armenian musicians (Haik Kazazyan‚ Nareh Arghamanyan‚ Khachaturian Trio, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra) in different countries of the world.
 
Today, any contribution means a lot in organizing cultural events to revive our spirits. You can also join this charity initiative and give children a chance to enjoy the “Frozen” animated film screening-concert by making your contributions via the online platform.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Many anti-Pashinyan protesters spend night in Yerevan’s Republic Square

Christine Harutyunian
Panorama, Armenia

Dec 24 2020

Numerous protesters spent the night in the Republic Square in Yerevan, demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who signed a deal to cede Artsakh territories to Azerbaijan last month.

Opposition Dashnaktsutyun party member Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the coordinator of the Homeland Salvation Movement, posted photos from the square on his Facebook page at night, noting that they were taken by Hrant Sarafyan.







AP: Protesters in Armenia besiege parliament, demand prime minister resigns

Christine Harutyunian
Dec 9 2020
Protesters in Armenia besiege parliament, demand prime minister resigns

Thousands of protesters converged on the parliament building in Yerevan, Armenia, on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister for his handling of the fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

HRANT KHACHATRYAN/PAN /AP

By ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: December 9, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia — Thousands of protesters converged on the parliament building in Armenia’s capital Wednesday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation’s prime minister over his handling of the fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nikol Pashinyan’s opponents are angry at a peace deal that ended six weeks of fighting over the separatist region but saw Azerbaijan take over wide areas that have been controlled by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

Armenia’s opposition parties gave Pashinyan an ultimatum to resign by Tuesday, but he has ignored the demand, defending the peace deal as a bitter but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

About 15,000 protesters marched through downtown Yerevan to the parliament building, chanting “Nikol go away!”

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The opposition has been pushing for Pashinyan’s resignation since the Russia-brokered peace deal took effect on Nov. 10. Protests have grown over the past days, with demonstrators blocking traffic in various sections of the capital, and also rallying in other cities.

The Armenian Apostolic Church and all three of the country’s former presidents have joined the demand for Pashinyan to step down.

Undeterred, the prime minister told lawmakers in parliament Wednesday that the nation needs consolidation in the current difficult period. “Voices of different groups mustn’t be mistaken for the people’s voice,” he said.

Speaking outside parliament Wednesday, Artur Vanetsyan, the former head of the National Security Service who leads the Homeland opposition party, argued that Pashinyan should step down to allow opposition forces to “normalize the situation” in the country. “Each day he stays on the job raises a new threat to the nation,” Vanetsyan said.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides, the Azerbaijani army forged deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept the peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas.

Azerbaijanis have celebrated it as a major victory, and the country is set to hold a massive military parade Thursday — to be attended by visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan during the conflict, which it used to expand its clout in the region.

___

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.


Artak Tovmasyan: Armenian government should resign promptly

Christine Harutyunian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 4 2020

The Armenian government should resign immediately to avoid political turmoil in the country, according to Artak Tovmasyan, the head of the Tovmasyan Charity Foundation.

“The ongoing political processes in Armenia show that there are some radical public demands.

1) The government should resign promptly to prevent the Republic of Armenia from internal political strife and further escalation of the political situation.

2) It is already a fact that the National Assembly does not represent the interests of all layers of our society, it does not function professionally, thus snap parliamentary elections should be held,” he wrote on Facebook.

Tovmasyan called for a new political agenda and involvement of patriotic people who have succeeded in their career in the political processes, regardless of whether they have been involved in politics or not thus far. “This is the imperative of the time,” he said. 

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Knights of Vartan Detroit Ships$503,000 Worth of Medical Supplies to Armenia

Christine Harutyunian

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                           

December 3, 2020

PRESS
RELEASE

 

"Knights
of Vartan" Communication Office

2
Arshagunyats Ave,

Yerevan,
Armenia

Contact:
Gohar Palyan, Liaison

Tel:
+374 94 20 64 68

Web:
www.kofv.org

 

Knights of Vartan Detroit Ships
$503,000 Worth of Medical Supplies to Armenia

 

(Detroit) – With the recent events taking place in Armenia
and Artsakh, the Knights of Vartan Nareg-Shavarshan Lodge of Greater Detroit, in
addition to their monetary donation to the Hayastan All Armenia Fund, felt it
was necessary to do something more. Coincidently, one of the Lodge’s newest
members, Greg Baise, approached Commander Kazar Terterian and proposed the idea
of a possible donation of medical supplies from World Medical Relief (WMR)
whose headquarters are located in Southfield, Michigan; it turns out, Baise, a
Pharmacist by profession, is on the Board of Directors of the organization.

Nareg-Shavarshan Lodge would be responsible for the cost of a
40-foot container and its passage to New York, then the fee to ship it to Poti,
Georgia and finally transporting it from the port to Yerevan which would total
nearly $17,000.  Terterian contacted Past
Grand Commander (PGC) Dr. Gary Zamanigian who was tasked with raising the funds
necessary to get the medical supplies to Yerevan. The Lodge’s Commander then
spoke to Peter Abajian, Executive Director of the Paros Foundation, and
requested that he communicate with Armenia’s Minister of Health to determine
the list of equipment needed and to facilitate the pickup and delivery of the
container from Georgia to Armenia. The project proceeded covertly to assure
safe delivery of the medical equipment which did in fact arrive in Yerevan on
Thanksgiving Day.

Unaware that the container was going to Armenia, it was,
within a few weeks, filled by WMR volunteers from St. John Armenian Church in
Southfield with Ultrasound Machines, Centrifuges, Cardiac Monitors, Dialysis
Machines, Wheelchairs, Surgical Instruments, Medications and because of the
rising COVID 19 cases in Armenia, plenty of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
all provided through the generosity of WMR; the total shipment was valued at
$503,000.

Finding a benefactor would pose an almost insurmountable
problem because at this same time Nareg-Shavarshan Lodge was in the midst of
another project to raise $25,000 to complete the renovation of the Knights of
Vartan School #106 in Yerevan. During a conversation with Past Commander Howard
Atesian, Dr. Zamanigian mentioned the WMR project and without even asking how
much it would cost, Atesian said he would donate the funds necessary to get the
container to Armenia i.e. the entire $17,000!

World Medical Relief is the ninth largest organization of its
kind in the United States with an excellent rating. In addition to Greg Baise,
Nareg-Shavarshan Lodge members would like to extend their sincere appreciation
to Dr. George Sampson, President and CEO of World Medical Relief for his
supervision and attention to this timely need of medical equipment in Armenia.

 

The
Knights of Vartan Inc. is a fraternal leadership and service organization of
Armenian men dedicated to safeguarding and perpetuating the Armenian heritage
and its cultural traditions. Its membership represents the spectrum of the
leadership of the Armenian community. It was founded in 1916 in Philadelphia
and is based in the United States with 23 local chapters which support Armenian
causes around the world.

For
more information about the Knights and Daughters of Vartan, visit

Armenia, Artsakh Ombudsmen complete 4th report on Azerbaijani atrocities against Armenian captives

Christine Harutyunian

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 17:57,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Ombudsmen of Armenia and Artsakh Arman Tatoyan and Artak Beglaryan have finished the 4th closed report on atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against captured ethnic Armenians and corpses in the period from November 4 to 18, Ombudsman Tatoyan said on Facebook.

“We have finished the 4th closed report on atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against captured ethnic Armenians and corpses. It is the 4th report covering only torture and cruelty and refers to the period from November 4-18. We have already started preparation of the 5th report.

This report provides concrete evidence of all atrocities and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces. All these were committed only because people were ethnic Armenians. These are the result of the Azerbaijani state supported policy of hate speech in Azerbaijan.

The report contains evidence and analysis confirming the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide through terroristic methods in Artsakh.

P.S. We do not publish the content of the report given the severity of atrocities and torture committed by Azerbaijan. It will be submitted to international bodies, as well as to relevant state bodies of Armenia”, the Ombudsman of Armenia said.

Dutch Parliament adopts resolutions on imposing sanctions against Aliyev and Erdoğan

Christine Harutyunian

Dutch Parliament adopts resolutions on imposing sanctions against Aliyev and Erdoğan

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 20:34,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Dutch Parliament has adopted the resolutions on imposing individual sanctions against the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyeva, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan  and others for war crimes and atrocities against Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports Ambassador of Armenia to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan wrote on his Twitter page.

The Ambassador also informed that the EU imposed an embargo against supplying arms to Turkey for participating in the aggression.

The resolution authored by Sadet Karabulut calls on the parliament of the Netherlands to impose individual sanctions against those in Azerbaijan and Turkey who are responsible for the violence in Nagorno Karabakh.

''In light of the fact that violence between the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave between Armenia and Azerbaijan has resurfaced in recent months, noting that the latest attempt of violence was initiated by Azerbaijan with the encouragement of Turkey, the MP calls on the government to impose individual sanctions on those individuals in Azerbaijan and Turkey, who are responsible for these atrocities'', reads the resolution.

Another resolution offers imposing individual sanctions on Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and his family members and key individuals in connection with the Azeri attack and the deployment of Syrian militants in Nagorno-Karabakh by Turkey.

''Based on the fact that Azerbaijan and Syrian jihadists sent by Turkey have committed large-scale war crimes in Nagorno Karabakh in the last 5 weeks, considering that Genocide Watch has alerted that there is an unnoticed genocide, we call on the government to pursue at the EU level personal sanctions against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, his family members and key individuals over the Azerbaijani attack and Turkish deployment of Syrian militants in Nagorno-Karabakh'', reads the second resolution.

Artsakh’s President visits Lisagor community in Shushi region

Christine Harutyunian
Public Radio of Armenia
Nov 17 2020


Together with Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, Commander of the Russian peacekeeping troops, Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan visited today the Lisagor community of in Shushi region and personally got assured of the reliable trafficability of the Stepanakert-Berdzor highway.

During the visit, he talked on the ground with the citizens and servicemen, discussed the future plans.

Hundreds of Armenian Servicemen Missing After Nagorno-Karabakh War, PM Pashinyan Says

Christine Harutyunian
Sputnik
Nov 16 2020

by Oleg Burunov

Last week, the heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia signed a joint declaration that put an end to the six-week conflict in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday that hundreds of Armenian servicemen remain missing as a result of the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We hope to find some of them alive. Yesterday, we found a wounded soldier who was previously listed as dead", Pashinyan said during an online press conference.

He added that an exchange of prisoners will begin after the two sides wrap up the process of exchanging the bodies of all those killed in the hostilities. Pashinyan expressed hope that a day of national mourning would be declared in Armenia after completing the exchange of bodies. 

Russian Defence Ministry
In this handout video grab released by Russian Defence Ministry, Russian peacekeepers' military equipment that is being redeployed to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, is unloaded from transport aircraft at Erebuni Airport, outside Yerevan, Armenia

Armenia earlier reported the deaths of more than 2,300 of its soldiers in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's latest escalation, while Azerbaijan has not yet disclosed its military losses.

Pashinyan's statement comes a few days after he agreed to withdraw Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh as well as hand over a number of territories to Azerbaijan, in line with a Russia-brokered peace deal between Baku and Yerevan that took effect on 10 November.

© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev
Ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh: Key Points of Deal to Stop Hostilities Between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Under the accord, Azerbaijan and Armenia will stop at their current positions and exchange prisoners, and almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers will be deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia has already sent more than 1,100 peacekeepers to the region along with 1,168 pieces of military and support equipment.

On Saturday, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, Rustam Muradov, said that Armenia and Azerbaijan are adhering to a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, and that the situation in the war-torn region is stabilising.

The decades-old conflict escalated into large-scale fighting on 27 September, when Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of launching artillery, missile, and air strikes in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority region, where tensions have persisted since 1988 and finally led to the region declaring independence amid the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Between 1992 and 1994, Yerevan and Baku fought a brutal war for the territory that claimed the lives of over 30,000 people, also displacing at least 1.1 million others. Thousands more have been killed in the conflict's frequent flare-ups since then.