Author: Garik Boshkezenian

Turkish Press: Armenian Chess Player Prevented from Participating in Tournament

Garik Boshkezenian
BIA net, Turkey
Aug 23 2019
Armenian Chess Player Prevented from Participating in Tournament
Armenian chess player Gevorgyan, who was invited to the Buruciye International Chess Tournament in Sivas, has been told she cannot join the tournament.

İstanbul – BIA News Desk , Friday 16:43


Armenian chess player Maria Gevorgyan, who was invited to the Buruciye International Chess Tournament in Sivas, was prevented from participating in the tournament.

A few days before the tournament began, organizers told Gevorgyan that if he joined, the Azerbaijani representatives would withdraw and that the Armenian chess player would not be able to participate in the tournament.

As a result, Gevorgyan was unable to attend the tournament, the ermenihaber.am reported.

In a letter to FIDE (World Chess Federation), Armenian MP Mkhitar Hayrapetyan stressed that Azerbaijan was putting pressure on Turkey and that this is an indication of racism and anti-Armenianism.

While Hayrapetyan said he expects the FIDE to the necessary steps, he stated that the statements condemning this situation could not have allowed Gevorgyan to participate in the tournament, but could have prevented similar situations.

Hayrapetyan also met with chess player Gevorgyan and informed her about the contents of the letter. (PT/VK)


Newspaper: Armenia parliament majority faction on verge of breaking up over Amulsar issue

Garik Boshkezenian
News.am, Armenia
Aug 22 2019
Newspaper: Armenia parliament majority faction on verge of breaking up over Amulsar issue Newspaper: Armenia parliament majority faction on verge of breaking up over Amulsar issue

10:20, 22.08.2019
                  

YEREVAN. – The matter on whether or not  halting the operation of the Amulsar gold mine of Armenia has divided the parliament majority My Step faction into two, according to Hraparak (Square) newspaper.  

“[The faction’s] supporters of the non-operation of the mine make up more than 3 dozen, who have presented their [respective] arguments during the faction meeting yesterday.

“If the authorities make a political decision not to halt the operation of the mine, it is not ruled out that the opposing wing will separate from the faction, creating an ‘autonomous republic.’

‘“Is such a thing possible?’ our journalist inquired of Hovik Aghazaryan, a My Step MP, a supporter of the position of continuing the operation of the mine.

“[But] he has avoided a straight answer. ‘If this matter is truly a matter of principle for my friends [at the My Step faction], they can choose their own path. But as a result of trust toward the [incumbent] authorities in the new realities, a viewpoint can be changed a little,’” Hraparak wrote.

Azerbaijan threw hysteria, this time the cause was the Voluntary National Review of Artsakh, submitted to the UN

Garik Boshkezenian
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 22 2019
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan threw hysteria, this time the occasion was the Voluntary National Review of the Artsakh Republic, submitted to the UN.

Thus, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva, responding  to the report on the presentation of the report, assured that  Armenia, having "abused" the right of membership in the UN, as a  supplement to the letter of its representative in this organization  addressed to the Secretary General, distributed papers and Artsakh.  "It is appropriate to recall that Armenia uses the practice of  distributing securities of the illegal separatist regime within the  UN and the OSCE, but this in no way reflects the position of these  organizations."

However, she informed that in response to this, a letter of protest  was sent to the UN Secretary General by the Permanent Mission of the  Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN, which will be published the other  day as an official document of the General Assembly and the UN  Security Council.

Today, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry reported that the Voluntary  National Review on the implementation of the Sustainable Development  Goals in Artsakh outlined in the <UN Agenda for Sustainable  Development for the Period 2030> was circulated to the United Nations  as an official document. 

Sports: Junior World Championships: Three Armenian wrestlers to compete for bronze

Garik Boshkezenian
Panorama, Armenia
Aug 13 2019
Sport 16:38 13/08/2019 Armenia

The Junior World Wrestling Championships have kicked off in Tallinn, Estonia, with the first competition day started by performances of freestyle wrestlers.

Armenian wrestler Vrezh Gevorgyan at 57 kg started the struggle from the qualification round where he took a 10-0 win over Italian Tommaso Frezza, the National Olympic Committee’s press service reported.

In the 1/8 finals his opponent was German Horst Lehr whom the Armenian wrestler beat 6-4. In the quarterfinals Vrezh gained advantage 4-2 over Chinese Weiyu Li but in the semifinals lost 2-12 to Japanese Toshiya Abe. The Armenian athlete he will wrestle for a bronze medal on Wednesday.

In the 63 kg weight class European U23 current champion Vazgen Tevanyan entered the competition from the 1/8 finals where he took a 10-0 victory over Korean Injong Hwang but lost 4-10 to Russia’s Kuban Shiraev in the quarterfinals.

The Russian wrestler reached the final and Tevanyan got a chance to spend a repechage bout and fight for a bronze medal. At 70 kg Arman Andreasyan started performing from the qualification round where he defeated China’s Jun Zhao 9-1. In the 1/8 finals he faced Lithuanian Pjotrs Golubevs whom Andreasyan beat 15-4.

In the quarterfinals the Armenian wrestler’s opponent was Iran’s Mohmmadsadegh Firouzpourbandpei whom Andriesyan conceded 1-6.

Later the Iranian wrestler lost too and Andreasyan lost the opportunity to fight for bronze.

At 79 kg weight class Arman Avagyan entered the competition from the qualification round defeating Estonian Erik Reinbok 4-1. In the 1/8 finals he beat Kazakh Tilek Kabykenov 6-4. In the quarterfinals he outcompeted Bulgarian Oktay Hasan 6=4, but in the semifinals the Armenian wrestler lost 2-3 to Russia’s Amkhad Tashukhadzhiev and tomorrow will fight for bronze.



Eurovision This Decade: Armenia

Garik Boshkezenian
ESC United
Eurovision This Decade: Armenia

All opinions expressed in this article are those of the editor quoted and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the other team members or the website as a whole.

Welcome back to Eurovision this decade, a series where we look back at the amazing decade just gone and give you our thoughts of each country’s entries. Today we will be looking at Armenia, but first let’s take a look at who #YOU voted as your favourite Albanian entry of the 10s?

In first place, it’s Eugent Bushpepa with Mall from 2017! The epic rock ballad in the local tongue enthused 29% of our voters and takes the title for Albania. Second is 2012’s Rona Nishliu with 21%, and third goes to this year’s entrant Jonida Maliqi with 17%. Now… on to Armenia!

Armenia have competed in nine of the ten contests this decade, deciding to withdraw from the contest in 2012, and have had a wide variety of entries. Let’s take a quick look at Armenia’s track record and then we’ll get into the rankings!

2010 – Eva Rivas – Apricot Stone

Performed second in the second semi final and qualified for the final in sixth place with 83 points. Eva and her team then performed 21st in the grand final and finished seventh with 141 points.

2011 – Emmy – Boom Boom

Performed fourth in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final in 12th place with 54 points. Armenia would not participate in 2012.

2013 – Dorians – Lonely Planet

Armenia returned in 2013 and performed 11th in the second semi final and qualified for the final in seventh place with 69 points. Dorians then performed 12th in the grand final and finished 18th overall with 41 points.

2014 – Aram MP3 – Not Alone

Performed first in the first semi final and qualified for the final in fourth place with 121 points. Aram then performed seventh in the final and finished fourth again with 174 points in total.

2015 – Geneaology – Face the Shadow

Performed second in the first semi final and qualified for the final in seventh place with 77 points. Genealogy then performed sixth in the grand final and finished 16th overall with 34 points.

2016 – Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave

Performed seventh in the first semi final and qualified for the final in second place with 243 points. Iveta then performed 26th in the grand final and finished seventh overall with 249 points.

2017 – Artsvik – Fly with Me

Performed 16th in the first semi final and qualified for the final in seventh place with 152 points. Artsvik then performed fifth in the grand final and finished 18th with 79 points.

2018 – Sevak Khanagyan – Qami

Performed 16th in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final finishing 15th with 79 points.

2019 – Srbuk – Walking Out

Opened the second semi final and failed to qualify for the final, finishing 16th with 49 points.

All of our team members who ranked the entries also said a few words on their personal favourites and why they are where they are. Here are our favourite Armenian entries of the decade…

Connor – 2016 – Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave

This wasn’t an easy choice for me, because I love “Fly with Me” so much, but I have my wits about me and know it’s not a match for “Love Wave.” This song is straight up eternal and honestly the most modern song we’ve seen from Armenia (in my opinion). This is an iconic performance from the 2016 contest, and I love everything this song offers. It’s got a killer introduction, an alluring staging, a scandalous bodysuit, and then that hologram moment. Honestly, this song has it all.

James – 2014 – Aram Mp3 – Not Alone

Aram MP3’s “Not Alone,” like his name, teeters on the brink of ridiculousness and outdatedness with its blend of strings and dubstep. But it works, somehow. Armenia seems to be the Eurovision hipster’s choice, but apart from Aram Mp3 I have not been sold, with most of Armenia’s entries suffering from one significant flaw (such as Srbuk’s jarring and confusing empty stadium moment in “Walking Out”). “Not Alone” does not have one of those moments. They kept it simple here and benefited with their joint-highest placement yet.

Jordan – 2014 – Aram Mp3 – Not Alone

The mix of ballad and dubstep here is just genius. Aram Mp3 is a great live performer and made this song one of the true highlights of the 2014 contest. The ballad opening is soft, and it slowly builds up to the epic climax the song is remembered for. I’m so happy this did so well. It really deserved it and its quite rightly Armenia’s best performing song ever, tied with their 2008 entry.

Roy – 2014 – Aram Mp3 – Not Alone

Aram gave us an incredible song with an amazing build-up. He showed us that you can use dubstep in a Eurovision song and make it do well. Mix in his incredible voice and you have this amazing song.

Sean – 2016 – Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave 

This just had everything; a charismatic performer with a powerful stage presence, a mysterious intrigue, fantastic camerawork, ethnic elements and, most importantly of all – it slapped hard! Iveta brought a real spark to Stockholm with her LoveWave and there’s no comparison from Armenia in this decade. Iconic.

Zack – 2016 – Iveta Mukuchyan – LoveWave

Flawless.

Team Ranking:

We as a team have all voted Eurovision style with Armenia’s entries and given 12 down to 2 points for their nine songs. But who was our winner? Find out below…

Readers Ranking:

In the poll below #YOU can vote for your favourite Armenian entry from this decade! Come back on Friday to find out your favourite and see what we thought of the five Australian entries from this decade.

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The Armenian Population in India Is Growing Again, After Centuries

Garik Boshkezenian
The Wire, India
July 9 2019

One family's story highlights the revival of people-to-people ties between the two countries.

Andrew Whitehead

One of India’s old trading communities, the Armenians, is growing in numbers for the first time in many years. Former BBC correspondent Andrew Whitehead attended an Armenian church service in Chennai and met some of the worshippers. This is an expanded version of a piece he wrote for the BBC radio programme From Our Own Correspondent.

I didn’t expect to see a baby in his mother’s arms among the congregation. India’s Armenian community – once conspicuous in commerce, though always modest in number – has been fading away for many decades. In Chennai, they are barely clinging on.

The city’s serene 18th-century Armenian church holds just one service a year. It stands on Armenian Street and is the oldest church in what was once called Black Town – the place that became home for those not allowed to live in the British fort at the heart of what was then Madras. The place was one of Asia’s commanding ports in that earlier era of globalisation and Empire. And the Armenian traders had money – that’s reflected in the stylish design of this pocket-sized church, its large grounds, striking plaster cherubs and their bugles, and a separate tower complete with church bells cast in Whitechapel in London.

Kolkata, the second city of the British Raj, remains the main base of India’s Armenian community, who were once prominent merchants, financiers and hoteliers. There are 25 families of part-Armenian descent in the city, and the Armenian College and Armenian Sports Club are continuing testament to the community’s influence. Sunday service rotates around the city’s three Armenian churches – and the congregation can reach the heady heights of 100 or more worshippers at Christmas time.

The Armenian church in Chennai is the only one in India outside West Bengal which still holds services, albeit one a year. There were once Armenian chapels in Mumbai (the building still stands) and Surat. Further afield, Dhaka also has an Armenian church – as does Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, where regular services are still conducted.

The Armenian church in Chennai. Image: Andrew Whitehead

The Armenian population of Chennai probably never exceeded a few hundred. Over the decades, integration and emigration – to Australia in particular – has reduced the community to single figures.

Two priests based in Kolkata took the two-hour flight to Chennai to conduct the annual mass. They are from Armenia, on a tour of duty in India which can stretch for as long as seven years. The clerics brought with them the incense, ornate clerical headgear, capes and crucifix which are such essential parts of Orthodox worship. Even counting well-wishers and the curious – and I suppose I fit both descriptions – the number attending just touched double digits.

Also read: The Caretaker of an Armenian Church in Dhaka Whose Roots Lie in Gorakhpur

So the young family made up I guess a quarter of the congregation. The baby’s name is Suren. His father, Kapilan, is an architect – Chennai-born and, he insists, 100% Tamil; his mother Ashkhen, with red hair and pale complexion, describes herself as Armenian through and through.

Baby Suren at church.

As is often the case with marriages across the frosted boundaries of race, religion, language and nation, there is a heart-warming measure of coincidence in this love story. Kapilan was so often told when a postgraduate student in Canada that his surname, Jesudian, sounded Armenian that his interest in the country was aroused; Ashkhen performed so well in Hindi lessons when she was at school in Armenia, a scheme supported by the Indian government, that she won a study trip to India and on her return took on a role promoting links between the two countries.

When Kapilan travelled to Armenia as a tourist, Ashkhen showed him round. “He asked me if Armenia is safe,” she recounts, with feigned shock and amusement. “He’s from India – and he asks if my country is safe!” When she was, in turn, invited to Chennai, she was wary. “Don’t think I’m coming there to get married,” she insisted. But a day before her return home, they got engaged. A white wedding followed, held in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

Ashkhen found her first year in Chennai tough. She was hit by south India’s ferocious heat and humidity. She missed her family, her language, her food, her favourite kind of coffee. Her husband is a Christian but the services at his Protestant church in Chennai didn’t sound – or smell – anything like the orthodox worship she had grown up with.

Over time, she came through and adapted. She started teaching Russian and – with admirable entrepreneurial flair – worked as a business coach, offering Indian businesses advice on branding and on commercial etiquette when dealing with the Russian-speaking world.

That’s just one story. But there are more. Hundreds of Indian students now attend medical schools in Armenia. Ashkhen reckons that 60 or more Armenian women have married trainee doctors and accompanied them back to India. Suren is not the only youngster in Chennai with an Armenian mum and an Indian dad. He will be brought up to respect his Armenian heritage as much as his Tamil identity.

Not all the new Armenian migrants to India cleave to the church as a marker of their identity – but they do network, and Ashkhen is now the regional coordinator of the India-Armenia friendship group. She’s worried about her son growing up in a culture where inter-racial marriages are still rare, and where anyone with fair skin is likely to be seen and treated as an outsider. Chennai is no longer the cosmopolitan city it once was – but Ashkhen is determined to (as she put it) make herself comfortable there.

So for the first time in a couple of centuries, the Armenian community in India is growing. “If you want to find the bad things about India, you will,” Ashkhen counsels her friends – and her clients. “If you want to find the opportunities for business, you can. There are plenty.”

Then she checks herself – looks at her husband – and declares with a laugh in her voice: “I sound just like one of those Armenian traders who came here back in the 1780s, don’t I?”

It’s difficult to disagree.

This article first appeared on Andrew Whitehead’s blog.

Armenians Prepare for Pilgrimate St. Thaddeus Monastery

Garik Boshkezenian
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St. Thaddeus Monastery in Iran

TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency)—Hundreds of Christian worshipers are preparing to head for St. Thaddeus Monastery to observe a religious ceremony passed down from generation to generation.

For the 65th consecutive year, pilgrims from Iran, Armenia, Syria, Lebanon, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Germany, Canada and some other countries get together, this year from July 25 to 27, to observe a ceremony called Badarak in one of the world’s oldest monasteries.

Attendees commemorate the martyrdom of St. Thaddeus, one of the twelve disciples killed while he was preaching the Gospel. The legend says, a church dedicated to him was first built in 68 CE where Qareh Klise is standing.

The festivity is of high importance for Iranian-Armenians who mostly come from the cities of Tabriz, Urmia, Tehran, Isfahan and Qazvin, to stage the reunion in groups and families. It also provides them opportunity to go on holiday and visit distant relatives.

Baptism of children and youngsters along with performances of traditional songs and dances are among highlights the event.

Also known as the Qareh Klise (“the Black Church”), the church is one of the oldest surviving Christian monuments in the country. It is situated in West Azarbaijan Province, some 20 kilometers form Maku, adjacent to the borders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The ancient Church shows off elaborate bas-reliefs of flowers, animals and human figures on its façade and exterior walls. It bears verses of Old and New Testament in Armenian calligraphy as well.
Together with St. Stepanos Monastery and the Chapel of Dzordzor, Qareh Klise was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2008 under the name “Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran.”

All the three sites are located in West Azarbaijan and are of high significance from historical and cultural perspectives. They bear credible testimony to interchanges with the ancient regional societies in particular the Byzantine, Orthodox and Persian.

UNESCO says that the churches bear examples of outstanding universal value of the Armenian architectural and decorative traditions.

President of Artsakh meets participants of

Garik Boshkezenian

President of Artsakh meets participants of "Towards Holy Etchmiadzin, Towards Sacred Artsakh" forum

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13:02, 5 July, 2019

STEPANAKERT, JULY 5, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan on July 5 met with participants of the "Towards Holy Etchmiadzin, Towards Sacred Artsakh" Pan-Armenian Youth forum in Stepanakert Culture and Youth Palace, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President noted the importance of holding such events in Artsakh highlighting the substantial role of the Armenian Apostolic Church in cementing the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity, maintaining the Armenian national identity, developing and strengthening the Armenian statehood.

Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan and other officials attended the event.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Vietnam, Armenia agree to bolster multifaceted cooperation

Garik Boshkezenian
Brinkwire
July 6 2019


By Brinkwire on July 6, 2019
HANOI, July 5 (Xinhua) — Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his visiting Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan agreed here on Friday to take measures to boost the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in the future.

The two prime ministers reached consensus on deepening bilateral cooperation on economy, trade, investment and science, and broadening cooperation on other fields, including education, training, healthcare, culture, sports, tourism, security and national defense, Vietnam News Agency reported.

After their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement between the two governments on educational and scientific cooperation.



Russia’s position on Karabakh unchanged – Foreign Ministry, in comments on ambassador’s contacts in Armenia

Garik Boshkezenian
Interfax
July 4 2019
Russia's position on Karabakh unchanged – Foreign Ministry, in comments on ambassador's contacts in Armenia

MOSCOW. July 4

A meeting between Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin and members of the organizing committee of the forum titled Strategic Union Armenia-Artsakh was a routine event and does not mean that Russia has changed its stance on Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

"We are dealing with routine contacts as part of the ambassador's communication with sociopolitical forces in the host country. I'd like to stress that this is part of his direct duties," Zakharova said at a news briefing on Wednesday.

Kopyrkin's meeting with members of the Dashnaktsutyun party on June 26 was initiated by Armenia and addressed a broad range of issues, including Nagorno-Karabakh, "although this subject was not a key one," she said.

"Our diplomats had not been informed that representatives of the Strategic Union Armenia-Artsakh forum would come together with the leadership of this political organization," she said.

"Therefore, this very contact and this meeting cannot have the political tint that the press attributed to it, and Russia's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement has not changed in any way and cannot change; it is formulated in Moscow and is communicated locally by ambassadors and [other] diplomats," she said.

The Azerbaijani authorities were informed about this meeting, she said.

Local media had said earlier that members of the organizing committee of the Strategic Union Armenia-Artsakh forum met with Kopyrkin on June 26 and handed him a document outlining the objectives and the final declaration of the forum, which had been held in Stepanakert back on May 7.

Azerbaijani media said in commenting on the matter that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Mikhail Bocharnikov on June 28.