Author: Garik Boshkezenian

Asbarez – The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce on Monday announced the cancellation of the “Los Angeles Turkey Business Forum,” scheduled for Thursday, May 25. Billed as a round-table meeting with CEOs and board members from 12 of the most prominent companies in Turkey, the event was to serve as a way to develop business alliances in LA and Turkey.

Its cancellation comes in response to concerns raised by Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail attacked peaceful protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador’s home on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., last week. The attack, caught on video, shows Erdogan’s detail leaving his side and crossing an American police line to punch, kick and push citizens who were lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights. The attack has been widely condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike, with Sen. John McCain urging the State Dept. to expel Turkey’s ambassador from the United States.

City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, the first Armenian American elected to city office in Los Angeles, praised the Chamber’s actions.

“I thank the LA Chamber for being responsive to my request and cancelling the Los Angeles Turkey Business Forum. The unprovoked attack by Turkish state security officers on peaceful American citizens was reprehensible and a grave breach of our country’s laws. That the business community in our great city recognizes that human rights must be upheld by all within our borders is a credit to their vision and conscience,” said Krekorian.

“The ANCA Western Region is grateful to Councilmember Paul Krekorian who acted swiftly and effectively upon learning of the Los Angeles Turkey Business Forum which was co-sponsored by the LA Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor’s office. In a time where the President of Turkey dares to order his goons to attack Americans peacefully protesting on American soil against his brutal regime, American public entities and private businesses should steer clear of explicitly or implicitly condoning such outrageous behavior. This is one of the just consequences of Erdogan’s reprehensible acts, and we call on all Americans and elected officials and offices to send a clear message to the Turkish government that we will not tolerate Erdogan’s exporting of brutality to our country,” said Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region chairwoman, Nora Hovsepian.

The Delegation of the European Union to Armenia has started the Europe Day public celebrations. This year the Europe Day celebrations will be held in 6 Armenian cities and will culminate in Yerevan.

Yerevan is hosting the celebrations from 6 to 27 May, 2017.

Europe Day annual celebrations in Armenia include information events which present the EU-Armenia close cooperation and partnership, and the European culture’s diversity.

Information Fairs and open-air concerts will be held in Gyumri, Vanadzor, Dilijan, Kapan, Goris and Yeghegnadzor. The events in Yerevan will be more diverse.

In Yerevan, the Europe Day Information Fair will take place on 27 May, at 15:00, at the Northern Avenue. The Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski and the EU Member States Ambassadors will attend the Fair.

This year the Europe Day celebrations are entitled ‘The European Union for Armenia’. The EU-funded projects which focus on the balanced development of all the Armenian regions in many areas such as human rights, justice, agriculture, culture, education, environment, tourism, business support, civil society, migration, health will be presented during the Information Fair. Visitors will have an opportunity to tour the outdoor booths, learn about the programmes and later become participants, as well as participate in cultural events, various competitions, enjoy the music and dancing.

Europe Day celebrations will be concluded in Yerevan with an open-air concert at the Northern Avenue. Artists from Armenia and Poland will perform; famous Polish singers Adryjan Jan feat Cesko will be the special guests of the evening.

Asbarez – Tens of thousands of community members marched to the Consulate General of Turkey in Los Angeles Monday demanding justice for the Armenian Genocide in an event organized by the Armenian Genocide Committee—a coalition of groups the include the four denominations, the national political parties, as well as the most prominent relief, youth and advocacy organizations in the community.

The march began at Pan Pacific Park, the site of the Holocaust Museum and spanned for one and a half miles through the streets of Los Angeles to the Turkish Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard.

Before the beginning of the march, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garecetti headed a program that included remarks by LA City Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and David Ryu.

The march culminated into a rally at the Turkish Consulate. Among the public officials who addressed the crowd were Rep. Adam Schiff, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, LA City Councilman Paul Koretz and President of the LA Unified School District Steve Zimmer.

The program began with the leaders of the four denomination leading the crowd into prayer, followed by the singing of the United States and Armenian national anthems by Maria Colette.

Masters of Ceremony Hrach Avedissian and Lara Armani expertly guided the program, which included remarks from the Armenian Genocide Committee by Silva Kachigian, Raffi Hamparian and Armig Khodanian. The youth’s message was delivered by Rafi Orphali.

The program also featured musical performances by R-Mean, Joseph Krikorian, Armenchik and Maria Cozette, with a grand finale by Harout Pamboukjian.

By Robert O’Connor

High up in the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh, the tiny de facto republic at the crossroads of the Eurasian continent, hope is a priceless currency. Few people appreciate its value more than Samuel Karapetyan.

Inside the offices of the Artsakh Union of Freedom Fighters, the Head of the Artsakh Football Association (AFA) uses carefully chosen words to explain how his organisation has begun the long process of winning UEFA recognition for a region which has spent 30 years living in the shadow of war.

“All this war and conflict is temporary”, he says lighting a cigarette. “One day soon, the Artsakh national team will participate in the World Cup or European Championship”.

“We are hopeful”, reiterates Karapetyan. “In fact we are convinced that recognition will come soon, because all the world is interested in establishing peace in this region. Sooner or later Azerbaijan will recognize Artsakh, then we will participate not just in football but in every aspect of international life”.

The preliminary discussions with Uefa over the AFA’s membership began in November 2016. The dialogue remains embryonic, but Karapetyan says it represents a crucial first step in eventually bringing the territory out of isolation.

“The process is underway. We are confident that the Artsakh team will participate in international tournaments, and that it is coming soon. If we were not confident in our success then we wouldn’t live here”.

“Before 2006 there was no organised football in Artsakh” says Slava Gabrielyan, the Uefa Pro-license coach with responsibility for selecting the nascent NKR national team. March 1st of that year saw the establishment of FC Artsakh, the region’s only formal football club, but there has never been a national championship here for the team to compete in. “We have some friendly games against teams from Armenia and sometimes from Georgia”, he says. “But we never have competitive games. It’s not possible for us”.

“In Crimea, Uefa have recognised that the territory is neither part of Russia nor Ukraine” says Gabrielyan. “They have put measures in place to allow football there to prosper. We hope and expect that Uefa will do the same here in Artsakh”.

“The problem is that we don’t have the means to show the world that we can play”, says FC Artsakh coach Levon Mkrtchyan. “We only play here for ourselves, but our aim is to show outsiders what we can do. We want the world to know about Karabakh and Karabakh footballers”.

One of the realities of living in a region stalked by conflict is that security measures trump most other considerations. When Artsakh men reach 18 years-old they are whisked away for two years of military national service. Gabrielyan and Mkrtchyan believe footballers should be exempt from the rule but the status quo holds, meaning FC Artsakh’s players have their development interrupted a delicate stage.

The AFA does what it can to limit the disruption. Much of the funding it receives from the Ministry for Sport is reinvested in training up local coaches to international standard; Mkrtchyan currently holds a UEFA B-license, and plans to match his colleague’s Pro-license soon. With the NKR a non-entity in world football, both coaches are registered with Uefa via the FFA in Yerevan

“We take coaching seriously here”, says Karapetyan. “This year we will have some international coaches from other countries coming to Stepanakert to work with our players. However, we mostly have to use retired coaches so as not to cause problems for other national football associations”.

Internationally, the AFA’s work continues largely under the radar. In 2010 FC Artsakh competed in a tournament in France organized by the Armenian diaspora, and later this year they will travel to Catalonia as part of a similar arrangement.

For Gabrielyan’s national team, their most conspicuous foray into the international scene remains the 2014 ConIFA World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden, where defeats to the County of Nice and the Isle of Man’s Ellan Vannin saw them eliminated in the first round. A formal protest made to ConIFA by the AFFA in Baku over Karabakh’s involvement went unheeded by the organizers.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin attended today the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Footbal Academy in Vagharshapat.

Aleksander Čeferin arrived in Armenia today for a one-day official visit. He was welcomed at Zvartnots Airport by Ruben Hayrapetyan, President of the Football Federation of Armenia.

Upon his arrival in Armenia, the UEFA President headed for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, where he was hosted by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. Mr. Čeferin learnt about the history of the Holy See and its cultural legacy.

 

Istanbul Governor claims election of the Armenian Patriarch Locum Tenens is illegal.

On March 15, the Clerical Assembly in Istanbul elected Karekin Bekdjian, Primate of the German Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church as Locum Tenens (Patriarchal alternate) reported Istanbul-based Agos news.

Following the election, a notice was handed out by Archbishop Aram Ateshian to the Clerical Assembly that stated that it was illegal to start the election process, according to Agos. The notice was from the Governor’s office to the press and was signed by Deputy Governor Aziz Mercan.

“Considering the unfavorable developments that took place during the meeting on February 16 at the patriarchate, it is determined that starting the election process is legally impossible given the facts that this process might cause disturbance and divisions in the society, that there is already an incumbent vicar and that your society knows the basic proceedings and practices concerning the patriarchal election,” read a part of the statement.

In a response, Bekdjian stated that a group including Ateshian and Mashalian will go to the Istsanbul Governor’s office to explain the situation.

“In this planned meeting, our party will explain the logic of election of the Locum Tenens,” read Bekdjian’s statement. “Then an announcement will be made within the next couple of days.” Bekdjian added that he will not be attending the meeting.

The election of the Locum Tenens is being considered the first step of the Patriarchal elections. The Locum Tenens is responsible for managing the election process as planned.

Thirty members from the Clerical Assembly participated in the elections.

Initially, General Vicar of the Patriarch Aram Ateshian, Bishop Sahag Mashalian, and Armenian Primate of Germany Archbishop Karekin Bekdjian were named as candidates. However, prior to the election, Mashalian withdrew and declared his support for Bekdjian.

Ateshian will now step down as General Vicar.

The Clerical Assembly is expected to form a commission comprising of clergymen and secular figures to organize the transfer of power from the General Vicar to the Locum Tenens in the coming days.

The elections of this initiative group will be organized within 10 days after the election of the Locum Tenens. The group will then organize elections for the Patriarch of Istanbul within a six-month period.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will ask for permission to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, the BBC reports.

Ms Sturgeon said she wanted a vote to be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year.

She said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week for permission to request a Section 30 order from Westminster.

The move would allow a fresh legally-binding referendum to be held, if consent is granted.

Speaking at her official Bute House residence in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said the people of Scotland must be offered a choice between a “hard Brexit” and becoming an independent country.

Ms Sturgeon said the UK government had not “moved even an inch in pursuit of compromise and agreement” since the Brexit vote, which saw Scotland vote by 62% to 38% to remain the EU while the UK as a whole voted to leave.

The Scottish government has published proposals which it says would allow Scotland to remain a member of the European single market even if the rest of the UK leaves, which Prime Minister Theresa May has said it will.