Armenia’s President signed a decree relieving Armen Vardanyan from the post of head of the Air Defense Troops of the Armenian Armed Forces.
With another decree, the president relieved Ishkhan Matevosyan from the post of head of the Engineering Troops of the Armenian Armed Forces.
The American University of Armenia (AUA) has developed action plan with 5 focus areas within the framework of a joint initiative with the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).
AUA President Karin Markides has made the announcement while hosting Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia Karen Trchunyan.
The Ministry of Education and Science reports that during the meeting, Karin Markides stated that the action plan was developed following several dozen interviews with stakeholders invested in advancement of Armenia’s tech ecosystem.
The 5 focus areas of the action plan are the following:
1. An AI research center in Armenia,
2. Development of leadership,
3. Enhancement of capacity in marz clusters,
4. Wider scope of STEM education,
5. Project-based courses and innovative procedures.
Karin Markides has stated that the goal is to create a cooperation platform for universities and work in the five announced areas to contribute to the technological development of Armenia.
Boynukalın, a professor of theology at Marmara University, was the first imam to be appointed after the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque by the Turkish government.
He remained in the post of Hagia Sophia imam for eight months.
YEREVAN. – Armenia’s authorities, in fact, contribute to the return of the Azerbaijanis to Karabakh [(Artsakh)]. Tevan Poghosyan, director of the International Center for Human Development NGO, stated this at a press conference Friday.
Thus, according to him, the maps of the minefields in the Aghdam region were passed to the Azerbaijani side. "Before that, the people of Karabakh were at least happy that they would not have to live next door to the Azerbaijanis for at least eight months," Poghosyan added.
Also, he drew attention to the fact that after the concessions by Armenia, its international partners will change their view on this issue, and put even more pressure on the Armenian side, demanding to transfer the remaining minefield maps to Baku, as Yerevan's international partners have their geopolitical and financial interests in the region.
The head of the aforesaid NGO stated that Armenia’s authorities initially had denied the existence of these maps and were even refusing to accept the proposal of Rustam Muradov—the head of the Russian peacekeeping force in Karabakh—who pledged to have all Armenian captives returned from Azerbaijan in exchange for the maps of these minefields.
As per Poghosyan, such conduct by Yerevan once again causes bewilderment. He stressed that if Armenia expected support from the West, this, in fact did not happen even during the 44-day war in Karabakh, when the Armenians really needed it.
17:23,
YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations Refugee Agency, welcomes the recent contribution from the Government of the United States of America (USA) to provide essential humanitarian assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in Armenia, the UNHR Office in Armenia told Armenpress.
With the continued support from of the U.S. Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), UNHCR has been able to deliver vital emergency assistance to persons in a refugee-like situation affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as to refugees and asylum-seekers residing in Armenia whose livelihoods have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. funding towards UNHCR’s programme will also contribute to providing and achieving solutions for the most vulnerable refugee families and children, including in protection, education, and strengthened community empowerment.
“We are pleased to work with UNHCR Armenia as it executes its critical mission of supporting those in need. The challenges of the past year remind us anew of the great importance of UNHCR’s work,” said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne M. Tracy. “The United States is proud to partner with the UNHCR and our Armenian counterparts to help improve the lives of those negatively affected by the intensive fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh and the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The United States’ support in the form of flexible funding is critical to UNHCR as it enables the organization to determine how best to protect and assist those who are in the greatest need or at the greatest risk quickly and effectively.
“UNHCR would like to thank the people and the Government of the United States for their enduring commitment and support for vulnerable and displaced populations in Armenia” said Anna-Carin Ost, UNHCR Representative in Yerevan. “This contribution is crucial as with it we are able to help refugees and people living in a refugee-like situation in Armenia, including those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. With US support, UNHCR has been able to respond to the needs of vulnerable displaced people, providing winter clothes to families amid freezing winter conditions, hygiene kits, bedding sets, and household items; and repairing collective shelters.”
UNHCR is grateful for the generous and long-standing support of the United States, which allows UNHCR to continue to provide protection, legal support, and pursue durable solutions for refugees, stateless persons, and those living in a refugee-like situation throughout the country.
During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, head of Armenia’s Odzun village Arsen Titanyan said he was beaten by ten people, one of whom was Governor of Lori Province Aram Khachatryan.
“The case is currently in the stage of preliminary investigation. There were about ten people, including the regional governor. They are demanding that I resign,” he said, adding that he has bodily injuries and that he has just been discharged from the hospital.
Asked if he is going to resign, the head of Odzun village said the following: “Why should I resign?”
On June 22, ‘Armenia’ bloc, which ran in the snap parliamentary elections and won seats in parliament, received an alarm according to which the heads of communities who were the bloc’s teammates during the snap parliamentary elections were urged to voluntarily resign.
The head of Odzun village has submitted a report to the Police regarding the crime committed against him.
Will Fresno Unified rename Forkner Elementary school? Here's what would need to happen
Monica Velez, The Fresno Bee
Jun. 12—After Fresno school board members rejected a proposal to name its newest campus after a local Armenian icon, another local Armenian leader wants the board to rename an elementary school after him instead.
Arax wants the board to rename the school H. Roger Tatarian Elementary School. At least one board member, Trustee Veva Islas, said she would support renaming the school after Tatarian.
"Mark's uncovering of the naming of Forkner Elementary after Jesse Clayton Forkner, who was openly a bigot and racist, was eye-opening, to say the least," Islas said in an email to the Ed Lab. "I don't believe someone like him deserves to be memorialized."
Arax said he felt "discombobulated" when board members didn't react to his presentation on the systemic racism Forkner contributed to in Fresno. Forkner would not sell land to Armenians or people of color, Arax said.
"You would think this is a no-brainer," Arax said in a recent phone interview with the Ed Lab. "A school is named after one of the most powerful white supremacists in Fresno history. They (FUSD board members) reacted not just with silence but with contempt."
Islas was the only board member to comment on Arax's remarks during the meeting, saying changing the name would be "just."
Regardless of the support from the board, Arax said, the Armenian community isn't going to let this go.
Alongside other community members in Fresno, Arax said he plans to build support for naming a school after Tatarian, a former journalist, Fresno State professor, and author.
What do other FUSD trustees say?
In an interview with the Ed Lab, Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said the district needs to establish policies and procedures to deal with school name changes. She recommends creating a citizens committee so the recommendations can come from the community.
"In all reality, this is an issue not only locally, but I would say it's a nationwide (topic) that people are revisiting," Jonasson Rosas said. "I really think we should look at our policies of not only naming (of schools) going forward but what criteria we would use to go backward. Because it's not a clear-cut issue."
Trustee Terry Slatic said, if the board decides to examine a potential name change, they should re-evaluate all school names for potential issues. He described the issues raised by Arax as "extremely concerning."
"Everything should be looked at on a level playing field," Slatic said.
Islas echoed Slatics' comments and said there are other school mascots, campuses, and buildings in FUSD named after people with problematic pasts.
"Royce Hall (building on Fresno High School's campus) is another example of a historical figure who advanced racist policies," Islas said. "Yes, if we are to truly be an anti-racist institution, I think that we need to take the action that dismantles the racist foundations within FUSD."
Slatic also said the district should do its own research on Forkner and then decide if it's problematic enough to be changed.
Islas and Slatic both said there should be a school named after someone in the Armenian community, and Tatarian would be a good fit.
"I believe that the Armenian community deserves to see the naming of one of their own on a school, campus, or building- without a doubt," Islas said. "It is a question both of honoring the contributions of the Armenian community and the advancement of equity."
If FUSD board members wanted to change the name of a school, board policy indicates the district would put out a survey to the community to get input on names for the facility, and the board would review it and then make a final decision, spokesperson Amy Idsvoog told the Ed Lab in an email.
Who was Jesse Clayton Forkner?
Forkner, also known as J.C Forkner, was born in Cherokee County, Kansas, in 1873. He died in 1969 at the age of 96.
Forkner is mostly known for developing Fig Garden, which spanned 12,000 acres. About 120 miles of road was created, about 600,000 fig trees and 60,000 ornamental trees were planted.
Arax has researched Forkner extensively and wrote about him in his latest book, The Dreamt Land, where he chronicles the racist past of Forkner's developments and discrimination against Armenians and communities of color.
To plant these fig trees, Arax said Forkner had no choice but to get them from an Armenian man.
Although the figs were provided by an Armenian man, Henry Markarian, who Arax dubbed the "Fig King," Armenians were not allowed to live or buy land in Fig Garden. Forkner included discriminatory clauses in the land he sold.
Part of the clause reads: "That neither the said premises nor any buildings thereon shall in any manner be used or occupied by Asiatics, Mongolians, Hindus, Negroes, Armenians or any natives or descendants of the Turkish empire …"
There was a lot of hate against Armenians when they first arrived in Fresno, Arax said, and Forkner directly impacted that discrimination, along with racism toward communities of color.
Ahead of Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s—who is the ruling Civil Contract Party’s candidate for Prime Minister—visit to Goris town in Armenia’s Syunik Province, the video camera of Armenian News-NEWS.am spotted a sniper located on the roof of a building near the town square.
Earlier, Goris Deputy Mayor Menua Hovsepyan had posted a photo, noting that there were virtually no Goris residents at the election rally with Pashinyan, and those in attendance were primarily the participants in his motorcade.
Video at link:
Armenia election campaign: Day 3
09:00, 9 June, 2021
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. The electoral campaign for the June 20 snap parliamentary elections officially launched in Armenia on June 7.
26 political forces – 22 parties and 4 blocs, are participating in the elections.
ARMENPRESS presents the schedule of the visits of the political forces.
Civil Contract party led by caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
Visit to Shirak province
-Mets Mantash (11:00)
-Artik, Maralik, Azatan, Akhuryan
-Aparan
-Gyumri (18:00, meeting at Vardanants square)
“Armenia” bloc led by 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
Yerevan
-Nor Nork administrative district (19:00)
Bright Armenia party led by chairman Edmon Marukyan
Visit to Kotayk and Lori provinces
-Hrazdan (11:30)
-Vandzor (19:00)
Armenian National Congress party
-Ani Grand Hotel Yerevan
Alliance With Honor
-Press conference at 12:00 at their headquarters
Sovereign Armenia party
Visit to Kotayk and Gegharkunik provinces
Fair Armenia party
Yerevan
-Davitashen and Ajapnyak districts
“5165 national conservative movement” party
Visit to Kotayk province
“Zartonk” National Christian party
-Nor Nork administrative district of Yerevan (09:00)