Author: Garnik Tadevosian

ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI BORDER CLASHES RISK A MAJOR REGIONAL WAR OR NUCLEAR DISASTER: WHERE IS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY?

Garnik Tadevosian
International Institute for Peace
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mher D. Sahakyan

The ongoing clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan started on July 12th in Tavush Province in Armenia and across the border of Tovuz District in Azerbaijan. Within four days of the outbreak of the conflict, both sides were already using heavy artillery, tanks, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Russia, the EU, the US and the OSCE Minsk Group have called for both sides to cease fighting and start negotiations. Russia also stated that it is ready to play the role of mediator if need be. In turn, the Turkish government and President Erdogan announced their support for Azerbaijan and issued threats against Armenia. Some Turkish sources have reported that Turkey sent its F-16 fighters to fly near the Turkish-Armenian border. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered in a strict way, stating: “With its approaches, Turkey is a security threat for Armenia and the region, and broad regional and international cooperation is needed to counter it. It is noteworthy that in 21st century, Turkey builds its policy in our region on the traditions of kinship, justification of the Armenian Genocide and the impunity of that crime.” Armenian SU-30 SM fighters started intensively patrolling Armenian skies and S-300 anti-aircraft missile system launchers were placed near the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani military troops are trying to gain new positions in Tavush Province by attacking Armenian military positions, which were modernized after the 2016 war. As a result of these operations, the Azerbaijani side reported heavy casualties. General Major Polad Gashimov, Colonel Ilgar Mirzoyev, and 13 military servicemen from the Azerbaijani army were killed. Armenia has also had heavy loses, as Major Garush Hambarzumyan, Capitan Sos Elbakyan, and junior sergeants Smbat Gabrielyan and Grisha Matevosyan were killed in armed clashes on the border. The military equipment loses of Azerbaijan up to the evening of July 16th were 1 tank, 14 UAVs, and an artillery system. Azerbaijan announced that it could down an Armenian UAV, which was not confirmed by Armenia. Having so many casualties without territorial gains, the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan threatened to launch a missile strike on the Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant. An additional interesting moment was that before this announcement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov resigned from his post. These kind of developments are ongoing in the South Caucasus, and in this article we will try to introduce possible scenarios and make recommendations for finding ways for peace.

13th century, Haghartsin monastery, Tavush Province, Armenia

Possible Scenarios 

Scenario I:

If Turkey tries to involve its military in the war against Armenia in support of Azerbaijan, Armenia can ask for military help from its close ally Russia, especially as the 102nd Russian military base is deployed in Armenia. It could withstand a long-term regional war that could involve other powers and also threaten the peace and security of the entire world. 

Scenario II: 

If Azerbaijan tries to implement its threat to strike the Armenian nuclear plant located in Metsamor, it would instigate the beginning of a nuclear disaster that would have significantly negative impacts on Armenia and neighboring states. In fact, it would be similar to a nuclear war, and Armenia will have to strike back with its Iskander ballistic missiles, which will ruin Azerbaijani infrastructure.

Scenario III:

The international community decisively pushes both sides to commence negotiations and condemns any attempt to strike the nuclear plants of either side, stipulating that this kind of threat can be described as nuclear terrorism and as such will not be accepted. The UNSC adopts a resolution that will put an end to the military clashes and impose an arms embargo on both sides. Peacekeeping units are deployed to the borders of both sides as well as in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) until both sides find a way to resolve border disputes in a peaceful manner. A special mechanism must be invented and enforced through which any side that initiates military action will be punished by UNSC sanctions.

It is true that democratic states do not go to war against each other. The EU must continue its constructive role through which it is helping to implement the democratic transformation of the states of the South Caucasus, aided by the help of the two democratic states in the region.

It has also been very interesting to follow the protests that were taking place in the center of Baku on July 15. At first, thousands of protestors called for President Aliyev to continue a war against Armenia and not stop the military offensive started by Azerbaijan in the previous days, but when protestors started to speak about social and economic problems and issues related to the outbreak of Covid-19, police began to use force to diffuse the masses. In fact, this kind of protest could provide a good starting point for the transformation of the movement into a pro-democracy campaign, which could bring about changes in the country. As a result, if all countries in the region are democratic, it will be easier to solve ongoing problems without war or violent conflict.

Conclusion

All the above scenarios are possible if we take into consideration the fact that the current world order is changing and the South Caucasus have the potential to serve as a battlefield between Russia and Turkey, which are both competing to increase their influence in the Middle East and the South Caucasus. Turkey might seek to escalate the situation in the region by challenging Russian positions and, as a result, forcing Russia to chose between Armenia and Azerbaijan. For this reason, perhaps it would not fight against Armenia in an open way, but it might still send weapons to Azerbaijan and relocate its troops under the Azerbaijani flag and uniform, as happened in the 1990s war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A new total war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the time of the Covid-19 outbreak would be a disaster for both nations, and here the question arises: do we have a responsible international community or not? If yes, it must immediately take following actions. First, there must be firm opposition and a concrete condemnation of threats to strike nuclear plants, which could lead to catastrophic consequences. Second, the international community must take into consideration the steps that are recommended in Scenario III of this article, which means preventing military conflict and deploying peacekeeping units in order to help build peace and security in the South Caucasus.

https://www.iipvienna.com/new-blog/2020/7/20/armenian-azerbaijani-border-clashes-risk-a-major-regional-war-or-nuclear-disaster-where-is-the-international-community?fbclid=IwAR165YNQ50q6SHkBsiCLEsK2UQhv2lc6xdT8ZzTnktSmXDUX6IKuZ6tyWZ4

Dr. Mher Sahakyan is Director of the"China-Eurasia" Council For Political and Strategic Research, Armenia; AsiaGlobal Fellow 2020/2021, Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong, China; and Advisory Board member of the International Institute for Peace, Vienna, Austria.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bomb threat to Megamall Armenia shopping center prove to be hoax

Garnik Tadevosian
Panorama, Armenia
July 6 2020

Bomb threats to Megamall Armenia, a big shopping center in Yerevan, have proved to be hoax, with no explosive devices found after a check, the ministry of emergency situations reported.

As reported earlier, Armenian police evacuated the shopping center, after a bomb threat received by the law enforcement. Police officers urged all shoppers and employees to leave the area and drive their cars out of the mall yard.

According to the source, the rescuers blocked off the scene and carried out an evacuation of more than 350 citizens.

The rescuers alongside with the police and local security officers carried out an inspection: no bomb was found, the source said. 

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan dismisses rumors on its air space used to attack

Garnik Tadevosian
  • 06 Jul 2020 13:20

    •  

  • 389

    •  

  • POLITICS

Reports on Russia's 'Container' radar system detecting unknown planes using Azerbaijan's air space to carry out attacks on Iran are an absolute lie, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said, answering the media request.

Such reports were disseminated by pro-Armenian forces, they are unreasonable and completely false, the ministry noted.

“The dissemination of such reports is aimed at undermining the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations," said the ministry. "The reports are apparently disseminated with the aim of damaging good-neighborly relations between the two countries and are nothing but deliberate slander."

The ministry also stressed that to date there have been no steps taken from Azerbaijan against the neighboring Iran, and won't be taken in the future.

Artsakh Will Seek Liberation of all Its Territories, Says Foreign Ministry

Garnik Tadevosian
July 6, 2020

The Artsakh Foreign Ministry

The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh reaffirmed their determination to advance the liberation all of its territories and the restoration of Artsakh’s territorial integrity, the Artsakh foreign ministry said in an announcement.

On July 4, 1992, the Azerbaijani armed units, with their more superior manpower and military equipment, employing heavy artillery and combat aircraft launched a large-scale offensive in the direction of Martakert town of the Republic of Artsakh. Martakert was completely destroyed, and the Armenian population of the town of about 13 thousand people was forced to leave their homes and become internally displaced persons, finding temporary shelter in the capital city Stepanakert and in various settlements of the Republic of Armenia.

Following the capture of Martakert, the Azerbaijani army continued the offensive, destroying about 80 percent of the region, looting the Armenian settlements and subjecting their population to forcible deportation.

In general, almost half of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh fell under the occupation of Azerbaijan. The republic itself was on the verge of total annihilation. The humanitarian situation was even more catastrophic. By the end of the summer of 1992, more than half of the population of the Republic were refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The situation was aggravated by the almost complete indifference of specialized international organizations to the fate of Armenian refugees and IDPs who were on the verge of a humanitarian disaster in Artsakh.

However, even in these seemingly hopeless conditions, the people of Artsakh managed to summon its collective will, mobilize its full potential and repel the armed aggression of Azerbaijan.

A year later, on June 27, 1993, the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh liberated the town of Martakert. Those who returned to their homeland began the process of restoration and improvement of the war-torn border town, which gained even greater scope after signing the termless trilateral (Azerbaijan, the Republic of Artsakh, and the Republic of Armenia) ceasefire agreement on May 12, 1994.

To this day, some settlements of the Martakert region, part of the Martuni region and the entire Shahumian region, a total of over 1000 square kilometers of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh, are under the Azerbaijani occupation, where the Azerbaijani authorities implement illegal settling and pursue a policy of destroying the traces of presence of the native Armenian population in these territories.

The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh reaffirm their determination to seek the liberation of the territories of Artsakh and the restoration of the territorial integrity of the Republic.

BOOK: From genocide to gentrified: An author’s Armenian-American journey

Garnik Tadevosian
Gloucester Daily Times, MA
 
 
From genocide to gentrified: An author's Armenian-American journey
 
By Joann Mackenzie. Staff Writer
Jul 11, 2020
 
A Gloucester resident has penned a memoir, a familiar story of the American Dream, but also a love letter to a lost Armenia, to ancestors who were butchered in fields, and to those who, like his "nana,"survived.
 
The official 100th anniversary of the Turkish massacre of an estimated one and a half million Armenians —which, despite a mountain of damning evidence Turkey still denies—  was this past April 24.  John Christie's memoir, "The Prince of Wentworth Street; An American Boyhood in the Shadow of a Genocide" — was published to commemorate it.
 
The 71-year-old was awarded the Yankee Quill for his lifetime contribution to journalism — he is a past editor of the Gloucester Daily Times and the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, and past publisher of the Kennebec Journal in Maine  —in 2014 by the New England Academy of Journalists. He has, in other words, done very well in life. Well enough to have found himself, in his 60s, rubbing elbows with the sort of people who might want to gentrify the sort of hardscrabble neighborhood he grew up in.
 
At one such gathering, the veteran investigative journalist found his mood growing strangely dark. What would these affluent Americans think of his "shabby" roots, of the "tenement" home he shared with his extended family at the dead end of Wentworth Street in the mill town of Dover, New Hampshire? Not much, surmised Christie. Which prompted him to revisit those long ago roots, and embark on what would become a memoir which he describes as "payback, to all of them to all I owe them" — particularly, his grandmother.
 
Christie, who is half-Irish, originally intended his book to be about both sides of his immigrant family, but the desire to be a voice for the Armenians lost to the genocide took over the story. In it, the author turns his investigative reporter's skills on his Armenian grandmother's life to find meaning of his own American life.  
 
His immigrant grandmother Gulenia Hovsepian's journey to America began one morning when she went out to do some chores, and — to make a long and harrowing story short— barely escaped with her life. It was 1909, and the home she fled was in the little Armenian village of Vakifkoy—Musa Dagh.
 
Eventually, as a mail-order bride and a mill worker in New Hampshire, Hovsepian would become Christie's beloved "nana," a loving, lively woman with sad brown eyes that spoke to her adored American grandson of the genocide she'd escaped inArmenia, where at the start of the 20th century, to be an ethnic Armenian was to be targeted by Turkish death squads.
 
With the help of a cousin, Christie learns of his "nana's"  journey to the U.S. from her native village, a haunting place to which, as well-heeled Americans, Christie returns with his grown son Nick.
 
"My grandmother's town was the subject of a 1933 novel by Austrian-writer Franz Werfel about the beginning of the Armenian Genocide," says Christie, who, like many Armenian-Americans, believes the genocide remains a somewhat buried chapter in history. "Actually," says Christie,  "the word 'genocide' —the intentional extinction of an ethnic race— was first coined to describe what happened in Armenia. Hitler, when questioned about the impossibility of committing genocide against the Jews, was said to have replied, 'Who remembers the Armenians?'"
 
Certainly the hundreds of thousands of Americans who, like John Christie, are descended from survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
 
 

FINDING THE BOOK

John Christie's memoir, "The Prince of Wentworth Street; an American Boyhood in the Shadow of a Genocide," is available at The Book Store, Main Street, Gloucester. You may also purchase it online at www.johnchristiewriter.com, or from Plaideswede Publishing Co., www.nhbooksellers.com, for $19.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

French Embassy in Armenia responds to inquiries on missions of French doctors

Garnik Tadevosian

Save

Share

 14:41, 9 July, 2020

YEREVAN, JULY 9, ARMENPRESS. The French Embassy in Armenia responded to the inquiries over the missions of French doctors in Yerevan.

“The two missions of the French doctors arrived in Armenia at the invitation of the Armenian authorities who ensured the organization of these missions.

The French Embassy was informed about the visits through the Armenian government, welcomed the delegations and has always been in touch with them while in Armenia.

In response to the request of the Armenian government, France covered the transportation and accommodation costs of the second delegation.

The French Embassy in Armenia once again expresses its gratitude to the medical teams who agreed to come to Armenia in a very short period of time to help their Armenian colleagues with advice”, the Embassy said in a statement.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

ANCA’s Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Fellowship Starts Second Summer

Garnik Tadevosian
July 8, 2020

Roger Williams University International Relations and Philosophy student Tatevik Khachatryan has been named the 2020 ANCA Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Summer Fellow.

Program Celebrates Youth Leader’s Legacy of Service to Homeland and Heritage

WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America, for a second consecutive summer, has welcomed a Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Fellow into its signature summer leadership training program.

Selected through a competitive selection process, this year’s fellow, Tatevik Khachatryan, is a double major at Roger Williams University in International Relations and Philosophy. Her participation in the ANCA’s Leo Sarkisian Internship Program represents a living tribute to the memory of Maral Melkonian Avetisyan, a devoted youth leader whose community activism and commitment to the Armenian homeland continues to inspire new generations of young Armenian Americans.

“I am deeply honored and thankful for being chosen to serve in the memory of Maral Melkonian Avetisyan. The development of future professional endeavors through the opportunities and skills gained this summer, will allow me to live up to her goals to follow her aspirations and make myself as well as all Armenians proud. It is vital for me, as an Armenian ambassador, to advocate for the Armenian Cause and bring the experiences gained through the LSI to my local community and those around me.”

“We see, in Tatevik’s talents, intellect, and energy, Maral’s spirit, her contagious devotion to her homeland and heritage,” ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Maral – in her short time with us – touched so many lives, and continues to inspire so many spirits. We are blessed by her memory and the commitment of her entire family to the future of our community and cause.”

“We are, once again this year, deeply gratified to see Maral’s kind and caring spirit in a new generation of young Armenians – devoted to their homeland and committed to the proud heritage of our nation,” said Maral’s brother Raffi, on behalf of their father Ara, mother Haikanouche, and the entire Melkonian and Avetisyan families. “Tatevik – like Lucine last year – represents the very best of our Armenian tradition.”

Khachatryan has been an active member of the Providence, RI Armenian community since coming to the United States sixteen years ago – attending Armenian school, dancing with Hamazkayin, and serving in the Providence “Varantian” Armenian Youth Federation chapter and local Homenetmen scouting and sports groups. At school, she serves as vice president of the student body and president of the Model United National and Model Arab League teams. She took second place in the Rhode Island National History Day competition traveled to Washington, DC for a presentation on the Armenian Genocide.

The Maral Melkonian Avetisyan Summer Fellowship runs concurrently with the ANCA Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship Program, now in its 35th year.

Lifelong Armenian community advocate Maral Melkonian Avetisyan

Maral Melkonian Avetisyan: A Legacy of Service to the Armenian Cause
Born on Jan. 12, 1983, in Silver Spring, MD, Maral was always the delight of her parents Ara and Haikanouche Melkonian and older brother, Raffi. She attended St. Catherine Laboure from Kindergarten to 5th grade; St. Martin Catholic School from 6th through 8th grade; then graduated from Good Counsel High School and received her Bachelor of Arts in English language and literature in 2007 from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Maral was a proud graduate of the Greater Washington, DC area’s Hamasdegh Armenian School, and devoted her volunteer time to organizations including Homenetmen, Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), AYF Camp Haiastan, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Armenia Volunteer Corps (AVC), and Birthright Armenia.

She led by example from the very beginning, holding multiple executive positions in the AYF D.C. “Sevan” Juniors and “Ani” Seniors and attending Camp Haiastan both as a camper and a counselor.  At just 13 years of age, her poem, “When I Wake Up,” published in The Armenian Weekly, encapsulated her commitment to helping the children of Armenia. “When I wake up, I look forward to tell people to help Armenia,” wrote young Maral, who continues “When I wake up, I hope a child from Armenia gets food.” She ends with a rallying cry to her generation, “I got up. I am ready to fight for Armenia.”

In Homenetmen, she inspired fellow Scouts as a khmpabed and traveled to Armenia in 1998 and 2002 to participate in the worldwide jamborees. In 2006, she would return to the Homeland, this time through the AYF, AVC, and Birthright Armenia, to spend the summer working with children at the Naregatsi Art Institute in Artsakh and the Khnko Aper Children’s Library in Yerevan. In 2007, she went back for a second consecutive summer, this time as director of the AYF Armenia Internship Program.

A picture of the Maral Melkonian Avetisyan outdoor sports facility in Arajamugh, Artsakh

Upon her return to the U.S., as she explored career opportunities, Maral interned at the ANCA.  In time she met and married a true kindred spirit—Tigran Avetisyan—and they, together, embarked on a journey of faith and fulfillment that was sadly cut short on April 13, 2015.

In addition to supporting the ANCA’s educational and youth development programs, Maral’s family have shared her powerful legacy of devotion to community and cause through their support for her beloved Camp Haiastan and most recently through the establishment of a soccer field in the village of Arajamugh in the Republic of Artsakh.

Mr. and Mrs. Ara and Haikanouche Melkonian and Ara Melkonian’s sister, Seta Melkonian-Mangassarian, participated last year in the dedication ceremony for the outdoor sports facility, built through the efforts of the Armenian Cultural Association of America (ACAA) Artsakh Fund.  Maral’s legacy and the sports facility in her honor were spotlighted in the ACAA online commemoration of the 28th Anniversary of the Shushi Liberation.

About 1 mln drams for one COVID-19 patient in intensive care unit: Minister presents treatment costs

Garnik Tadevosian

Save

Share

 15:54, 7 July, 2020

YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Arsen Torosyan presented how much money is spent for one patient infected with COVID-19.

During today’s press conference in Armenpress, the minister said there is no answer to this question as the patients are being treated at various hospitals. These medical facilities are financed mainly by maintenance costs.

“And depending on the use of hospital beds, it’s difficult to say for sure how much is the average spending for one patient in this or that hospital. But there are also approved prices by us which we pay to those hospitals which are not completely engaged in coronavirus treatment, but have coronavirus departments. If I am not mistaken, nearly 1 million drams were required for one patient in intensive care unit with average hospitalization”, the minister said.

349 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been registered in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 29,285, the healthcare ministry said.

605 more patients have recovered. The total number of recoveries has reached 16,907.

12 people have died in one day, raising the death toll to 503.

The number of active cases stands at 11,711.

The number of people who had a coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 164 (5 new such cases).

So far, 125,088 people have passed COVID-19 testing.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Torosyan explained disappearance from the morgue of a corpse of a woman who had died from coronavirus

Garnik Tadevosian
Arminfo, Armenia
July 3 2020

ArmInfo. RA Minister of Health Arsen  Torosyan explained the reasons for the disappearance of an elderly  woman who died from a coronavirus from a morgue.

To recall, earlier it became known that in one of the capital's  morgues the body of an 82-year-old resident of Gyumri disappeared. An  elderly woman was treated for coronavirus in Yerevan, but after the  death her corpse was lost. Relatives of the deceased turned for  assistance to the lawmaker from "Prosperous Armenia" Naira Zohrabyan,  who raised the problem. The body was found after only two days of  searching.  As it turned out, a woman was buried in the community of  Nor Hachn of the Kotayk region instead of another deceased.

As Torosyan told reporters on July 3, an error occurred while  identifying another died woman by relatives.  According to him, they  have already apologized for this incident.

AGBU Unites Diaspora and Homeland with First Pan-Armenian Chess Tournament and All-Star Closing Ceremonies

Garnik Tadevosian 
AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Website: 

 
  
PRESS RELEASE
  
Tuesday, 

AGBU Unites Diaspora and Homeland with First Pan-Armenian Chess Tournament and 
All-Star Closing Ceremonies

The Republic of Armenia has long been distinguished as a nexus for chess 
supremacy, with its national preoccupation with the game, large share of world 
champions, including Olympic winners and over 70 grandmasters (GMs), and, 
recently, the integration of Chess into its core public school curriculum. This 
June, it took that passion a step further with the launch of the first Pan 
Armenian Chess Tournament (PACT), hosted by the AGBU-sponsored Armenian Virtual 
College (AVC) in association with the Chess Academy of Armenia. 

The virtual journey took place between June 8 and 26, 2020, despite, and, to a 
large extent, on account of the global pandemic. As millions of Armenian 
students and chess players found themselves in lockdown mode and looking for 
ways to connect with fellow Armenians with likeminded interests, AVC was in an 
ideal position to step up and organize both the tournament and the all-star 
virtual closing ceremonies featuring 23 celebrated grandmasters from around the 
world. 

During the ceremonies, GM Tigran L. Petrosian, a two-time Chess Olympic champion 
made inspirational congratulatory remarks, saying: "It was a brilliant idea to 
unite all Armenian chess enthusiasts from around the globe. I think the 
organizers have performed an important service with this virtual tournament. It 
gave me the opportunity to meet my colleagues and friends, whom I have been 
missing so much. I wish these young players all the best and hope that they will 
achieve new goals, titles, and we will have new winners." GM Lilit Mkrtchian, 
European Women's Team Champion extended her congratulations from Germany, 
remarking that she hoped that even when the pandemic was over there will be 
another online tournament organized. 

GM Smbat Lputian, Founder and President of the Chess Academy of Armenia, also 
expressed his great satisfaction to all the stakeholders involved. "We were 
happy to create such a warm and collegial environment, which united Armenians 
from communities geographically distant from each other. I am thankful to all 
those who contributed into its realization. Honestly, I am so glad to be with 
all of you here, I am pleased that we are one family and that we hearten each 
other today."

Soon after the announcement of PACT, 520 interested players signed up, 
representing 36 countries and five regions-from the Americas, Armenia and 
Artsakh to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia and Oceania. The tournament 
was structured in two stages: five regional semi-finals; and three rounds of 
final games leading to the PACT champion titles. Between games, players were 
given access to renowned Armenian chess champions via the AVC multi-media 
interactive chess courses.

Dr. Yervant Zorian, the founding president of AVC, a member of the AGBU Central 
Board, and mastermind behind this multi-regional virtual undertaking, explained 
the vision: "The idea of creating this innovative tournament was not only to 
discover new talent from across the Armenian world, but, more important, to 
create a dynamic online global community of chess loving students. AVC will 
continue to leverage its virtual platform and experienced community coordinators 
to offer them skill-building and interpersonal bonding activities. 

Among the diverse competitors, Armenia's players met their match among 
formidable peers ranging in all ages, with 428 players under the age of 20. 
Notably, winners were no older than 16. The youngest, a semi-finalist, was age 
nine. 

Among the finalists, Third Prize was taken by 16-year old Tigran Arzumanyan of 
Goris in Armenia's Syunik province, Second Prize went to 14-year old Kirk 
Ghazarian of Coto de Caza, California, USA, and First Prize was awarded to 
Sargis Sargsyan of Vanadzor in Armenia's Lori province. An official certificate 
was conferred upon each winner, signed by GM Smbat Lputian, the president of the 
Chess Academy of Armenia and Dr. Zorian, as president and founder of AVC. In 
addition, winners received valuable monetary rewards in the form of virtual gift 
cards. 

The semi-finalists from the Americas included (1st) Kirk Ghazarian, age 14 
(USA); (2nd) Suren Ghazaryan, age 15 (Canada); (3rd) Ethan Boldi, age 13 (USA). 
From Europe: (1st) Daniel Karapetyan-Hakopyan, age 13 (Spain); (2nd) Dimitrios 
Levon Zakarian, age 12 (UK); and Henrik Serobyan. Middle East and Africa: (1st) 
Kevork Yeghian, age 16 (Syria), (2nd) Edward Iskanderian, age 14 (Lebanon); 
(3rd) Arsen Kenyan, age 9 (Syria). Armenia: (1st) Sargis Sargsyan, age 16; (2nd) 
Tigran Arzumanyan, age 16); (3rd) Menua Hakobyan, age 12. Asia and Oceania: 
Shahan Abu Sayeed, age 9 (India). 

A semi-finalist from Aleppo Kevork Yeghian, an AGBU-AYA scout representing the 
Middle East/Africa region, echoed the sentiments of many of the young 
participants, saying, "I am really happy for the chance to participate in the 
competition and get acquainted with other chess lovers from different places."

The closing ceremonies were capped with a surprise live "blitz" match between 
European Women Team Champion Elina Danielyan versus Russian Women's Rapid 
Champion Karina Ambartsumova. Other commentators included U.S. Women's 
Vice-Champion Tatev Abrahamyan and U.S. Vice-Champion Varuzhan Akobian. 

In his congratulatory remarks, AGBU Armenia President Vasken Yacoubian summed up 
the broader implications of the successful tournament. "Chess helps develop the 
individual on many dimensions, but it has also become sort of our national 
trademark. Every nation has its features and virtues, and over the decades, 
chess has become the trademark of both the Armenian Nation and Armenia. And this 
has a big meaning. It's clear that we, as Armenians, have the great possibility 
of producing champions, who become our national heroes and bring pride to the 
people. This pride helps unite people, and in unity is strength-which is the 
AGBU motto. That is why AGBU is so keen on supporting the game in all its forms. 
Since 2007, we have been involved in the Chess Olympiad in Armenia's schools, 
and we will continue to do so along with new initiatives such as the 
Pan-Armenian Chess Tournament."

For more information and to view the closing ceremonies, go to 
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/D6lSINT-6Rs__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!_zZnse5p8HIBoEP8Gp0WUdtS89263M3VQBoYWv8dkMfDHbL3Rg_h_yfuVrHx3A$
 . To explore AVC online chess courses, visit 
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j3TbN0Ipu0__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!_zZnse5p8HIBoEP8Gp0WUdtS89263M3VQBoYWv8dkMfDHbL3Rg_h_yergwcvJg$
 

The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world's largest non-profit 
organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, 
cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a 
difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Artsakh and the 
Armenian diaspora.  Since 1906, AGBU has remained true to one overarching goal: 
to create a foundation for the prosperity of all Armenians. To learn more visit 

 .