Author: Garnik Tadevosian

The celebrated performer passed away from a heart attack in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don on Wednesday, according to the director of the Moscow State Circus Edgar Zapashny.

“Oleg Popov died in Rostov, he was there on tour.  I got in touch with his producer — his wife was not able to talk — and said that we are ready to provide all possible assistance and to organize a farewell at the Moscow State Circus,” Zapashny told RIA Novosti.

The Russian State Circus Company, Rosgostsirk, said in a Facebook statement in the early hours of Thursday that the time and location of Popov’s funeral were being discussed with his daughter, who is currently in Germany. According to Rosgostsirk, Popov “died peacefully, sitting in an armchair” at his hotel. Oleg Konstantinovich Popov was born in Virubovo, Russia, on July 31, 1930.  He was known the world over for his talents, and was nicknamed the “sunshine clown” by French journalist Jaqueline Cartier.   He toured internationally beginning in the 1950s, and was honored with the title of People’s Artist of the Soviet Union in 1969. Popov moved to Germany in the 1990s, and in 2006 was invited to perform at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, where he received a lengthy standing ovation. Popov also appeared in several films.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has begun construction on a new kindergarten in Aghdzk, a village in Armenia’s Aragatsotn Region. The project is sponsored by the British-Armenian community.

The future kindergarten will be a two-story structure featuring a full complement of amenities and comforts. In addition to bright, spacious classrooms and naprooms, the facility will have a gym, a game hall, a computer room, and a sizeable playground, all of which will make for an enriching educational and leisure environment. The kindergarten will accommodate up to 90 students.

“As our old kindergarten had to be shut down three years ago because the building was no longer safe, the fact that our British-Armenian compatriots are now sponsoring the construction of a new kindergarten is a source of great joy to our community,” said Aghdzk mayor Arsen Avdalyan.

With an abiding commitment to the education and healthy development of children in the homeland, the British-Armenian community sponsors projects mainly in the education and health fields. In recent years, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has implemented several major projects through British-Armenian support, including the construction of a kindergarten in the village of Sasunik, Armenia; and the reconstruction of the boarding kindergarten of Yerevan’s Shengavit district.

On November 1, while paying an official visit to Jakarta, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, was received by Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, Vice President of Indonesia.

Welcoming the Foreign Minister of Armenia, the Vice President of Indonesia attached importance to the further deepening of bilateral relations, in that regard outlining the significance of the visit of the Foreign Minister of Armenia to Jakarta.

During the meeting the sides emphasized the necessity to intensify political dialogue between Armenia and Indonesia, to expand cooperation between different agencies, to foster trade and economic cooperation, while attaching importance to the organization of business forums, establishment of interaction between the trade palaces, promotion of people-to-people contacts and tourism to that end.

Jusuf Kalla and Edward Nalbandian exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues and the efforts being undertaken towards their settlement. The interlocutors mutually outlined the necessity to settle issues exclusively through peaceful means by excluding the use of force.

On the same day Edward Nalbandian visited the Parliament of Indonesia, where he had a meeting with Agus Hermanto, Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia, and the members of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

At the meeting the possibilities to develop cooperation between the Parliaments of the two countries was discussed, importance was attached to the establishment of friendship groups and collaboration within the international parliamentary formats.

The interlocutors touched upon numerous issues of bilateral agenda, as well as expansion of legal framework.

Upon the request of the Indonesian Parliamentarians, Minister Nalbandian presented Armenia’s foreign policy priorities, touched upon the efforts exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to create conductive conditions for the advancement of settlement process of the Azerbaijan-Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia and the Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Indonesia share the view that attempts to give a religious pretext to conflicts is inadmissible and issues need to be solved exclusively through negotiations and peaceful means.

The global Armenian community must do more to deliver a successful future for the nation that is economically and socially secure, according to an open letter published today and signed by a group of high profile Armenians around the world.

The letter was issued on the occasion of the 110^th anniversary celebrations of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) in New York. The signatories include Ruben Vardanyan, Noubar Afeyan, Vartan Gregorian, Charles Aznavour, Lord Ara Darzi, Ambassador Edward Djerejian, the Honorable Dickran Tevrizian, and Samvel Karapetyan, as well as a number of other supporters. Beyond noting the major milestone represented by this anniversary, the letter highlights the critical challenges ahead and the need for unprecedented action and commitment from Armenia and Armenian diaspora communities. The open letter was published in The New York Times, based in the U.S., and the Haiastani Hanrapetuthiun, based in Armenia.

The group called upon “Global Armenians” – those who consider themselves both Armenians and global citizens – to recognize that the Armenian community today stands at a crossroads. Twenty-five years into independence and 100 years after the devastating Genocide, Armenia remains vulnerable as a nation. Through investment and collaboration, this group believes that Global Armenians can play a transformative role in developing a prosperous, secure and peaceful region.

“Armenians around the world must work together to ensure that our Armenia can reach its full potential as a world-leading nation,” said Noubar Afeyan, member of the board of the IDeA Foundation of Armenia and of the AGBU. “This will require an unprecedented commitment from the global Armenian community. We need to invest time, expertise, relationships and money to create and champion initiatives that will drive Armenia into the future it deserves. Delaying action and investment will mean that a vulnerable state remains at risk – and the alternative, remaining unengaged, is indefensible.”

“Many great civilizations in the history of humanity have disappeared into oblivion. Each one of them represents a permanent loss of culture, language and religion for all humanity. We have to keep this in mind as it could happen to Armenians as well,” said international singer and diplomat Charles Aznavour. “This is the goal of our enemies whoever they may be, aided by those who make a profit or choose to turn a blind eye. However the greatest threat comes from within us, and it is through inaction.”

Inviting individuals as well as public and private organizations to join this commitment, the letter asks that institutions dedicated to the advancement of Armenia pool resources to continue the work laid by previous philanthropic initiatives that have built vital institutions and capabilities in the country.

“Armenia needs support from its worldwide community if it is to succeed. While a number of initiatives are underway by various groups that demonstrate a record of success, delivering programs that have impact on the people of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, there is still a great deal of work left to be done,” said, Ruben Vardanyan, member of the board of the IDeA Foundation of Armenia and of the AGBU. “We ask all Armenians to join with us to advance our country’s culture and infrastructure, and propel Armenia into a successful and sustainable future.”

You can see below the full text of the letter.

 

 

THE FUTURE FOR
GLOBAL ARMENIANS IS NOW
Historic Opportunity for Armenians to Unite and
Together Enable Armenia’s Future

This weekend, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), one of the oldest non-profit organizations in the U.S. and the world’s largest Armenian organization, celebrates its 110th anniversary in New York City. Underscoring this milestone is the extraordinary opportunity to reshape the future of Armenia, and to reflect on how every one of us can contribute toward a stronger Armenia tomorrow.

Over the years, AGBU, an organization established to address the challenges facing Armenians both in the homeland and the Diaspora, has fostered socioeconomic initiatives and addressed educational, cultural and humanitarian needs worldwide. We congratulate AGBU on its unparalleled role in preserving the Armenian identity throughout a vast network of Diasporan communities.

Forcibly displaced from their ancestral homeland and dispersed, Armenians living across the world have made major contributions toward advancing their adoptive countries. Long ago, we learned to adapt to our host countries, to be loyal citizens, even as we maintain our common historic identity, language and, through the leadership of the Armenian Church, our Christian faith.

We salute the longstanding contributions of all those individuals and organizations, such as the Armenian Missionary Association, the Armenian Relief Society, the Gulbenkian Foundation and the many others, who have contributed to sustaining the Diaspora through charitable projects.

We also recognize the enormous contributions made toward Armenia’s development since its independence by philanthropists Kirk Kerkorian and AGBU’s Louise Manoogian Simone, among others. Their pioneering work since the early 1990s has helped to build vital institutions and infrastructure.

A quarter century after gaining its independence from the former Soviet Union, the state of the young Republic of Armenia remains vulnerable, as does the state of the Armenian identity globally. Today, we stand at a historic crossroads. While we are certainly aware of our many challenges, we equally recognize the unprecedented opportunity ahead.

An opportunity for the Armenian world to pivot toward a future of prosperity, to transform the post-Soviet Armenian Republic into a vibrant, modern, secure, peaceful and progressive homeland for a global nation.

An opportunity for Armenians not only to have survived Genocide, but to reconstitute and thrive.

An opportunity for Armenia to secure long-lasting social and economic improvement, for our citizens today as well as for our children and the future of our global nation.

Moving forward, we must have a much higher level of sustained commitment from the Armenian community worldwide, whether through social impact or commercial investment, innovation, expertise or active involvement. In the long run, we must aspire to bring Armenia to no less than the same global standards as those of the countries in which many of us in the Diaspora live.

Beyond individual efforts, we want to instigate an unprecedented spirit of partnership and coordination among all Armenian organizations and individuals. We call on all Armenians to engage in pioneering and long-term investment to restore the social, economic, cultural and technological strengths of the nation, with Armenia at its core. At the same time, we urge the government of Armenia to respond to this clarion call by adopting new development strategies based on inclusiveness and collective action.

Individuals, as well as public and private organizations dedicated to the advancement of Armenia, must come together, pool their resources and collaborate to deliver a better tomorrow for the Armenian people. We believe that in order to succeed, we cannot operate in isolation as Armenian citizens or as Diaspora Armenians, but rather together as a united force.

We, the undersigned, are launching this effort with a long-term commitment toward collectively advancing the nation. We welcome all those who can join.

 

United, we represent “Global Armenians.” And for Global Armenians, the time for bold initiative is now.

 

Noubar Afeyan (U.S.)

Ruben Vardanyan (Russia)

Gagik Adibekyan (Luxemburg)

Andre Adonian (Japan)

Abel Aganbegyan (Russia)

Father Mesrop Aramyan (Armenia)

Garo Armen (U.S.)

Charles Aznavour (Switzerland)

Lord Ara Darzi (U.K.)

Edward P. Djerejian (U.S.)

Charles Ghailian (U.S.)

Salpi Ghazarian (U.S.)

Vartan Gregorian (U.S.)

Pierre Gurdjian (Belgium)

Artur Janibekyan (Russia)

Samvel Karapetyan (Russia)

Andrew Mkrtchyan (Armenia)

Mikhail Pogosyan (Russia)

Greg Sarkissian (Canada)

Sam Simonian (U.S.)

Serge Tchuruk (France)

Honorable Dickran Tevrizian (U.S.)

Ralf Yirikian (Armenia)

Nearly 100 people, more than half from Armenian churches in Southern California, gathered Sunday in Solvang to honor a Danish woman credited with saving thousands of children from genocide, reports.

The crowd gathered in the Bethania Lutheran Church garden, where a bust of Maria Jacobsen with a brass plaque was unveiled and dedicated near a pair of benches, where people can sit and contemplate her heroic actions.

Overhead a banner read, “Thank you, Maria ‘Mama’ Jacobsen and people of Denmark. Always grateful — your Armenian friends,” and nearby stood a wreath of red and white flowers.

“The world can seem so big until we come together to celebrate this wonderful, wonderful person,” said Chris Brown, pastor of Bethania Lutheran Church. “And then it seems so much smaller.”

More than 50 members of the Southern California churches traveled to Solvang to worship with the Bethania congregation and afterward share a meal, where several — including some who knew her — spoke about Jacobsen’s efforts to save Armenian orphans.

The campaign against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire began as early as 1909, but in 1915, the Ottoman government began the systematic extermination of the Armenian people.

It began with the forced labor and massacre of able-bodied men, which was followed by forcing women, children, the elderly and the infirm on “death marches” into the Syrian desert without food or water, subjected to robbery, rape and murder.

It’s estimated that by 1923, the Ottomans had murdered 1.5 million Armenians.

Moved by the plight of Armenian orphans, Jacobsen left her home in Denmark and traveled to the Ottoman Empire, where she helped the wounded and ill and worked to save orphaned children.

She, along with other Danish missionaries who joined her, is credited with saving 4,000 orphans.

Including others she rescued in Lebanon from 1923 up until her death in 1960, she saved a total of 142,000 Armenians, said Nichan Kulukian, one of those who spoke at Sunday’s event.

“We called Maria ‘Mama’ because she was the only mother we knew at this time,” said Kulukian, who was orphaned at age 2, noting that Jacobsen and the other missionaries didn’t try to turn the children into Danes.

“She raised us as Armenians, speking only Armenian every day, even teaching our Armenian religion,” he said. “So we grew up as Armenians under these Danish missionaries.

“It is hard to understand how someone could give up her life and give herself to a cause totally foreign to her,” he said. “We have this commitment of love to her and all the other missionaries.”

Maria Karnikian knew Jacobsen as “grandmother,” because she had raised Karnikian’s mother, also noted how Jacobsen preserved the Armenian language and culture among the orphans..

“Her love for children was above everything,” Karnikian said. “She always had the time to play with children.”

Vartan Melkonian recalled how he was orphaned at age 4, just days after his sister was born as yet unnamed. Jacobsen gave her a name and baptized her.

Melkonian said as a result of Jacobsen’s care and encouragement, he went from being an orphan on the streets of Beirut to a resident of London and, eventually, the conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Garbis Der-Yeghiayan, president of Mashdots College in Glendale, summed up why it was important for the Armenian people to honor Jacobsen.

“We never stand so tall as when we stoop to lift a child,” he said.

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in Maastricht on a working visit, participated in the Summit of the European People’s Party (EPP). The Summit was presided over by the Chairman of the EPP Joseph Dole. Present at the Summit were the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Heads of state and government from the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries – members of the EPP.

In the framework of the agenda, the participants of the Summit discussed issues related to the preliminary works of the upcoming session of the European Council, spoke about the recent developments in the refugee crisis, issues related to the EU economy and foreign policy. At the Summit, President Serzh Sargsyan made a statement in which he spoke about regional issues and challenges.

In the government house of Limburg state, which is the venue of the Summit, President Sargsyan also made an inscription in the Golden Book of Honorary Guests.

Photo: AP

 

Antonio Guterres, the man formally nominated to be the next UN secretary general, says he plans to “serve the most vulnerable,” the BBC reports.

The former Portuguese prime minister said he felt both “gratitude and humility” by the appointment.

He said he would serve the “victims of conflicts, of terrorism, rights violations, poverty and injustices of this world”.

Mr Guterres was unanimously nominated by the UN Security Council on Thursday.

The UN General Assembly is expected to meet next week to approve his five-year appointment.

The 67-year-old, who led the UN refugee agency for 10 years, will take over from Ban Ki-moon early next year.

He paid tribute to Ban Ki-moon and called on UN members states to “strongly support him in his actions and his initiatives” in his final months in office.

“I have two words to describe what I’m feeling now – gratitude and humility,” Mr Guterres said in Lisbon.

“Humility [is what I feel] about the huge challenges ahead of us, the terrible complexity of the modern world. But it is also humility that is required to serve the most vulnerable, victims of conflicts, of terrorism, rights violations, poverty and injustices of this world”.

Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Nagorno-Karabakh will hold consultations in Moscow on September 8, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, TASS reports.

“They will discuss important issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, special attention is planned to be focused on the progress of the implementation of the agreements made at the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg,” she said.

On 22 August Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited one of the borderline sections located in the south-eastern part of the republic, met there the command staff, got acquainted with the course of service and current situation.

RA and NKR defense ministers Seyran Ohanyan and Levon Mnatsakanyan and other officials partook at the meeting.

President Serzh Sargsyan today offered condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the terrorist act at Turkey’s Ataturk airport that claimed the lives of dozens of innocent peopleand left many injured.

President Sargsyan strongly condemned this act of terrorism, expressed his deep condolences to the relatives of the victims and wished speedy recovery to the injured.