Author: Garnik Tadevosian

 

 

 

About 60 Armenians have died in the Syrian conflict, historian Gevorg Yazichian told reporters today. “The Armenian community of Aleppo counted 45-50 thousand before the conflict, only half has remained there,” he said. According to official data, 17 thousand have moved to Armenia.

“Most Syrian Armenians have centered in Damascus. It’s comparatively safe there as the city is under the control of Syrian forces. Latakia and Kessab are two other Armenian-populated settlements,” he said

Armenia is the fourth in the world with the number of Syrian refugees hosted. Therefore, Yazichian says, we can count on support from international organizations.

According to the historian, the situation has considerably changed after Russia launched air strikes, but “it’s still hard to predict when and how the conflict will end.”

He considers that the Syrian army does not act as effectively as it could, and there are ideological reasons for it.

“People in both Syria and Iraq are ‘poisoned’ by ideas of radical Islamism. The Russian air force and the Syrian army can succeed, but to end the war those masses should be offered a new ideology that will correspond to their religious beliefs and views,” Yazichian said.

The Armenian national team has dropped 36 places and is ranked 127th in the FIFA World Ranking released today. Armenia’s best result has been the 30th place in January 2014.

Belgium top the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in history.  The Red Devils have jumped two places on the November edition to replace previous leaders Argentina (3rd, down 2) and world champions Germany (2nd, unchanged).

The biggest climbers in the top ten are Chile (5th, up 4), while England (9th, up 1) and Austria (10th, up 1) have each made slight progress. This is the first time that Belgium, Chile and Austria have ever reached such heights on the global ladder.

Less than a third of Indonesians currently have access to the web

On 18 September Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan attended the opening of sculptor Toros Rasguélénian’s “Eternity” monument and a solemn ceremony of groundbreaking the “Paul Éluard’s home” Francophone center held in the French park of capital Stepanakert.

In his speech President Sahakyan noted that Artsakh-France friendship stepped into a new phase stressing that deepening friendly relations with France was among the most significant directions of Artsakh’s foreign policy. “In the face of France we have a strong and civilized friendly country with which we are connected by multiple channels. I am optimistic about the future of our bilateral relations as I see sincere aspiration and perseverance to develop our fraternal relations,” he noted.

NKR National Assembly chairman Ashot Ghoulyan, a group of parliamentarians and officials from France, guests from abroad and the Diaspora, other officials partook in the event.

A special cover dedicated to the 40^th anniversary of OSCE founding document Helsinki Final Act took was cancelled in Yerevan on September 16.

The Special cover represents a unique philatelic product – a thematic cover, on which the stamp dedicated to the OSCE and issued in 2012 is attached and which will be cancelled with a Special postmark. The Special cover has been designed with a print run of 1000 pcs. It depicts the logotype of the 40^th anniversary of Helsinki Final Act.

The participants of the cover signing ceremony were “HayPost” CJSC Trust Manager Mr. Juan Pablo Gechidjian, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication of the RA Mr. Gagik Tadevosyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the RA Mr. Edward Nalbandyan, Director of OSCE Conflict Prevention Center Mr. Marsel Peszko, Head of OSCE Office in Yerevan Mr. Andrey Sorokin, President of the Union of Philatelists of the RA Mr. Hovik Musaelyan.

“HayPost” CJSC pays great attention to the development of the Armenian philately and enhances the interest of the broad segments of the society with regard to the philately and stamps through issuing similar philatelic products.

The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) has welcomed the election of Malcolm Turnbull as the new Prime Minister of Australia.

Turnbull challenged sitting Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, for their party’s (LIB) leadership in a spill that took place on Monday night in Parliament House. By winning the Liberal Party leadership, Turnbull immediately became Prime Minister-elect, and will be sworn in on Tuesday.

Turnbull, a long time friend of the Armenian-Australian community, has been a strong and vocal supporter of Armenian Genocide recognition by the Parliament of Australia. On 23 November 2013, in this capacity as Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband, he addressed the House of Representatives in an impassioned speech calling for the formal recognition of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides.

“They [ANC Australia Advocacy Week delegation] are assembled here, as we are, to lament what was one of the great crimes against humanity, not simply a crime against the Greeks, the Assyrians and the Armenians but a crime against humanity—the elimination, the execution, the murder of hundreds of thousands of millions of people for no reason other than that they were different. This type of crime, this sort of genocidal crime, is something that sadly is not unique in our experience,” Turnbull said.

He added: “We must own up to it. We must recognise it for what it is.”

He also called on the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the genocidal crimes of their predecessors, the Ottoman Empire, to pave the way for reconciliation into the future, and live up to their multicultural past.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, Vache Kahramanian, wrote to the Prime Minister-elect congratulating him on his election as Australia’s 29^th Prime Minister.

“We welcome the election of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister of Australia. His strong track record on Armenian related issues has been formidable and we look forward to continuing this strong relationship,” Kahramanian said.

“We also congratulate Tony Abbott on his service as Prime Minister Australia.”

ANC Australia has sought a meeting with the newly elected Prime Minister to discuss a wide range of issues important to the Armenian-Australian community.

On September 10 Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale.

Minister Nalbanidn hailed Mr. Whittingdale’s past activity in the House of Commons as the head of the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group, underlining that the Armenian-British parliamentary ties actively developed under his leadership.

Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to John Whittingdale for his participation in April 24 events in Yerevan dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

During the meeting reference was made to the perspectives of expansion of Armenian-British relations in the field of culture and discussed the implementation of joint programs with a view of presenting the Armenian cultural heritage in the UK.

Edward Nalbandian visited the British Parliament, where he met with members of the House of Lords Caroline Cox and Henry Harrison. Issues related to Armenian-British parliamentary cooperation were discussed.

The same day Minister Nalbandian met with members of the commission coordinating the Armenian Genocide centennial events in the United Kingdom.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the events organized in Armenia and the world, dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

During the meeting reference was made to the preparations for the ecumenical service to be held at the Westminster Abbey in October to commemorate the Armenian Genocide centennial.

Within the framework of an official visit to Great Britain, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian offered a speech at the Chatham House:

Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be back to the Chatham House. I would like to thank for the invitation and the opportunity to address the esteemed audience on some of the foreign policy challenges that Armenia and the region face.

The attention of the international community is focused today on the unacceptability of the further escalation of the conflicts in the Middle East and beyond. The spread of terrorist networks and devastations caused by their activities, crisis in Ukraine, instability in many other parts of the world show that the world is undergoing through heavy shocks of turbulence. Yesterday on my way from Paris to London the Eurostar train had to stop for almost two hours because of a situation related to refugees. What’s happening thousands of miles away knocks the doors of Europe. We can no more talk about isolated problems. Early warning and prevention of conflicts and destructive wars should always be top priorities not only for those affected, but also for the international community, as a whole.

The Armenians have for centuries been a distinctive part of the multicultural mosaic of the Middle East. We are grateful to the people of the region who a century ago sheltered hundreds of thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Now, when the ethnic and religious communities face an existential threat, we feel moral responsibility to stand with them.

The violence in the Middle East has not bypassed our compatriots, many of whom lost their lives in terrorist attacks, the Armenian settlements, churches, schools and cultural institutions were destroyed. Just as one hundred years ago tens of thousands of Armenians, together with other peoples of the Middle East, today again were obliged to abandon their places of residence. More than 15 thousand Syrian-Armenians found refuge in Armenia.

It is not a coincidence that the terrorists declared a war against the cultural heritage of the people of the region. It is exactly through the history and the collective memory that the universal values of civilized world, the tolerance, coexistence and respect to the culture and religion of others pass from generation to generation. These values stand in a stark contrast to the ideology of xenophobia and discrimination adhered by the terrorist groups. Destruction of many Islamic sacred sites and the monuments of historic Palmyra and Nimrud, the blowing up of the Armenian church in Der ez-Zor – a sanctuary of the remains of many victims of the Armenian Genocide and other similar barbaric acts are crimes committed against civilization.

It is imperative to create mechanisms to deprive terrorists of the resources and financial means, prevent the influx of the foreign fighters, precluding them to continue the use of the territory of the neighboring states for trans-boundary attacks. The international law holds responsibility not only for the crimes against humanity but also for its complicity. This should be clear for all those who try to deny and justify the past crimes and incite current violence.

This year marks the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The commemoration attracted huge international attention. Here, in Britain, too, the leading media outlets were widely covering the message of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

In 1929 Winston Churchill characterized the Armenian massacres as a “holocaust” and added that “this crime was planned and executed for political reasons. The opportunity presented itself for clearing Turkish soil of a Christian race.” British historian Arnold Toynbee entitled his 1915 report as “The Murder of a Nation” and called it “an organized murder of the Armenian race.”

What happens today in the Middle East revives the horrors of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915 Armenians were forced to march through the deserts where now the terror of Daesh is spreading, where Yazidis, Christians and other minority groups are being exterminated, and traces of ancient civilizations are being destroyed. Lack of adequate international reaction to the massacres committed against Armenians in 1894-96 and impunity resulted in the Genocide of 1915. On May 24th, 1915 the allied powers – Great Britain, Russia and France- adopted a special declaration warning the perpetrators of the atrocities against the Armenian people that they would be held personally responsible “for these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization.” However, it was a late attempt at preventing what had to be stopped much earlier. Failure of early warning mechanisms and prevention efforts made genocide a re-occurring phenomenon in the 20th century.

We, Armenians, as the survivors of the first genocide of the 20th century, feel a great moral responsibility towards the prevention of new crimes against humanity. We initiate Genocide prevention resolutions in the UN, organize regular international conferences and workshops for genocide scholars, and are determined to extend our contribution to the genocide prevention efforts of the international community.

Unfortunately, this year was not only the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, but also a Centenary of Turkish denial of this genocide.
I would like to recall the powerful words of Pope Francis the First during the Mass in St. Peter’s Cathedral this April: “Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.” Lack of proper recognition of genocides perpetuates the occurrence of new ones.

The irreversible process of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide continues on different levels and dimensions. Not only have a number of countries reaffirmed its recognition, but they also have been joined by new states. Since late 2014 the Parliaments of Bolivia, Austria, Luxemburg, Chile, Brazil adopted special resolutions. They were joined by the European Parliament, the Latin American Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and others.

I would specially like to underline the courageous statement of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany in which he not only paid tribute to the innocent victims massacred in the Ottoman Empire, but also spoke of Germany’s part of responsibility in that crime.

High level delegations from more than 60 countries joined the Armenian nation on the commemoration day in Yerevan as a sign of compassion for this tragedy of not only a single nation but the humanity as a whole.

It was another missed opportunity for the Turkish leadership which was invited to participate in this commemoration. In Ankara I personally passed the written message from the President of Armenia inviting his Turkish counterpart to Yerevan on this occasion. It was not only a missed opportunity, but on the same day the Turkish leadership organized the commemoration of the battle of Gallipoli making apparently a failed attempt to divert international attention from the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The problems that our region, the South Caucasus, is facing may seem less visible to many observers from various parts of the world, but this should not mislead anyone. This region has for a long time been a place of geopolitical rivalry, marked by lingering wounds.

The resolution of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the main priorities of our foreign policy. A couple of months ago there was an excellent opportunity here at the Chatham House to get first hand insights on this issue directly from the President of Nagorno-Karabakh. Needless to say, that the views and approaches of Nagorno-Karabakh are essential in the conflict resolution.

Armenia continues to make efforts together with the mediators – the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries – United States, Russia and Fr
ance, to reach an exclusively peaceful solution to this conflict.

The Co-Chairs have a common approach on the fundamental principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. This is a rare example in the current turmoil in the international relations when those countries adhere to the same approach. We forthrightly stand by the position of the international community that negotiations, compromises and preparation of our societies to peace have no alternative for the conflict resolution.

The Co-Chair countries have outlined their proposals on numerous occasions, most notably in five statements of the presidents of France, USA and Russia made since 2009. Those proposals are better known as Basic Principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and are consisted of three principles of international law: non-use of force or threat of force, peoples right to self-determination and territorial integrity. The Co-Chair’s proposal gives a full credit to the right of people of Nagorno-Karabakh to determine their future status through legally binding expression of will. Armenia has expressed its commitment to move forward based on those proposals.

The reason that a breakthrough in the peace talks has not been achieved is the rejection of Azerbaijan of the proposals of the Co-Chair countries.

Continuous cease-fire violations by Baku along the border with Armenia and on the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh once again prove that Azerbaijan continues to jeopardize the conflict resolution process, the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at the peaceful settlement of the issue and undermining the upcoming meetings initiated by the mediators.

During the Baku European Games this June Azerbaijan exercised restraint on the ground, since they needed a calm period. The situation drastically changed immediately after the Games when Azerbaijan intensified the ceasefire violations. In fact by its actions Azerbaijan once again clearly identified, which side is responsible for the escalation of the situation. Baku didn’t even bother to conceal its militaristic attitude.

Azerbaijan continues heavy military buildup, by increasing its military budget nearly 30 times in a decade. As long as Azerbaijan’s bellicose aspirations are not curtailed, there will be no real progress in the peace talks.

The implementation of the agreement on the mechanism to investigate the incidents on the Line of Contact, together with other proposals on confidence and security building measures made by the Co-Chairs could be an important tool for prevention of such incidents and creation of the environment conducive for the peace talks. Azerbaijan continuously rejects numerous proposals of Co-Chairs on consolidation of the cease-fire, withdrawal of snipers and on other confidence building measures while Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have welcomed those proposals. It is obvious there is no military or political goal that Nagorno-Karabakh or Armenia might seek via the escalation of the situation.

While the international community speaks about the necessity of preparing the societies for peace Azerbaijan continues on an official level the policy of injection of hatred against Armenians. The similarities between the destruction of thousands of Armenian Medieval cross stones in Nakhichevan by the Azerbaijani army and the devastation of 2000-year-old monuments in the historic Palmyra bear a striking resemblance. Deliberate destruction of monuments, be that in Syria or Nakhichevan, should be considered as a crime against civilization.

The road from authoritarianism to totalitarianism and despotism is interlinked to the escalation of the tensions through which the Azerbaijani leadership is attempting to mislead and distract the attention of the international community from the outrageous human rights violations in Azerbaijan. The cornerstone of authoritarianism is hatred. Propaganda of enmity towards a neighbor is one of the favorite methods of such regimes to strengthen loyalty inside their countries by punishing representatives of media, civil society and intelligentsia, who dare to speak up against the regime and stand for peace and reconciliation. Not surprisingly many of them in Azerbaijan have been put behind the bars with allegations on serving the Armenian interests. The xenophobic hatred against Armenians has become the dominating rhetoric of Azerbaijan and state-supported policy for decades. While stating that Armenia is situated on native Azerbaijani lands, President of that country declared that Armenians all over the world are the “Number 1 enemy” of Azerbaijan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to add a couple of words about my current visit to the UK. I am here in London upon the invitation of my colleague Foreign Secretary Mr. Philip Hammond with whom I had a meeting yesterday. I also met Minister for Europe Mr. David Lidington. Later today, I will meet Secretary of State for Culture Mr. John Wittingdale. Together with my British colleagues we continue discussions on efforts to further boost Armenian-British cooperation in different fields of mutual interest. We have a very solid foundation to build on, to enhance our bilateral relations that date back to centuries. Lord Byron famously portrayed Armenia as one of the most interesting countries on the globe. We will continue our efforts aimed at further strengthening of our relations not just as countries interested in each other, but also as a good partners.

Thank you.

Armenian businessman and benefactor Vahak Hovnanian passed away today aged 83.  The Hovnanian International confirmed the news to Panorama.am.

Vahak Stephan Hovnanian was a successful businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist. His companies have developed over 5000 homes and several commercial properties throughout the United States.

In 1959 Mr. Hovnanian and his brothers formed the Hovnanian Brothers Corporation. Together, they developed thousands of homes in New Jersey, until going their respective ways ten years later. In 1969, Mr. Hovnanian organized his own real estate development company, Hovbilt, Inc., which in the ensuing years has developed many successful and award-winning residential communities. With growth came diversification and the formation of several affiliated companies under the name of V.S. Hovnanian Group, Inc. which included Adelphia Water Company, Adelphia Sewer Company, Hovnanian Realty, Clear Title Agency, and Grandview Cable. In 1985, Vahak and his son Shant pioneered a multi-faceted broadband telecommunications company by establishing CellularVision, Inc., which has become later SpeedUS, Inc.

A lover of “all things Armenian,” Mr. Hovnanian  dedicated himself to supporting and preserving Armenian culture and heritage, and revitalizing the independent Republic of Armenia. Mr. Hovnanian together with his wife Hasmig played prominent role in promoting educational, religious and cultural needs of the Armenian community in the Northeastern United States. The couple has also been heavily involved in charity work.

During 1960s, Mr. Hovnanian served as the President of the Board of Trustees for St. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church in Ridgefield, NJ. He initiated the celebration of Armenian holidays on their precise day rather than on the closest Sunday, designating St. Vartanantz one of the first Armenian churches in the United States to follow this tradition.

In 1969 Vahak and Hasmig Hovnanians were honored for their efforts with a Knighthood in the Order of the Great House of Cilicia and as a Lady of the Great House of Cilicia respectively, by His Holiness Khoren I, Catholicos of Cilicia. In further service to the Armenian Church, Mr. Hovnanian served as an Executive Member of the Board of Directors for the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America from 1973-1977. During that period he also served as a U.S. National Delegate to the World Council of the Armenian Church’s Cilician Catholicosate in Lebanon.

One of the greatest achievements of Mr. and Mrs. Hovnanian was the founding of the Armenian School in New Milford, NJ, in 1976 which has been renamed in 1984 into Hovnanian School in their honor. On the occasion of the school’s tenth anniversary, Mr. Hovnanian was named Prince of the Armenian Apostolic Church by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, in Antelias Lebanon (later His Holiness Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin).

In keeping with his commitment to education, Mr. Hovnanian raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the aftermath of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia which he contributed to His Holiness Vasken I Catholicos of All Armenians to build a new school in the earthquake zone of Spitak. Since 1992, he and his wife have been major benefactors of the Hovnanian School’s sister school in Armenia – the Anania Shirakatsy Gemaran in Nork Massif.

Mr. Hovnanian  received numerous awards throughout his career, which serve to highlight his commitment to the Armenian community.

Believing that tourism would boost Armenia’s economy, Mr. Hovnanian insisted on considering tourism development a top priority and successfully lobbied the U.S. Government to contribute to it. In May 2000, the RA Government chartered the Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA), which was funded by USAID, Mr. Hovnanian himself, and the Armenian Government. ATDA has raised international awareness about Armenia as a world class tourism destination.

In 1995, the Hovnanians endorsed Armenia’s participation in the Venice Biennale and initiated fundraising for the first Armenian Pavilion. They organized and chaired an international Ball held in Venice where over 250 Armenians from around the world gathered to support Armenia’s entry into the international arts scene. While planning this event, they initiated the Kantz Foundation to support young Armenian aspiring artists. Through the Kantz Foundation and the Vahak and Hasmig Hovnanian Foundation, they have supported over 100 young artists from Armenia and outside in their pursuit of prominent careers in the fine and performing arts.

In May 2000, Mr. Hovnanian founded the Sayat Nova Award to stimulate and provide financial support to the songwriters and composers of Armenia. In May 2002, The Vahakni Award was initiated to inspire and support other artists in fine and performing arts.

 

An exhibition titled “Genocide after Genocide” opened today at the Union of Architects of Armenia. Thirty-two posters in Armenian and English present the monuments of Western Armenia destroyed by Turkish authorities.

The exhibition was previously displayed in Stepanakert, Ijevan and Vanadzor. This fall it will be taken to  Brussels and will be on display at the European Parliament. It will later move to other European cities, including Lyon and Amsterdam.

Samvel Karapetyan, President of the Research on Armenian Architecture Fund, said at the opening ceremony that the initiative aims to show what has been happening in our historic homeland ever since 1915. According to him, the current generations must be informed about our cultural legacy. “If the monuments are endangered, we have a duty to keep the public informed about the cultural genocide,” he said.