7 years-old Albert Qartashyan, who lives in the town of Berd in Tavush province, wishes peace. It’s hard for him to describe by words what is piece, so he just smiles.
He likes to sing, and this song dedicates everyone who keeps the border. The film is shot in the village of Movses.
Festive event was organized in the courtyard of the St. Anna Church in Yerevan on the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Nativity and Theophany of Jesus Christ. During the concert, citizens gave musical performances accompanied by national dance and song.
To note, the Armenian Church celebrates the holy birth (Sourp Dznount) of Jesus Christ on January 6.
Maestro Constantine Orbelian, General Director and Artistic Director of the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Armenia, will be among the featured conductors and artists at the globally renowned Isrotel International Festival of Classical Music, which will be held from January 3 to 6 in Eilat, Israel, Asbarez reported.
“It is an extraordinary honor to be a part of the Isrotel International Festival of Classical Music, especially given the fact that we’ll be celebrating its 20th anniversary this January,” Orbelian said.
The Isrotel International Festival of Classical Music, also known as the Isrotel Classicameri Festival, is an initiative of the Isrotel Hotel chain in Eilat, and will be held in cooperation with the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Omer M. Wellber. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the festival will offer a multifaceted program combining beloved classical masterpieces and innovative new music. The festival will host acclaimed soloists, ensembles, and conductors from Italy, Armenia, the United States, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Poland, France, Russia and Switzerland.
Representing the Republic of Armenia, Maestro Orbelian will participate in the festival along with a number of Yerevan Opera House soloists, comprising Suzanna Melkonyan, Julietta Aleksnyan, Gevork Hagobyan, Armen Badalian, and Hovhannes Ayvazyan.
Other famed artists participating in the festival include Italian pianist Davide Cabassi, soprano Anna Skibinsky, Russian pianist Tatiana Larionova, duo mandolin from Spain Yaki Reuven and Marie Carmen Simon, Polish folk ensemble Dikanda, Bulgarian Kaval player Theodosii Spassov, conductor Yaron Gottfried, singer and video artist Ofri Brin, and the Sesame band — an Israeli ensemble of Balkan, Gypsy, and Middle Eastern music.
The Isrotel Classicameri Festival is dubbed “Masterpieces of the Classical Repertoire in a Cross-Borders Merging,” reflecting the event’s rich musical and thematic diversity. “A key aspect that sets the festival apart is that it functions as a marvelous platform for showcasing a veritable mosaic of cultures and musical traditions — thus celebrating cross-border synergies and providing audiences with deeply rewarding artistic experiences,” Orbelian said.
The festival will open on January 3 in the grand hall of the Royal Beach Hotel in Eilat, with the participation of Israeli singer Ofri Brin. The program will offer a combination of Brin’s electronic pop and soul music with masterpieces by Sibelius, Holst, and Schubert under the baton of Keren Kagarlitzky.
On the second day of the festival, two major concerts will be held. The first will feature the great young conductor Omer M. Wellber and the award-winning Italian pianist Davide Cabassi, in a program in which Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 will be performed. The second concert, “The Songs of Naomi Shemer,” will be a nostalgic journey featuring the works of the Israel Prize laureate. Participating in the concert will be Omer M. Wellber (accordion), Michael Anochin (contrabass), Rami Freiman (percussion), and singers Einat Aronstein, Goni Canaani, and Suf Sela. The concert will be moderated and accompanied on the piano by David Sebba.
The two main concerts on the third day of the festival will pay tribute to the lush intersection of cultures and traditions linked together through music. At the “Gala Opera – From Yerevan with Love,” the Raanana Symphonette will host Maestro Constantine Orbelian and the soloists of the Yerevan Opera House under his direction. The concert will perform beloved arias and duets from major operas, alongside gems from the Armenian folk repertoire. The evening will continue with a layered musical encounter devoted to the deep connection between music and dance. The “Dancing” concert is dedicated to folk dances that have found their way to concert halls: from ballroom and folk to street dancing. Under the baton of David Sebba, the evening will be accompanied by the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, including violinist Nitai Zori, the Sesame band, and the Polish band Dekanda.
The festival will conclude on Saturday, January 6, with a jubilant concert in which Maestro Orbelian and the Raanana Symphonette will host the festival’s artists.
Also on January 6, Maestro Orbelian will appear as a guest on the “Cultural Shabbat” program, for a conversation with television broadcaster Yoav Ginai, Omer M. Wellber, David Sebba. and Orit Fogel-Shafran. During the program, Maestro Orbelian will reminisce about his 20 years of musical collaboration with the late opera giant Dmitri Hvorostovsky.
In addition to its major concerts, the Isrotel Classicameri Festival will feature a complement of thematic concerts and musical encounters, performed by conductors, soloists and ensembles from across the globe.
On December 21, at 01:40 local time, the Seismic Protection Survey Seismological Network of the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations registered an earthquake at the northern latitude 40.330 and eastern longitude 44.890 geographic coordinates (Armenia, 20km west from Gavar town) with 2.7 magnitude and 5km depth.
The tremor measured magnitude 3-4 points at the epicenter area.
Վարչապետ Կարեն Կարապետյանն ընդունել է Հայաստան-Եվրամիություն խորհրդարանական համագործակցության հանձնաժողովի եվրոպական կողմի անդամներին՝ հանձնաժողովի համանախագահ Սաջադ Քարիմի գլխավորությամբ:
Վարչապետը ողջունել է ՀՀ-ԵՄ խորհրդարանական համագործակցության հանձնաժողովի 17-րդ նիստի անցկացումը Երևանում և ընդգծել, որ Հայաստանի Հանրապետությունը կարևորում է Եվրոպական միության հետ Համապարփակ և ընդլայնված գործընկերության համաձայնագրի ստորագրումը: «Դա մեզ համար կարևոր իրադարձություն է: Համաձայնագիրը վերահաստատում է թե՛ մեր հանձնառությունը՝ շարունակել երկրում ընթացող լայնածավալ բարեփոխումները, թե՛ ԵՄ հանձնառությունը՝ աջակցել մեզ այդ գործընթացում», -ասել է Կարեն Կարապետյանը։
Վարչապետը տեղեկացրել է, որ համաձայնագրի իրականացման նպատակով կառավարությունում ընթացքի մեջ են համակարգող միջգերատեսչական հանձնաժողովի ստեղծման աշխատանքները: Կարեն Կարապետյանը կարևորել է բրյուսելյան գագաթնաժողովի շրջանակում Ընդհանուր ավիացիոն գոտու համաձայնագրի նախաստորագրումը, ինչպես նաև Հայաստանի անդամակցումը հետազոտությունների և նորարարությունների «Հորիզոն 2020» և ՓՄՁ աջակցության «COSME» ծրագրերին, «Ստեղծագործ Եվրոպա»-ին միանալու և «Գործընկերության առաջնայնությունների» շուրջ բանակցությունները հաջող ավարտին հասցնելը:
Ընդգծելով, որ համաձայնագրի վավերացումը լրացուցիչ ազդակ կլինի եվրոպական ընկերությունների համար՝ կառավարության ղեկավարը ներկայացրել է առկա հնարավորությունները: Վարչապետը նշել է, որ հաշվի առնելով գործող արտոնյալ ռեժիմները՝ Հայաստանը պետք է դիտարկել որպես հարթակ, որի միջոցով հնարավոր է մուտք գործել Եվրասիական տնտեսական միության, Եվրամիության, ԱՄՆ և Իրանի շուկաներ:
Վարչապետը պատասխանել է նաև եվրոպացի պատգամավորների մի շարք հարցերին, որոնք, մասնավորապես, վերաբերել են համաձայնագրով նախատեսված քայլերի իրականացմանը, տարբեր ոլորտներում նախաձեռնված բարեփոխումներին, տնտեսության զարգացման ուղղությամբ կատարվող աշխատանքներին և այլ խնդիրների:
By Rashid Shirinov
The policy of resettlement of Syrian refugees of Armenian origin to the occupied Azerbaijani lands is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and this is objectively outlined in the statement of the Azerbaijani delegation to the UN.
Azerbaijani political scientist Fikret Sadikhov made the remarks in his recent interview with Day.az.
Last week, the Azerbaijani delegation to the UN made a statement noting that the process of resettling Syrian refugees of Armenian origin to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is a grave breach of international humanitarian law. The document stated that as a result of the ongoing military aggression of Armenia and the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, Azerbaijan hosts one of the largest internally displaced populations per capita in the world.
Sadikhov recalled that there are periodic news about the exodus of Syrian Armenians from Armenia, and noted that this fact already heralds the critical situation in this half-ruined country.
“The state of the Armenian economy is extremely depressing, the standard of living in Yerevan, let alone in the occupied Karabakh, is very low. Therefore, it is hardly worth talking about some mass resettlement of Armenians there,” the expert said.
He noted that it is clear that the ruling regime has such a desire. Armenian authorities continue attempts to drum up their compatriots to the occupied Azerbaijani lands in order to promote their provocative plans.
“Although the fact was suppressed previously, now local media periodically write about this in Armenia,” Sadikhov said.
In order to increase the small population of Armenia as well as to artificially expand the presence of Armenians in the occupied Azerbaijani lands, the desperate Armenian government tries to attract ethnic Armenians who have fled the war in Syria. However, majority of Syrian Armenians reject this proposal – they do not agree to live in the undeveloped regions of Armenia and in the occupied Karabakh, where living conditions are getting worse daily.
Sadikhov noted that under international law, Armenia-pursued policy of illegal settlement is a war crime.
“Armenia encourages the resettlement of Armenians living in Syria and Lebanon to the occupied territories of a foreign state, which is absolutely contrary to the principles of international law,” the expert added. “Consequently, this serious political adventure of Armenia should be given a serious international assessment.”
Meanwhile, more than a million of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, who were expelled from their lands by Armenians during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, are awaiting for the day when all of them will return to their native places.
On December 18, RA Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan received Deputy Secretary General of NATO Ros Gothamoller.
During the meeting, Gothmoller highly appreciated the participation of Armenian peacekeeping units in NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, highlighted the joint efforts of developing new capacities, and cooperation in military education and other domains.
The sides exchanged views on the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan, the Defense Reform Initiative in the Planning and Review Process, and the practical implementation of agreed objectives.
The RA Minister of Defense presented to the NATO high-ranking official the reform of the defense law, the constitutional amendments, the new initiatives and cooperation prospects for the improvement of military service, modernization of defense education, improvement of the civilian and public control system of the armed forces.
Turkish Government News December 15, 2017 Friday Turkish lawmaker calls German media reports 'FETO plot' Ankara: The Turkish Government has issued the following press release: A ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy on Friday described accusations by a German news channel against him as a "plot by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)", the group behind last year's defeated coup in Turkey. The remark by Metin Kulunk, AK Party's deputy for Istanbul, came after a program on ZDF claimed the politician had provided money to a boxing gang in Germany to go after critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Osmanen Germania gang was also allegedly instructed to organize protests against last year's so-called Armenian genocide resolution passed by the German parliament, according to the report broadcast on the channel. Kulunk said in a meeting: "None of the activities or visits I made in my personal capacity or on behalf of the AK Party are illegal. On the contrary transparency has always been a priority." He said the accusations to defame Erdogan are typical to FETO. "On one hand the German authorities allow the bloody PKK terror group and its supporters the freedom to blackmail, kidnap, organize protests and harass the Turkish society [in Germany], and on the other it defames Turkey through fictional accusations," he said. He called the accusations an aim to subject Turks in Europe "to a cultural genocide". 'Germany should use common sense' He asked the German authorities to exercise "common sense" so that its judiciary and media does not become "a toy in the hands of PKK and FETO". Separately, in an interview with Anadolu Agency, Kulunk called on Germany to maintain positive relations with Turkey and end its cooperation with terror groups. “Germany cannot establish strong connections with Turkey by embracing terrorist organizations like PKK, FETO, DHKP-C. They will strengthen by respecting the independence of the Republic of Turkey and acting upon the 250-years of friendly history,” he added. More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015. FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the July 15, 2016 coup attempt which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Regarding the evidences obtained by the German media, Kulunk said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was illegally wiretapped by Germany. He also said the allegations are “directly targeting Turkey like in the [Riza] Sarraf case” and affirmed they will seek their legal rights in Germany. Sarraf last month accepted all the U.S. charges against him and agreed to cooperate as a witness against Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former deputy CEO of Turkey’s state-run lender Halkbank. Sarraf was detained last year in New York on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, while Atilla was arrested in the U.S. earlier this year on similar charges.
The long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh lends a quiet tension to Yeva, a rather old-fashioned yarn about a heroic woman doctor on the run with her little girl, who find temporary shelter in a village. Her in-laws believe she’s responsible for the death of her husband and want her to stand trial, while Yeva fears they’re really after her daughter. It’s a convoluted story written and directed dutifully but with little flair by first-time filmmaker Anahit Abad. Audiences with an interest in Armenia and a working knowledge of the region will find more to love than others in the stirring locations and self-sacrificing characters. It bowed at the Montreal Film Festival.
Two curious facts about the film: it is only Armenia’s sixth submission to the Foreign Language Oscars since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and it is an Iranian coproduction. The National Cinema Center of Armenia joined hands with Iran’s Farabi Cinema Foundation, and Taghi Ali Gholizadeh, known for the spectacular Iranian religious epic Hussein Who Said No, signed off as producer. Given that the main character is an independent-minded Christian woman wanted for murder, it seems an unconventional choice for a co-project and a bit daring.
But the storytelling itself is terribly familiar. The opening scenes show how brave and resourceful Yeva (Narine Grigoryan) is as she flees Yerevan with her young daughter Nareh through dark underground passages and a dripping wet night, a setting as atmospheric as it is unreal. Much later, we learn her husband has died under suspicious circumstances and the police have a warrant out for her arrest as his killer. Her immediate focus is on saving Nareh from the clutches of her in-laws, who believe she is their property.
After an overnight trip in the back of a truck, mother and daughter are deposited in a remote village in Karabakh, where they find refuge with Yeva’s uncle and aunt. No one is supposed to know her there (she pretends not to be a doctor.) In reality, she sticks out like a sore thumb. She was famous in those parts during the war (presumably the war with Azerbaijan in the early 1990’s) when she was nicknamed “Crazy Yeva” for volunteering at a frontline hospital. Flashback to her meeting with the dashing, wounded villager Ashout. Their great love ends tragically when he is killed in fighting, and she quickly marries a more influential suitor. Why such haste, Yeva, certain resentful ex-combatants wonder? Of course, the heroine is too noble not to have had her reasons.
After all this exposition, Abad’s screenplay offers a narrative breather with some views of life in the good-hearted village, where Nareh makes friends and people celebrate weddings. Since this is Christian territory, the women wear no headscarves, except in church, and joyfully participate in the singing, dancing and flirtation. Yeva’s dignity, reserve and aura of mystery make her a popular target of gossip and interest. She finally gives herself away when a little boy is injured and she flips into medic mode, taking charge of the situation. Ironically, it is the only time pro actress Grigoryan loses her cool and seems on the verge of hysterics.
Meanwhile, she goes to the post office every day to check whether their false passports and visas have arrived so they can escape to France. There remains an undercurrent of danger that she might be “discovered”, not to mention the way the whole village lives on the uncertain edge of a cease-fire with the unseen enemy, surrounded by silent soldiers.
The old cars and trucks have a Soviet-era feel and one wonders when the action is set; what time would justify the film’s old-fashioned aura, the stiff, formal dialogue, and the dark colors, makeup and framing that recall a WW2 film? But the hardest thing to identify with is the way the heroine’s self-sacrifice as a mother, a doctor and a patriot is never enough. In the end, a slippery subplot about a rebellious teenage girl gives her one more chance for heroics.
Melodious folk songs and a touching musical score by Vakan Artzeruni lend some welcome Armenian atmosphere, while most of the other tech credits are handled by Iranian pros.
Production companies: National Cinema Center of Armenia, Farabi Cinema Foundation
Cast: Narine Grigoryan, Shant Hoyhannisyan, Marjan Avetisyan, Rozi Avetisyan
Director, screenwriter: Anahid Abad
Producer: Taghi Ali Gholizadeh
Executive producers: Behrouz Paknahad, Viktor Mnatsakanyan
Director of photography: Hasan Karimi
Production designer: Behzad Kazzazi
Editor: Siavesh Kardjan
Music: Vakan Artzeruni
World sales: Farabi Cinema Foundation
94 minutes
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In his shop in the middle of the Old City market in Jerusalem, Hagop Antreassian sits among an array of colorful ceramic pottery and tiles, a craft that has been practiced by Armenians for 100 years in Jerusalem.
Antreassian, 73, is Armenian-Palestinian and lives in the Armenian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. For 40 years, he has taken great pride in the craft he learned from his elders while still a child, although he fears that the ceramics and tile making, the mark of the Armenian presence in Jerusalem, may now be disappearing.
Antreassian explains that his family, like many of the Armenian families in Jerusalem, came from Kutahya, Turkey, to escape the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian genocide during World War I. Now, in southwest Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter, their descendants coexist with Palestinians in the holy city. During the British mandate in 1920, three renowned Armenian families — the Balians, Karakashians and Alsians — were recruited to repair the tiles on the Dome of the Rock, a shrine that dates back to the seventh century. Ever since, the Armenian families that settled in Jerusalem have continued the crafts that first made them famous back in the Ottoman Empire, not only as a source of livelihood but as preservation of heritage.
“When I was a child, I would sit next to my grandfather as he made ceramic plates. I loved it so much,” Antreassian told Al-Monitor in a phone call from his Jerusalem residence. “After his death, nobody in the family cared about this craft. Growing up, I decided to become a potter to prevent the extinction of my ancestors’ traditional craft,” he added.
Antreassian is determined to revive the art form, though the residents of Jerusalem and larger Palestinian cities such as Al-Bireh and Bethlehem do not seem very interested in ceramics. Fortunately, the tourists who come to the Old Market and the Armenian Quarter flock to the tile shops that are part of the historical heritage in this part of town, which includes a closed Armenian monastery and several ancient churches.
Armenian ceramics are some of Palestine's many famous ancient handicrafts such as mosaics, pottery, embroidery, soap and glass, all the mixed heritage of the civilizations that came to Palestine throughout the ages such as the Romans, Canaanites, Byzantines and Phoenicians.
“Foreign tourists from various countries such as France, America, Germany and others come to my small shop to buy Armenian ceramics, which they see as part of the heritage of ancient civilizations in Palestine. But the Arabs and residents of Jerusalem have no interest in buying ceramics,” he said.
He explained that the work is laborious, saying, “Several stages are involved in the making of Armenian ceramics. I start by drawing patterns on the piece, then I use coal for engraving or marking the ceramics. I move to the coloring stage. The completed ceramic piece is then displayed for everyone to see its beauty and glittering brilliance.”
Antreassian said making Armenian ceramics gives him a sense of comfort and peace. He draws scenes that tell the story of Palestinian life under the British mandate, scenes from his Armenian homeland and the various religious symbols of Jerusalem. He also draws nature, wildlife and flowers.
Other materials such as glass, crystal and porcelain make their way into the traditional Armenian reds, blues and greens of his art. Many of his designs, though original, resemble the circular and rectangular patterns made by his grandfather. He bakes his ceramics in a traditional oven.
Antreassian is fluent in Arabic and Armenian and has learned some English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Irish to speak with his foreign customers. His shop is often filled with tourists. “I make various forms of ceramic and porcelain pieces at different prices. The smallest pieces are sold for $20, while large prices start at $200 up to $1,000,” he said.
He pointed out that tourists are willing to pay any price to own Armenian ceramics. “In foreign countries, they use Armenian ceramics in various sculptures and decorative pieces, but mostly these are not very appealing. They are machine-made ceramics, not handcrafted. When visiting Jerusalem, foreigners rush to buy handmade Armenian ceramics reminiscent of old times.”
is a freelance journalist from the Gaza Strip. He covers social, human interest and innovation issues as well as current and political events in the Palestinian arena.