The Armenian Genocide Museum Institute has obtained a rare original photo taken by an unknown photographer in 1915.
The photo depicts homeless Armenian orphans wandering in the streets of Diyarbakir and Austrian soldiers giving them bread.
Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, uploaded the photo on his Facebook page.
Most likely, the photo was taken by German servicemen, as it was discovered in Germany.
Today’s Google Doodle is dedicated to Armenia’s Independence Day. The doodle is available on the Armenian service of Google (google.am).
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepage that is intended to celebrate holidays, events, achievements and people.
On September 21, 2015 Armenia celebrates the 24th anniversary of independence.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will nominate Armenian Sevan Nisanyan as candidate at the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Turkey, assistant to the party’s Secretary General Tarik Beyhan told
Beyhan said Nisanyan has greatly contributed to linguistics, culture and architecture, but more noteworthy is his role in the field of the freedom of speech.
“Freedom of speech and tolerance are the two important pillars of liberalism. Therefore, we think that Nisanyan is a very important figure both for our party and the country as a whole,” he said.
Nisanyan is currently serving time over a charge of “deliberately causing harm to the protection of immovable cultural heritage” for his building an addition to his home in the Aegean village of Sirince. However he is known for his outspoken criticism of the government, and it is widely believed that his sentencing was simply an excuse to silence the vocal critic.
Nisanyan has been imprisoned since January 2014, and he also has a pending prison sentence of 14 years 2 months.
HDP Batman MP Ali Atlan brought the fire that had broken out in and around an Armenian monastery in MeĹźeli village in Sason district of Batman on August 15 to the parliament’s agenda, reports.Â
A fire broke out on August 15 in and around Surp Bedros (St. Peter) Monastery in Meşeli (Gomk) village in Sason. The bones in the Armenian cemetery, which is on the region where the fire broke out, were also damaged. HDP Batman MP Ali Atlan brought this fire break out to the parliament’s agenda. MP Ali Atlan submitted written questions to the Minister of Interior Affairs Sebahattin Öztürk and asked whether they have launched a legal action concerning this break out.
Here are the questions that Atlan addressed to the Minister of Interior Affairs Sebahattin Ă–ztĂĽrk:
Will the assaulted Armenian Surp Bedros Monastery and the Armenian cemetery around it be restored? If so, when will this restoration take place?
Have you identified the assaulters? Is there any legal action that is launched against the assaulters or are you planning to do so?
Do you think that these assaults against Armenian monasteries and cemeteries in Turkey might be related to racism?
Do you consider to launch legal actions against security forces and local authorities who haven’t gone to the site of the assault?
Though we are on 2015 now, there is no roads in that region and because of that, fire-fighting vehicles couldn’t have gone there; who is responsible for this? Who will compensate these pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages that was inflicted because of someone’s irresponsibility?
Is there any video footage of the assault that took place on 15 August 2015?
Cemeteries have high sentimental value for people; so, what is the measures that you are currently taking for preventing these kinds of assaults against the cemeteries?
Armenia has welcomed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Belgium.
“Seventeen years ago the Belgian Senate recognized the Armenian Genocide by a special resolution. On June 18 this year the Prime Minister of Belgium reaffirmed the position of the Government on the unconditional recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.
“The resolution recognising the Armenian Genocide adopted by the Chamber of Deputies completes the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Belgium,” the Foreign Minister said.
“We welcome the unconditional recognition of the Armenian Genocide by legislative and executive authorities of the Kingdom of Belgium” Minister Nalbandian concluded.
Around the world, people have been asking: “April 24th has come and gone. What’s next for the remembrance of the Armenian Genocide?”
Armenia Tree Project has initiated a new campaign called the Living Century Initiative, which enables Armenians to plant trees in remembrance of the Genocide.
“Through the Living Century Initiative, we are establishing 10 forests in northern Armenia that are aligned with the major Western Armenian communities that were devastated by the Genocide,” explains Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian. “We are inviting Armenians from around the world to sponsor trees in living memory and in honor of their relatives and ancestral communities. LCI provides an opportunity to plant the new Adana, Kharpert or Marash forest, or wherever your family roots may have been.”
ATP has planted more than 4.7 million trees in over 1,000 locations throughout Armenia and Artsakh. These locations include Nor Kharpert, Musa Ler, and Zeytoun–transplanted names from communities in historic Armenia. “We have an ambitious goal to plant 300,000 trees by year’s end, including 250,000 forestry seedlings as part of the Living Century Initiative,” notes Papelian.
The 10 Living Century forest sites correspond to regions in historic Armenia and will be planted in the Shirak, Lori and Kotayk regions of modern Armenia. They focus on areas where ATP has been planting forests since 2004. “Our team has met with the local community leaders, and they are excited to work with us to establish these new forests as links to our ancestral homeland,” she adds.
Jeanmarie visited one of the new planting sites in May with outgoing director Tom Garabedian. Tom’s grandparents came to America from Kharpert, and the Living Century Initiative was inaugurated by planting a trees in the new Kharpert memorial forest in Arevashogh. This site in the Lori region is dedicated to families whose ancestors hailed from Kharpert before the Genocide.
“We hope you will join us in this celebration of life and perseverance through the planting of new forests throughout Armenia,” concludes Papelian.
ATP has launched a dedicated to the Living Century Initiative where supporters can read more about the campaign learn about the historic Armenian communities and make a gift to help populate these new forests. On the website you can select your ancestral city, town or village, or make a general donation to any of these new planting sites.
The Islamic State has caused a huge damage to civilization over the past year of its activity and aims to cleanse the region of Christians, experts of Arabic studies Sargis Grigoryan and Armen Petrosyan told a press conference today.
The Islamic State has managed to expand the areas under in control in Iraq and Syria. This is a new reality for the world, since ISIS has set a new benchmark for radicals. The latters’ activity will now serve the Islamic State.
Sargis Grigoryan said “immediately after the Islamic State was proclaimed, a number of Islamist structures in the Muslim world vowed their loyalty to the Caliph.  This was followed by establishment of vilayets in areas controlled by those organizations.
“At this point there are about 35 vilayets in different parts of the Muslim world – from North Africa to Pakistan,” he said.
The last announcement was about the creation of a vilayet in the Caucasus. According to the expert, this means “IS has far-reaching plans connected with this stricture in the region. The Islamic organizations in the Caucasus will receive military, financial and other assistance from the Islamic State.”
“I think the radical Islamist trends will further intensify, as the radical Islamic groups need to prove they are worth being “administrative units” of ISIS,” Grigoryan said.
Armen Petrosyan spoke about the way different regional players use the IS factor for their geopolitical interests. “If there is any provocation in the Caucasus, i.e. the South of Russia, it will be enough for the world to speak about the reinforcement of ISIS positions in Russia,” he said.
“This will mean a serious blow to Russia, which will make the country redirect a huge portion of its resources from Ukraine to the Caucasus,” Petrosyan added.
He said the developments are even more alarming, considering that there are a great number of Armenians living in those regions.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has conferred a Heydar Aliyev order to his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva, the chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the First European Games in Baku, Azeri media report.
According to the decree, Mehriban Aliyeva was awarded the order “for her fruitful activity to develop culture, education, healthcare and sports in Azerbaijan, ensure extensive promotion of the cultural heritage of the people of Azerbaijan on the international level and big contribution to the organization of the First European Games”
An attacker carrying an Islamist flag killed one person and injured several others Friday at a gas factory in eastern France, according to a legal source, AFP reports.
The suspected attacker entered the factory and set off several small explosive devices, the source said. A decapitated body was found nearby the factory, another source said.
The attack came nearly six months after the Islamist attacks in and around Paris that killed 17 people in January that started with a shooting at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he would go “immediately” to the scene, his office said.
The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund delegation, led by Executive Director Ara Vardanyan and comprising trustees, representatives of affiliates worldwide, benefactors, and associates, visited Armenia’s Shirak region on May 25 to unveil the newly constructed indoor swimming pool at the Children’s Home of Gyumri.
The construction of the indoor therapy pool and related amenities has been made possible by the financial support of the fund’s Swiss affiliate. The 30-square-meter pool is complemented by a dressing room, a shower room with a separate section for massage therapy, and restrooms. Featuring a heating and ventilation system for year-round operation, the pool is designed to provide access to children with physical disabilities through a ramp as well as a mechanical crane for wheelchairs.
Through hydrotherapeutic procedures and aquatic exercises the trained medical staff will help the children with disabilities to develop motor skills and strengthen muscles.
The Children’s Home shelters and provides care to children with physical and mental disabilities. Close to 130 children under six years of age live and receive professional care here.