Armenian weightlifter Samvel Gasparyan wins silver at European Championships
17:46, 4 June 2022
YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenian weightlifter Samvel Gasparyan won silver at the European Championships underway in Tirana, Albania.
He lifted 172kg, then 176kg in the snatch, and 208kg, 211kg and 214kg in the push.
With a total of 390kg, Samvel Gasparyan is the second in Europe.
The office of Armenia’s human rights defender (HRD) received grants worth 22.9 million drams (about $51,000) in 2021, Ombudsperson Kristine Grigoryan said at budget discussions in the parliament on Thursday.
One of the programs is being implemented with funds allocated by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry to the HRD’s office. The agreement was signed in 2019, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war, it was postponed until 2021, Grigoryan said.
The program is more than 90 percent implemented, she added.
The other program is funded by the UN and is aimed at developing the capacity of the ombudsperson’s office, Grigoryan said, adding the program is over 80% implemented.
Separately, she said that in 2021 the ombudsperson’s staff visited about 200 children, informing them about their rights.
Complaints to the office concerning children's rights increased by 154 to 904 last year, the defender said.
Meanwhile, complaints from people with disabilities increased by 251. In addition, the HRD’s office hotline received 14,124 calls in 2021, a 20% increase from 2020.
The European Union should not be involved in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Artsakh’s State Minister Artak Beglaryan said in an interview with RIA Novosti on Friday.
"Given the format of the Minsk Group co-chairmanship and the effective role of the Russian peacekeeping mission, we believe that the Karabakh conflict settlement should not become a subject of negotiations for the European Union," Beglaryan said.
He stresses the need for dialogue, adding at the same time that it should not be “part of Russia's complex relations with the West at this point.” There is already an internationally recognized format of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, who are responsible for the conflict settlement, Beglaryan noted.
11:27, 3 June 2022
YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Painter Mushegh Grigoryan considers himself an expressionist. He believes that painting should be emotional and sincere. The painter, who creates interesting works of landscapes, still life, self-portraits, works in abstract genres, confesses that he paints by never thinking about where he will go or what artistic solutions he will come up with. But he subconsciously tries to do his best to attract art lovers.
Speaking to ARMENPRESS about art, painting, and the spiritual link between him and his father, People’s Painter of Armenia Zulum Grigoryan, Mushegh Grigoryan said: “I grew up in the studio of my father, People’s Painter of Armenia Zulum Grigoryan, in an environment of painters, actors and artists. This was very close to me, but I loved mathematics, physics and other exact science. I decided to engage in science, and I have a great respect to it till today. I wanted to become a cyberneticist, which was very interesting, I even was admitted to the postgraduate course at the Polytechnic University. I was 25 years old that time, I was writing articles and so on, but I was painting with oil paint since the age of 20. I remember, I painted several paintings that time, I wasn’t so concentrated, but it worked. Painters called them interesting.
Asked what a problem he seeks to solve with his works, the painter said: “If I say that I am putting a special task to influence the other person, it won’t be right, but I subconsciously try to create a work that will impress art-lovers. For that to happen, it is necessary to be as free as possible in emotions. If I work very concentrated, the expressionism will be lost. Each painting direction puts its task and has its own path. Expressionism as well. Life has shown that if any work of art keeps its value for centuries, it is objectively powerful”.
The painter is living in the United States for several months.
“I travelled to the United States as a tourist, but I also had an exhibition there. My personal exhibition opened at the Creo Studio led by Taguhi Vardanyan and Tigran Baghdasaryan in Glendale in April. It was very beautiful and well organized. Several exhibitions are at a preparation stage. I am working and maybe I will display new paintings at these exhibitions”, he said, adding that when he comes back to Armenia, he will initiate a new exhibition.
Interview by Anzhela Hambardzumyan
Photos were provided by Mushegh Grigoryan
The full version of the interview is available in Armenian
17:15, 3 June 2022
YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. On June 1, 2022 the closing ceremony of “Future Seeds” program took place online due to the limitations of the Covid19 in the country.
The greeting and motivational speeches were held by RA Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mr. Arthur Martirosyan, Director of "Union of Operators of Armenia" NGO, ASUE "Information Technologies in Business" Program Manager, Lecturer, Kristine Gyonjyan, Arpinet Company Development Director, Lilit Bdoyan and Huawei Technologies Armenia company Director Mr. Chen Liang.
Mr. Martirosyan greeted the participants of the training:
"I think you will agree on the importance of digitalization, the profession of digitalization in the education system, or in various spheres of public life in general.
Digitalization tools are currently being actively introduced in the education system in Armenia, both to combat the epidemic and to ensure access to quality education in general.
At present, we have specialists in the field of digitalization, not only in education, but also in various spheres of public life in our country, which will contribute to the implementation of transparent participatory procedures.
I am hopeful that you will be in the base of specialists who will help our country to solve these crucial problems. ”
The congratulatory speech was continued by the director of the "Union of Operators of Armenia" NGO, Kristine Gyonjyan.
Dear participants of "Future Seeds" program. I congratulate you for being participants of such a wonderful initiative of Huawei. The digital world is evolving rapidly, requiring governments, companies, and employees to be "digital" ready to respond to new educational demands in line with educational institutions. Information and the field of telecommunication technologies is developing at a rapid speed, need to keep pace with modern technological trends, to ensure its competitiveness in the market, every company must respond appropriately to innovations of the current requirements of the field.
Thanks to Future Seeds program, you have become acquainted with, have mastered, modern technologies that are in great demand in the field of information technologies and telecommunications. The knowledge you gain gives you a unique opportunity to find a suitable job in the rapidly developing technological world. Today, 5G, Cloud technologies, modern network technologies, data centers are considered to be the most important areas of development for organizations. You have already had the opportunity to participate in the most up-to-date course. So, be purposeful, use the opportunities given to you, develop the knowledge gained during the course, invest your potential in the development of the state և ICT sector.
I am convinced that you are the specialists who will fill the digital gap with confident steps and become a demanded specialist in the field. I wish you success, congratulations on participating in the course, and successful completion. "
Next, Lilit Bdoyan, Development Director of Arpinet Company, addressed her congratulatory speech to the participants.
"Congratulations on your successful completion of the Huawei-led free training course.
Today in our country there is a need for specialists with fresh ideas and innovative solutions. This program allows you to manage your time correctly, effectively, to reach greater heights, because your achievements are the success of our country, the confidence in our future.
We are confident that with the knowledge you have gained, we will not only lay the foundation for professional growth, but will also serve as an example for future generations.”
The closing ceremony was summed up by the Director of Huawei Technologies Armenia, Mr. Chen Liang.
“As the general manager of Huawei Armenia, I am so glad that you took the opportunity that offered to you with the program "Seeds for the future". The program that enabled you to expand your knowledge and skills in the area of information – communication technologies. This is especially important today, in the hyper – connected world of global and dynamic economy, exposed to constant changes, challenges and opportunities.
I am convinced that the seeds that were planted, will bring rich harvest in the future, for you and for the Republic of Armenia and the relations with the People's Republic of China. And the future is guaranteed because every fruit is a seed that waits to be planted for the future.”
Tuesday,
Karabakh Official Objects To EU Mediation
• Narine Ghalechian
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel, Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev meet in Brussels, May 22,
2022.
The European Union is unfit to be the lead player in brokering a settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a senior official in Stepanakert said on Tuesday.
“For us, the European Council (the EU’s top decision-making body) is not the
format where issues of the resolution of the Karabakh conflict should be
discussed because it is the OSCE Minsk Group which has an international mandate
to do that and which we believe must be the main format,” said Artak Beglarian,
the Karabakh state minister. “There is also the trilateral format of Armenia,
Russia and Azerbaijan which has demonstrated its effectiveness in practice.”
“I don’t think that the European Council has the potential and interests to play
a very serious role in a final and comprehensive settlement of the conflict,”
Beglarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The EU should focus on other issues such as protection of the Karabakh
Armenians’ “humanitarian rights” and preservation of their cultural legacy, he
said.
The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, has hosted three trilateral
meetings with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the last five months.
After the most recent meeting held on May 22, Michel said that Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to
“advance discussions” on a comprehensive peace treaty between their countries.
He said he told them that it is “necessary that the rights and security of the
ethnic Armenian population in Karabakh be addressed.”
Karabakh’s leadership denounced the latter remark, saying that the top EU
official undermined the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination by
portraying them as an ethnic minority not eligible for independent statehood.
Beglarian likewise suggested that Michel signaled support for Azerbaijani
control over the disputed territory.
Nagorno Karabakh Sate Minister Artak Beglarian, July 1, 2021
The previous Armenian-Azerbaijani summit held in Brussels on April 6 also raised
concerns in Stepanakert. Pashinian said on April 13 that the international
community is pressing Armenia to “lower the bar” on Karabakh’s status and
recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to
make such concessions, prompting strong criticism from Karabakh leaders.
Russia has criticized the EU’s mediation efforts, saying that they are part of
the West’s attempts to hijack Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks and use the
Karabakh conflict in its standoff with Moscow over Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, accused the EU last
week of trying to “wedge” into the implementation of Armenian-Azerbaijani
agreements brokered by Moscow. “We hope that Brussels will help implement them,
and not try to play geopolitical games,” she said.
Russia has co-headed the Minsk Group together with the United States and France
for nearly three decades. Russian officials say Washington and Paris stopped
cooperating with Moscow in that format after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Pashinian Sees Strong Growth Despite Ukraine War Fallout
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks in the parliament, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Tuesday that the Armenian economy should
expand by 7 percent this year contrary to far more modest growth forecasts made
by Western lending institutions following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
The International Monetary Fund insisted as recently as on April 29 that
economic growth in Armenia will slow down to about 1.5 percent due to the
fallout from the bloody conflict. The Armenian Central Bank forecast a virtually
identical growth rate in mid-March, three weeks after the start of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine.
The World Bank predicted an even sharper slowdown in a report released on April
11. The bank pointed to the South Caucasus country’s close economic ties with
Russia, its number one trading partner hit by sweeping Western sanctions.
Pashinian said, however, that he expects the domestic economy to perform much
better in 2022. He cited key macroeconomic data recorded by his government in
the first four months of the year.
According to the government’s Statistical Committee, GDP growth accelerated to
8.6 percent in the first quarter and continued unabated in April on the back of
sharps gains in the services and construction sectors. By contrast, Armenian
industrial output shrunk by about 7 percent year on year in March and rebounded
only marginally in April.
Addressing pro-government lawmakers in Yerevan, Pashinian indicated that he
hopes to keep up the growth in the months ahead with capital projects financed
from the state budget.
“My instruction and mood is that we must concentrate on the execution of our
budget, especially capital spending, so that we manage to meet our target of 7
percent economic growth,” he said.
Tadevos Avetisian, an opposition lawmaker and economist, dismissed Pashinian’s
projection, saying that spillover effects of the war in Ukraine have not yet
reached Armenia.
Avetisian downplayed the significance of official macroeconomic statistics for
January-April 2022. He argued that the Armenian economy contracted in the first
quarter of 2021.
Parliament Majority To Block Opposition Resolution On Karabakh
• Artak Khulian
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - Riot police guard a government building during an opposition
demonstration in Yerevan, .
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian reaffirmed on Tuesday the ruling Civil Contract
party’s plans to block an opposition resolution rejecting any peace accord that
would restore Azerbaijan’s control over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia’s leading opposition forces drafted the parliamentary resolution last
week as they continued daily demonstrations in Yerevan demanding Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian’s resignation. They will try to push it through the National
Assembly at an emergency session scheduled for Friday.
Simonian confirmed that the parliament’s pro-government majority will thwart the
session by boycotting it.
Like other Pashinian allies, Simonian accused the opposition Hayastan and Pativ
Unem blocs of exploiting the Karabakh conflict for political purposes. He also
said that the draft resolution is aimed at reinvigorating what he described as a
failed opposition campaign for Pashinian’s resignation.
“That [opposition] initiative is yet another attempt to find some way out of the
situation,” Simonian told journalists.
Armenia - Parliament speaker Alen Simonian speaks to journalists, .
The speaker, who is a senior member of Civil Contract, insisted that Pashinian’s
government will not cut any peace deals with Azerbaijan that will “not take into
account the opinion of Artsakh and Armenia’s citizens.” But he stopped short of
ruling out Yerevan’s recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
“They are afraid of doing that because they have given [Azerbaijani President
Ilham] Aliyev promises,” said Ishkhan Saghatelian, an opposition leader and
parliament vice-speaker. “They are afraid because one and a half years after the
war [in Karabakh] they have increased only the number of police and interior
troops, while the army has been downsized.”
The opposition accused Pashinian of planning to place Karabakh back under
Azerbaijani rule when it launched the street protests in Yerevan on May 1.
The parliamentary resolution proposed by it not only rejects such an option but
also says Pashinian’s government cannot make any territorial concessions to
Azerbaijan as a result of a planned demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border. It further says that the demarcation process must start only after Baku
frees all Armenian prisoners and withdraws Azerbaijani troops from Armenian
border areas occupied last year.
Armenia - An opposition supporter waves a Karabakh flag outside a goverment
building guarded by riot police, .
The protests continued on Tuesday, with hundreds of people led by Saghatelian
and other opposition lawmakers marching to a government building that houses
three Armenian ministries. The lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to meet with the
ministers of foreign affairs, education and justice and hear their opinion about
Karabakh’s status. They did not attempt to force their way into the building
heavily guarded by riot police.
The oppositionists’ attempt to break through a similar police cordon on Monday
triggered clashes between their supporters and security forces outside the
common building of four other government ministries. More than a hundred
protesters were detained as a result.
Nine of them remained under arrest on Tuesday. Law-enforcement authorities said
they could be prosecuted for participating in “mass disturbances.”
Saghatelian claimed that the authorities are “fabricating” such criminal cases
in a bid to suppress the opposition movement. “In this way they are trying to
isolate participants of the movement and intimidate other citizens,” he said.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
13:49, 25 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS. Red Wings airlines will start flying from Volgograd to Yerevan starting June 7th.
The roundtrip flights will be operated once a week on Tuesdays.
A screen capture of "Rerooted," premiering on June 4
Armenian-American composer Joseph Bohigian announced the premier of a new piece, titled “Rerooted,” which features the recorded testimonies of Syrian-Armenians who have resettled in the Republic of Armenia since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War.
The composition will receive a virtual premiere on Saturday June 4 at 11:00 a.m. PST. The piece will feature an original video by artist Kevork Mourad, born in Qamishli, Syria, and performed by the Argus Quartet.
“Rerooted” traces the journeys of over a dozen Armenian families through interviews conducted by the Rerooted Archive, from their expulsion from the homeland during the genocide in the early 20th century to the rebuilding of their lives and community in Syria, their displacement during the civil war in their adopted home, and their resettlement in the Republic of Armenia.
The piece explores the complicated process of “rerooting” a community that is defined by exile and the realities of being displaced over and over again.
According to Bohigian, his idea for the piece came from the increasing Syrian presence he saw in Armenia over the course of his trips there since 2012, whose Western Armenian culture reminded him of home when the “homeland” felt foreign. This grew into a collaboration with the Rerooted Archive, who shared audio from their over 200 interviews with Syrian-Armenians documented since 2017.
The virtual premiere of Rerooted with music by Joseph Bohigian and video by Kevork Mourad will be held on Saturday June 4 at 11:00 a.m. PST.
For more information on the Rerooted Archive, please visit the website, or contact Joseph Bohigian at [email protected].
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the digest of top news of protests in Yerevan as of 23.05.22:
After the negotiations, Michel made a statement informing that the first meeting of commissions on demarcation and security will be soon held on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Besides, the prime ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will soon be back to discussing the unblocking of regional communications.
The sides also discussed humanitarian issues in detail, including demining, the release of detainees, and the fate of those missing.
Armenian political analysts have noted that in Michel’s statement Nagorno-Karabakh is referred to as Karabakh, which is unprecedented and raises doubts that Armenia and Azerbaijan have already agreed in Brussels on recognizing Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
Later both Yerevan and Baku stated they have confirmed the structure of national delimitation commissions both to be headed by prime ministers. Meanwhile, following the Brussels meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called his Armenian and Azerbaijani colleagues to discuss border delimitation issues.
The soldier was given the necessary treatment, his condition is satisfactory.
“There is no final decision on the fate of the Armenian population of these settlements yet, said the ombudsman insisting that the Armenian population remain in those villages.
Now there are about 150 people in Berdzor and the school does not function. Before the Azerbaijani aggression in 2020, about fifteen hundred people lived there.
The purpose of the exercise is officially stated to be the development of cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries. Azerbaijan participates in the drill with tanks and other units.
Lawyer Arsen Babayan, a senior member of the opposition Homeland Party, has denounced Armenia’s riot police for unlawful detentions of opposition protesters in Yerevan on Monday morning.
Homeland Party chief secretary Khachik Galstyan, other party members and opposition activists were illegally detained while holding peaceful car protests in the capital and completely paralyzing traffic on all major roads leading to the city, he said.
“The police took unprecedented illegal actions: they dragged drivers out of their cars and detained them unlawfully, with the cars left on the streets,” Babayan wrote on Telegram, stressing the drivers did not commit any violations.
“Resorting to such illegalities, the police, in fact, restricted the constitutional right of people to hold peaceful assemblies,” the lawyer said, urging international organizations to respond to it.