Kajoyan Gevork – Page 31 – Armenian Directory & News

Robert Kocharyan: Person vying for post of head of state should undergo psychiatric exam

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

Panorama, Armenia

June 4 2021

Any man vying for the post of head of state should be required to undergo a psychiatric examination, Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, the leader of the Armenia electoral bloc, said at a meeting with his supporters in Tavush Province on Thursday.

His comments came in response to a citizen’s proposal for him to restore the death penalty in the country in case of coming to power since “there are about 100 people who deserve such a punishment.”

Robert Kocharyan said that he could not make such a promise, as Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe. Instead, he offered another solution for the issue, saying it should become mandatory for a person vying for the post of prime minister to undergo a mental health evaluation.

"When people get a driving license, they undergo such an examination, their vision is checked. Such an examination is required for the purchase of hunting rifles. Now the person topping the [electoral] list must be required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by law. What the current authorities are doing today does not fit in with the mind. If there are such phenomena in our reality, the problem is somewhere else. Such people simply should not be allowed to hold high posts,” he stated.

The prime ministerial candidate of the I Have the Honor bloc, Artur Vanetsyan, has also stressed the need for such an examination.

Caucasian Knot | Armenia blames Azerbaijan for attempts to erect border fortifications

June 5, 2021June 5, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

The Caucasian Knot, EU

June 5 2021

Armenian militaries have opened a warning fire to suppress Azerbaijani soldiers' attempts to build some fortifications near the border in the territory of Armenia, the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in May, the Armenian-Azerbaijani border conflict escalated. Yerevan stated that Azerbaijani militaries had penetrated the territory of the Syunik and Gegarkunik Regions of Armenia. In their turn, Azerbaijani authorities claim that border guards are only changing their deployment. The parties systematically report incidents at the border. The Azerbaijani MoD announced that on June 1, about 40 Armenian soldiers penetrated the Azeri territory; Armenia refuted this information.

After Azerbaijani soldiers tried to build some fortifications on the Armenian side of the border, Armenian militaries were forced to open a warning fire, the "Armenpress" News Agency reported citing the Armenian MoD.

Lately, Azerbaijani militaries have repeatedly tried to create fortifications on the border. Thus, on June 3, they used a tractor for earthworks, but after warning shots from the Armenian side they retreated, the "Arka.am" reports.

Nevertheless, Azerbaijani military servicemen continue some engineering work, the Armenian MoD has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 5, 2021 at 01:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Azerbaijani analysts exclude inaccuracies on USSR maps, ASFS reacts to reports on shootout at border, Two Armenian soldiers wounded in clash with Azerbaijani militaries, Azerbaijan accuses Armenian military personnel of massive border violation.

Source: CK correspondent

Source:
© Caucasian Knot

Armenia Central Bank managed to ensure financial system’s stability during 2020 crisis situation

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

17:04, 3 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. In 2020 Armenia’s financial system operated under unprecedented shocks and high uncertainty because of the pandemic and the war, President of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan said during a press conference today dedicating to the release of the 2020 Financial Stability Report.

“It was quite a difficult year for the financial system, but in honor of the system I want to note that it ensured the uninterrupted course of the financial intermediation, keeping the capacity of absorbing risks. In other words the system was capitalized and liquid, we in turn have implemented certain assistance programs as a result of which we passed 2020 normally, although the year was very difficult”, he said.

The CBA President stated that the economy has been negatively affected by the pandemic and the martial law since March 2020.

“The demonstrated shocks created major challenges also for the financial system, and as a result the Central Bank, in fact, pursued a goal to ensure financial intermediation or stability envisaged by the Constitution, which is being carried out by the continuity of financial intermediation”, the CBA chief said.

From this perspective, he said, they have tried to solve two group problems – the first one relating to growing loan risk in banks, and the second one relating to the pressures of banks’ liquidity.

“For solving the first problem we have launched anti-cycle measures for assisting the financial system, and for the second problem we have injected some liquidity”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenia bloc candidate says they seek to restore Ministry of Culture to implement their commitments and programs

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

Panorama, Armenia

“Choosing the Armenia bloc, you choose a living, constructive, cultural and creative Armenia,” Armenia bloc’s MP candidate Lilit Galstyan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun) Supreme Council, said on Saturday, presenting the key points of cultural policy outlined in the pre-election program of the alliance entitled “365 days: The future starts today.”

She stressed that for their team culture will also become a key state policy priority along with education and science.

“Three years ago, when the ministries of culture, sports and education were merged under the pretext of optimization, it was clear that the role of culture in national identity and statehood was not appreciated, but it was by no means a coincidence,” she said.

Galstyan attached importance to culture as one of the key tools to overcome the deep “crisis of values” in the Armenian society and form a citizen of Armenia, saying along with the language and faith, “culture is the main pillar of our identity.”

Lilit Galstyan noted that a breakthrough program for cultural development titled "Armenia-2026" will be adopted, taking into account the cultural capital.

The candidate said that they plan to restore the Ministry of Culture to implement the commitments undertaken and programs in the sphere of culture.

Caucasian Knot | Armenia asks ECtHR to protect soldiers captured by Azerbaijan

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

The Caucasian Knot, EU

Armenia demanded to take immediate measures to protect the lives of the soldiers who have been captured today on the border with Azerbaijan. The soldiers were conducting mining operations on the border line and they were actually kidnapped, Nikol Pashinyan, the acting Prime Minister of Armenia, declares today.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that today, six soldiers have been captured in the border Gegarkunik Region. According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Armenia, the soldiers were conducting engineering work on the territory of a military unit. Azerbaijan declared the detainees to be reconnaissance agents and added that they tried to cross the border to mine the road.

The Armenian government has addressed the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) with a request to ensure the protection of the rights of the Armenian soldiers taken prisoners by Azerbaijan today, the press service for the Armenian representative unit at the ECtHR reports. “The purpose of the appeal is to ensure the rights of prisoners of war (POWs) to life and freedom from torture, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights,” the TASS quotes the Armenia’s request to the ECtHR as stating.

Six soldiers, who were captured by Azerbaijan, were conducting the mining operation on the border line with the installation of warning signs, with no purpose of sabotage, acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan states. “The work was being conducted not for purposes of sabotage, but it was aimed to increase the level of protection of our border. Later, it was reported about the capture of our soldiers. Of course, all circumstances should be clarified, but this is actually not a capture. Our soldiers were kidnapped from the territory of Armenia,” the information agency “News.Am” quoted Nikol Pashinyan as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on at 02:38 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:

Azerbaijani and Armenian MoDs announce their versions of border incident, Six Armenian militaries taken prisoners on Azerbaijani border, Russia's and CSTO's reaction to border conflict triggers criticism in Armenia.

Source:
© Caucasian Knot

Mayor of Italy’s Ferrara city ready to initiate Artsakh recognition process

May 13, 2021May 13, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

Mayor of Italy's Ferrara city ready to initiate Artsakh recognition process

20:16, 10 May, 2021

YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS. Mayor of Ferrara city of Italy Alan Fabbri is ready to initiate Artsakh recognition process, establish sister-city relations with one of Armenia's cities and visit Armenia, Fabbri told ARMENPRESS in a video-interview.

Speaking about a performance on the Armenian Genocide at the city's theatre, and the reaction of Turkish embassy to it, the Italian Mayor said, ''We organized an event on April 24, where we commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Writer Antonia Arslan, as well as other intellectuals, participated in that performance. The next day we received a letter from the Turkish Ambassador to Italy. We sent it back because it's inadmissible for us. It was an attempt to intervene in the activities of the city, which is a city of free ideologies'', Alan Fabbri said, noting that it was disrespectful and totally unacceptable for them. ''Attempts to censor the opinions of others is unacceptable in our country'', he said.

To the question if he has any plans to establish sister-city relations with any Armenian city, Alan Fabbri said, ''Yes, sure. I assumed the position of Ferrar's Mayor in 2019 and of course, it would be a great pleasure for me to be able to establish such relations with one of the cities of Armenia’'. He expressed hope to visit Armenia some day.

To the question if Ferrara has any plans to recognize the independence of Artsakh, given that numerous Italian cities have already done so, and also the fact that 106 years after the genocide Turkey supported Azerbaijan against Artsakh, showing that remaining unpunished gives birth to new crimes, the Mayor of the Italian city said, ''Yes, definitely yes, without any fears or problems. I think it's not easy today to be European and Italian politician and openly support the Armenian side. But we will do that without any problems, we have always been and will be supportive to Armenia, because the Armenian people, also as a Christian nation, has a great value for us, and we will always stand with Armenia''.

MP presents border situation in Gegharkunik

May 13, 2021May 13, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

16:06,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament Taguhi Tovmasyan says she personally contacted the commander of the army corps encompassing her constituency of Gegharkunik Province to clarify the media reports on Azeri military advancements near the province’s village of Shorzha.

“The information that the Azerbaijani military has advanced in the Shorzha settlement’s section of the Vardenis region extremely concerned me as well,” she said in a statement. “I just spoke to our army corps commander. I’d like to relay his words that the Azerbaijani military hasn’t committed any encroachment against the Armenian state border in the Gegharkunik province, and hasn’t displayed any aggression against our province,” she said.

“And what did actually happen? After the signing of the November 9-10 ill-starred document, when Karvajar was surrendered, the Azeri military positioned in that parts wherever it was able to due to heavy snow. Now the snow has melted, they are advancing in the areas which are under their control, they are positioning in areas closer to us. The general underscored that [Azeri military] hasn’t and can’t advance even one millimeter from the Armenian state border.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Philanthropist, Asbarez Supporter Zaruhy Sara Chitjian Passes Away

May 9, 2021May 9, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

May 6, 2021

Zaruhy Sara Chitjian

Zaruhy Sara Chitjian, a long-time benefactor of Armenian studies programs and devoted supporter of the Asbarez Newspaper passed away on Monday, the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology reported.

As a longtime supporter of UCLA and the founder of the Research Program in Armenian Archaeology at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Chitjian lived to see US president Joe Biden officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Zaruhy Sara Chitjian, was born in Mexico City in 1933 to Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian, both survivors of the Armenian Genocide who had met and married in Mexico. In 1935 her family immigrated to the United States settling in Los Angeles where Sara spent the remaining of her life. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1956 from UC Los Angeles and a year later went on to earn her teaching credentials. She dedicated her life to education and spent the next 40 years teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

As a descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide she had a vested interest in preserving Armenian history and culture, but she had a unique appreciation for cultural heritage in general. As a young teacher at Monlux Elementary, Sara installed the same appreciation for culture into her young students who built models of early California, had visits for a geisha to learn about Japanese Tea Ceremony, and an Aikido sensei who gave demonstrations and taught about the philosophy of martial arts.

While teaching at Dixie Elementary School, she proposed to teach Armenian history and culture for the “Mini Classes” program of the school, forever changing the landscape of the curriculum throughout Los Angles by becoming the first teacher to raise awareness of Armenian culture through a formal course. She found exciting and creative ways to teach Armenian history and culture, such as having her students try to write their names in Armenian script as she read them about the origin of the alphabet. She also invited prominent Armenian scholars, such as Dr. Richard Hovannisian, Dr. Gerard Liberadian, and Dr. Oshin Keshishian to give guest lectures on topics ranging from art to genocide.

Sara’s numerous awards in recognition for her contributions and service as a teacher are clear testament to her dedication and passion for educating children. She successfully petitioned for the City of Los Angeles to make April 24th, the day of commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide, an excusable day of absence on the school district’s academic calendar. In the 1970s she created an Armenian Teacher Association and The Armenian Urban Center programs, the former trained teachers in providing aid to students who were fleeing the Syrian civil war and the latter developed scholastic curriculum for teaching about Armenian history and culture. In 2017, the Armenian National Committee – Western Region announced named one of its awards the Zaruhy “Sara” Chitjian Armenian Genocide Education Award in honor of Sara’s exemplary commitment to Armenian causes and dedication to preservation of the Armenian heritage through education and philanthropy. The award is present to outstanding educators of Armenian descent who have gone above and beyond to teach Armenian history, culture, and about the Armenian Genocide.

Sara believed strongly in the mission of public education and in memory of her parents and all survivors of the Armenian Genocide, she established the Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian Foundation to support Armenian Studies programs in higher education. She established four endowments at leading universities each with focus on a specific aspect of Armenian heritage. At University of Southern California (USC) her endowment supports research and study of the Armenian Genocide, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is the steward of the Chitjian Family archive, at the American University of Armenia (AUA) her endowment supports an entrepreneurship program, and at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) her endowment supports archaeological research in Armenia. Sara was an avid supporter and promoter of Armenian archaeology and cultural heritage. In 2006 she partially sponsored renewed excavations of Dvin, a capital and a large commercial city of early medieval Armenia, and at the world-renown Areni-1 cave site. In 2013, she donated a transformative gift to the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology that established the Research Program in Armenian Archaeology ensuring that UCLA has a leading presence in the field.

“In my father’s stories unity is the number one thing or finding a way to be united… ‘Here lies an Armenian boy who suffered all his life because of Armenian dis-unity’…he wanted that on his tombstone. He was telling the Armenian community ‘unite’ and we still don’t get that message…this is why I am doing what I am doing…not to forget.” Sara carried her father’s message of unity through all her life and works, preserving the memory of the past and promoting awareness was of outmost importance to her and the various programs she established ensure that the rich history and heritage of the Armenian people is preserved and passed on for generations to come.

Her memory and her life-long mission to spread knowledge and raise awareness of Armenian history and cultural heritage will be carried on in the work of the members of the Armenian Archaeology Lab whose research is made possible by Sara’s generosity. We are grateful for her unwavering support and will forever hold her dear in our memories.

For more information about the Sara’s legacy visit the Chitjian Foundation page.

Dwindling Armenians show Easter faith in Romania

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

CRUX

May 6 2021

In Associated Press, Church in Europe
Vadim Ghirda and Andreea Alexandru
May 6, 2021

Clergymen carry a structure symbolizing the tomb of Jesus Christ during a Good Friday religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, April 30, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

BUCHAREST, Romania — The ethnic Armenian population in Romania numbered more than 40,000 at the beginning of World War II but rapidly plunged during the country’s communist era, especially during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu.

The latest available census data shows a little over 1,300 people in Romania today identify as Armenian, many of whom welcomed the resumption of Orthodox Easter church services that were canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 100 people wearing mandatory face masks gathered inside and outside Bucharest’s Armenian Church, an imposing white building fashioned after the main Armenian Apostolic Church cathedral. Archbishop Datev Hagopian, the Iraq-born clergyman who since 2010 has served as primate of the Armenian church’s Romanian Diocese, led the Easter service.

An Armenian clergyman walks by an icon depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during a Maundy Thursday religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

An Armenian clergyman helps a child remove his shoes before the washing of the feet ritual during a Maundy Thursday religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021.(Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

Iraq-born Archbishop Datev Hagopian, left, prepares to symbolically wash the feet of a boy during a Maundy Thursday religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

Iraq-born Archbishop Datev Hagopian, left, symbolically washes the feet of a boy during a Maundy Thursday religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

A baby wanders around while Iraq-born Archbishop Datev Hagopian, center, leads a Maundy Thursday religious service, that included the symbolic washing of feet for a few children, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

Armenians, mostly traders, were an important presence starting in the 14th century in the region that makes up modern Romania, and the oldest historical evidence of their presence there dates from 967 AD. In 1700, they established Armenopolis, a city in the Transylvania principality that was then a part of Habsburg-ruled Hungary. The city is now called Gherla, while Transylvania is a region of central Romania.

After the systematic killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the early 20th century Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey — which U.S. President Joe Biden last month recognized as a genocide — many Armenians took refuge in Romania, where an orphanage was set up for up to 200 children who lost their parents.

Although Armenians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6, according to the Julian calendar, Armenian Apostolic Church leaders decided after the mass killings, in 1925, to observe Easter at the same time as the Orthodox Christian majorities in Romania and Greece. They believed the change would promote the integration of Armenians in the countries that accepted refugees and eliminate possible doubts about their Christianity.

Members of the Armenian community in Romania, wearing face masks, are reflected in an icon as clergymen carry a structure symbolizing the tomb of Jesus Christ during a Good Friday religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, April 30, 2021. Dozens gathered inside and outside Bucharest’s Armenian Church, an imposing white building fashioned after the main Armenian Apostolic Church cathedral. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

Members of the Armenian community in Romania, wearing face masks, stand during the Easter religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, May 1, 2021. The ethnic Armenian population in Romania numbered more than 40,000 at the beginning of World War II and rapidly plunged during the country’s communist era, especially during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

A man of the Armenian community in Romania holds a young child during the Easter religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

Members of the Armenian community in Romania, receive the holy light from Iraq-born Archbishop Datev Hagopian during the Easter religious service, at the Armenian Church in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP.)

Romania’s authorities relaxed COVID-19 restrictions for Orthodox Easter’s Holy Week. The celebrations started on Maundy Thursday, when Archbishop Hagopian symbolically washed the feet of a few children. On Good Friday, worshippers formed a line behind a flower- and icon-decorated structure carried by four men, symbolizing the tomb of Jesus Christ.

Easter Sunday meant sitting on benches inside the church for a service of nearly two hours and then waiting in line to receive Holy Communion from the archbishop.

Azeris destroy an Armenian cemetery in Taghavard community of Artsakh

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 Kajoyan Gevork

Panorama, Armenia

May 4 2021

Azerbaijani bandits have recently desecrated the cemetery in the community of Taghavard (the upper part of Taghavard) in the Martuni region of Artsakh, which passed under the control of Azerbaijan after the recent Artsakh war, Artsakh press news agency reports.

The head of Taghavard community Oleg Harutyunyan has told the news agency that the Russian peacekeepers have been informed about this fact and in the coming days will visit to see personally what happened.