Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Jeopardy! Regrets Armenia-Azerbaijan Clue

Kajoyan Gevork
GVWire
March 5 2021

 David Taub

 

 March 5, 2021

At the end of the Jeopardy! shows he is guest hosting, executive producer Mike Richards reminds viewers of the wisdom of the late Alex Trebek — pitch in to make the world “a kindler, gentler society.”

Some in the Armenian community appear to be questioning the show’s own adherence to that message after the airing of an episode this week.

A clue focused on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has some saying Jeopardy! got it wrong.

The show regrets the situation.

“Our clue stated that Armenia ‘has been accused of irredentism, the reclaiming of old territory.’ We didn’t mean to imply either that Armenian policy is actually irredentist, or that irredentism is necessarily something to be condemned,” Jeopardy! replied on Saturday morning, a day after GV Wire℠ posted the story.

“Jeopardy! clues often involve reducing complex situations to a brief summary, and we always regret it when our clues come across as oversimplified and even as inaccurate or insulting to any person or group,” the show said.

The show airs locally in Fresno on ABC 30 (KFSN).

An image of the clue that aired on Jeopardy!, upsetting a prominent Armenian group. (Image: screenshot)
“Jeopardy! clues often involve reducing complex situations to a brief summary, and we always regret it when our clues come across as oversimplified and even as inaccurate or insulting to any person or group.” — Statement from Jeopardy!

On the episode that aired on Thursday, the $1,600 clue in “Terms from History” upset Armenians.

“This country has been accused of irredentism, the reclaiming of old territory, over the Nagorno-Karabakh area in Azerbaijan,” the answer read.

“What is Armenia?” correctly questioned Jim Cooper, a screenwriter from Pacific Palisades.

For Armenian advocates, Nagorno-Karabakh is not considered part of Azerbaijan, but rather an independent land.

“The Armenian-American community is outraged by the blatant misportrayal of the Artsakh self-determination movement,” Alex Galitsky, spokesman for the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region said.

Last year, Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in armed conflict over the disputed region, also known as Artsakh. Thousands died. Many Central Valley politicians side with Armenia. Both countries have said they are in the right.

Four months after the war ended, issues remain over POW exchanges and information about landmines.

Sevag Tateosian, an Armenian advocate from Fresno and former candidate for the State Center Community College District, was in disbelief.

“As someone who has watched the program with my family for decades, I’m disappointed at the lack of research by program staff. We are seeing more misinformation coming from the Azerbaijani government to the point that they are even alleging Armenian churches in Nagorno-Karabakh are Albanian churches,” Tateosian said.

Galisky, the ANCA-WR spokesman, said the Jeopardy! clue had a bias against Armenians.

” It is profoundly disappointing to see an American cultural staple like Jeopardy! use its platform to sanitize the genocidal violence perpetrated against the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh by the Azerbaijani government – one of the most repressive and authoritarian regimes in the world today,” Galitsky said.

The Los Angeles-based Azerbaijanian consulate had a completely different response. They referred GV Wire℠ to a tweet from Consul General Nasimi Aghayev.

“One of America’s oldest and most watched television shows @Jeopardy asked this question yesterday. Illegal, @UN-condemned occupation & ethnic cleansing of #Azerbaijan’s #Qarabagh region by #Armenia was exposed again. Watched by millions of people. Truth always comes out,” Aghayev wrote.

[Note: this story was updated Friday evening to include the tweet response from the Azerbaijani consul general. The story was updated again Saturday with a statement from “Jeopardy!”]

Chess: Levon Aronian switches to US as new regime in Armenia cuts support

Kajoyan Gevork
The Guardian, UK
March 5 2021

Leonard Barden on chessChess

Bobby Fischer admirer Rex Sinquefield enlists the world No 5 in team for Moscow 2022

| Chess | The Guardian

Armenia’s world No 5, Levon Aronian, has upped sticks and announced that he will quit his native Yerevan and represent the United States in future. The 38-year-old, who memorably led his national team to Olympiad gold ahead of the Russian and American favourites at Turin 2006, Dresden 2008 and Istanbul 2012, will transfer to the billionaire Rex Sinquefield’s global centre at St Louis, venue of the annual elite Sinquefield Cup which Aronian has already won twice.

Aronian’s neighbours in town will include the world No 2, Fabiano Caruana (ex-Italy), and the world No 15, Leinier Domínguez (ex-Cuba), while his other new teammates will be the world No 7, Wesley So (ex-Philippines), the five-time US champion Hikaru Nakamura, and the rising star Jeffery Xiong, 20.

St Louis’s facilities include its chess club, open every day, and its World Chess Hall of Fame, fronted by a 14-foot tall king, state of the art computer programs, the legendary Garry Kasparov, and strong human trainers to help prepare for major events.

| Chess | The Guardian

The writing has been on the wall for Aronian since 2018, when his friend, chess fan, and at that time national president Serzh Sargsyan, was deposed. Sargsyan had brought the victorious Olympiad teams home on the presidential jet, innovated chess teaching in Armenian schools, and attended Aronian’s wedding to the popular Arianne Caoili, who died in a car crash a year ago in March 2020.

The new regime slashed the chess budget, including support for Aronianhimself such as access to a super computer, and suggested that at 38 his time was past. Ironically, this decision comes just a few months after Aronian defeated Magnus Carlsen and Caruana with the black pieces at Norway’s Stavanger elite tournament.

Criticism has been directed at Sinquefield, 76, for buying up top talent, but international transfers are officially accepted by Fide. For a 2700-rated elite grandmaster like Aronian, the USCF (in practice, Sinquefield) must pay Armenia €50,000.

One question for the future is whether Sinquefield will try to make a compelling offer to Alireza Firouzja, 17. The former Iranian prodigy is widely regarded as heir apparent to Magnus Carlsen for the world crown, and their growing rivalry may well be the major chess story of the next few years. For now, Firouzja is living contentedly in Chartres, France, and is expected to apply for French citizenship.

| Chess | The Guardian

Sinquefied’s chess hero is Bobby Fischer and when he found himself on the same flight as the US legend over the Pacific in the mid-1970s he asked Fischer to “keep on beating those Russians”. Fischer promised, but then withdrew from chess for nearly 20 years. Fischer’s companion was the former Fide president Florencio Campomanes, so it seems likely that they were en route or returning from the abortive Anatoly Karpov-Fischer negotiations for a world title match.

The money was there, but the sticking points were Fischer’s insistence that the series should be for the first to win 10 games, draws not counting, and that the contest should be for the “Professional World Championship”, an unacceptable title for Moscow. It is a pity that the two greats never even took the opportunity to play a few five-minute games together.

Russia v United States contests have often been memorable, starting with the 1945 radio match when the USSR’s crushing 15.5-4.5 margin launched half a century of Soviet supremacy. A year on, over-the-board in Moscow, the US lost but Samuel Reshevsky beat Mikhail Botvinnik on top board.

In New York 1954, watched by 11-year-old Fischer, the US had some good moments in defeat. In 1960, when the US students won gold on Soviet soil, Boris Spassky was blamed and banned from overseas travel.

Fischer’s four Olympiads brought three draws and a loss to Spassky, while his 1962 game sparked Botvinnik’s quip that the American had only spoken three words to him in his life. In 1960 as they were introduced Fischer pointed to himself and said “Fischer”. At Varna 1962 , they sat down to play, bumped heads and Fischer said “Sorry” and at the end of the game he said “Draw”.

Queen's Gambit ignites sales for Spanish chessboard maker
Read more

The 21st century Russia v US matches have been less memorable, but the meeting at Moscow 2022, the first Olympiad since lockdown, promises to be significant. The US team, with Aronian likely to be eligible, will be mostly from the world top 10, but Russia’s squad from the top 10-30 will be younger, ambitious and motivated.

Renewed interest in Fischer has been stimulated by John Donaldson’s recent 600-page book Bobby Fischer and His World which delves deeply into little-known areas of his life, and by the availability of videos of Fischer’s 1972 appearances on Carson Tonight and the Bob Hope Show.

Fischer also did a BBC interview (not currently viewable) on the eve of the match – This Little Thing between Me and Spassky. All of them show him good-humoured, articulate, and an evident hit with the audience, which provokes the thought that fans in the 1970s missed out not only on a potential classic Fischer v Karpov match, but also on Fischer as an outgoing television personality, with his 9/11 rant, his antisemitism, and his mental illness all still in the distant future.

3713: 1 Rd2! c6 2 Kf2! Kxf4 3 Ne6 mate.

Remains of two fallen soldiers handed over to Artsakh’s Service of Emergency Situations

Kajoyan Gevork
Panorama, Armenia
March 5 2021

Search and rescue teams of Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations found no casualties of the 2020 war or missing soldiers during their operations in former combat zones in southern regions on Thursday.

However, according to preliminary data, the remains of two fallen servicemen were handed over to the service at the assembly point of a military unit in Martakert region. The bodies are yet to be identified through a forensic DNA analysis, the State Service of Emergency Situations said.

Two days ago, the body of another soldier was transferred from the same place.

During the recent war, the area came under Azerbaijani missile attack.

The search continues in Hadrut and Varanda (Fizuli) regions today.

Since the start of the ceasefire, a total of 1,488 bodies of fallen troops and civilians have been found during the search operations.

Asbarez: Authorities Press Criminal Charges Against Opposition Leader Vazgen Manukyan

Kajoyan Gevork

March 3,  2021



Vazgen Manukyan

Homeland Salvation Movement Condemns “Politically Motivated” Move

Armenia’s law enforcement authorities on Wednesday have pressed criminal charges against Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for prime minister Vazgen Manukyan for public statements allegedly calling for the overthrow of Armenia’s constitutional order.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee spokesperson Rima Yeganyan told Armenpress on Wednesday that Manukyan allegedly made calls to usurp power and overthrow Armenia’s constitutional order during a rally at Yerevan’s Freedom Square on February 20.

“At any moment — it could be today, one week later or ten days later — we must be ready for revolting and taking power at lightning speed,” said Manukyan said during the February 20 rally, describing it as a “Plan B” for the opposition, which has been campaigning for Prim Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation since he signed the November 9 agreement that ended military actions in Karabakh, but stipulated the surrender of territories in Artsakh and Armenia to Azerbaijan.

“We will follow Plan A but must always be ready for Plan B,” said Manukyan during the February 20 rally.

In a statement, the Homeland Salvation Movement announced the reported indictment of Manukyan and said that he has been called to the Investigative Committee at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday.

Homeland Salvation Movement leader and Armenian Revolutionary Federation member Gegham Manukyan condemned the move, calling it “politically motivated” to silence the opposition.

Armenpress: “Russian weapons are the best” – Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan

Kajoyan Gevork

“Russian weapons are the best” – Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan

 12:03, 2 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. Vice Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has praised Russian weapons as being “the best” and also stated that Russia’s actions were “maximally allied” towards Armenia during the 2020 Artsakh War.

“I consider Russian weapons to be the best weapons,” Simonyan told reporters in parliament. “I consider that the actions of the Russian Federation during the war were maximally allied, and I consider that the problems which had emerged are no less well known also to our Russian colleagues,” he said.

Simonyan’s comments come a day after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a clarification over PM Pashinyan’s remarks on the Iskander missile systems.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Sarkissian again turns down PM’s motion on firing army chief, applies to high court

Kajoyan Gevork

Tweet
Save

Share

 15:48, 2 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian again rejected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motion on dismissing the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan.

The presidency said in a news release that Sarkissian attaches importance to the immediate resolution of the political crisis around the issue of Gasparyan’s dismissal, and that in this regard he’s held meetings with the Prime Minister, with Gasparyan himself and the high command of the military.

“The Prime Minister’s substantiations regarding not accepting the President’s objections on the draft decree on the dismissal were studied. Clearly, this situation is a result of existing disagreements – at times with highly personalized approaches – among the political and military figures in the war and post-war period,” the presidency said, noting that the president’s objections were also based on problematic interpretations in terms of law, the practice of applying the law and the potential gap in the law.

“In his previous statements the President stressed that a speedy and constitutional resolution of the issue is of primary importance for the security and stability of Armenia and Artsakh and is an absolute necessity for preservation of statehood, for preventing a further division of society, for restoring national unity and public solidarity, overcoming the uncertain situation and reaching a final solution. The President decided to not sign the draft decree. At the same time, pursuant to paragraph 4, clause 1, Article 169 of the Constitution, the President will apply with a separate application to the Constitutional Court with a request to determine the constitutionality of the 2017 November 15 law On Military Service and the Status of Servicemen. Faithful to his commitment, the President will continue steps aimed at further stabilizing the situation, and, by serving the institute of the president as a platform, is calling on everyone to negotiate to find a comprehensive solution to all existing problems.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Any development leading to increase in tensions must be avoided, Armenian Ombudsman says

Kajoyan Gevork

Tweet

 13:51,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan has made a statement, noting that “the situation in the country requires exceptional efforts from everyone to ensure solidarity and absolute respect for human rights”.

“The situation in the country requires exceptional efforts from all of us to ensure solidarity and absolute respect for human rights.

Any development which increases tensions must be avoided.

The authorities, first and foremost law enforcement agencies, are obliged to be guided exclusively by the rule of law and strictly ensure the protection of human rights in the country.

We need vigilance and solidarity more than ever in these responsible days”, the statement says.

On February 25 the General Staff of the Armenian Forces of Armenia issued a statement, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Cabinet.

In his turn Pashinyan commented on the statement, calling it as a “military coup attempt”. He invited all his supporters to the Republic Square to discuss the ongoing developments.




Armenian NGO founder: Karen Bekaryan, Ara Saghatelyan and Mher Avagyan are detained

Kajoyan Gevork
News.am, Armenia
Feb 19 2021
23:58, 19.02.2021

Karen Bekaryan, Ara Saghatelyan and Mher Avagyan are detained. This is what co-founder of Legal Way NGO Ruben Melikyan told reporters in front of the building of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia a little while ago.

“I just talked to Ara Saghatelyan’s attorney, who told me that investigative actions are underway. Ara Saghatelyan and Karen Bekaryan are detained under three articles, and Mher Avagyan is detained under one article,” Melikyan said, adding that the detainees’ attorneys have declared that they will file appeals against the lawfulness of the detention after the investigative actions.

“This is simply embarrassing, it is political persecution,” Melikyan concluded.

Earlier, masked officers of the NSS apprehended co-founder of Quartet Media, political analyst Karen Bekaryan in his house and took him to the NSS. The officers also conducted searches in the office of former chief of staff of the National Assembly Ara Saghatelyan and two other offices near that one, after which Saghatelyan was apprehended and taken to the NSS.

Attorney Mikayel Shkhimyan reported on his Facebook page that, in his presence, the officers of the NSS threw his client Mher Avagyan to the ground in the obscenest way and videotaped him.

Azerologist Anzhela Elibegova and constitutional expert Gohar Meloyan were also apprehended and taken to the NSS. They were released a little while ago.

2.3 magnitude aftershock occurs 17 km south from Yerevan

Kajoyan Gevork

Save

Share

 18:41,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The Seismic protection service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia recorded a 2.3 magnitude earthquake in the depth of 10 km on February 15 at 18:21 local time 17 km south from Yerevan.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the scale of the earthquake was 3 MMI and was also felt in Yerevan.

Parliament approves life imprisonment for high treason

Kajoyan Gevork

Save

Share

 16:46,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK)-authored bill on making high treason punishable by life imprisonment passed parliament overwhelmingly 109/1/2 at first reading.

The bill is authored by BHK lawmakers Iveta Tonoyan, Naira Zohrabyan and Vice Speaker Vahe Enfiajyan.

Enfiajyan said that the law will define life imprisonment for espionage for the enemy, conveying state secrets to a foreign state or foreign organizations or their representatives, assisting in conducting hostile activities, collecting and transferring information containing state secrets at the orders of a foreign intelligence agency.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan