Author: Karlen Baghdasarian

Armenpress: Sri Lankan president officially resigns — parliament speaker

Karlen Baghdasarian

Sri Lankan president officially resigns — parliament speaker

Save

Share

 09:48,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped down, and his official resignation letter has been received, Sri Lankan parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena told reporters in Colombo on Friday, reports TASS.

“Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped down legally from his post from the 14th of July 2022”, the Newsfist portal quoted him as saying. The speaker demonstrated the resignation letter, delivered to him from Singapore late on Thursday, via the embassy of Sri Lanka.

According to the speaker, the constitutional process of electing a new president will begin from this moment. During the transition period, the presidential duties will be performed by the prime minister, in accordance with the constitution.

The country’s parliament will convene on Saturday to discuss political settlement in the country.

The president tendered his resignation letter via email after arriving in Singapore from the Maldives. Rajapaksa fled his country and flew to the Maldives on Tuesday night after mass protests demanding his resignation broke out last Saturday. On Thursday, Rajapaksa departed to Singapore.

On July 9, protesters in Colombo captured the residences of the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. A total of 103 people were injured during the riots.

The popular discontent in Sri Lanka was caused by a sharp decline in living standards due to an ongoing economic crisis. In an interview to TASS, Wickremesinghe said that the state was going through the worst crisis in its modern history. According to the prime minister, Sri Lanka is experiencing an acute shortage of foreign currency, fuel, oil products, fertilizers, food for certain social groups, and medicines. In his opinion, it would take at least three years to fully recover from the economic crisis.

Armenian-Russian economic ties remain traditionally strong. Armenia-Russia parliamentary cooperation commission session

Karlen Baghdasarian

Save

Share

 18:40,

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. The 35th session of the inter-parliamentary commission on cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation was held on July 11 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Yuri Vorobyov and the Vice president of the National Assembly of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament of Armenia, in his welcome speech, Hakob Arshakyan emphasized the historical nature and special significance of traditional friendly relations between Armenia and Russia, based on centuries-old friendship and cooperation.

According to the Vice-President of the Armenian parliament, the Armenian-Russian parliamentary cooperation contributes to the development of allied relations between the two countries.

"The effective work of the interparliamentary commission on cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation gives a special tone to bilateral relations. Year by year, our committee expands its activities, becoming one of the most important factors of parliamentary cooperation," stressed Hakob Arshakyan.

According to him, despite the difficulties and challenges of the modern world, the economic ties between Armenia and Russia continue to remain traditionally strong. "Russia occupies the first place in the list of trade partners of Armenia," stated the Vice President of the National Assembly.

The Vice President of the National Assembly addressed the issue of the Upper Lars checkpoint, noting that it is the only land checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border that connects the two countries. “Unfortunately, in the last few months, we again encountered the problem of crossing the checkpoint. The damage was further tangible during the harvest season, which the producers and transporters faced," he said. Hakob Arshakyan emphasized that the Armenian National Assembly put forward the initiative to take the issue under parliamentary control and contribute to the solution of this problem. He expressed hope that with the efforts of parliamentarians, the problem of queues of heavy vehicles will receive a lasting solution.

The positions of our countries on fundamental international issues are close or coincide. Russia is one of Armenia's important strategic partners in the international arena," Hakob Arshakyan emphasized.

Concluding the speech, the Vice President of the National Assembly assured that the commission's work will be effective and its results will strengthen the strategic partnership and cooperation between Armenia and Russia.

Yuri Vorobyov, Deputy Speaker of the Council of the Federation of the Russian Federation, referred to the role of the Armenian Diaspora in Russia, the prospects for the development of economic and humanitarian relations between the two countries. According to him, about three million Armenians living in Russia contribute to the country's social life and economic progress. Yuri Vorobyov added that Russia's share in Armenia's foreign trade balance is also large. during the past year, the bilateral trade turnover exceeded 2.5 billion US dollars, an increase of almost 13 percent.

The participants of the session discussed issues related to the development of Armenian-Russian economic cooperation, as well as the role of the diaspora in the development of economic, cultural and educational bilateral ties. Reference was made to the cooperation between Armenia and Russia within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, including in the direction of accelerating the pace of information technology development and digitization.

The parties agreed to continue the work in the direction of developing possible mechanisms of support for the Armenian and Russian communities, to use the resources in the promotion of cultural interaction. The parties attached importance to the study of the Russian language in Armenia and the Armenian language in Russia, as well as to the activation of business contacts. The parties will support the initiative of creating a common digital platform for science and education, which is aimed at the accelerated and long-term development of personnel and technological potential.

At the suggestion of Hakob Arshakyan, the 36th session of the interparliamentary commission on Armenian-Russian cooperation will be held in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.

Armenian Church marks Feast of the Holy Translators

Karlen Baghdasarian
Panorama
Armenia – July 7 2022

The Armenian Apostolic Church on Thursday marks the Feast of the Holy Translators St. Sahak and St. Mesrop, Qahana.am reports.

Catholicos St. Sahak Partev and Archimandrite St. Mesrop (Vardapet) Mashtots are the founders of Armenian literature and ecclesiastical bibliography.

St. Sahak Partev was the elder son of Catholicos St. Nersess the Great, and the last Catholicos of the Armenian Church who descended from the lineage of St. Gregory the Illuminator.  He became Catholicos of All Armenians in 387 A.D., and reigned for an astounding 52 years. Being talented in music, and educated in the rhetorical arts, philosophy and linguistics, St. Sahak greatly contributed to the development of Armenian national culture. He was the strongest advocate for the creation of an Armenian Alphabet, and became its chief patron.

St. Mesrop Mashtots was born in 360 A.D. and studied the Greek and Persian languages from childhood.  He initially served as a scribe in the royal court. Leaving secular life behind, he becomes a monk and lives an ascetic life.  During his preaching of the Gospel, St. Mesrop feels the necessity to create a distinct Armenian Alphabet and to have the Holy Bible translated into Armenian. For in those years, the Bible was only available in Greek and Syriac. In Armenia, there once were ciphers, or symbols, which were used by the former pagan priests. Following the Great Conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity, the symbols fell into disuse, and the only remaining copy was in Mesopotamia with a bishop named Daniel the Syrian. Upon the order of King Vramshapouh, the symbols are brought to Armenia from Bishop Daniel. However, while teaching his new students by means of those symbols for a short period of time, Mesrop soon finds them to be lacking, as they were imperfect and defective. Together with his students he departs for Mesopotamia, and visits the cities of Antioch, Edessa, and Samosata, to conduct further research. In 404/405 A.D., St. Mesrop creates the Armenian Alphabet through Divine Grace.  For the first time in the history of the nation, the Armenian people had a specific and distinctive alphabet.

Following the creation of the Armenian Alphabet, St. Sahak and St. Mesrop opened a school for translators in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin). There they begin the translation of the Holy Bible into Armenian and did it so perfectly, that centuries hence the Armenian Translation is called the “Queen Translation of the Breath of God”. The first sentence translated from the Holy Bible is the opening verse of the Book of Proverbs: “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding”.

St. Mesrop Mashtots passed away in Vagharshapat, and was buried in his home village of Oshakan.  According to tradition, during the entire journey of transferring the remains of St. Mesrop to Oshakan, a canopy of light fell upon the pilgrims and accompanied them until they reached the tomb. The Church of St. Mesrop Mashtots, which exists to date, was built over his grave.

Armenia`s Human Rights Defender issues statement on violence in penitentiaries

Karlen Baghdasarian
ARMINFO
Armenia – July 6 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. The Office of the RA Human Rights Defender has issued a statement on the problem of recording torture of and violence against inmates of Armenia's  penitentiaries. 

Monitoring conducted by the Human Rights Defender proved the corrupt  practice of not recording traumas during medical examination of  inmates. The Office the RA Human Rights Defender has received  numerous complaints. 

The Office recorded such violations at the Abovyan penitentiary and  Armavir penitentiary. 

In its turn, the RA Ministry of Justice explains that relevant  records are included in the inmates' personal records. 

"The Human Rights Defender points out that this fact can by no means  be the basis for the staff of the Penitentiary Medical Center not  drawing up relevant records and not sending them to law-enforcers. 

"Properly recording any bodily injuries of inmates in their being  admitted to penitentiaries is mandatory as such persons remain in  custody even on their way to the penitentiary," the statement reads. 

The Office the RA Human Rights Defender has denounced the  unprofessional or incomplete recording of traumas received by  inmates, thee practice of not providing medical opinions on the  nature and causes of traumas received by inmates, not sending the  relevant records of alleged violence to law-enforcers.  In its annual  reports, the Office the RA Human Rights Defender raises the problems,  with detailed analyses and proposal to resolve them. 

"Once more we are calling on Armenia's Ministry of Justice and other  authorities to strictly supervise the mechanisms of properly  recording of instances of alleged torture and violence thereby  ensuring effective and comprehensive investigations and preventing  such offences," thee statement reads.

Turkish press: Turkey, Armenia move further toward normalization

Karlen Baghdasarian
 ANKARA JUL 04, 2022 – 11:02 AM GMT+3

Remains of the cathedral in Ani, are seen in eastern Turkey, only a few hundred meters from the border with Armenia, April 3, 2015. (AFP Photo)

Ankara and Yerevan are making progress in normalizing ties as the two countries recently agreed to open their land borders to other nationals who are not Turkish or Armenian citizens "at the earliest date possible," in another step before "full normalization.”

Ankara has been mending ties with several regional countries and has emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation, within this scope steps were also taken with Armenia, particularly following the latest Karabakh war between Baku and Yerevan.

Since then, both Russia and Azerbaijan have voiced support for closer ties between Turkey and Armenia, which is seen within the sphere of regional normalization.

Turkey had offered Armenia to host the first round of normalization talks between the two countries in the Armenian capital Yerevan, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday.

"We made an offer to Armenia, saying that we can have the first meeting in Yerevan, but Armenia is not ready for this yet due to domestic pressure," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told a joint news conference of foreign and interior ministers of Turkey and Austria in the capital Ankara.

Çavuşoğlu said that the Armenian diaspora was divided over the Turkish-Armenian normalization process, adding that there were some protests by extremist groups on Armenian streets.

"We thank Austria (for hosting the normalization talks), but why shouldn't the next meetings be held in Turkey or Armenia?" he questioned.

The Turkish foreign minister also reiterated that his country is in consultation with Azerbaijan at every stage regarding the normalization process.

"After all, we want to continue the process gradually," Çavuşoğlu said. "On the other hand, we support the normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he added.

On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that both countries also agreed to start direct air cargo trade between each other as soon as possible, according to a written statement following the talks.

The land border between the two neighbors has been closed since 1993, in the wake of clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Turkey and Armenia restored diplomatic contacts last December after they were suspended for years.

In January, special envoys from Ankara and Yerevan began talks to fully restore ties "without preconditions."

Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, the special representatives for the normalization, held their fourth meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

The Turkish and Armenian officials also "discussed other possible concrete steps that can be undertaken toward achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization between their respective countries," it added.

"Finally, they reemphasized their agreement to continue the normalization process without preconditions," the statement said.

The first round of normalization talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released after that meeting.

The Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24, and the third meeting was held on May 3, also in the Austrian capital.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.

Azerbaijan's victory that ended the occupation of its Karabakh region, previously known as Nagorno-Karabakh, also helped pave the way for the normalization between Turkey and Armenia.

Relations between the two former Soviet countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost three decades.

Government nominates Seda Safaryan for Constitutional Court judge

Karlen Baghdasarian

Save

Share

 15:27,

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia nominated today attorney Seda Safaryan for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court.

Presenting the draft decision at the Cabinet meeting today, Deputy Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan said on May 31 the President of the Constitutional Court submitted a letter to the PM’s administration informing that the term of office of CC judge Arevik Petrosyan ends on December 10.

The judge of the Constitutional Court will be elected by the Parliament in a closed voting.

Supreme Judicial Council will not bring Gagik Jhangiryan to disciplinary responsibility

Karlen Baghdasarian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) of Armenia will not bring to disciplinary  responsibility acting Council Chairman Gagik Jhangiryan. Press  secretary of the SJC Lilit Shaboyan wrote on her Facebook page.

According to the source, on June 30, a commission formed for  discussion with the participation of SJC members Grigor Bekmezyan,  David Khachaturyan, Mesrop Makyan, Ani Mkhitaryan and Sergey  Chichoyan decided to refuse to initiate proceedings to bring Gagik  Dzhangiryan to disciplinary responsibility.

The decision of the commission notes that it is impossible to  initiate proceedings to bring to disciplinary responsibility a judge  or a member of the Supreme Judicial Council on the basis of an edited  video recording.  The Commission stated that the requirement  regarding the one-year term for bringing to disciplinary  responsibility was also violated. The recording was made on February  20, 2021, but  former Chairman of the SJC Ruben Vardazaryan was made  it public only on June 20, 2022, i.e. one year and 4 months after the  alleged violation.  

It should be noted that on June 20, the temporarily dismissed  Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Ruben Vardazaryan presented  a scandalous recording of a conversation with Acting Chairman of the  Supreme Judicial Council Gagik Jhangiryan and a member of the Supreme  Judicial Council Stepan Mikayelyan, which took place on February 20,  2021. In this conversation, Jhangiryan persuades Vardazaryan to leave  his post, while asking him to do it "for good, quietly and  peacefully." He advises to think about the future of children, family  and assures that if he leaves, then all criminal cases initiated  against him will be terminated. "I guarantee you this as long as I'm  alive," according to the recording Jhangiryan said.  After the  recording was published, the Prosecutor General's Office announced  that the recording of the conversation between Gagik Jhangiryan,  member of the SJC Stepan Mikayelyan, and Ruben Vardazaryan, had been  sent to the Investigative Committee for study.  On June 23, the  Supreme Judicial Council decided to terminate the powers of  chairman   of the SJC Ruben Vardazaryan. Vardazaryan's powers as head of the   SJC were suspended in April 2021 on the basis of a criminal case  brought against him for interfering with the administration of  justice. 

How pro-Artsakh advocacy helped me find my community voice

Karlen Baghdasarian
 Christian Yerelekian Opinion 0

Christian Yerelekian (second from right) with fellow 2022 ANCA Leo Sarkisian Interns Natali Matossian, Victoria Topalian, and Gregory Codilian just prior to a Congressional meeting advocating for pro-Artsakh/Armenia priorities.

Since I was old enough to understand the immense historical and present-day struggles that Armenians face, I have stood for the Armenian Cause. This passion has been fostered by my parents, who have always encouraged me to use my skills to spread and share Armenia’s rich culture, history, and present-day realities with those around me.

I did not attend Armenian schools, and a vast majority of my fellow students were not even remotely familiar with Armenia, much less Artsakh. This only invigorated my passion for promoting the Armenian Cause.

When Azerbaijan and Turkey attacked Artsakh and Armenia in September 2020, I knew that educating fellow students about the situation and rallying their support for Artsakh’s just cause was more important than ever. The ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenian population was happening before our eyes, and it was simply going unnoticed across the world.

This is when I took my parents’ advice to harness my writing and speaking skills to share Artsakh’s message. I had already been discussing global issues in a podcast I had started in early 2020, called “You’ll See Why with Christian Yerelekian.” That was my perfect platform to do a deep dive into the Artsakh. In early October, I published “A Conversation about Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Battle for Survival,” an episode that included an interview with Armenian National Committee of Armenia (ANCA) executive director Aram Hamparian.

I sent my podcast to my high school headmaster, as well as many of my teachers and fellow students, who all informed me that before listening to my episode, they had no idea that the Artsakh crisis existed, thanked me for sharing such a critical humanitarian issue and asked me how they can support and take action. This was just one episode, shared locally, but it was making a difference in relaying the Armenian story – one listener at a time. This left me inspired to take my pro-Armenian advocacy to the next level.

Fast forward to my freshman year at the University of Notre Dame. As much as I love my university and our South Bend community, the Armenian demographic is incredibly small. Our Armenian Students Association (ASA) consists of around eight active members. But, I am not discouraged. As I enter my second year of college, as ASA president, my goal is to create as much awareness about Armenian issues as possible – both on campus and beyond – to encourage strong and active support for the Armenian homeland. We’ll be bringing speakers to campus, promoting joint allyships with other minority student associations and seeking to get the university itself more active with Armenia and Artsakh.

Majoring in political science and Chinese language with a minor in business economics, I look to target my research on Armenia’s current economic situation with a special focus on the trade relationship between Armenia and China. This topic is extremely relevant, especially now, given the Ukrainian-Russian War and the implications that it will have and is already having on Armenia’s economy. I’m also interested in exploring the dynamics of Armenia’s growing IT sector leveraging that market to build partnerships in Europe and beyond.

At the same time, I am looking to strengthen my pro-Armenian advocacy skills through the ANCA’s Leo Sarkisian Summer Internship. Mr. Hamparian had mentioned the opportunity when preparing the Artsakh War podcast episode. I was thrilled to be chosen for the program. It’s only been only a few weeks, and I’ve noticed that participating in congressional meetings has taught me how to speak with confidence and clarity on pressing community concerns. It’s also sparked an interest in working on Capitol Hill and even seeking elected office—shaping sound domestic policies and a principled US foreign policy, including the expansion of US ties with Armenia and Artsakh.

I am confident that this summer’s experience with the ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship will help me be a better campus leader in the short term, expand career options post-graduation, and give structure to my lifelong passion for advancing the Armenian Cause. Together with my studies — and the support of my family — I know I’m on the right path to achieve my career goals while helping secure justice for Artsakh and the Armenian nation.

  •  Bio
  •  Latest Posts
Christian Yerelekian is a rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, studying political science, business economics and Chinese language and literature.


Strengthening link between workforce and education an ongoing imperative – deputy minister

Karlen Baghdasarian

Save

Share

 13:18,

YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS. Competitive workforce is one of the most important preconditions for the development of the economy of the country and the community, therefore, the government of Armenia has set development of human capital, creation of jobs, and targeted and social development as a priority, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ruben Sargsyan said during the Armenia Workforce Development Activity first national conference in Yerevan.

He said the ministry has adopted a policy of continuous development of human capital aimed at boosting labor and high-productivity employment.

“The ministry’s new draft strategy highlights more the conscious choice of profession, the promotion of employment, as well as the introduction of career development and effective training systems”, the deputy minister said, adding that the employment strategy will be adopted this November-December and will consist of several components.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Artur Martirosyan said the strengthening of connection between workforce and education is the continuous imperative in any country of the world. “Our task is to reach the point that the investments being made in education to have their direct affect also on the country’s economic life. There is an inter-agency stable dialogue in terms of enhancing the education-workforce link”, he said, adding that in 2021 the government of Armenia approved the state criteria for general education which is offering new content solutions, including introduction of a professional orientation institute in all schools of the country which will provide students with an opportunity to choose their future profession.

In his turn Deputy Minister of High Technological Industry Gevorg Mantashyan said that their ministry is open to all those people who want to participate in the country’s technological change. “Not only the abilities, but also knowledge are important. Making great changes is difficult alone”, he said.

Armenia Workforce Development Activity (AWDA) is a five-year program, designed to provide the youth and women with the opportunities to improve their skills in line with labor market needs and find employment in the fields of ICT/high-tech, agriculture, tourism and hospitality. The program is funded by the US Agency for International Development and will be implemented by Enterprise Incubator Foundation with Armenian National Agrarian University, Fund of Armenian Relief and CIVITTA Armenia.