Author: Karlen Baghdasarian

In memory of victims of Armenian Genocide bells will ring in all churches of AAC

Karlen Baghdasarian
Arminfo, Armenia

ArmInfo. On April 24, a series  of events dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide  in the Ottoman Empire will be held in the Mother See of Etchmiadzin.

So, according to the Chancellery of the Mother See, in memory of the  holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide on April 24 at 10:30 local  time, Holy Divine Liturgy will be held in Holy Etchmiadzin and in all  the churches of the AAC. It will pass behind closed doors without  parishioners.  On the same day, at 12:00, bells will ring in all the  churches of the AAC in memory of the victims of the Armenian  Genocide.

It should be noted that this year in connection with the coronavirus  pandemic, mourning events on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of  the Armenian Genocide were canceled. 

Andranik Kocharyan: In terms of pandemic, some political forces are trying to create a false political agenda in the country

Karlen Baghdasarian
Arminfo, Armenia

ArmInfo. In terms of pandemic, some political forces are trying to create a false political agenda through fakes. Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Defense and  Security, MP from the "My Step" faction Andranik Kocharyan stated in  the parliament. 

He noted that due to the spread of coronavirus infection in the  country, when virtual reality occupies one of the main places in the  life of the public, these political forces are trying to take  advantage of the current situation. 

<That is, real people are replaced by fakes, and the agenda presented  by the latter has nothing to do with public sentiment.  Fakes write  articles, , which serves the aforementioned political forces,  distributes them, thus creating a false public opinion>, Kocharyan  emphasized.  He noted that the will of the people is a priority in  Armenia. <Near such values as the army, the life of our soldiers, the  homeland, a false system of values is emerging, which is  unacceptable. A false reality is emerging, but I want to assure you,  it will collapse as soon as possible>, the MP concluded. 

Works carried out to transport Armenian citizens to homeland

Karlen Baghdasarian
Aysor, Armenia

The Commandant’s office and Foreign Affairs Ministry are dealing with the transportation of passengers from Moscow and solve their issues, Armenia’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan said at press conference today.

The minister said during the past week at least three planes arrived in Armenia, one from Belarus, two from Moscow.

“The passengers were moved to the quarantine place, mainly in Yerevan and not only,” he said.

Torosyan said currently works are being carried out to organize other flights, the details of which will be reported by the MFA.

Armenia health minister warns MPs against early restriction changes due to community transmission

Karlen Baghdasarian

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YEREVAN, APRIL 10, ARMENPRESS. Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan has warned lawmakers at the parliamentary committee on health and social affairs against any potential changes or lifting of the current nationwide restrictions only because of the decreasing daily new cases.

“We cannot say that the transmission is stopping and is going away 100%. In the past, we were having 50 cases from a single cluster, for example 50 workers of a large factor, now we are having 16, 20 or 30 cases but from 10 or 20 different clusters. Therefore, the transmission of the virus in itself has gone out of control, but our objective is to find each and every potential case and carry out the same actions like before – test, confirm, isolate the direct contacts, treat and discharge. We must do this as much as we have the power to do it. When we will all, nationwide, get exhausted, that is only when we will be able to lift some actions and we will leave only the testing and treating, we won’t do the isolation, because it will be meaningless during a much higher outbreak,” Torosyan said.

Torosyan warned the lawmakers that the slowing growth in new cases is not a sufficient reason to lift the lockdown. He cited the practice of other countries as well.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Armenia has reached 937, of which 149 have recovered and 12 have died.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Music: Soprano, opera soloist Gayane Grigoryan passed away

Karlen Baghdasarian
Panorama, Armenia
April 9 2020
19:55 09/04/2020

Soprano Gayane Grigoryan passed away on Thursday, the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Armenia reported. Grigoryan who had lived  and performed in France for most of her career passed away aged 60. 

“The theatre staff members express their deepest condolences to the family members and relatives of Gayane Grigoryan,” the message issued by the Theatre said. 

73 Armenian citizens transported from Turkey through Georgia

Karlen Baghdasarian
Public Radio of Armenia
April 9 2020


As a result of negotiations with the Georgian authorities, it became possible today to provide a corridor through Georgia for the transportation of 73 Armenian citizens from Turkey, the Armenian Embassy in Georgia informs.

The Embassy coordinated the transportation of the two buses with Armenian citizens through Georgia to Bagratashen checkpoint, providing the passengers with food and basic necessities, as well as providing disinfection during the two stops.

Obituary for Past Grand Commander Charles J. Tateosian

Karlen Baghdasarian
Panorama, Armenia
April 6 2020

Society 14:33 06/04/2020 Armenia

Charles J. Tateosian of Walnut Creek, California was born in Reedley, California on July 21, 1922 and grew up on the family farm at the base of Mt. Campbell, later moving to Selma, California. The son of John and Rebecca Tateosian, Charlie was the second of three children. Charlie passed away on March 31, 2020 and was preceded in death by his parents and older sister Virginia Tateosian. Charlie is survived by his wife Mary Tateosian, sister Ruby Topoozian and her husband Joe of Selma, children Cathy Tateosian of Arcata, Lisa Tateosian of Oakland, and David Tateosian and his wife Mae Go and their son Harrison Tateosian of Martinez, the Knights and Daughters of Vartan reported.

When World War II broke out in 1941, Charlie interrupted his college education and enlisted in the US Navy in 1942, serving as a Lieutenant (jg) first in the Atlantic and then the Pacific. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1947 and joining the ranks of the Cal Bear Alumni, Charlie then began a 40 year career with Pacific Gas & Electric playing a key role in one of PG&E’s great endeavors – bringing natural gas from the Southwest and Canada to serve a growing California. After retiring in 1987 as the Manager of Gas Systems Design, Charlie started his second career as a consultant through Gas System Engineering.  Charlie was a California Registered Professional Engineer (Mechanical) and served on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers B31.8 Code Committee for natural gas piping systems, retiring a few years ago as their longest serving member. 

Charlie was heavily involved in the Bay Area and California Armenian community, serving on the Building Committee and Parish Council for St. John’s Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco, as well as the Western Diocese Diocesan Council and Foundation.  Charlie was also very active in the Knights of Vartan, an Armenian fraternal organization. He joined Knights of Vartan Inc. Daron Lodge in 1953. Being an active member he served as the Commander of Daron lodge in 1959-1960, Grand Recorder in 1993-1995, Grand Commander in 1995-1997, and Grand Recorder again in 1999-2000. He was chosen as the Man of the Year of the Knights of Vartan in 2005.

In 1991, Armenia became a free and independent country again and Charlie with his wife Mary undertook many trips to Armenia to support the Knights and Daughters of Vartan school projects, the Bay Area Friends of Armenia soup kitchens, as well as advising on the development of Armenia’s own natural gas infrastructure.

In April 7, 1995 then Grand Recorder Charlie Tateosian joined Past Grand Commanders Everett Berberian and Ara Avakian to the event of renaming the Knights of Vartan school #106 (then #1). Up to these days the Knights and Daughters of Vartan are actively involved in improvements of the Knights of Vartan #106 school building.

In addition to travel to Armenia, Charlie and Mary traveled throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and South America. Charlie’s hobbies included photography, Armenian history, and technology.

A private graveside service will take place on April 8 at Massis Ararat Cemetery in Fresno, CA.  To protect family and friends from the coronavirus, there will be no viewing and the service will be restricted to immediate family only.  A memorial service will be held in the future when conditions allow.

The Knights of Vartan Inc. is a fraternal leadership and service organization of Armenian men dedicated to safeguarding and perpetuating the Armenian heritage and cultural traditions. Its membership represents the spectrum of the leadership of the Armenian community. It was founded in 1916 in Philadelphia and is based the United States with 23 local chapters which support Armenian causes around the world.

For more information about the Knights and Daughters of Vartan, visit .

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/04/06/Charles-Tateosian/2269377

Forecast: The time will tell when the bubble burst into which Artsakh authorities turned themselves.

Karlen Baghdasarian
Arminfo, Armenia
April 6 2020

ArmInfo. The situation in Artsakh following the March 31 elections is rather strange, it  closely resembles the situation in Armenia following the 2017  parliamentary elections.  A similar opinion was expressed by ArmInfo  Director of the Armenian Center for National Strategic Studies Manvel  Sargsyan.

"The authorities of Artsakh are still hoping, in my opinion, rather  presumptuous that they will be able to ascribe victory to themselves  after the second round of elections. Artsakh residents didn't allow  this to happen after the first round. I am convinced that they will  never allow anyone to wrest their consent to the unjustified  intentions of the authorities. The same will happen when the bubble  bursts into which the Artsakh authorities themselves have turned  themselves, time will tell, "he stressed.

As a result of the presidential elections held in Artsakh on March  31, not one of the candidates won 50% of the vote. With the most  votes in the first round, Araik Harutyunyan – 49.6% and Masis  Mayilyan – 26.7% will have a second round, which, according to the  Constitution, will be held two weeks after the first.  However, on  April 5, Masis Mayilyan called on the Artsakh people to boycott the  second round, making it impossible to carry out the threat of the  spread of the coronavirus.

The parliamentary elections ended with the passage of five political  forces in the Artsakh National Assembly. These are the parties "Free  Homeland", "United Homeland", "Justice", ARF and "Democratic Party of  Artsakh".

Sargsyan recalled that his spokesman announced the victory of  Harutyunyan on the night of April 1, which was even accompanied by an  attempt at a festive fireworks display in Stepanakert. And quite a  few believed that falsification of the election results would allow  Harutyunyan to complete them in the first round, which his supporters  did not hide. Nevertheless, by two o'clock the CEC, citing  preliminary data, announced that Harutyunyan did not have 0.8% of the  vote to win. And, accordingly, announced the second round.

The general perplexity, according to the analyst, provoked  Harutyunyan's instant and unconditional agreement with the  preliminary data of the CEC, which he did not even try to  double-check. Thus, however, only at first glance, the situation  following the election results looked rather mysterious. In reality,  people who tried to end the elections in the first round, using an  administrative, financial resource, deliberately misinforming and  intimidating voters, simply found themselves in an unusual situation.   "All these plans were thwarted by the citizens of Artsakh with their  active civic stance. It was they who clearly demonstrated the  impossibility of dictating their conditions to them by people from  the past. The latter belatedly realized that intimidation, pressure  on citizens through an administrative resource to ascribe to  themselves the victory in the elections today is no longer enough. In  in the most terrible dream, these people couldn't see the situation  when there seemed to be a vote, but it was impossible to declare  victory.  thoughtful attitude towards citizens, especially during the  election period, "the analyst concluded. 

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 04/07/2020

Karlen Baghdasarian 
                                        Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Coronavirus Phone Tracking Launched In Armenia
April 7, 2020
        • Naira Bulghadarian
        • Gayane Saribekian

Armenia -- A deserted street in the center of Yerevan, April 7, 2020.

Armenian authorities have started accessing and using personal data from 
people’s mobile phones to fight against the coronavirus epidemic, a senior 
official said on Tuesday.

Armenia’s parliament controversially allowed them to track movements, phone 
calls and text messages of people infected with the virus as the number of 
COVID-19 cases in the country spread rapidly last week. Opposition lawmakers as 
well as civic activists condemned the move, questioning its effectiveness and 
voicing concern about privacy violations.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government has repeatedly ruled out using 
smartphone tracking for political purposes. It maintains that the extraordinary 
measure will make it easier for the authorities to trace people who have come 
into contact with COVID-19 patients.

Such people are to be identified by an electronic system using phone location 
and usage data.

According to an aide to Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, who coordinates 
the government’s response to the epidemic, the new monitoring mechanism has 
already been launched.

“All personal data remains on mobile phone operators’ servers,” the official, 
Bagrat Badalian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “We send them a phone number 
which is of interest to us; namely a patient’s phone number. The special 
software then determines the circle of their contacts.”


Armenia -- A woman wearing a face mask crosses a deserted street in Yerevan, 
April 7, 2020.

“When that circle is determined we receive the phone numbers of only those 
individuals who have potentially been in contact with the patient,” he said, 
adding that they are then ordered to self-isolate.

“If they leave their self-isolation sites information about that automatically 
goes to the police, which either telephones them or send a special group of 
officers to find out the reasons for their departure,” explained Badalian.

The isolated persons, the official went on, are also monitored by 
epidemiologists who may refer them to policlinics for coronavirus tests. “If a 
person is in serious need in terms of food supplies … that information is 
collected and passed on to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs so that it 
supplies them with food,” he said.

Badalian did not say how many Armenians exposed to infected persons have been 
identified through phone tracking so far.

The daily numbers of new coronavirus cases registered in Armenia have fallen in 
the last few days. The Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that 20 people 
tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of 
COVID-19 cases to 853.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced on Monday that as part of their efforts 
to stem the spread of the virus the authorities are also planning to 
significantly expand COVID-19 testing. He said the daily number of such tests, 
which has varied between 200 and 400 in the last two weeks, will like reach 
1,000 by the end of this week.


Armenia -- Coronovirus testing at a hospital in Yerevan, April 7, 2020.
Medics hailed these plans, saying that the more extensive testing will ascertain 
the current incidence of the disease and the effectiveness of a nationwide 
lockdown and other measures taken by the authorities.

“A larger number of tests will show what is really happening in our country and 
whether or not it’s worth continuing mass testing,” said Arman Badalian, an 
epidemiology lecturer at Yerevan State Medical University.

Hasmik Ghazinian, a senior doctor at Yerevan’s Nork hospital treating the 
largest number of coronavirus patients in Armenia, agreed. “I welcome that 
decision because that’s how we can first and foremost determine how many 
infected people we have,” she said.

Government officials say that 60,000 test kits purchased from China will be 
delivered to Armenia later this week. The authorities also expect to receive 
thousands of more test kits from Russia.




Kocharian Again Sues Pashinian

        • Marine Khachatrian

Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian (second from right) and his lawyers 
attend a court hearing in Yerevan, January 9, 2020.

Armenia’s jailed former President Robert Kocharian has again filed a defamation 
lawsuit against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, it emerged on Tuesday.

A lawyer for Kocharian, Hayk Alumian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that his 
client is seeking 2 million drams ($4,000) in damages and the retraction of what 
he regards as false and slanderous claims made by Pashinian.

Alumian did not specify which of Pashinian’s recent statements prompted the 
lawsuit.

The premier again accused Kocharian as well as another ex-president, Serzh 
Sarkisian, and other former Armenian officials of having “plundered” Armenia 
when he campaigned for a constitutional referendum in early March. He did not 
immediately react to the news of the lawsuit.

Kocharian already sued Pashinian for slander in September 2018 two months after 
being first arrested on coup charges. He withdrew the suit in June 2019 after 
Pashinian clarified through a lawyer that he did not publicly accuse the 
ex-president of “organizing killings” during the 2008 post-election violence in 
Yerevan.

The coup charges leveled against Kocharian stem from that unrest which left 
eight opposition protesters and two police servicemen dead. The ex-president was 
also charged with bribe-taking a year ago. He rejects all charges as politically 
motivated.

The latest defamation suit was announced four days after Kocharian was taken 
back to Yerevan’s Kentron prison after spending more than three weeks in 
hospital. His lawyers renewed their demands for his release from custody, saying 
that the 65-year-old will risk being infected with coronavirus in the prison. 
Law-enforcement authorities countered that they are taking necessary 
precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus among prison inmates.




All Foreigners Banned From Entering Armenia

'
Armenia - The Zvartnots international airport in Yerevan.

Armenia has banned virtually all foreign nationals from entering the country due 
to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

The Armenian government imposed last month such a ban only on the citizens of a 
few dozen states, -- notably China, Iran, Italy and Spain -- that were hit 
hardest by coronavirus.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the government decided to 
extend the travel ban to the entire world because virtually all countries have 
recorded coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

In a statement, the ministry said that the ban will not cover those foreigners 
who are married to Armenians or have Armenian residency permits as well as 
foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations. But it 
cautioned that they all will have to self-isolate or be put in quarantine 
immediately after entering the country.

Armenia’s land borders with neighboring Georgia and Iran were closed for travel 
in March, and virtually all airlines stopped flying to Yerevan and Gyumri by the 
beginning of this month. The latest government measure may therefore change 
little in practice.

According to the Foreign Ministry statement, the government expanded the travel 
ban on April 3 just before the spread of coronavirus in Armenia began slowing 
down.

The Armenian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that 20 people tested 
positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of 
COVID-19 cases to 853. Twenty-five other Armenians recovered from the virus in 
the same period, according to the ministry.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian seized upon these figures to express “cautious 
optimism” about the government’s efforts to contain the epidemic. He again said 
that the government will consider easing a nationwide lockdown if the downward 
trend continues in the coming days.

Armenia has reported eight coronavirus-related deaths so far.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Turkish press: Anatolian women’s motifs on Bünyan and Yahyalı carpets under preservation

Karlen Baghdasarian
 KAYSERİ ARTS 
MAR 31, 2020 1:14 PM GMT+3
Some examples of motifs embroidered on carpets and rugs by Anatolian women for centuries. (AA Photo)


The motifs embroidered by women on famous Bünyan and Yahyalı carpets for centuries have been studied and registered with their meanings by the Kayseri Advanced Technical School for Girls.

Carpet looms that are present in almost every house in central Turkey's Kayseri province, especially in the districts of Bünyan and Yahyalı, are fading into oblivion for reasons such as the emergence of ready-made carpets and the introduction of women into the business life.

The project called "Wedding of Knots" was prepared by Kayseri Advanced Technical School for Girls in order to ensure that the carpet motifs that are handed down from one generation to another, sometimes through memory, sometimes through swatch cards, are not forgotten and are transferred to future generations.

Within the scope of the project, a team of six people explored the types of motifs and their meanings on carpets woven in Yahyalı and Bünyan districts for two years. As a result of the research, 24 motifs were registered.

A swatch card showing a motif and how it is embroidered. (AA Photo)

Zühtü Ulusoy, a history teacher who works at the research unit of Kayseri Advanced Technical School for Girls, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that weaving carpets and rugs is the national art of Turks. Pointing out that the Pazırık carpet, known as the oldest carpet in the world, is woven with Turkish-style knots, Ulusoy said: “Other nations lay claim to this, but the fact that Gördes, which is used in this carpet, is a Turkish knot indicates that the carpet is a Turkish carpet. Also, the fact that the tails of the horses on the Pazırık carpet are knotted like in Turkish traditions is another indication that they were woven by us. This carpet shows that carpet weaving in Turks goes back 2,500 years.”

Ulusoy said young girls and women have woven their feelings, thoughts, fears and expectations on carpets and rugs for centuries.

Stating that these feelings are sometimes described with a tree, sometimes with flowers or with a symbol, Ulusoy noted that they found out that the carpet looms were sold for TL 200 per ton during their talks in Bünyan within the scope of the "Wedding of Knots" project.

Motifs reflect Yörük culture

Ulusoy stated that they obtained carpet motifs from swatch cards of craftsmen who were engaged in carpet weaving in Bünyan, and they obtained others by taking photographs of carpets of a tradesman in Yahyalı. “There is no swatch card of Yahyalı carpets. We took photographs of carpets from the shopkeepers. We photographed the motifs on the carpets. Our colleagues in the design graphics department drew it on paper. Later, motifs were woven on small carpet looms. The motifs on Yahyalı carpets were transferred from mother to daughter, from memory to memory. These motifs reflect Yörük Turkmen culture. The weft, warp, noose and everything of Yahyalı carpets are made of pure wool. Yahyalı is a more introverted district, so the carpet motifs are hardly influenced by its surroundings. Bünyan is a more open area. Here, we can see the influence of the carpet motifs of Istanbul of that period. There were Armenian carpet weavers going to the palace in Istanbul. They somehow transferred the motifs they acquired from there to Bünyan,” Ulusoy said.

Ulusoy expressed that the tree of life motif, which is embroidered on carpets, points to long life, the universe and eternity, and the birds around it express the souls that have passed away.

Indicating that the motifs of waterway describe purification, Ulusoy added: “There is a Hun rose motif that we see very often, a motif that has been present for 2,500 years. This motif has always been embroidered on carpets, cushions and pillows. We sometimes see a chest motif on the carpets. It means that the person loves somebody and has a dowry. The spots around this motif tell about abundance.”