Author: Kevo Kalantarian

The Generation Panel for the Armenian Script Root Zone Label Generation Rules has been approved, according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), after evaluating the way it follows the set of rules included in the document which reglements this aspect, Domain News reports.

The ICANN specialists have reviewed all the documentation that the Armenian script community has sent for evaluation, to make sure that it meets the parameters established in the LGR Procedure.

Not that it has been accepted, the Armenian Script can begin developing the label generation directions.

ICANN’s contribution to this project will be to offer a working place on their website where any of the relevant  suggestions and news about the project will be published and discussed.

For the future, additional scripts will be developed, among which we could mention Greek, Japanese, Latin, Arabic, Thai, Cyrillic, Hebrew or Korean.

At least 37 people have been killed in a military transport plane crash in a residential area of the Indonesian city of Medan, officials say, the BBC reports.

The Hercules C-130 plane crashed into two houses and a car and burst into flames creating a huge fireball.

Military spokesman Fuad Basya told the BBC that the plane came down soon after take-off and that there were at least 12 crew members on board.

Officials say that bodies were recovered from the plane wreckage.

A major rescue operation is under way at the crash site which was covered in flames and thick black smoke.

The protest that started Tuesday evening, continues. The protesters have not left the site.

No incidents were reported overnight. Politicians, former and current MPs, intellectuals, public figures formed a human shield between the protesters and the Police.

Earlier in the morning the first deputy Chief of Police Hunan Poghosyan tried to persuade the activists to move from Baghramyan Avenue to Liberty Square.

 

The British Embassy in Armenia has issued a statement regarding June 22-23 protests in ‪Yerevan:

A protest managed well by demonstrators and police over the past few days ended in violence this morning, with many arrests, including of journalists, and some injuries.

Many will have questions about how this could have been avoided. We are particularly concerned about reports on the use of force against journalists and the deliberate destruction or confiscation of their equipment; the widespread reports of men in plainclothes acting together with the police; and reports of excessive use of force against people who were not resisting arrest.

We call on the authorities to look urgently at these cases and take appropriate action, in accordance with the law.

On 17 June Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a condolence letter to the family of Armenian National Hero Kirk Kirkoryan, the Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh Republic President reported.

The letter runs as follows:

“Artsakh and the whole Armenian people experienced severe pain having heard the grave news about the death of Kirk Kirkoryan.

Kirk Kirkoryan was an outstanding person. His life was full of hardship and difficulties, which he overcame due to his painstaking work, unshakeable will and optimism. He became world-famous of whom the Armenian nation is so proud.

Kirk Kirkoryan had a substantial input in developing and strengthening our independent statehood, solving issues of pan-Armenian significance. Numerous strategically important programs were implemented in Armenia and Artsakh with his immediate assistance, programs that have had a tangible impact on improving socioeconomic situation in the Motherland.

Kirk Kirkoryan’s patriotic activity was highly estimated by the Armenian people and he occupied his worthy place among the national philanthropists.

On behalf of the Artsakh people and authorities and on my own behalf, I express my condolences and support to the family of Kirk Kirkoryan, his relatives and friends in connection with this irretrievable loss. The memory of the nation’s deserved son will always remain bright in our hearts”.

On Tuesday, the student government at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), unanimously passed a resolution “to Divest from the Republic of Turkey to End the Perpetuation of the Armenian Genocide,” reports.

The resolution ultimately called for UC Irvine, the UC Irvine Foundation, and the University of California to divest $72.6 million dollars worth of University of California bonds and investments in the Republic of Turkey for its crimes in, and continued denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Various students of UC Irvine, members of the Armenian Students’ Association (ASA), along with members of the greater Armenian community gathered for the hearing of the resolution and spoke about the university’s investments in the Turkish government, its compliance in genocide denial, and the need for divestment.

“As a descendant of the Armenian Genocide and a UC student, I was so angered and disappointed when I learned that the University of California, a public institution, invests over $70 million dollars in the Turkish government. These UC investment holdings in bonds directly issued in Turkish government ultimately, fund Turkish denialist propaganda and drive efforts of genocide denial,” said Carla Kekejian a third-year English and education sciences double-major at UCI. “Students’ tuition dollars- my tuition dollars- are being invested in the government that denies history and human right violations. I needed to present this resolution so that at least my student government, and my UC, was not complicit in the denial of the Armenian Genocide.”

Along with the citations of the UC’s investments in Turkey, the resolution cited the massacres of the 1915 Armenian Genocide as well as the current Republic of Turkey’s continuous genocide denial campaigns and efforts to hide its crimes against humanity. The resolution also cited how the California State Assembly Public Employment, Retirement, and Social Security (PERSS) recently voted to adopt Assembly Bill 1410 calling for divestment of the State of California’s investments in the Turkish government.

“The UC System should divest from governments who still continue to oppress and deny their atrocities and actions towards another minority,” said Ovsanna Balian, a fourth year double-major in psychology and social behavior and education sciences at UCI.“UC Irvine’s calling of divestment from the Republic of Turkey means a lot to me because I can walk on campus and graduate comfortably knowing that my university wants to divest on the Turkish government. This action of divestment has the potential of decreasing the denial and investments by governments of this genocide and any other genocides. Not only am I presenting this resolution for myself and my family, but I am doing this for all my ancestors that suffered by the hands of the Young Turks.”

The student governments of UCLA and UC Berkeley unanimously passed similar resolutions during January and February of this year. Moreover, just last month, ASUCI unanimously passed A resolution “Commemorating the Armenian Genocide and Condemning its Denial,” raising further awareness on campus about the Armenian Genocide and its need for international recognition.

“The active erasure of Armenian histories and the Armenian genocide has gone on too long. As UC students we should be represented and have agency over where our money is going. Overall, as human beings we cannot allow for the investment into oppressive governments, beyond Armenian people,” said Kristine Jermakian a third-year pharmaceutical sciences and women’s’ studies double major at UCI. The stand against genocide is a human rights issue, not only a student issue, so pushing to divest makes a clear statement of this and a statement that we stand against all unethical investments.”

“As President of the Armenian Students’ Association at UC Irvine, I am very proud of both our Armenian and non-Armenian support we received in Orange County as well as the support of ASUCI, our student government council,” said Aram Akhverdyan fourth year biological sciences major at UCI. “Just because April 24th has passed, that does not mean our campaign for recognition of the Armenian Genocide should end. There are a wide range of ways we can continue the efforts and the passing of this divestment resolution was a significant one.”

The resolution is an initiative started in part by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Western United States- a grassroots community organization dedicated to justice for the Armenian cause and the Armenian people.