Author: Liana Toganian

 

 

 

He joined the Artsakh War in 1991. He was one of the most talented and experienced commanders. He was posthumously bestowed the title of the Artsakh Hero. Monte Melkonian died on June 12, 1993. Today is Monte’s birthday.

“Monte was a brilliant commander, an exceptional soldier, but he remained in the history and the hearts of people first of all thanks to his honesty and fairness,” says Alek Yenigomshyan, Director of “Monte Melkonian” NGO and ex-member of ASALA.

“The decisions to fight and die for the Motherland are never made in one day, they are born with a man. Monte was a hero, a man of exceptional courage, a skilled serviceman. But the human qualities were his greatest privilege. He was honest, fair and extremely modest.”  Alek Yenigomshyan is confident Monte would not like to be remembered on several occasions over the year, to be glorified and praised. “He didn’t need it, but we need it,” he said.

According to Yenigomshyan, Monte was absolutely indifferent to material values. Honesty and moral were the most precious values to him. Without these qualities he would not inspire hope and confidence and would not be adored by all.

Bloodshed was not Monte’s aim on the battlefield. He even gave his blood to save the life of a wounded Azerbaijani captive. Monte came to Armenia, when many were leaving. Monte did not know what despair was.

Cross-stones have been recovered from the bottom of Lake Van, reports.

The FIVA company, which cleans the bottom of the lake, has found two stones with a cross inscribes and two stone blocks and wooden pieces.

The company has kept relevant bodies informed, but there has been no response so far. “I think there are more stones like this in the bottom of the lake,” company official Ayhan Disari has said.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, will pay a two-day working visit to Moscow.

His Holiness will participate in the events dedicated to the 70th birth anniversary of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

On Friday morning the scheduled meeting between the Pope and the Catholicos was held at the Papal office in the Vatican.

After sharing greetings, Catholicos Aram I expressed his great appreciation for the Pope’s two pronouncements on the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as the first genocide of the 20th century, which he had made in 2015 at the Vatican and in 2016 in Yerevan. His Holiness Pope Francis reiterated his conviction on this matter.

In addition to a broad range of infrastructure projects, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund implements several social-assistance programs in Armenia and Artsakh. One such initiative is the Gyumri Housing Project, as a result of which 26 homeless families in Gyumri now live in apartments in the city’s Mush and Ani neighborhoods.

The apartments are fully renovated and furnished, and feature a full complement of modern amenities and comforts, including appliances. The Gyumri Housing Project was launched by Armenia Fund US Western Region in 2014, through a special Telethon held in collaboration with ARTN Shant TV of Los Angeles.

The apartments were purchased, renovated, and furnished with proceeds from the 2014 and 2015 special Telethons. The grassroots support raised by these Telethons has been complemented by major contributions from individual benefactors including Antranig Baghdassarian, Vahe Karapetian, Haro and Diana Jordan, Haig Keledjian, Zakar Chaghatzbanian, Dr. Harout Mesrobian, Doctors Vrage and Svetlana Minassian, and Samvel Balasanyan.

The joint Armenia Fund US Western Region-ARTN Shant TV Telethons have made it possible to provide apartments to 22 homeless families. They include the families of Karen Khachatryan, Hovhannes Badoyan, Arsen Khachatryan, Davit Hovsepyan, Shoghik Shaboyan, Yeranuhi Safaryan, Shoghik Antonyan, Goharik Gomktsyan, Natalya Struk, Anna Melkonyan, Arusyak Barseghyan, Roza Erzrumyan, Tereza Bedishova, Anahit Martirosyan, Rima Petrosyan, Aida Stepanyan, Liana Muradyan, Stella Mkrtchyan, Zhenya Grigoryan, Fenya Sahakyan, Ruzanna Yeghoyan, and Nelly Chakhchyan. Soon one more family will be presented with an apartment.

The next special Telethon is slated for 2017. Additionally, ever since 2014, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s German affiliate has been allocating its local proceeds from the annual Pan-European Phoneathon to the Gyumri Housing Project. To date, donations from the German-Armenian community have enabled the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund to provide apartments to four Gyumri families: those of Artur Galstyan, Anahit Sukiasyan, Anna Sargsyan, and Ruzanna Yeghogyan.

Hayastan All Armenian Fund is a non-profit organization established in 1992 with the aim of facilitating humanitarian assistance and infrastructure development in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The Fund has 22 affiliates worldwide. – 2 – Ara Vardanyan, the executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, said that in selecting beneficiaries of the Gyumri Housing Project, priority is given to young, destitute families with multiple children.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) celebrated its 50th anniversary and 11^th year of partnership with Armenia today with a tree planting ceremony at the Karmir Blur museum park in Yerevan.

“ADB is proud to have played a part in the remarkable transformation of the Asia and Pacific region in the past 50 years,” said Shane Rosenthal, ADB’s Country Director in Armenia. “ADB has been working with Armenia since 2005 and we will continue to respond to country’s priority needs to boost economic growth and improve the people’s quality of life.”

The event was attended by senior government officials and project implementation teams from the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology, the Yerevan Municipality, the Armenian Territorial Development Agency, the Armenian Water Supply and Sanitation Company, the High Voltage Electric Network CJSC, electric power system operator CJSC, the Armenia Renewable Resources, and the Energy Efficiency Fund.

ADB has been working with the Government of Armenia since 2005 and has approved 22 loans amounting to $1.04 billion, including 6 private sector loans totaling $130 million, and 21 technical assistance grants totaling $12.3 million. Over the past decade, ADB has financed priority investments in the transport, water supply and sanitation, and energy sectors, and supported the government in its efforts to improve the business environment and foster entrepreneurship among women. ADB-financed projects in Armenia include upgrading of major road links in Yerevan and priority sections of the North South highway, and modernization of the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade Hydropower system and the new Zvartnots Airport terminal.

ADB will continue to provide support in improving the country’s internal and external transport links, upgrade urban environments, energy and seismic security. By bringing international best practices to Armenia, ADB will strengthen its nonfinancial contributions to the country’s development, emphasizing innovation and private sector-led growth.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including cofinancing of $10.7 billion.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Carpenter.

The Armenian President hailed the consistent development of the Armenian-American relations ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and noted that the two countries are approaching the 25^th anniversary of relations with serious achievements registered over the past few years.

President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the US Government for the continuous support to Armenia’s economic development, implementation of reforms in different spheres, development of democracy and civil society.  He praised the US role in the maintenance of peace in the region.

President Sargsyan attached importance to the Armenian-American cooperation in the field of defense, especially the US support to the defense reforms in Armenia, and development of capacities in military medicine, mine clearance and peacekeeping.

The interlocutors noted that the current high-level relations between Armenia and the US are based on mutual respect, and the two countries enjoy firm partnership relations both in bilateral and multilateral formats.

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense expressed gratitude for Armenia’s contribution to peacekeeping missions.

Serzh Sargsyan and Michael Carpenter discussed issues related to the cooperation in the military field, regional and international security.

On October 20, Edward Nalbandian, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, received Herbert Salber, the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia.

At the meeting, the sides touched upon the agreements reached during the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia emphasized that the unequivocal implementation of those agreements, which Azerbaijan stubbornly refuses, is imperative for the advancement of the peace process.

The EU Special Representative reaffirmed the EU support to the implementation of the agreements reached at the summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg – to the efforts aimed at ensuring the advancement of settlement process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Photo: AP

 

The US has accused Islamic State (IS) militants of using civilians as human shields as Iraqi forces move closer to the group’s stronghold in Mosul, the BBC reports.

Some 700,000 people are believed to remain in the city, where up to 5,000 IS fighters face the third day of the operation to retake Mosul.

News that the nearby town of Qaraqosh had been liberated was later denied by a government commander.

But the US-backed coalition say they have driven IS out of 10 villages.

Government troops are moving up from the south while their Kurdish allies are approaching from the east in a two-pronged campaign which began on Monday.

US President Barack Obama has sought to allay concerns about an exodus of civilians from the area, saying “plans and infrastructure” are in place for dealing with a potential humanitarian crisis.

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

There is widespread dissatisfaction and mistrust among the American public toward the two main presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Armenian-Americans likewise are negatively disposed toward these candidates. More specifically, on Armenian issues Mrs. Clinton has shown that she cannot be trusted, while Donald Trump’s position is unknown.

Strangely, neither Clinton nor Trump has made any effort to win over Armenian-American voters, despite the close presidential race. The two candidates have not attended any Armenian events, held no meetings with members of the community, nor sought to raise any funds from them. It is preferable that presidential candidates make no promises that they do not intend to keep, thereby deterring Armenian-Americans from wasting their money and votes, and after the election, saving them from much aggravation and disappointment.

Of course, everyone is free to vote for the candidate of his or her choice. One is also free to vote for third party candidates or not to vote at all.

While Presidential candidates are constantly covered by the media, there are many local and state elections that hardly make the news. For example, there are 435 Members of Congress and a third of the 100 U.S. Senators who are up for election or reelection on November 8.

As opposed to White House candidates who may or may not support Armenian issues after the election, most House and Senate members have already served in Congress for several years and therefore, their positions on Armenian issues are well-known. Thus, voting for them is not a guessing game! They have a proven track record — positive, negative or in between.

Below is the list of only those House and Senate members who have received either an excellent (A) or extremely bad (F) grade from the Armenian National Committee of America after a thorough review of their positions on a broad range of Armenian-American issues in the last two years. Those who have earned the grade A deserve the Armenian community’s support. Those who have an F after their names have had a very negative position on Armenian causes, and therefore, should not be supported. The letters D and R denote Democrat or Republican. To review the complete list of all members of Congress and their grades, please visit: .

Alaska: Don Young (R) F.

California: Jeff Denham (R) A; Barbara Lee (D) A; Jackie Speier (D) A; Jim Costa (D) A; Anna Eshoo (D) A; Zoe Lofgren (D) A; David Valadao (R) A; Devin Nunes (R) A; Judy Chu (D) A; Adam Schiff (D) A; Tony Cardenas (D) A; Brad Sherman (D) A; Grace Napolitano (D) A; Ted Lieu (D) A; Karen Bass (D) A; Linda Sanchez (D) A; Edward Royce (R) A; Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) A; Alan Lowenthal (D) A; Dana Rohrabacher (R) A. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D) A (running for Senate and endorsed by ANCA).

Colorado: Sen. Cory Gardner (R) A; Jared Polis (D) A; Mike Coffman (R) A; Edwin Perlmutter (D) A.

Florida: Sen. Marco Rubio (R) A; Gus Bilirakis (R) A.

Georgia: Doug Collins (R) F.

Illinois: Sen. Richard Durbin (D) A; Sen. Mark Kirk (R) A; Daniel Lipinski (D) A; Mike Quigley (D) A; Janice Schakowsky (D) A; Robert Dold (R) A.

Maryland: John Sarbanes (D) A; Christopher Van Hollen (D) A (running for Senate and endorsed by ANCA).

Massachusetts: Sen. Edward Markey (D) A; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) A; James McGovern (D) A; Niki Tsongas (D) A; Joe Kennedy (D) A; Katherine Clark (D) A.

Michigan: Sen. Gary Peters (D) A; Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) A; Sander Levin (D) A; David Trott (R) A; John Conyers (D) A.

Minnesota: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) A; Betty McCollum (D) A; Collin Peterson (D) A.

Montana: Ryan Zinke (R) F.

Nevada: Dina Titus (D) A; Joe Heck (R) A (running for Senate and endorsed by ANCA).

New Jersey: Sen. Robert Menendez (D) A; Christopher Smith (R) A; Scott Garrett (R) A; Frank Pallone (D) A; Donald Payne (D) F.

New York: Sen. Charles Schumer (D) A; Grace Meng (D) A; Carolyn Maloney (D) A; Eliot Engel (D) A; Paul Tonko (D) A.

North Carolina: Virginia Foxx (R) F.

Ohio: Michael Turner (R) F; Tim Ryan (D) F.

Pennsylvania: Scott Perry (R) F; Bill Shuster (R) F.

Rhode Island: Sen. Jack Reed (D) A; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) A; David Cicilline (D) A; James Langevin (D) A.

Tennessee: Stephen Ira Cohen (D) F.

Texas: Joe Barton (R) F; Pete Olson (R) F; Henry Cuellar (D) F; Gene Green (D) F; Pete Sessions (R) F.

Virginia: Dave Brat (R) A; Gerald Connolly (D) F.

In addition, there are two Armenian-American candidates who are worthy of your support: 1) Those who live in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District are urged to vote for Danny Tarkanian (Republican); 2) Those who live in California’s Assembly District 43 should vote for Ardy Kassakhian (Democrat).