Author: Manouk Vasilian

Germany’s highest court has rejected a string of complaints against a decision by the country’s parliament to label the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide, the Associated Press reports.

The Federal Constitutional Court threw out eight complaints against the resolution approved by lawmakers in June.

It published one of the decisions Monday, in which judges said the plaintiff had failed to provide sufficient evidence that his fundamental rights had been violated and that no such violation was obvious.

The parliamentary vote infuriated the Turkish government and prompted it to withdraw its ambassador from Berlin for a few months.

Ankara also refused to let German lawmakers visit German military personnel stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik air base, but relented after the German government stressed the resolution isn’t legally binding.

– Open Road Films has acquired U.S. rights to The Promise, the new film from Terry George about the Armenian genocide that had its world premiere in the fall at Toronto. Open Road, which acquired and distributed last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner Spotlight, has set an April 28 wide release date for the pic.

Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon and Christian Bale star alongside Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Sarafyan, Jean Reno, James Cromwell, Daniel Giminez Cacho and Marwan Kenzari. Eric Esrailian, Mike Medavoy and William Horberg.

Survival Pictures, founded by Kirk Kerkorian, developed and produced the project under Esrailian and co-manager Anthony Mandekic.

“We are proud to add this prestigious film to our 2017 slate,” said Open Road’s Tom Ortenberg. “An epic love story set against a turning point in world history, The Promise features top-notch performances and first-class filmmaking and we are looking forward to sharing the movie with audiences across the country.”

The plot: It is 1914. As the Great War looms, the vast Ottoman Empire is crumbling. Constantinople, the once-vibrant multicultural capital on the shores of the Bosphorus, is about to be consumed by chaos. Michael Boghosian (Isaac) arrives in the cosmopolitan hub as a medical student determined to bring modern medicine back to Siroun, his ancestral village in Southern Turkey where Turkish Muslims and Armenian Christians have lived side by side for centuries. Photojournalist Chris Myers (Bale) has come here only partly to cover geo-politics. He is mesmerized by his love for Ana (le Bon), an Armenian artist he has accompanied from Paris after the sudden death of her father.

When Michael meets Ana, their shared Armenian heritage sparks an attraction that explodes into a romantic rivalry between the two men. As the Turks form an alliance with Germany and the Empire turns violently against its own ethnic minorities, their conflicting passions must be deferred while they join forces to survive even as events threaten to overwhelm them.

George shared with Keir Pearson the Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2005 for Hotel Rwanda, another movie that dealt with the topic of genocide. The film, which he also directed, was nominated for three Oscars.

The deal for The Promise was negotiated on behalf of Open Road by Ortenberg, COO and general counsel Elliott Kleinberg and SVP Acqusitions Lejo Pet; and by WME Global and David Boyle on behalf of Survival Pictures.

Photo: EPA

 

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has resigned after suffering a heavy defeat in a referendum over his plan to reform the constitution, the BBC reports.

In a late-night news conference, he said he took responsibility for the outcome, and said the No camp must now make clear proposals.

With most ballots counted, the No vote leads with 60% against 40% for Yes.

The turnout was nearly 70%, in a vote that was seen as a chance to register discontent with the prime minister.

“Good luck to us all,” Mr Renzi told reporters. He said he would tell a Cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon that he was resigning, then tender his resignation to the Italian president.

The European Union Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Members States´ Heads of Mission in Armenia

Following the important first steps in the implementation of the agreement on electoral reform between the coalition and the opposition parties, drawing on consultations with civil society representatives, we count on the government to spare no efforts in realising this reform. We appreciate the commitment of the authorities to allow a fair and open competition. We expect the Central Election Commission, the law enforcement bodies and the judiciary to do their best to fulfil this promise. We perceive the presence of political will as a key prerequisite for a fair electoral process.

In partnership with the UNDP and the United States, the European Union has responded positively to the government’s request for assistance in funding implementation of this electoral reform package. EU financial support of up to €7 million will close the identified financial gap and will thus allow for the smooth implementation of the electoral reform agreement. This includes support to election observation. Together with the contributions of Germany and the United Kingdom, European support amounts to 90 percent of the overall financial assistance to the electoral process.

The European Union attaches great importance to the transparency, integrity, inclusiveness and effectiveness of electoral processes. Therefore, we will continue to support the efforts of all stakeholders to ensure full alignment with international standards, including those related to the prohibition of the use of administrative resources and electoral corruption and to ensuring unhindered work by observers and media.

Ensuring free and fair future elections will be crucial for Armenian democracy and for the country’s relations with the European Union. We stand ready to continue to support Armenia on its democratic path based on the future EU-Armenia Agreement and within the larger framework of the Eastern Partnership.

On October 12 Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Paruyr Hovhannisyan had a meeting with Pedro Agramunt, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Congratulating the Armenian representative on appointment, PACE President wished him productive work and expressed his willingness to contribute to the efforts aimed at the development of parliamentary cooperation.

The interlocutors referred to the agenda of Armenia-PACE cooperation. Ambassador Hovhannisyan expressed his support to PACE’s “no hate, no fear” (#nohatenofear) initiative launched in June within the framework of fight against terrorism.

According to a decree signed by President Serzh Sargsyan, Hrachya Rostomyan has been appointed as Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs.

The informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Potsdam tomorrow will discuss the Karabakh issue, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter- Steinmeier has said in a statement issued ahead of the meeting.

“In the crisis-ridden world of today, the OSCE is perhaps more important than ever – in crisis management in eastern Ukraine, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflicts in Europe as well as in the maintenance of peace and security,” he said.

Mr. Steinmeier added that reference will be made to the strengthening of fundamental freedoms and democratic standards and will address new challenges such as international terrorism or the consequences of flight and migration.

An important issue on the agenda is the arms control. “I think now is the right time to gain a momentum for more transparency, risk prevention and confidence building here,” the OSCE Chairman-in-Office said.

Germany’s European Commissioner told the Bild newspaper on Tuesday that Turkey would probably not join the European Union while Tayyip Erdogan was president, Reuters reports.

Turkey began talks about joining the European Union in 2005 but has made little progress. The prospect of the mainly Muslim country becoming an EU member worries many countries and relations have become more strained since a failed coup in July.

“It will probably be an issue for the period after Erdogan,” Guenther Oettinger said in an interview with the newspaper.

“Given the current conditions, accession is not realistic until well into the next decade,” he said.

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday he did not see Turkey joining the EU during his own political career, noting that the bloc would not be in a position to accept Turkey even if Ankara met all the entry requirements tomorrow.

In June, German lawmakers voted to label the 1915 mass killings of Armenians an act of genocide, infuriating Turkey, which rejects that view of the killings of Christian Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War One amounted to genocide.

 

 

 

“The rumors about the return of territories are simply speculation,” former member of the Supreme Council Azat Arsahakyan told a press conference today.

“The speculation is not just artificial, but also provocative. Those raising the issue of return of Artsakh territories are simply provocateurs. The goals they pursue are unclear to me,” he said.

According to NKR President’s Spokesman David Babayan, the concerns connected with the return of territories have both positive and negative trends. The positive side, he said, is that “when the nation is concerned with the fate of the Motherland, it means the immune system is strong. “ The negative side is that some people start speculations, pursuing some restricted interests,” he added.

“One should understand that there can be no return to the past. Artsakh will never refuse from its status and will not allow its security system to weaken,” David Babayan said.

MP from the Republican Party of Armenia Sukias Avetisyan said, in turn, the statements about the return of territories are dictated from the outside. “We must be strong as a state, as a nation, in order not to allow the artificial ideas and movements take root here. This is the most important for the two Armenian states,” he said.

The standoff at Armenian police station enters the sixth day. No incidents were reported overnight.

In the eventing it was decided that the protesters would stay on Khorenatsi Street without taking any actions.

The issue of food for the members of the armed group was also solved last night. The issue had been the cause of tension over the past two days.