Author: Manouk Vasilian

St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church of Hartford and New Britain celebrated their 90th Anniversary this past Sunday November 15th. This is the second oldest Armenian Church in the United States,  according to .

In celebration of this event, His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan Primate of the Eastern Prelacy, and His Grace Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General celebrated the Ancient Mass of the Armenian Church. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in the year 301A.D.

The Mass was followed by a banquet at the Farmington Club with a large number of members in attendance. A Proclamation was read from Governor Dannel Malloy as well as a citation from Sixth District Senator Terry Gerrantana.

The Archbishop and Bishop welcomed the new Godparents of the church, Mr. and Mrs. Garabed Tovmassian of Worcester, MA.

St Stephen’s Church was dedicated in 1926, however it fell into foreclosure during the great depression. Four men stepped forward, pledging their personal assets to save the Church. In honor of these men His Eminence, the Archbishop presented awards to their descendants who were in attendance. Susan Kochunas received an award as the daughter of Karekin Kevorkian, Godfather of the Church, who named it after the church he left in Cyprus, before coming to America. Lucy Horenian received the citation for her father Mr Avedis Atashian. The other two men were Mr Amrah Bayram and Mr Harry Parparian.

Following the citations, children of the church presented a gift to the Pastor, Archpriest Aram Stepanian to be given to the orphaned children of Armenia.

Islamic State’s official magazine carried a photo on Wednesday of what it said was the improvised bomb that brought down the Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board, reports.

The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background.

“The divided Crusaders of the East and West thought themselves safe in their jets as they cowardly bombarded the Muslims of the Caliphate,” Dabiq magazine said. “And so revenge was exacted upon those who felt safe in the cockpits.”

The group also published a photo of what it said were passports belonging to dead Russians “obtained by the mujahideen”. It was not immediately possibly to verify the authenticity of the photos published in the magazine.

Islamic State said it had exploited a loophole at Sharm al-Sheikh airport, where the Airbus 321 originated, in order to smuggle a bomb on board.

The group said it had initially planned to bring down a plane belonging to a country participating in the U.S.-led coalition bombing it in Syria and Iraq but changed course after Moscow started its own airstrikes campaign in Syria.

“A bomb was smuggled onto the airplane, leading to the deaths of 219 Russians and 5 other crusaders only a month after Russia’s thoughtless decision.”

Armenian soldier Andranik Grigoryan who had crossed the Line of Contact on 22 March 2015 was returned today in an operation carried out under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The hand-over took place at the Line of Contact near the village of Bash Garvand in Aghdam.

During his captivity, the ICRC regularly visited him to assess the conditions in which he was held, the treatment he received and to facilitate contact with his family.

Acting as a neutral intermediary and in accordance with its mandate, the ICRC facilitated the return following the decision of the Azerbaijan authorities and with the full cooperation of all sides. Andranik Grigoryan had previously confirmed to ICRC staff that he was returning of his own free will.

Grigoryan had crossed the line of contact on March 22, 2015.

Asbarez – The President of Israel Reuven Rivlin said that his previously voiced position that the events of 1915 were Genocide of the Armenians remains unchanged.

Rivlin told the participants of an international conference, entitled Genocide: History and Memory – Marking 100 years of the Armenian Genocide, whom he met in his residence on the last day of the conference on Wednesday.

The meeting was not open to the press but Panorama.am interviewed the conference participants who attended the meeting. They all said that the President reiterated his previous position and that he is a supporter of the Armenian cause; however for some reason he has to refrain from making an official statement about it.

The fact that the President invited the participants of the conference that was on the Armenian Genocide, itself speaks about his support for this cause and this fact was highly praised by everyone – the organizers, the president of the Open University of Israel and the participants.

One of the participants of the conference, Dr. Israel Charny, said that Rivilin, indeed, did refer to the events of 1915 as Genocide adding that the Israeli leader had other political considerations. Charny said he did not agree with that position but found it positive that Rivlin has continued his support for Genocide recognition.

Israel officially continues not to recognize the Armenian Genocide and remains in the camp of the deniers for one political reason or the other. Many of the Jewish participants called this stance a “shame”. It can only be hoped that this conference, being the first of its kind on this topic was a step forward.

President Serzh Sargsyan has offered condolences over the crash of the bus on Don federal road en route from Moscow to Yerevan. The statement reads:

“Dear compatriots,
It was with great sorrow that I learnt about the crash of the bus en route from Moscow to Yerevan and the irreversible consequences of it. The whole Armenian nation, any of us incurred a great loss last night. On this moment of sorrow I express my condolences and support to the families and friends of the victims.  I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

The President has instructed the law-enforcement bodies to take all legal measures to investigate the causes of the crash in cooperation with the relevant bodies in Russia.

The President has also instructed the law-enforcement bodies to present a plan of raising the security level of the interstate bus transportations based on a broad and comprehensive study of the causes of the accident.

The Armenian government and the Armenian Embassy in Russia have been assigned to take measures to provide necessary assistance to the families of the victims and those injured, and to organize proper medical treatment.

Three Armenians have been elected to the Turkish Parliament as a result of the Sunday vote, Arevelk.am reports.

Garapet (Garo) Paylan, ran on the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) list; Markar Esayan from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP); and Selina Özuzun Doğan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) regained the majority it lost in June.

The  has published a paper which analyses the response of the European Union, Armenia and countries in the Middle East to the Syrian refugee crisis. The study shows that by basing its approach on solidarity Armenia has demonstrated it truly does embody European values.

Armenia has welcomed around 17 000 refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war. This makes it the third European country with the biggest number of displaced people from Syria.  Only Germany and Sweden have accepted more asylum seekers. Both countries rank amongst strongest economies in Europe whereas Armenia has a GDP per capita ten times lower than the European Union average.

However, Armenia is the first European country in terms of refugees welcomed per inhabitant: it hosts 6 Syrian refugees per 1000 inhabitants, more than Germany (1) or Sweden (4). Given the social and economic situation of Armenia the paper finds that immigration from Syria has demanded a much bigger effort from Armenia than from any other European country.

The sudden income of refugee has led to a lot of discussions and tensions within the European Union, with governments bargaining over refugee quotas. In contrast Armenian officials made it clear that the state should be ready to welcome refugees and that it should worktogether with international structures and different Armenian organizations to receive them.

Though the majority of the refugees from Syria are ethnic Armenians other minorities have also found refuge Armenia. One example is the Yazidis who face brutal persecution and ethnic cleansing at the hands of various terrorist groups, both in Syria and Iraq. Upon arriving in Armenia they have been granted an asylum status.

‘Everybody talks about the refugee crisis. Sadly, we do not hear enough about Armenia, which is really reminding the world what the meaning of European solidarity is.’ says Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, EuFoA Director. ‘By publishing this report we want to bring this to the attention of people and show how Armenia truly is part of the European community of values.’

The paper is available on

 

 

 

“Vladimir Kocharyan” theatre group from New York will stage “You Rejoice my Heart” drama in Armenia from October 14 to 17. The play is based on German-Turkish writer Kemal Yalcin’s book. On this occasion the writer has arrived in Armenia.

After earning degrees in education and philosophy, Mr. Yalcin went on to become a journalist and was the editor of the Halkin Yolu (The way of the people) newspaper in Turkey until he was forced to flee to Germany in 1981 for political reasons.

Speaking to reporters in Yerevan Mr. Yalcin said he had never heard about the Armenian Cause during the years of his study in Turkey. It was only in 1990 that he learnt about the Armenian history from an Armenian teacher in Germany.

The writer has already published 5,000 pages about the Armenian-Turkish issue. “This is a drop in the sea of sufferings of the Armenian people. The pain of Armenians is mine. This is the reason why I called my book “You Rejoice my Heart.”

The book was translated into Western Armenian by Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan, leader of the German Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and was later translated into Eastern Armenian by Larisa Gevorgyan.

Kemal Yalcin said it’s an honor to see his play staged in Armenia. “I’m looking forward to reactions,” he said.

The play is expected to be taken to Turkey in 2016. The writer has one wish – to contribute to the establishment of friendship between the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

Professor Taner Akçam, Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair inHolocaust and Genocide Studies, recently was lauded at a Congressional reception organized by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF), where President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan presented the Wallenberg Medal to Robert Morgenthau, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.

During the Sept. 30 reception in Washington, Akçam received recognition for a project he completed on behalf of the IRWFthat involved leading research identifying 180 “unsung heroes”—Turkish and Kurdish rescuers of Armenians during the Genocide of 1915. The report, which has been conducted by Burçin Gerçek under Akçam’s supervision, published as an E-Book, is a free resource for Foundation members. It is available in Turkish, English and Armenian, and soon in Spanish.

The event moderator explained the research project, then urged Akçam to stand and be recognized as she led applause.

“This was a great honor for me,” said Akçam, “and I’m humbled by the recognition they showed toward  me and to Clark University.”

The event was attended by leaders of the Armenian community and two dozen congressmen including U.S. Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Congressmen Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman,  Jacqueline “Jackie” Speier, Robert Dold, Jim Costain, Dave Trott, David Valadao and Judy Chu.

Armenia is placed 91st (8 positions down from last month) in the new FIFA World Ranking.

Argentina tops the ranking followed by Germany and Belgium.

Armenia’s rivals in Euro-2016 qualification round are placed as follows: Portugal – 4th, Denmark – 28th, Serbia – 63rd and Albania – 32nd.