Author: Meline Chalian

The Grand Final of 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Kyiv tonight. The slogan for 2017 is Celebrate Diversity, and the show tonight will feature both Ukrainian traditions interwoven with modernity.

The final result will be decided by a 50/50 combination of jury and public votes. The professional juries voted during last night’s Dress Rehearsal and tonight the public will vote by telephone, SMS and through the official app.

The running order of the Grand Final of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest:

1. Israel
2. Poland
3. Belarus
4. Austria
5. Armenia
6. The Netherlands
7. Moldova
8. Hungary
9. Italy
10. Denmark
11. Portugal
12. Azerbaijan
13. Croatia
14. Australia
15. Greece
16. Spain
17. Norway
18. United Kingdom
19. Cyprus
20. Romania
21. Germany
22. Ukraine
23. Belgium
24. Sweden
25. Bulgaria
26. France

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a consultative meeting to discuss the prospects for Armenia’s digital development. A top-level task force was said to have been established based on the statement issued by the heads of EEU-member States. On May 26, 2017, the task force will report back progress in its activities to the heads of EEU-member States’ governments.

In this context, reference was made to the definition of priorities in different areas of digitalization, the formation of structures and institutions responsible for implementation of the digital development strategy, the EEU digital agenda goals, the key targets for expected performance until 2025 and so on. The meeting noted that the global economy is proceeding along the lines of digitization, and Armenia needs to have its own “digital visiting card.”

Highlighting the digitization of the management subject in all areas, Prime Minister Karapetyan said it might be a strong incentive to improve management efficiency.

“This is extremely important. We had to take this step regardless of the Eurasian Economic Union’s program. For example, by digitizing budget, garbage collection and many other services, we can enhance the efficiency of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development. Will digitalization result in more businesses, increased capacity? Yes of course. Digitization implies additional savings. We will understand why municipal budgets fall short of receipts due to incorrect planning and the reasons behind imbalances. The same is true for other sectors,” the Prime Minister said, adding that each department should know its digitalization agenda.

Based on Armenia’s digital development vision, a Prime Minister-headed national governing council shall be established for support of digital development in Armenia. Karen Karapetyan instructed those responsible to set up a working group within the Council that will develop and submit the structure of digitization and the planned activities.

Photo: EPA

The Indonesian man who claimed to be 146 years old – the longest living human ever – has died in his village in Central Java, the BBC reports.

According to his papers, Sodimedjo, also known as Mbah Ghoto (grandpa Ghoto), was born in December 1870.

But Indonesia only started recording births in 1900 – and there have been mistakes before.

Yet officials told the BBC his papers were valid, based on documents he provided and interviews with him.

Turkish historian Taner Akcam has recently uncovered a telegram, which, he says, will force the Turkish government seek new ways of denying the Armenian Genocide.

“Are the Armenians who were deported from there being liquidated? Are the troublesome individuals whom you have reported as having been exiled and expelled being exterminated or merely being sent off and deported? Please report back honestly,” reads the telegram sent from Ezrum by Behaeddin Shakir to Kharberd Governor Sabit Bey.

The document dated July 4th, 1915 consists of two parts – the actual text on top and the coded four-digit Arabic numbers on the bottom.

Taner Akcam, a history professor at Clark University in Massachusetts, says the telegram is important for two reasons. “First, it is written on a paper with the letterhead of the Ottoman Ministry of Interior. Second, separate from the text there is a decoded message on the bottom,” he said in a phone interview with .

The historian has compared the coding system with that of other documents from Ottoman archives and  found matches with 24 documents from the same month. The same words are coded the same way. “So there is no escape for Turkish authorities, there is no way to say these are forgeries. And this is a very crucial document in that sense,” Akcam said.

This telegram is well known in Armenian Genocide research and has been quoted in main indictments in Istanbul military tribunals. This was one of the most important evidences that helped convict Behaeddin Shakir and sentence him to death. However, most of the court materials vanished at the time and Turkey has since been building its policy of denial on the argument that the original documents from postwar military tribunals that convicted the genocide’s planners were nowhere to be found.

Taner Akcam knew the telegram was in a the archive of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem , but in the end found a film taken from the document in a private archive in New York. Thus, two stories need to be recalled to shed light on how the photo of the telegram ended up in the United States.

The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople was representing Armenians in military tribunals and had access to the court materials.  The judge presiding over the tribunals at the time handed the materials over to the Armenian Patriarch. With the Turkish nationalists about to seize the country in 1922 the Patriarch shipped a huge package of documents to Marseille and then to Manchester for safekeeping. The materials finally ended up in Jerusalem.

“Armenian Catholic priest, Krikor Guerguerian went to Jerusalem sometimes towards the end of 1960s. He filmed the materials there and a lot of other Ottoman documents one of which was this document.  He had a private archive, which was saved and secured by his nephew,” Taner Akcham said.

Despite the crucial importance of the document, the historian does not believe it will lead to changes in Turkey’s stance on the issue in the short-term perspective.

I’ve thrown a stone in the water, and waves go to the shore, it takes a long time until they hit the shore. The shore is the Turkish denialism. I don’t know when it’s going to hit the shore

Taner Akcam

According to the historian, the telegram is a strong evidence Ankara can hardly argue, but he’s confident that Turkey will find some excuses. He’s also confident that “Turkey will continue its denialist policy, but this will put the government in a very difficult position and will force it seek new ways of denying.”

Towards the end of the interview, Mr. Akcam emphasized one point. “As everybody knows successive Turkish governments would argue all the time that Armenian Genocide should not be politicized, that the Armenian Genocide should be left to historians. And I’m just really doing it. I’m a historian and regardless of the fact whether the Turkish government recognizes the genocide or not, I keep working on this topic, because as scholars, as academicians our job is to teach the young generation about the historic injustices, about mass atrocities in the past so that they are not repeated in the future.”

Taner Akcam believes that “it’s important for Turkey to face its history.” If Turkey faces its history and acknowledges the wrongdoing, it can develop a very good relation with Armenia and develop a democratic society,” he says.

In 2017 on April 21^st “HayPost” CJSC cancelled and put into circulation a postcard with one stamp dedicated to the theme “Anoush opera. Avag Petrossian”. The cancellation took place in the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiarian.

The postcard has been designed with a print run of 500 pcs. The author of the postcard’s design is the designer of “HayPost” CJSC David Dovlatyan.

The postage stamp of the postcard depicts the RA People’s Artist, tenor Avag Petrossian in the role of Saro and the RA People’s Artist, soprano Gohar Gasparian in the role of Anoush against the background of the building of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiarian.

The bottom left corner of the postcard depicts the old posters of “Anoush” opera under the theater curtains.

The participants of the postcard signing ceremony were the RA Deputy Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Mr. Arman Khachatryan, the RA Minister of Culture Mr. Armen Amiryan, the son of Avag Petrossian, a conductor and pianist Mr. Ara Petrossian, Acting Chief Executive Officer of “HayPost” CJSC Haik Avagyan.

Date of issue: April 21, 2017
Designer: David Dovlatyan
Printing house: “Asoghik”
Stamp size: 25,0 x 35,0 mm
Postcard size: 150,0 x 110,0 mm
Print run: 500 pcs.

PHOTO: ERIC CHARBONNEAU/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

‘The Promise’ Star James Cromwell says the Armenian Genocide may get recognition under Trump, reports.

Attending the Los Angeles prmiere of the Armenian Genocide epic The Promise, James  Cromwell said “Hollywood has been hesitant to tackle the politically fraught subject for more than 100 years.”

“There was an extraordinary man, Kirk Kerkorian, who knew this industry and who knew that a film about the Armenian Genocide would never be made,” he said. “Finally at the end of his life, he said, ‘I will pony up $100 million, we will make this film.’ And even with Terry George as director, $100 million, and a script, they still could not sell this picture to Hollywood. Mike Medavoy stepped up, but for the rest of Hollywood, ‘no,’ because they didn’t want to be associated with something they thought was going to go in the toilet or cause a lot of ire with any other project they had that might go Turkey, might be denied the Turkish market,” he said.

The veteran actor also said the United States’ refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide reflects a systematic problem.

“For whatever reason, this community flinched. This country flinches in its responsibility for the devastation of Syria and Yemen and Libya and Iraq and Afghanistan and Somalia and the Sudan and everywhere,” he added. “If we do not acknowledge our responsibility for events like this, our history, then we are doomed to repeat them, which is what we’re doing.”

President Barack Obama reneged on his 2008 campaign pledge that said, “As President, I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, “The Promise’s” executive music consultant, who has long advocated for genocide recognition, said Obama’s broken promise was “extremely disappointing.”

“It was very disappointing that he would cow to political capital like that having to do with Turkey’s pressure being a NATO ally,” he said. “As we can see, [Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan is a madman and Turkey needs the U.S. more than the U.S. needs Turkey.”

Cromwell said there’s a higher chance of recognition under President Donald Trump “because he’s insane.”

“We have elected an insane man as president of the United States and he has appointed people who are, in my mind, spiritually dead to run the country, so now the American people can look at their government and say it does not work,” he said. “We must take it back. It’s called we the people, it’s not called we the 1%. It’s not we industrialists. It’s we the people.”

According to Cromwell, Americans will be moved to take to the streets to demand justice and picket the Turkish embassy until the genocide is recognized and restitutions are paid.

“The Promise” has already been forced to surmount several obstacles. When the film world-premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September, its IMDb page received a flood of negative ratings.

“When we were at the Toronto International Film Festival at its original premiere, this is the L.A. premiere, but that was the first time it was seen and only a theater full of people saw it,” Tankian said. “We had tens of thousands of 0 votes stemming from Turkey on IMDb so there was a campaign to try to discredit the film. I thought ‘that’s really ridiculous.’ This is a film — it’s media, it’s cultural. To use it as a political weapon in that sense is unfair. But that’s good, that means the denialists are afraid and we want them to be afraid.”

“The Promise” centers on a love triangle between an Armenian medical student (Isaac), a renowned American journalist (Bale), and an Armenian woman (Charlotte Le Bon).

Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, who wrote a song for the film, said being swept away by the drama will help audiences grasp the powerful message.

“I went to school in the U.S. and I wasn’t taught about the Armenian or Greek genocide in history class,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s due in part to the denial of it or what it is. It’s one of those things where it’s a story that needs to be told. And I think it needs to be told and retold. … We need to at some point as human beings preempt this from happening. Genocide is occurring right now on this planet. It’s not something of the past, it’s something unfortunately of now, and unfortunately probably will be of the future.”

The late businessman Kirk Kerkorianwho died in 2015, invested $100 million to bring the Armenian Genocide epic to the big screen after other productions weren’t able to escape what’s been dubbed the “denialist lobby.”

Open Road’s “The Promise” hits theaters on April 2.

Armenian Weekly – The Supreme Court of Appeals in Turkey has annulled the decision to expropriate Surp Giragos of Diyarbakir, reported Istanbul-based Agos.

The decision to expropriate the largest Armenian church in the Middle East was adopted in March 2016. In addition to Surp Giragos, the Surp Sarkis Chaldean Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the St. Mary Syriac Church, and the Protestant Church were among some of the other sites in the city that were subjected to expropriation by the Turkish cabinet.

The Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation had previously appealed to the State Council for the annulment of the expropriation.

The Turkish court had then sent an inquiry to the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urban planning, questioning the expropriation of the church. After the lack of answers regarding the expropriation of the church, the court decided to suspend the decision.

The court ruled that Surp Giragos Church is registered in the list of immovable properties and that it is protected by the Law on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property. The ruling also stated that an expropriation of the church opposes agreements made during the Treaty of Lausanne.

According to that document, minorities are given equal rights for founding, administrating and controlling religious, charitable, and social institutions, while the Turkish government guaranteed that it will protect the churches and religious institutions belonging to minorities.

A new international postage stamp will be issued in May by Haypost, Armenia’s national postal operator, in cooperation with the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. The image of Marguerite Barankitse, the inaugural Aurora Prize laureate, will be featured on the stamp. The release of the stamp underwent the mandated approval process by the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia. The release and First day of issue ceremony will be part of the 2017 Aurora Prize special events.

The Aurora stamp is also a fundraising stamp. Attached to the first class stamp, valued at 350 AMD, is a donation coupon for 150 AMD. Together, the 500 AMD is equal to approximately US $1.00. Haypost will transfer the 150 AMD donation value to the Aurora Humanitarian Initative. This enables anyone to donate easily to the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.

“We founded the Aurora Initiative specifically in appreciation of those who risked offering help to Armenian genocide survivors, and we wanted to express that gratitude by continuing to do good, by empowering modern-day saviors so that they, too, can offer life and hope to those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid. That is our way of saying these victims are now saviors. This goes beyond just remembering and actually puts gratitude in action. Each Aurora project, including the Maggy stamp and the accompanying donation opportunity, are ways of broadening the Aurora community, expressing gratitude and continuing the cycle of giving

“Haypost takes seriously its privileged position to transform the use of stamps into an opportunity to share the Armenian culture and history and important messages about the world. Having Aurora’s Maggy on an Armenian postage stamp is a very special way of telling the world that Armenians embrace our common humanity. A stamp takes that message around the globe,” said Juan Pablo Gechidjian, Managing Director of HayPost Trust Management B.V..

Marguerite Barankitse, the founder of Maison Shalom and REMA hospital, received the Aurora Prize for the exceptional impact of her actions on preserving lives during the years of civil war in Burundi. To date, she has saved 30 thousand children and offered them shelter and care.

“It is humbling for me to get such a recognition but it is also a great encouragement that love will always prevail over hate and evil. I believe it will raise awareness of what the Aurora Prize stands for: awakening humanity to recognize women and men who have made an exceptional impact in advancing humanitarian causes,” said Marguerite Barankitse.

The postage stamp will have a 350 AMD denomination value. The illustrator is Alla Mingyalova, a member of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative team. It will be issued with circulation of 40 thousand copies.

The First Day ceremony to mark the issue will be held on May, 2017, in the presence of Marguerite Barankitse who will be in Armenia to attend the second annual Aurora Prize events.

The 2017 Aurora Prize finalists will be announced on April 24, 2017, the annual day of remembrance for victims of the Armenian Genocide.  One of these finalists will then be named as the 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate at a special ceremony on May 28, 2017, in Yerevan, Armenia. During the month between April 24 and May 28, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will organize a program of global activities to profile the inspirational stories of the 2017 finalists, as well as broader humanitarian endeavors.