Author: Mike Maghakian

Asbarez: Pashinyan, Aliyev Agree to Continue Talks in July in Brussels

Mike Maghakian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 June 1, 2023

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

European Council President Charles Michel (center) hosts the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moldova on June 1


A meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, held on Thursday at the invitation of the European Council President Charles Michel, ended in Moldova’s capital Chisinau with the sides agreeing to resume talks in Brussels on July 21.

After the one and half-hour long meeting, no joint announcements were released or agreements signed, with Michel saying that the Thursday meeting was “a good preparation” for upcoming talks.

“We had the opportunity to address all the topics that we discussed in Brussels in May – connectivity, security and rights, the border delimitation, the peace treaty,” Michel said in a statement following the meeting.

President Emmanuel Macron of France and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part in talks before, Pashinyan, Aliyev and Michel held a separate meeting.

“This meeting was a good preparation for the next meeting that will take place in Brussels on 21 July. It means that we are working hard, and we intend to support all the positive efforts in the direction of normalization of the relations,” Michel added.

“I also announced that I intend to invite again President Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan, Chancellor Scholz, and President Macron in the margins of the next meeting of the European Political Community that will take place in Spain. It means that we will do everything on the EU side in order to help, to provide assistance, to make more progress in the direction of normalization of the relations,” Michel said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined the talks in Moldova on June 1

“During the meeting, issues related to the unblocking of regional transport and economic infrastructures, border delimitation and border security between the two countries, the agreement on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the need to address the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, as well as POWs, missing persons and other humanitarian issues were discussed,” Pashinyan’s office said in a press statement following the meeting.

The last time Pashinyan and Aliyev met with Michel in Brussels on May 14, they agreed that Armenia and Azerbaijan would recognize each other’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma Ata document that delineated the borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In a statement following the May 14 meeting, Michel said that he called on Aliyev to ensure security guarantees for the “Armenians living in the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast,” a term used to describe Artsakh before it declared independence and held a referendum affirming that vote in 1991. Michel used the same terminology ahead of the Chisinau (pronounced Kishniyev) meeting on Thursday.

Pashinyan clarified later that his pledge to recognize Azerbaijan 86,600 square kilometers of territory meant that Artsakh would fall under Azerbaijan’s control, a declaration that created uproar among opposition forces in Armenia, the government and people of Artsakh and various forces in the Diaspora.

Pashinyan and Aliyev also met with President Valdimir Putin of Russia in Moscow where they pledged to accelerate efforts to unblock transport routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Despite these agreements and the West optimistic and positive outlook for an eventual peace deal between Yerevan and Baku, Aliyev continued his belligerent threats against Armenia’s sovereignty and the Armenians of Artsakh.

In an address delivered on May 28 in Lachin, which has been blockaded by Azerbaijan since December 12, Aliyev essentially threatened ethnic cleansing of Armenians living in Artsakh if they did no subject themselves to Baku’s rule. He demanded that government structures in Artsakh be dismantled, after which he would consider “amnesty” for the Artsakh leadership.

The United States welcomed Aliyev’s offer of “amnesty” as an encouraging sign of progress in peace talks. The American reaction was met with denouncements by Armenia and Artsakh, whose foreign ministries pointed to Aliyev’s aggressive threats against Armenia and Artsakh.

PM Pashinyan calls on the partners of Artsakh to show readiness in the establishment of Baku-Stepanakert dialogue

Mike Maghakian

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 20:33,

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS.  Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan considers the dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku in an international format to be the right formula, in which the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh issues will be discussed, ARMENPRESS reports, the Prime Minister said during parliament-Cabinet Q&A session, answering the question of Vahagn Aleksanyan, MP from the "Civil Contract" faction, regarding the May 22 statement of the Artsakh’s parliament. In the question addressed to the Prime Minister, Aleksanyan referred to the speeches made at the extraordinary session of the Artsakh National Assembly 2 days ago, stating that he had the impression that the Artsakh deputies were trying to tell the Armenian authorities that they do not want to negotiate with Azerbaijan, that the Armenian authorities should negotiate, and Artsakh should say how to negotiate.

"I think that the negotiations between Stepanakert and Baku is the right formula, the dialogue within the framework of the international mechanism regarding ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

I think it is the right way, the right direction. I also call on our partners in Artsakh to approach this agenda with appropriate readiness. Of course, on the other side, there must be that willingness from Baku as well, because perhaps in Stepanakert, Baku's readiness is viewed with suspicion. And maybe that is the reason for such attitude and reaction. Let's not jump to conclusions," said the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan doesn’t rule out possible withdrawal from CSTO

Mike Maghakian

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 13:39,

YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. The issue of possible withdrawal from the CSTO is still on Armenia’s agenda, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“Why was that issue raised? Because it is our understanding that the CSTO has withdrawn or is withdrawing from the Republic of Armenia. I mean, if Armenia were to make a de-jure decision on withdrawing from the CSTO, it would take place as a result of Armenia recording that the CSTO has withdrawn from Armenia. By saying the CSTO’s withdrawal I mean first of all the obligations of the organization. I wouldn’t say that this issue has been withdrawn from our agenda, because the issue is being discussed as long as there is an issue to discuss. Look, there is a lot of talk on whether or not the monitoring group should come to Armenia, why it’s not coming. I don’t rule out that Armenia could de-jure make a decision on suspending or freezing its membership to the CSTO, but this could happen only in case when we were to record that the CSTO is withdrawing from Armenia. What else should we do if it has left? That is, if we were to record that the CSTO has withdrawn from Armenia, the [needless] status of a de-jure member of the CSTO would only hinder us from discussing security agenda with other countries,” the PM said.

Pashinyan said that membership to CSTO has blocked Armenia’s opportunities for arms acquisitions from other countries.

Moscow urges Yerevan, Baku to refrain from any moves leading to escalation — MFA

Mike Maghakian
 TASS 
Russia – May 17 2023
It is Russia’s position that all disputes should be resolved politically and diplomatically

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Now that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has stabilized, Moscow urges the sides to refrain from any actions that could lead to an escalation of tension, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Wednesday.

"Regretfully, there were ceasefire violations from both sides on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on May 11-12," the spokeswoman said. "The situation has now stabilized. We call on the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides to refrain from provocative actions and from escalating tension," Zakharova said.

It is Russia’s position that all disputes should be resolved politically and diplomatically, the spokeswoman added. "We intend to facilitate this in every possible way, including during the trilateral meeting [of the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan] scheduled for May 19 in Moscow," the diplomat added.

Armenpress: The EU expressed regret regarding the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Georgia

Mike Maghakian

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 21:33,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The European Union expresses regret that Georgia did not join the European sanctions against the Russian aviation sector and restores air communication with the Russian Federation, ARMENPRESS reports, "Interfax" informs, citing Peter Stano, Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

"The decision of the Georgian government causes concern on the way to joining the European Union, in terms of compliance with decisions in the field of foreign policy conducted by the EU," he said at the briefing.

Georgia followed about 40 percent of EU decisions on foreign policy and security, which, according to Stano, is not enough. This year, that figure was 31 percent.

"We are sorry about that," he added.

According to Peter Stano, this week the UN's specialized body, the International Civil Aviation Organization, contacted the Georgian authorities to discuss the topic of the Russian aviation sector and the safety of Russian aircraft.

Armenian Diaspora Survey: Local Community Research Results Announced

Mike Maghakian
By MARTIN HARRIS 
The Armenian Diaspora Survey has published the results of the research conducted in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Over 12,000 Armenians in more than 50 diaspora communities in 10 countries share their views on issues such as identity, language, culture, political engagement, and relations with Armenia.

The latest research into today's Armenian diaspora was funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and carried out by the Armenian Institute in London. It was led by a group of international scholars and researchers who studied Armenian communities in different countries.

More details can be found at http://www.armeniandiaspora.com

According to the director of the Armenian Diaspora Survey, Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian, University of Oxford, the newly published survey highlights the multifaceted and complex experiences in diasporic life. In particular, the study found that despite the geographical differences, the defining elements of "Armenia identity" are common among the diaspora communities.

“One generalization we could make based on our research is that Armenian identity is largely self-defined, fluid, and personalized,” explained Dr. Tchilingirian. “Armenians living in the same country or in the same state or city could have different perceptions and understanding of ‘Armenianness’, depending on multiple variables, such as family upbringing, community, personal preferences, and so on.”

The 2021 research was carried out in Belgium, Paris, the United Kingdom, and Rostov-on-Don, and the 2022 survey features the views and opinions of Armenians living in the United States and Ontario, Canada. The results from both surveys are publicly available and can be downloaded at no cost.

The annual survey, whose previous round was completed in 2019 in Argentina, Lebanon, Montreal, and Romania, is intended to fill a critical gap in the evidence-based understanding of the Armenian diaspora. The researchers hope the results will be useful for the public, scholars, policymakers, and community leaders to raise their awareness of the attitudes and views defining the Armenian world in the 21st century.

"We are pleased that this systematic survey that covers a vast geography of the Armenian Diaspora has been successfully completed and the results are published," said Dr. Razmik Panossian, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Armenian Communities Department. "We look forward to building on this research and enhancing its impact on policy development."

Interested parties can find more information by visiting http://www.armeniandiaspora.com

Source: http://newswire.net/newsroom/pr/00000000-https-www-armeniandiasporasurvey-com.html

ARS of Eastern USA hosts regional seminar in New Jersey

Mike Maghakian
May 9, 2023 Armenian Relief Society Eastern U.S. Nonprofit News, Diaspora 0

2023 ARS-EUSA Regional Seminar participants

HACKENSACK, NJ—Over 70 members from 10 chapters of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of Eastern USA, as well as supporters of the organization, attended its regional seminar on April 29 at the Hackensack University Medical Center. 

MaryAnne Bonjuklian led in the singing of the ARS anthem and then introduced Caroline Chamavonian, chairperson of the ARS of Eastern USA.

In her welcoming remarks, Chamavonian noted that the last in-person seminar was held in 2019. Since then, however, she said the ARS “provided thousands of dollars worth of scholarships to young scholars. Our chapters worked in the community during the pandemic to support the elderly and thank our medical heroes. We extended our healing hands to our community members in Lebanon before and after the Beirut port explosion. We supported the work of the Central Executive Board in Artsakh and the work of our sister region in Syria.”

The first speaker of the day was Cynthia Ruggerio, Esq., who lectured on “Resonating Patterns of Cultural Destruction and Genocide.” Ruggerio discussed Lemkin’s creation of the word “genocide” and the role of cultural destruction; resonating patterns from the past to the present; the destruction of churches; the denialist narrative; the Artsakh blockade; and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and international shortcomings.

Dr. Kim Hekimian, assistant professor of nutrition in pediatrics (gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition) at the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center, spoke about “Women’s Health in Armenia.” Hekimian presented a lifecycle perspective and highlighted the intergenerational consequences of undernutrition. She also discussed the leading causes of death in recent years; coronary heart disease has been ranked the highest.

After a brief lunch break, longtime ARS member Valentine Berberian and former ARS United Nations interns Taleen Nigdelian, Nory Boiatchian, Talar Hovsepian and Arev Ebrimian presented “Armenian Women’s Rights and Roles Throughout History.”

The seminar ended with Seda Aghamianz, ARS of Eastern USA Regional Executive Board member, who led a workshop on parliamentary procedures. “The understanding of parliamentary procedures is essential during meetings to ensure that the decision-making process is fair, efficient and effective, allowing for the best possible outcomes for the meeting,” she explained.

Dinner was held at Krichian’s Grill and Bistro.

The Regional Board expressed its gratitude to all attendees and the New Jersey “Agnouni,” “Armenouhi” and “Shakeh” Chapters for their hard work in organizing the event. 

ARS-EUSA Regional Board members and this year’s seminar committee

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The ARS Eastern USA has 33 chapters located throughout the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the United States.


Armenian playwright shares her story, culture in new CTC show

Mike Maghakian
Rhode Island –

  • By Bill Seymour Special to the Independent

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Being Armenian is never having to say goodbye.

“We are never able to leave parties when we say we’re going to because we spend so much time saying goodbye to everyone,” said Playwright Susie Chakmakian.

“The ‘Armenian way’ of doing things has impacted me in my life, like when I was a tired six-year-old who just wanted to go home after a long night at a family event but my parents would take forever to say goodbye,” she said.

This and other anecdotes fill her one-person play about the heritage of this country, just south of the great mountain range of the Caucasus and fronting the northwestern extremity of Asia.

Armenia, the country of Transcaucasia, to the north and east is bounded by Georgia and Azerbaijan, while its neighbors to the southeast and west are, respectively, Iran and Turkey.

Armenian culture and history come to life in “There Was and There Was Not: Telling Armenian Stories,” a new one-woman show playing at The Contemporary Theater Company beginning tomorrow evening.

She is also the sole performer and weaves her own personal family stories as a first-generation Armenian-American with history, music, and food from Armenia.

“It’s really fun to share these stories with both Armenians and non-Armenians who can see themselves in those stories,” she said. “My favorite example is when I performed the first chunk of my show for some kids at an Armenian Youth Day event in Providence earlier this month. When I asked if any of them had questions after the performance, three different kids piped up with their own stories about how their parents take ages to leave events and it was a joy to see them recognize themselves in my story and get so excited about sharing their stories with me!”

She also said that the Armenian language is also unique and has some fun and fascinating quirks.

“I also love sharing how Armenians talk about our babies,” Chakmakian said. “It’s very specific and kind of weird, but it makes sense to us. When I performed the show at Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church in Providence last fall, my demonstration of Armenian baby talk got the biggest laugh of the whole show.”

Chakmakian said that this show has been a way for her to think about a lot of “important and complicated big-picture questions that I have been asking myself about the Armenian-American experience for a while now, particularly in terms of how we tell stories about ourselves.”

“When you see the show, you’re watching me work through those questions on stage while navigating the strong and complex feelings that are also tied up with the Armenian-American experience,” she said.

For instance, Armenians are fiercely proud of their culture, but all of that pride “is tinged with the deep sadness” that comes with the tragedy of genocide during the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through the mass murder of around one million Armenians during death marches.

“The sadness can make our story difficult to tell sometimes, but the pride is always there underneath, driving the urge to keep telling that story anyway,” Chakmakian said.

CTC Artistic Director Tammy Brown, offering comments about this show developed during the theater’s experimental “try-out” sessions for newly developed work, praised the effort.

“When I first saw this show I was struck by how thoughtful and poignant it was,” Brown said. “This play reminds me of all the great things theater can be — a gathering of community where, by learning about the experience of others, you gain a sense of our shared humanity.”

Chakmakian agrees.

“I really hope that audiences will come away with a better understanding of what it’s like to be an Armenian in America, but also to think about what it means more generally to see the world from a different perspective for a while,” she said.

Tickets for the show, which runs through May 13, range from $10 to $40, with every audience member able to choose the price that works for them.

Performance information and tickets are on The Contemporary Theater Company’s website at contemporarytheatercompany.com.

https://www.independentri.com/arts_and_living/article_6ae0f032-e463-11ed-8278-fb41ea0c94cf.html

Former FOX 5 Reporter Jacqueline Sarkissian Joins KTLA

Mike Maghakian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Latest, News, Top Stories
Jacqueline Sarkissian


There is a new Armenian news reporter making her presence on local television. Jacqueline Sarkissian, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, is back at KTLA — the same station where her career in broadcast journalism started 10 years ago.

Born in Diamond Bar, Sarkissian went to Rosary High School in Fullerton and graduated with honors from USC with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.

Sarkissian first started at KTLA as an intern before accepting a position on the assignment desk. In 2015, she made the move to small town Tyler, Texas to report and anchor for the city’s CBS affiliate. She was a “one-man-band” journalist where she shot, edited, and wrote her own stories in addition to being in front of the camera. From there she moved to Austin, Texas and later moved back to Southern California, in March of 2020, to work as a reporter and anchor for FOX 5 San Diego.

Ever since she left KTLA, Sarkissian dreamt of coming back home and telling stories that impact the community she grew up in. She is ecstatic that her dream has now become a reality and she is especially proud to serve as a voice for the Armenian community.

Sarkissian’s heritage has always been extremely important to her, and she couldn’t be happier to be back in LA — home to so many Armenians. Sarkissian would love to connect with her fellow Armenians, who can contact her via email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter. Sarkissian and her husband, along with their 6-month-old baby, live in Orange County.

MFA: Shushi is Artsakh’s integral part in territorial, cultural, economic, historical aspects

Mike Maghakian
NEWS.am
Armenia – March 13 2023
18:42, 13.04.2023

The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) foreign ministry issued a comment on the visit of a delegation of TURKSOY National Commissions for UNESCO to Artsakh’s Azerbaijani-occupied city of Shushi. The comment reads as follows:

We strongly condemn the visit of the delegation of the National Commissions for UNESCO of the member states of the International Organization of Turkic Culture to the occupied Armenian city of Shushi on 8 April. It is obvious that this illegal visit, as well as holding other similar events in the occupied Armenian city of Shushi, are aimed at legitimising by Azerbaijan and its allies the results of the aggressive war unleashed by Baku in 2020 and the illegal use of force against the Republic of Artsakh and its people. We emphasise again that the city of Shushi is an integral part of Artsakh, both in the territorial, cultural, economic and historical aspects.

The visit by the National Commissions for UNESCO to Shushi looks even more blasphemous and provocative against the backdrop of the illegal blockade of Artsakh that has been going on for 4 months now, as well as the systematic destruction of Armenian religious, historical and cultural monuments and the falsification of their identity in the territories that came under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces, including in the ancient Armenian city of Shushi, and the persistent obstruction by the Azerbaijani authorities of sending a UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to conduct an inventory and assessment of the state of cultural heritage sites.

By such actions, the Azerbaijani authorities seek to obtain from representatives of individual states and international structures tacit approval of their criminal plans to carry out ethnic cleansing aimed at leaving Artsakh without Armenians and traces of the centuries-old Armenian presence. The abuse of kinship ties between countries and peoples to falsify history and promote their own political narratives is unacceptable and does not contribute to strengthening peace and mutual understanding among peoples.

In this regard, we remind once again that the ongoing acts of vandalism and desecration by Azerbaijan against Armenian churches and other cultural and religious monuments in Artsakh, including in the occupied Armenian city of Shushi, constitute gross violations of international law, as well as the Order of the International Court of Justice of 7 December 2021 on the indication of provisional measures.