Author: nina hovnanian

LECTURE ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN WARSAW

18:38, 20 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On March 19, a lecture, dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide was delivered by prominent publicist, religious and public
figure Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zalewski at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski
University in Warsaw. Ambassador of Armenia to Poland Edgar Ghazaryan,
diplomats, politicians and public figures, and more than 100 students
and professors of the university listened to the lecture.

Publicist presented the history of the Armenian Genocide, reflected on
the settlement of part of Armenians in Poland and the history of the
Armenian community in Poland, touched upon prehistory of the Armenian
Genocide, presenting essence and planning. He also briefed about the
process of international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide, as well as memorials and cross-stones dedicated to the memory
of victims of the Armenian Genocide, installed in different cities of
Poland. At the end of the lecture Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zalewski answered
moving questions of the attendees.

TSAKHKADZOR TO HOST FIDE WORLD TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2015

13:26, 20 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Tsakhkadzor, Armenia, will host the World Team Championship 2015. The
event organized by the Armenian Chess Federation and will take place
from April 18 to.

According to FIDE Regulations and the decision of FIDE President the
following federations participate in the championship: Russia, China,
Hungary, India, USA, Egypt, Ukraine, Armenia, Cuba, Israel.

Each team will play a match against all other teams. Colours and
starting numbers will be drawn at the Opening Ceremony. Time control
for the event is 90 min/40 moves +30 min/end, with 30 seconds
additional time per move, starting from move 1.

The teams are made up of four players plus one reserve and one captain.

Each match will be scored by match points as used in the FIDE
Olympiad. Winner will get 2 points, a draw will give each team 1 point,
and a loss is scored as 0 points.

Trophies will be awarded to the first three teams and gold, silver
and bronze medals for all members (players, reserve and captain)
of the first three teams respectively.

Tsaghkadzor, which literally means “Valley of Flowers” and is Romanized
to Tsakhkadzor, is a spa town and a popular health resort in Armenia,
located north of the capital Yerevan in the Kotayk Province (marz).

A FUSION OF OLD AND NEW: LOS ANGELES ELEMENT BAND BRINGS INNOVATIVE SOUND TO YEREVAN

Mаry Mamyan

14:06, March 20, 2015

The group Element Band, founded in Los Angeles in 2005, recently
performed for the first time in Yerevan.

Element Band, which partners Armenian and a host of other ethnic
musical traditions and rock melodies via innovative new arrangements,
is touring Armenia with two of its six members – Ara Dabandjian,
the group’s founder and song writer, and Soseh Aramouni, one of
the vocalists.

“When we arrived we thought how people would accept us, being we were
from overseas and sing in Armenian,” says Sose with a laugh.

The group has three CDs under its belt and is working on a fourth.

“But one thing became clear. First, such music is acceptable and the
second is that people have never heard such arrangements and that
the result was very positive,” Ara notes.

On stage, Ara can be seen playing a number of instruments. When I asked
exactly how many does he play, Ara joked, “One day I’ll count them.”

While most of Element Band’s repertory is based on Armenian traditional
renditions, the group fuses traditional American, French, Spanish,
Bulgarian, Italian, Portuguese, Greek songs as well. In all, the
group sings n ten languages. The band members like to call their
unique product a part of the world music scene.

“I always stress that the soul and breath is very Armenia; that
which we have felt and feel. Coming here, those feelings have doubled
because we are playing in the homeland after all,” says Ara.

Element Band has played at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl in Los
Angeles, a stage graced by the likes of the Beatles and Frank Sinatra,
on several occasions.

Ara confesses that the band’s music really hits home in an Armenian
setting where people long for a taste of national culture.

Nevertheless, the group wants to enlarge the audience of its music
to audiences beyond its present confines, thus the exploration of
new renditions and arrangements.

“This is the part that’s a bit more difficult. We have succeeded to
a small degree and are proud of the accomplishment. It’s not easy
and it’s something new to present Armenian songs publicly to other
peoples. But we are proud to be a part of that scene and that people
come to hear us,” Ara says.

He believes that music is at the core of culture and preserving one’s
identity. Sose adds that it’s easier to portray one’s culture to
others via music. In the case of music, people come and listen. It’s
not like literature which demands knowledge of the language.

Ara and Sose do not want to see Armenian young people in the diaspora
losing their culture. They may don’t speak the language but at least
they love to listen to the music.

“In a place like Los Angeles material things are more important than
culture. This important question cannot be stressed enough. Hopefully,
we are doing are part through music,” Ara says.

HYE RIDERS WILL RIDE FROM FRANCE TO ARMENIA TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

March 20, 2015

The “Hye Riders” are a group of Armenian men who love to ride their
motorcycles. They organize events, ride their bikes, and live proudly
as Armenians.

To raise awareness about the Armenian genocide Hye Riders will ride
from France to Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Georgia and will be in
Armenia for the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The Hye Riders ride twice a week. Most of the time, their rides are
for charity and fundraising events. They also participate in Harley
Davidson organized events to raise money, to donate gifts and toys
to orphans in Los Angles.

Picture taken from Blessing of Hye Riders in St. Mary’s Armenian
Apostolic Church – Glendale, for their World Tour on Bike to
commemorate The Centennial of Armenian Genocide.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN MEETS RUSSIAN MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

18:49, 20 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

President Serzh Sargsyan today hosted representatives from the
governing bodies of a series of leading Russian media outlets
– Vladimir Sungorkin, Editor-in-Chief at Komsomolskaya Pravda,
Alexander Minkin, reporter at Moskovskij Komsomolets, Leonid Mlechin,
commentator at the Public Television of Russia, Marina Zakharova,
Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Regnum News Agency, as well as Ashot
Dzhazoyan, Secretary of the Russian Union of Journalists, Boris Reznik,
Secretary of the Russian Union of Journalists and State Duma Deputy,
and Urmo Soonvald, Editor-in-Chief at the Estonian news agency Delphi.

The participants of the meeting exchanged views on a number of topics
of mutual interest.

The Armenian President also responded to the journalists’ questions
related to Armenia’s foreign and domestic policy, regional challenges
and current international problems, as well as to the commemorative
events to mark the Armenian Genocide Centennial.

DEADLY RESPONSE: SARGSYAN’S CALL FOR KARABAKH PEACE FOLLOWED BY AZERI AGGRESSION

ANALYSIS | 20.03.15 | 10:29

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Hours after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan spoke of the need to
settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully, Azerbaijani commando
forces launched an attack on Karabakh positions, killing three and
wounding four Armenian servicemen.

Speaking at a March 18 media forum in Yerevan attended by foreign
journalists, Sargsyan also reproached Russia for arms deliveries
to Azerbaijan. Answering a question from a Russian journalist, the
Armenian leader, in particular, said that “an Armenian soldier who
defends the country’s borders realizes that Azerbaijan is trying to
kill him with a Russian weapon.”

Armenian analysts tend to see a link between the commando raids
attempted by the Azerbaijani army and developments in Russia and
statements in Armenia. In particular, analyst Hakob Badalyan cites
the whole chronology of the bloody Azeri subversive activities in
Karabakh and on the border with Armenia after the arrival to Armenia
of the CSTO Secretary General and anti-Armenian statements in Yerevan.

Karabakh lawmaker Vahan Badasyan also sees this link. He believes
that the March 19 attack was a response to Sargsyan’s statements.

Azeri attacks also happen after visits to the region of the co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group when Armenia categorically rejects the
possibility of the introduction of peacekeepers into the region and
cede territories.

President Sargsyan says that Azerbaijan practically rejects the
mediators’ proposals and thwarts not only the negotiation process,
but also tries to undermine the format of the Minsk mediation. Baku
accuses Armenia of attempts to maintain the status quo.

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said that now the situation
at the border is fully controlled. Earlier, his spokesman Artsrun
Hovhannisyan said that the Azerbaijani side is imposing a “slow war”
on Armenia. Soldiers get killed in periodic fighting, and while the
Armenian side also reports destruction of a greater number of enemy
soldiers it does not deter Baku.

Analysts say that subversive activities on the part of Azerbaijan
will only intensive closer to April 24, the day when Armenians
will commemorate the Centennial of the Ottoman-era Genocide. A
number of heads of state are expected to arrive in Yerevan for the
commemoration events that day. Meanwhile, Turkey is intensifying its
diplomat efforts to contain the international acknowledgement of the
1915 Armenian Genocide.

It is yet difficult to say on which side Russia will be in this
“battle”. At the media forum Sargsyan said that in a conversation with
him Putin confirmed that he will come to Yerevan on April 24. But
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said yesterday that the date of
Putin’s visit to Yerevan has not been specified yet. It happened
after President Erdogan called Putin and talked to him about the
“Armenian issue” and the “1915 events”.

In any case, soldiers and officers of the Armenian army are being
instructed to be especially vigilant in the coming days.

LES 33 SURVIVANTS DU GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS RECENSES EN ARMENIE PERCEVRONT 100 000 DRAMS PAR MOIS

GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

Le gouvernement armenien a decide d’octroyer a partir du 1er avril
une prime mensuelle de 100 000 drams (moins de 200 euros) au lieu de
25 000 drams jusqu’alors aux survivants du genocide des Armeniens
nes en 1915 (et avant) en Armenie occidentale et d’autres regions
de l’Empire ottoman Une juste decision qui ne coûtera a l’Etat
armenien que 30 millions de drams par an. Petite somme car le nombre
des survivants du genocide des Armeniens est egalement très petit
aujourd’hui puisqu’en Armenie on ne compte que 33 personnes nees
pendant et avant le genocide.

Krikor Amirzayan

vendredi 20 mars 2015, Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

LA BERD ET L’UE PROPOSENT UNE AIDE POUR AMELIORER LA GESTION DES DECHETS SOLIDES EN ARMENIE

ARMENIE

La Banque europeenne pour la reconstruction et le developpement (BERD)
a accorde un pret de 3,5 millions d’EURO a l’ Armenie pour financer
la construction du premier site d’enfouissement de dechets solides
conforme aux directives europeennes. Le pret est complete par une
subvention de 3,5 millions d’EURO fournis par le Fonds de voisinage
de l’Union europeenne.

Le nouveau site d’enfouissement, qui sera situe dans la ville de
Hrazdan dans la province du Kotayk et gere par huit municipalites
participantes – Hrazdan, Abovian, Charentsavan, Tsakhkadzor,
Byureghavan, Yeghvard, ne Hachn et Sevan – fonctionnera comme
une unite commerciale durable avec un solide système de gestion
des dechets, couvrant la collecte et l’elimination des dechets
solides municipaux. Cela offrira des avantages environnementaux et
sociaux majeurs pour les 215 000 personnes dans la zone couverte
par l’installation.

5TH THREE-DAY INTERNATIONAL FORUM “AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT ARARAT” KICKS OFF

2015-03-18 17:13:00 | News

The fifth, three-day international media forum entitled “At the Foot
of Mount Ararat” kicked off in Yerevan on March 18.

The main topic of the forum, which has brought together more than 200
journalists from 34 countries, is the Armenian Genocide perpetrated
by the Ottoman Empire in Western Armenia and other territories of
the Ottoman Empire a century ago.

The panel discussions of the forum with the slogan “I Remember
and Demand” are four principles, including remembrance, gratitude,
international struggle for recognition of genocides and renaissance,
and this is the logic for the events dedicated to the Centennial of
the Armenian Genocide.

The discussions on the first day were devoted to the key issues of the
Armenian Diaspora today, cyber-security, reparations for the damage
caused by the Armenian Genocide, economic policies and other issues.

RA President Serzh Sargsyan greeted the gathered and gave a speech
in which he touched upon the activities of the State Commission
on Coordination of the events for the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and mentioned the following:
“It is obvious that in our days, media outlets have huge potential
to disseminate universal values, fight against their encroachment
and consolidate the international community. Today, a highly
representative group of international media outlets has gathered
under the same roof. You have already built an effective media
platform for the discussions pertaining to the Armenian Genocide with
the objective to once again uncover the realities regarding one of
the most serious crimes committed in the 20th century. This forum,
why not, is also a unique platform to thoroughly and comprehensively
present the achievements of the Republic of Armenia in various areas,
and challenges faced by our country.”

The President of the Republic of Armenia also answered questions
concerning the participants of the forum.

Chief of Staff of the RA President, general coordinator for the events
dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide Vigen Sargsyan
gave a speech in which he recalled the claim of genocide scholars
that the genocide won’t end as long as it continues to be denied,
emphasized the fact that Turkey continues its policy of hostility
against Armenia and brought up the example of the closed border with
Armenia and the anti-Armenian position that Ankara expresses within
international organizations.

Touching upon the Armenians living in Turkey, RA Minister of Diaspora
Hranush Hakobyan mentioned that there are approximately 3 million
Armenians, most of whom have been compelled to hide their identity.

“There are now Armenians living two different lifestyles. They live
as Turks until 18:00, and then they live as Armenians at home,”
the minister stated.

The RA Minister of Diaspora called on the participants of the media
forum to reflect on the consequences of the Armenian Genocide and
emphasized the following: “Diaspora Armenians continue to suffer the
consequences of the Armenian Genocide because all Diaspora Armenians
spend tremendous amounts of money and spiritual resources to achieve
justice, and who has “counted” that suffering? Turkey overtly
falsifies its own history and world history, and this is an issue
that we need to treat seriously. All Armenians won’t keep silent and
will continue the struggle for recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian Genocide. They won’t keep silent because the memories of
their tortured ancestors will always trouble the generations.”

Talking about the problems with Armenia’s economic development,
Minister of Economy Karen Tchshmarityan mentioned that the closed
borders, the external factors and the economic turmoil in the 1990s
have had their impact on the country’s economy.

Discussing with the participants of the media forum the problems with
cyber security in terms of freedom of speech, information security
expert Ruben Muradyan reminded everyone that the 24th of April will
be one of the important dates for Turkish and Azerbaijani hackers to
hack Armenian websites and introduced the illegal tools and certain
elements of censure applied to silence the opponent.

Director of the Public Relations and Information Center of the
Structure of the President of the Republic of Armenia Ara Saghatelyan
mentioned that Turkey doesn’t have access to many Armenian and
international websites and that this doesn’t provide Turks with the
opportunity to confront their past.

President of Cooperation between Journalists Media Congress Ashot
Jazoyan said he was pleased to note that most of the more than 20
journalists participating in the forum were visiting Armenia for the
first time and that becoming familiar with the mythical land will
help form a real opinion not only about the issue being discussed at
the forum, but Armenian culture as well.

The international media forum continues.

ARMENIA TO OPEN CONSULATE IN IRBIL, IRAQ

The Daily Star, Lebanon
March 19 2015

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The government of Armenia will open a consulate in Irbil,
Iraq, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government, it was
announced Wednesday.

The KRG website said Yerevan’s special envoy to Iraq, Levon Sargsyan,
discussed the move with Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the
regional government. The Armenian diplomat added that he expected
direct flights between Irbil and Yerevan to be established in the
near future. The two men discussed bilateral cooperation in several
other fields, including commerce, culture and the arts.