50,000 hectares of land in Artsakh to become irrigated in a stable manner

Panorama, Armenia
June 6 2020

Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan received the delegation led by Republic of Armenia Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Suren Papikyan.

Artsakh Republic Minister of Territorial Administration and Development Zhirayr Mirzoyan and Minister of Agriculture Ashot Bakhshiyan attended the meeting.

Welcoming the guests, President Harutyunyan noted that there are all the preconditions for the solution of common food security problems. He expressed confidence that all the envisaged programs will become a reality through close cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Armenia. "As a result of the novel coronavirus, our numerous compatriots have been deprived of the opportunity to work abroad. I think, our efforts in this stage will greatly contribute to creating stable work places for our fellow countrymen in the homeland", underlined A. Harutyunyan.

Expressing gratitude to the President for warm reception, Suren Papikyan highlighted the discussion of the identified issues and expressed readiness to take steps for comprehensive solution of those problems as soon as possible.

Thereafter Artsakh Republic Minister of Territorial Administration and Development Zhirayr Mirzoyan presented to the attention of the attendees a presentation on water resources for irrigation purposes. In the result of the usage of those resources, 50,000 hectares of land in Artsakh will become irrigated in a stable manner, on 10,000 hectares of which it is planned to establish new gardens. According to the minister, the remaining areas will be used for field purposes, with the application of a crop rotation principle, cultivating grain, oilseeds, legumes and cereals, significantly increasing the level of food security in Artsakh and Armenia.

President Sarkissian congratulates Croatia’s Milanović on Statehood Day

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 12:09,

YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian has congratulated President of Croatia Zoran Milanović on the occasion of Statehood Day.

“I am sure that the Armenian-Croatian intergovernmental cooperation will further strengthen and develop for the benefit of our peoples, for which the implementation of the Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement will greatly contribute to,” Sarkissian said in a telegram.

The Armenian President wished President Milanović robust health and all the best, and the good people of Croatia peace and wellbeing.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 25-05-20

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 17:35,

YEREVAN, 25 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 25 May, USD exchange rate up by 0.76 drams to 483.00 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.36 drams to 526.57 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.05 drams to 6.76 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.46 drams to 588.54 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 176.47 drams to 26919.97 drams. Silver price down by 2.76 drams to 263.99 drams. Platinum price down by 227.66 drams to 12966.56 drams.

Central Bank of Armenia issues 3 collector coins

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 09:50,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia issued 3 collector coins, the CBA told Armenpress.

Yeghishe Tadevossian – 150th anniversary of the birth

Yeghishe Tadevossian (1870-1936) is one of the well-known masters of Armenian landscape and portrait painting. He is an honored art worker of the Armenian SSR.

Tadevossian was born in Vagharshapat, Armenia. He studied at Ter-Hakobyan boarding house in Tiflis (1879-1881), Moscow’s Lazarian Seminary (1881-1885) and School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1885-1894). He worked as an art teacher at the Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin (1894-1895). Tadevossian participated in many exhibitions in Yerevan, Tiflis and Moscow. In 1916, he assisted in creating the Union of Armenian Artists, and was elected as its Chairman. He was one of the founders of the Georgian Academy of Art (1923) and one of its first professors.

Mainly a painter, Tadevossian exposed his talent in the field of graphics, applied arts, mosaic and sculpture as well.

Tadevossian’s first works speak of a profound sense of color and loyalty to classical traditions. The landscapes created by the artist are peculiar as they express freshness and lyricism (“Aragats”, 1917, “Ararat”, 1934).

Tadevossian is a brilliant portraitist. The painter's mastery is shown in the early portraits (“A. Shirvanzade”, 1929, “H. Tumanyan”, 1933), and his last painting “Komitas”, 1935, boasts a prominent portraiture. As a contemporary of the rise of the Armenian national liberation movement, Tadevossian periodically referred to the past of the Armenian people (“Funeral Repast: Death of Artashes”, “Torq Angegh”, 1910, “Arshak and Parandzem”, 1921).

The works of Yeghishe Tadevossian are at the National Gallery of Armenia, Charents Museum of Literature and Art, the Moscow State Museum of the Oriental Art, and elsewhere.

 

Obverse: a fragment from Yeghishe Tadevossian’s “Justine, the painter’s wife” (1903) painting.

Reverse: fragments from Yeghishe Tadevossian’s “Self-portrait” (1933), “Araqelots Church on the Sevan Island” (Sketch, 1934) paintings.

 

Designed by Lusine Lalayan.

Minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

 

Nominal value                    100

Metal/alloy                         silver 9250

Weight                              28,28

Size                                  28,0 x 40,0

Quantity                            500

Edge                                 even

Quality                              BU

 

 

Hrachia Nersisyan – 125th anniversary of the birth

 

Hrachia Nersisyan (1895-1961) is a prominent Armenian actor, People’s Artist of the USSR (1956).

He received education at French and American Colleges, and at the Armenian Essayean College, Constantinople. Stage activity started as an actor in the Penklyan theater group. Starting 1919 he played at the theatre “Armenian drama” of Constantinople. In 1922, together with V. Papazyan, M. Janan and other actors, Nersisyan moved to Soviet Armenia and, starting 1923, he became a lifelong resident of Yerevan and an actor at the First State Theater (now the National Academic Theater after Sundukyan).

Nersisyan’s mastery and talent were fully revealed in his playing of Falstaff, Othello, King Lear (“The Funnier Women of Windsor”, “Othello”, “King Lear” by W. Shakespeare), Paghtasar Aghbar (“Paghtasar Aghbar” by H. Paronyan, Elizbaryan (“For the Sake of Honor” by A. Shirvanzade), Protasov (“Living Corpse” by L. Tolstoy), Mac-Gregor (“My Heart’s in the Highlands” by W. Saroyan). Since 1925 he has starred in films as Rustam (“Namus”, 1925), Pepo (“Pepo”, 1935), Davit Bek (“Davit Bek”, 1944), Ghambaryan (“Why the River is Making Noise”, 1958), Nerses Aghbar (“Tzhvzhik”, 1961).

Mastering the art of personifying with great ease and using a broader spectrum of means for expressing, Nersisyan could equally portray tragic, dramatic, and comical roles, while conveying deep emotional content. Nersisyan’s creative pathos is the compassion for the truly persecuted hero, which is emphasized in the artist’s recent roles.

Artistic profile, aesthetic value of art and emotional appeal has given Hrachia Nersisyan wide popularity.

 

Obverse: a fragment of the bas-relief on the memorial dedicated to Hrachia Nersisyan (author – Stepan Kyurkchyan).

Reverse: a portrait of Hrachia Nersisyan (author – Nerses Kirakosyan).

 

Designed by Lusine Lalayan.

Minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

 

Face value               10000

Metal/fineness          gold 9000

Weight                     8,6

Diameter                  22,0

Quantity                   300

Edge                        ribbed

Quality                     proof

 

Henry Verneuil - 100th anniversary of the birth

 

Henri Verneuil (born Ashot Malakian, 1920-2002), a French filmmaker of Armenian origin, a writer, a member of French Academy of Fine Arts. He studied at the Applied Art School in Marseilles, and then entered the École Nationale d'Arts et Metiers in Aix-en-Provence in 1942. After graduation, he worked as a journalist, then became editor of “Horizon”, an Armenian magazine. In 1945, appearing as Henri Verneuil he published a series of articles on the Armenian Question in “La Marseillese”. Starting from 1948, Verneuil worked in cinema. He produced more than 40 films (“The Forbidden Fruit” (1952), “Maxim” (1958), “The President” (1961), among others, with the participation of world-class actors.

One of the best examples of contemporary cinematic art is Henri Verneuil’s “Mayrig”, a biographical film shot in 1991. It features the history of the Armenian family who survived the Armenian Genocide and migrated to France. In 1996, the film was awarded a César, and the script was translated and published into dozens of languages, becoming a credential for the adamant-like spirit and revival of Armenians.

 

Obverse: images of Order of the French Legion of Honor, Parajanov’s Thaler and Cesar prizes awarded to Henri Verneuil.

Reverse: a portrait of Henri Verneuil, a videotape and the fragments of the posters of the “Forbidden Fruit” (1952) and “It Happened All Night” (1960) films.

 

Designed by Eduard Kurghinyan.

Minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

 

Nominal value                   100

Metal/alloy                        silver 9250

Weight                              28,28

Size                                  28,0 x 40,0

Quantity                            500

Edge                                 even

Quality                              BU

 

In case of using the Press Release, the reference to the original source is mandatory.

CBA Public Relations Service

Tel/Fax: (374-10) 56 37 61

E-mail: [email protected]

www.cba.am

  

Notice

Collector coins are made of precious metals and are issued to present to the society the national, international, historical and cultural, spiritual and other values of the country, to immortalize these values in the metal and to meet the demands of the numismatic market.

Like any other currency the collector coins have face value which makes them the means of payment. However, the face value of these coins is much lower that their cost price which includes the cost of the precious metal used for manufacturing of the coin, mintage and other expenses. Low face value and high cost price allow these coins to be considered as the items of collection and not the means of payment used in money circulation. The collector coins have also the sale price set by the Central Bank of Armenia.

As the items of collection the collector coins are issued in very restricted quantities and are not reissued.

Numismatists, collectors and all interested persons can buy the Armenian collector coins in the sales salon “Numismatist” which is in the building of the Central Bank of Armenia and is open for everyone.

Eduard Sharmazanov on the genocide of the Pontic Greeks: We remember and demand

Arminfo, Armenia

ArmInfo. Former deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament Eduard Sharmazanov honored the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks.  "May 19 is the Day of Remembrance of the Pontic Greeks' genocide. On March 24, 2015, the Armenian parliament unanimously recognized and condemned this crime. We remember and demand," Sharmazanov wrote on his Facebook page.

It should be noted that May 19 is the Day of Remembrance of the  Genocide of the Asia Minor Greeks by the Turks. In March 1915, in the  vicinity of the city of Smyrna (now Izmir) and in the Black Sea  Pontic region, the Young Turks carried out the massacre of the  Greeks, who had been called up to the Turkish army shortly before.  Ethnic cleansings against the Greek population of Turkey were  actively carried out by Turkish nationalists and under the leadership  of Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) during the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1922.  It was May 19, 1919, the day of the landing of Kemal in Samsun and  the beginning of the second wave of massacre is celebrated as the day  of the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks. According to various estimates,  the number of victims of the Greek genocide ranges from 350 thousand  to 1.2 million people.

Nel Nagorno Karabakh. Elezioni presidenziali concluse – l’Opinione Pubblica

ESTERI

    Il nuovo presidente della repubblica autonoma di Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan proviene dal gruppo dei combattenti per l'indipendenza. Promette di instaurare un clima collaborativo, ma il rischio di un nuovo conflitto tra Armeni e Azerbaijan è dietro l'angolo.

     

    Il 31 marzo e il 14 aprile si sono svolte le elezioni presidenziali nell’ex stato-stato sovietico noto come Regione autonoma del Nagorno Karabakh (NKAR), che dopo il crollo dell’URSS si unì con la regione shahumiana abitata dagli armeni, per formare la Repubblica del Nagorno Karabakh (NKR), con capitale Stepanakert. Nel 1988, dopo un referendum esplose un conflitto sanguinoso quando le autorità locali nel Nagorno Karabakh votarono per separarsi dall’Azerbaijan e unirsi all’Armenia. La NKR ha poi dichiarato la sua indipendenza il 2 settembre 1991, cercando il pieno rispetto delle norme e dei principi fondamentali del diritto internazionale. Da allora, la leadership della Repubblica ha costantemente perseguito una politica di mantenimento della pace, nonostante  nell’aprile 2016, il Nagorno-Karabakh è stato teatro dei peggiori scontri peggiori tra Azerbaigian e Armenia dall’armistizio firmato nel 1994. Con la mediazione di Russia, Kirghizistan e il Consiglio interparlamentare della CSI, l’Azerbaijan, il Nagorno Karabakh e l’Armenia fu firmato il Documento di Bishkek nella capitale del Kirghizistan, il 5 maggio 1994. Secondo tale documento, le parti in conflitto hanno concordato di un cessate il fuoco, in vigore dal 12 maggio 1994 ad oggi.

    Nel marzo 1992, l’Organizzazione per la sicurezza e la cooperazione in Europa (OSCE) ha aderito al processo di risoluzione del conflitto tra Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh. Nel 1997 è stato creato l’istituto di copresidenza di Russia, Francia e Stati Uniti del gruppo OSCE di Minsk, che da allora è stato l’unico formato concordato, con il mandato dell’OSCE di condurre attività di mediazione per la soluzione pacifica del conflitto Azerbaigian-Karabakh.

    Dopo il conteggio dei voti del 31 marzo, non avendo nessuno dei candidati superato il 50% + 1 dei voti, si è andati al secondo turno il 14 aprile. Al primo turno l’ex primo ministro della Repubblica ArtsakhA. Harutyunyan, aveva ricevuto il 49,26% dei voti, seguito dal ministro degli esteri M. Mayilyan, il 26,4%., e dall’ex segretario del Consiglio di sicurezza V. Balasanyan il 14,7%. Hanno partecipato il 73,5% degli elettori. Erano 14 i candidati per il ruolo presidenziale. Nel secondo turno del 14 aprile, è stato eletto Presidente Arayik Harutyunyan che ha ricevuto 39.860 voti (84,5%), mentre Masis Mayilian ha ricevuto 5.728 voti (12,1%).  

    Cinque partiti hanno ottenuto seggi nell’Assemblea nazionale del Nagorno: Patria libera, Blocco dell’Unità Civile Patria Unita, Partito della Giustizia, l’ARF-D e il Partito Democratico hanno superato la soglia necessaria. Il parlamento di NKR è composto da 33 deputati. Nella sua prima dichiarazione alla stampa ha detto: “Sono pronto a collaborare con tutti. Ho indicato l’agenda di lavoro: un programma socio-economico generale, la questione del Karabakh, la sicurezza e un lavoro armonioso con il governo dell’Armenia. Sono pronto a collaborare con tutti attorno a questo programma. Presto inizierò gli incontri con i partiti politici parlamentari e sono aperto alla cooperazione anche con i partiti politici non parlamentari“, ha affermato Harutyunyan.

    Il nuovo Presidente dell’Artsakh è un ex combattente per l’indipendenza. Nel 1992 si unì all’Esercito di difesa del Nagorno Karabakh e partecipò alla guerra di liberazione. È laureato in economia all’Università dell’Artsakh, è stato poi bancario. In seguito è stato direttore in alcune imprese private. Fra il 1995 ed il 1997 è stato assistente del Ministro delle finanze. Il suo ingresso in politica risale al 2004 allorché appoggiò uno dei candidati all’elezione di sindaco della capitale. È sposato ed ha due figli. È già stato primo ministro nel 2017

    All’appuntamento elettorale erano stati accreditati 9 rappresentanti di media internazionali, oltre 37 punti di osservazione per i mass media accreditati con 197 rappresentanti. C’erano anche osservatori di vari organismi internazionali come l’ONG Civic Pill, Legal Education NGO-119, Aparaj Youth Union, Hayk Serund, ONG dell’Unione dei cittadini, la ONG del Centro internazionale anticorruzione di Transparency e altre minori per un totale di circa 600 membri di 38 paesi. La situazione legata all’emergenza del Coronavirus ha in parte modificato la presenza fisica di alcuni di loro ma ogni organismo è riuscito a garantire la presenza di suoi membri.

    L’alta partecipazione popolare e il coinvolgimento degli elettori sono sicuramente un messaggio forte alla Comunità internazionale e verso Baku (Azerbaigian), una conferma della volontà giustificata del proprio diritto all’indipendenza e alla sovranità nazionale. La propaganda dell’Azerbaijan verso la comunità internazionale, non può offuscare questa realtà di fatto. Non va dimenticato che alla vigilia delle elezioni in Artsakh, i propagandisti azeri supportati dalla Turchia, hanno cercato di influenzare i paesi mediatori nel processo di soluzione pacifica del conflitto, invitandoli a priori, a non presenziare con osservatori e a non riconoscere i risultati delle elezioni statali in Artsakh.

    Per le autorità dell’Artsakh queste elezioni sono la dimostrazione che questa prospettiva non può più essere messa in discussione, come d’altronde quasi trent’anni di effettiva indipendenza sono lì a testimoniare.
    Vladimir Zakharov, direttore dell’Istituto di studi politici e sociali della regione del Mar Nero-Caspio (Mosca) e osservatore della Russia, intervistato nella capitale del NK, ha affermato: “Baku e Ankara diranno quello che vogliono, ma ciò non significa che stiano dicendo la verità. Se rimarranno su queste posizioni finiranno in una fossa. È impossibile persuaderli perché hanno uno scopo chiaro. Hanno bisogno di una guerra, vogliono un’escalation qui. È tempo di riconoscere che Artsakh è uno stato. Qui vi è un processo ormai irreversibile”. Per la Russia, che è in stretta alleanza con l’Armenia, sulla base della cooperazione militare del CSTO (e fa anche parte dell’Unione Eurasiatica), che però ha costantemente cercato anche di non danneggiare le relazioni con l’Azerbaijan, arrivare ad una soluzione della questione di quell’area, è un obiettivo geopolitico di non secondaria importanza.

    Un ennesimo conflitto provocherebbe il coinvolgimento dell’Armenia, costringendo la Russia ad un coinvolgimento sul campo, questo da un lato frena la bellicosità azera sapendo che in simile scenario non ci sarebbe partita militare possibile, ma complicherebbe ulteriormente le relazioni con la Turchia, alleata degli azeri (che sono di discendenza turca, seppure sciiti).

    La posizione dell’Armenia, che non ha rivendicazioni sull’Azerbaijan, è quella di cercare semplicemente di mantenere lo status quo in Nagorno Karabakh e altrove. Per questo motivo non ha alcun interesse a iniziare una guerra e incendiare la regione caucasica.

    Turkish press: Lack of knowledge about non-Muslims of Turkey

    Not long ago, I had asked my students of communication and media if they knew who the Rums are. In a class of about 30 young Turks who — at least some of them — would aim to work as journalists or media people, one or two answered, but wrongly: The Greek-Cypriots, they said. A third one, though, knew better, and said, they are some people who are “Orthodox” and they go to the “Rum Patriarchate,” which is in Fener.

    She knew more about the subject because she had attended the Epiphany feast  on the shores of the Golden Horn where crowds of Greek-Orthodox faithful gather to watch the ceremony in a  usually cold day of January and where the “Rum Patriarch,” the Patriarch Bartholomeos as is his official title, conducts the service. 

    My student had attended such a ceremony, and probably, like many Turks, she had also watched the ceremony at other times on Turkish television. She also told me that she had Rum friends with whom they socialize. For years now, the Epiphany or Theophany as it is known, has been one of the few events regarding the Greek-Orthodox community in Istanbul, that is covered regularly by Turkish TV.

    This particular ceremony is also known by several Turkish citizens who choose to actively participate in the spectacular “blessing of the Waters” ceremony, by diving into the freezing waters of the Golden Horn on Jan. 6 to catch the holy cross thrown by the Patriarch. 

    I was somewhat encouraged that at least one person in the class knew more about the Rums of Istanbul. And I insisted on the subject taking the risk to ask my knowledgeful student, how many did she think the Rums are. Half a million, she said!

    So, it was not a surprise when I read an interesting interview by one of the most active members of the community of the Rums who live in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul but also on the island of Gokçeada (Imvros), Bozcaada (Tenedos) and very few in İzmir.

    Laki Vingas, chairman of the Yeniköy Rum Foundation and former joint representative of the of minority foundations in the General Directorate of Foundations, was asked his opinion about a recent episode that has stirred the community of the Rums: The publication by the magazine Gercek Hayat of a List with names of the purported “Founding members of the organization FETÖ.”

    Among the names and pictures on the cover of the magazine were the Patriarch Bartholomeos as well as the late Armenian Patriarch Shnork I and Chief Jewish Rabbi Isaac Haleva.

    Both Bartholomeos and Haleva expressed their regrets for such an “unfounded” attack and expressed their concern over possible attacks against sacred sites.

    Vingas, and I am sure his opinion is shared by the majority of his community, is upset. He thinks that Turkish politicians and media are treating them as “ready-to service-commodities.” In other words, the Rums feel they are being used either negatively or positively according to the political and social circumstances of the day.

    Ignorance of the minorities, he claimed, has a lot to do with that as well as preconceived perceptions. Of course, don’t we know this so well when we are referring to the Turks and Greeks? 

    But I felt a sense of strong affiliation with Vingas when I noticed the example he put forward as a typical “lack of knowledge” case about the Rums, an ancient community, once populous and strong and now small but resilient. He mentioned that a close Turkish friend of his thought that the Rums numbered half a million. Just like my student! There must be a reason why they would pick up this number, perhaps against the huge population of their country, half a million would be a logical number for a minority.  

    I have been living side by side with the Rums of Istanbul for a number of years. I have witnessed their constant worry about their future, their presence, their existence in this country. They are trying their best, they preserve their institutions, their traditions, their memory, their education, their language.

    They do not want to feel that their presence is a countdown. I admire their energy and after all their strong bond with this land, in spite of everything. This deep bond makes them feel “heimatlos” whenever they leave this land, even if they end up living in Greece. However, all is not a helpless struggle.

    My cleaning woman from Bolu, who could not read and write when I met her years ago and knew that this city was inhabited only by  Muslim Turks, is now not only literate, but knows about the Rums, the Patriarchate in Fener, knows that the Rums are few but also knows about Catholics who she says are “many more.”

    Covid-19: Armenia reports 239 new cases, 125 recoveries

    Public Radio of Armenia

    Court to publish decison on preventive measure of Kocharyan on May 13

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     18:37, 8 May, 2020

    YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction concluded the examination of the 3 motions filed by the lawyers of 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan on suspending the detention of Kocharyan or changing the preventive measure by bail or personal guarantee.

    ARMENPRESS reports the Court will publish the decision on May 13 at 17:50.

    The lawyers of the other defendants charged with the same case also joint the motions.

    The prosecution and the representatives of the victims of March 1 case presented objections against the motions of the lawyers.

    Robert Kocharyan was present at the court session who was at Izmirlian Medical Center before coming.

    Former Prime Minister of Armenia Vazgen Manukyan, Khosrov Harutyunyan and Karen Karapetyan, as well as former Prime Minister of Artsakh Anushavan Danielyan were also present, who submitted their personal guarantees for changing Kocharyan’s preventive measure and releasing him from jail.

    Kocharyan has been kept in detention since June 25, 2019. He is accused of overthrowing Constitutional order in 2008.

    Other former high ranking officials and military commanders are also charged under the same article.

    Reporting by Karen Khachatryan, Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan




    Armenia Urban Development Committee chief to remain under custody

    News.am, Armenia
    April 27 2020

    21:47, 27.04.2020
                      

    The Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia has rejected the appeal filed by former chairman of the Urban Development Committee Vahagn Vermishyan’s attorney against the decision to keep Vermishyan under custody for another two months. This is what Vermishyan’s attorney Mushegh Arakelyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am, adding that he is preparing to file an appeal to the Court of Cassation against the Court’s decision.

    Arakelyan said he had also submitted the statement of the Council of Europe on releasing prisoners due to the coronavirus pandemic since Vermishyan is in the risk group.

    Vermishyan is charged with receiving a bribe in particularly large amount.

    As reported earlier, another six people are charged under Vermishyan’s case.