Author: Paul Hambardsumian

New Yerevan Circus building keeps being constructed

Paul Hambardsumian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 15 2020

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, has no circus for around nine years already.

The old Yerevan Circus was demolished in 2012 after experts arrived at the conclusion about inexpediency of its reconstruction. Deadlines for the opening of the new circus building have been repeatedly set, but none of them have been met so far.It remains unclear when the new building of Yerevan Circus will be put into service since construction work in the building continue to date.

Speaking to Panorama.am, Yerevan Circus Artistic Director, Professor Sos Petrosyan said the new building is already standing, adding interior finishing work is currently underway.

According to Petrosyan, they are doing everything possible to put the building into operation in October-November 2020. The artistic director says a lot of work still needs to be done inside the building.

“Construction of a circus building is not an easy task. Experts are invited from Moscow, different countries to consider every detail,” he said.

The new circus building has been designed by architect Vahagn Vermishyan. It is set to fully comply with the international standards, increasing the number of seats to 2,000 from the previous 1,560.

The new circus will be six meters higher and equipped with modern stage technique. 

 

Asbarez: ANCA-WR Endorses Lisa Calderon for Assembly District 57

Paul Hambardsumian

Lisa Calderon

MONTEBELLO—The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region has endorsed Lisa Calderon for California Assembly District 57.

The endorsement followed a meeting between Lisa Calderon and Representatives of the ANCA Western Region and ANCA San Gabriel Valley Board of Directors.

“During the meeting, Mrs. Calderon demonstrated a readiness to work with us on a wide range of issues concerning the Armenian community,” remarked ANCA-San Gabriel Valley Chairman Viken Pakradouni, Esq. “We look forward to working closely with Ms. Calderon after the election and in the years to come.” Pakradouni noted that other members of the Calderon family have represented the 57th Assembly District in the past and expressed confidence that the close relationship built up with her predecessors would continue.

The 57th Assembly District covers areas of Southeast Los Angeles County and southern parts of the San Gabriel Valley, including the cities of Whittier and Norwalk.

“I am honored to have the ANCA-WR’s support and the thousands of Armenian-Americans it represents,” remarked Lisa Calderon. “The Armenian Community is one of Los Angeles County’s most vibrant and engaged communities working at many levels to enhance the fabric of our society. If elected, I look forward to advocating for the issues that are important to Armenian Americans across the state and be a strong voice for them in Sacramento.” Lisa Calderon has been involved in Democratic politics and State government for 30 years, serving as a legislative aide in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Most recently, she has worked in governmental affairs for a major local public utility. She has garnered strong support from unions and been endorsed by the California Latino Legislative Caucus.

During the meeting, representatives of the ANCA Western Region and San Gabriel Valley spoke about the lack of proportionate representation of Armenian – Americans in California commissions. The parties also spoke about the efforts by ANCA-WR to ensure that there is representation of Armenian-Americans in the ethnic studies curriculum – mandated through Assembly Bill 2016 – which would acknowledge the significant contributions Armenians have made to the State of California. In response, Calderon acknowledged the current inadequacy on both of those issues, and expressed her support to work with the Armenian community to fully address them.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

Prosperous Armenia faction quits cooperation with deputy Tigran Urikhanyan due to raised differences in approaches

Paul Hambardsumian
Aysor, Armenia
Feb 11 2020

Prosperous Armenia parliamentary faction stated about quitting cooperation with deputy Tigran Urikhanyan.

Urikhanyan has submitted application to the faction head Gagik Tsarukyan on leaving the faction.

“Tigran Urikhanyan has passed a long political path as member of Prosperous Armenia faction but at this phase the approaches and principles of the deputy are not consistent with the approaches of the Prosperous Armenia faction. For this reason, starting from this moment Prosperous Armenia faction quits cooperation with Tigran Urikhanyan. The latter will continue his activity in the status of freelance deputy,” the party’s statement said.

ANCA Urges Congress to Fully Fund Artsakh De-Mining

Paul Hambardsumian
February 7, 2020

Ask your legislatures to support targeted Artsakh and Armenia foreign aid policies by filling out the petition at ANCA.org/AID

Ask your Senators and Representative to Support Targeted Armenia and Artsakh Foreign Aid Priorities

With U.S. assistance for Artsakh de-mining under attack like never before, the Armenian National Committee of America requires the community’s help to ensure that the Fiscal Year 2021 foreign aid bill saves this life-saving program.

Take action now to ask your U.S. legislators to support the following three provisions:

  • A “hard earmark” appropriating no less than $10,000,000 for Artsakh, to fully fund the HALO Trust’s life-saving de-mining work and meet other desperate humanitarian needs.
  • A “hard earmark” appropriating no less than $90,000,000 for Armenia, to reinforce Armenia’s progress and strengthen Armenia’s political, economic, and military partnerships with the United States.
  • A prohibition on funds to Azerbaijan until it stops attacking Armenia and Artsakh.

Sharing your foreign aid priorities will only take a few minutes but will make a lasting impact for Armenia and Artsakh.

To send a free ANCA WebMail to your Senators and Representative, simply type in your name, address, email, and phone number, and click “Load Messages.” Then, please review and revise the sample letters and click “Send Messages.” Contact your Senators and Representative now!

Asbarez: Ardy Kassakhian Picks Up Key Environmental Endorsements

Paul Hambardsumian

Ardy Kassakhian

Environmental and Conservation groups support Ardy Kassakhian for Glendale City Council

GLENDALE—Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian earned the key endorsements of the Sierra Club Angeles chapter and Glendale Environmental Coalition in his bid for Glendale City Council. Glendale has recently been the focus of many environmental groups who were formed and responded to the City’s proposed plans to repower the Grayson Powerplant. The City rolled back plans for their gas-powered proposal after numerous residents and activists, including members of the GEC and the Sierra Club, voiced their concerns.

“The Sierra Club is glad to endorse Ardy Kassakhian for Glendale City Council in appreciation of his demonstrated commitment to protecting the environment,” Carol Henning, Los Angeles County Political Committee Member of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, said in a statement. “He has done a fine job as Glendale’s City Clerk, and, as a city councilmember, he will continue to be a strong advocate for environmental justice. We commend Mr. Kassakhian’s vision of a cleaner and greener Glendale as well as his plan to make the city a leader in sustainability.”

“I am honored to have the support and endorsement of the Sierra Club and Glendale Environmental Coalition in my campaign for Glendale City Council,” said Ardy Kassakhian. “As the son of an environmental chemist and someone who has been a member of the Sierra Club for most of my adult life, I will work hard to be a voice for sustainability, environmentally conscious practices, and policies that will restore and protect our ecosystem.”

Kassakhian said his platform specifically addresses how Glendale can and should invest in environmental protection efforts and make Glendale a leader in sustainability with the adoption of clean energy strategy.
The Sierra Club announcement was followed by Kassakhian’s endorsement by the Glendale Environmental Coalition, a grassroots organization advocating for sound environmental and climate policy in Glendale.

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters.

Ardy Kassakhian grew up and attended public schools in Glendale. He was first elected Glendale City Clerk in 2005. As Clerk, he has reduced government waste by introducing environmentally sound practices, made election information easier to access and worked to increase voter participation. Ardy graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles and the Executive Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He lives with his wife Courtney and their young son in Glendale.

Ardy Kassakhian is running for Glendale City Council. The election will be held on March 3. To learn more about Ardy Kassakhian, visit his website.

TI’s Corruption Perception Index 2019: Georgia holds strong, Armenia soars

Paul Hambardsumian
JAM News
Jan 27 2020
JamNews
Tatia nikoladze

Transparency International says Georgia is the leader in the fight against corruption in the region, while Armenia is ahead of China and things are better in Azerbaijan than in Russia

Transparency International has published its Corruption Perception Index for 2019. 

Since 1995, this report has been compiled on the basis of a survey of business owners and experts on a 100-point scale, with 0 being the worst score.  

In 2019, 180 countries were assessed, divided into six regions.

The best among them in the fight against corruption were the countries of the European Union and Western Europe, with an average score of 66. 

Sub-Saharan Africa scored the lowest, with 32 points. 

The regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to which Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia belong, was just a little ahead in the world regional ranking fifth of the six regions, with 35 points. 

Among all the countries covered by the Transparency International report, the best results were shown by New Zealand (87 points) and Denmark with Finland (each 86 points). 

The worst indicators were in Syria (13 points), South Sudan (12 points) and Somalia (9 points). 

In their region (Eastern Europe and Central Asia), the three leaders are Georgia (56 points) and Belarus and Montenegro (each 45 points). All three countries received a rating that is above the world average.

The last places in the region was Turkmenistan (19 points) and Uzbekistan with Tajikistan (each 25 points).

Azerbaijan received the same 31 points as in 2018, without showing any progress.  But at the same time it overtook countries such as Russia, Iran and Ukraine.

Armenia scored 42 points – 7 more than a year ago. Transparency International believes that after the change of power in 2018, the country has good chances for positive changes in the fight against corruption. At the same time, China was left behind with 40 points.

The biggest disappointment in this region is Turkey, with 39 points.  Over the past 7 years, Turkey has lost 10 points in the anti-corruption rating.

The main problems of the region to which the countries of the South Caucasus belong, Transparency International believes to be: 

•Conflict of interest

•Opaque party funding

•Weak separation of powers

On a global scale, according to the organization, stagnation or even regression is taking place in the fight against corruption. The source of the difficulties remains the same: the merging of money and political power.

According to Transparency International, Georgia is the leader in the fight against corruption in the region. Armenia is ahead of China, things are better in Azerbaijan than in Russia



https://jam-news.net/tis-corruption-perception-index-2019-georgia-holds-strong-armenia-soars/





Institute Projects Presented at Oral History Association Conference

Paul Hambardsumian 
For Immediate Release
 
 

 
 
USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact: Syuzanna Petrosyan, Associate Director
[email protected] | 213.821.3943

Institute Projects Presented at Oral History Association Conference

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Syuzanna Petrosyan, Associate Director of the USC 
Institute of Armenian Studies, and Gegham Mughnetsyan, Chitjian Researcher 
Archivist, presented Institute’s ongoing oral history projects at the annual 
Oral History Association conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 17, 
2019. 

Established in 1966, the Oral History Association is the flagship organization 
for oral history practitioners and scholars, serving a broad and diverse 
audience including historians, archivists, librarians, and documentarians. 

Ms. Petrosyan and Mr. Mughnetsyan were speakers in a session titled “The 
Challenges of Remembering: Complexity in Documenting Trauma, Displacement, and 
Political Change.” Chaired by Dr. Annette Henry from University of British 
Columbia, the panel revolved around the processes and challenges of collecting 
and documenting oral histories. 

Ms. Petrosyan manages the Institute’s UNDERSTANDING INDEPENDENCE project, 
which, through long-form video interviews in Armenia, documents and secures for 
history the memories and accounts of prominent figures of Armenia’s 
independence movement from the Soviet Union. 

In the presentation titled, “Understanding Independence: Armenia 1988-1996 - A 
Preliminary Look at the First Year of Documentation and Oral Interview 
Collection Process”, she discussed the value of and complexities related to 
this important project. 

“These oral histories challenge mainstream historical reviews of processes and 
attitudes that existed at the time, including attitudes towards independence 
and sovereignty,” Ms. Petrosyan said.

Ms. Petrosyan showed brief excerpts from the interviews in Russian, Armenian 
and English to illustrate the diversity of the interviews and the extensive 
post-interview process of transcribing, translating and subtitling the 
interviews to provide wide access for future researchers. 

In his presentation titled “The Armenian Displaced Persons of WWII: Challenges 
of Oral History in a Close-Knit Community”, Gegham Mughnetsyan spoke about the 
particularities of collecting stories in a community where everyone knows each 
other and the past is communally shared. 

Mr. Mughnetsyan has conducted thirty interviews as part of the DISPLACED 
PERSONS DOCUMENTATION project, which tells the story of the Soviet-Armenian 
refugees and their odious journey from German camps to America. This is a pilot 
project within the Institute’s larger DIGITAL DIASPORA initiative to gather, 
digitize and make accessible materials that comprise the Armenian Diaspora 
experience. “Above all,” Mughnetsyan said at the end of his presentation, “the 
connecting glue among the people was the collective story, kept, celebrated and 
retold at every gathering and reunion, a story of displacement, of survival, 
and of a journey that turned people into a community.”  

Another challenge highlighted by Mr. Mughnetsyan was the fact that a lot of the 
interviewees switch between three languages while being interviewed, which 
exponentially complicates the transcription process. Mr. Mughnetsyan showcased 
fragments of interviews coupled with archival photographs collected from the 
interviewees during the documentation process.    

The presentations were followed by a dozen questions regarding the various 
challenges of working with communities that have been through trauma, 
displacement and political upheaval. Oral historians working with similar 
community projects expressed the interest to maintain connections for future 
dialogues, exchange of best practices and cooperation. 

During the four-day-long conference, Institute’s representatives got to make 
connections with peers in the field and observed creative examples of showcased 
oral histories and community stories that will in turn be useful guides as 
Institute’s growing oral history collections and projects become research 
materials, audio documentaries, mixed-media exhibits and podcasts. 

About the Institute
 
Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports 
multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex 
issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience—from post-genocide to 
the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving diaspora. The institute 
encourages research, publications and public service, and promotes links among 
the global academic and Armenian communities.
 
For inquiries, write to [email protected] or call 213.821.3943.

Armenia responds to latest statements by Aliyev, Erdogan at Turkic Council summit

Paul Hambardsumian

Armenia responds to latest statements by Aliyev, Erdogan at Turkic Council summit

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 17:41,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan has commented on the statements made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the 7th summit of the Turkic Council.

The foreign ministry spox made the comments in response to questions from Ararat News.

Question: Aliyev has stated that the “transfer of Zangezur to Armenia has led to the Turkish world’s geographical division”. In turn, Turkey’s president stated that they will do everything possible to ensure Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. How would you comment on these statements?

Naghdalyan: At the Turkic Council’s 7th summit the President of Azerbaijan once again repeated his aspirations for Armenia’s and Armenian territories, this time spicing it up with pan-Turkism emphases.

Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s distorted perception and approaches of regional security based on racism and discrimination are obstructing the peaceful resolution of conflicts and are contributing to encouraging instability in the region and beyond.

This all also emphasizes for us the priority for securing the Armenian people’s security in the region.

Question: The Turkish president also mentioned in his speech that “not in any period of its history has Turkey committed, and will not commit a massacre of civilian population”.

Naghdalyan: Not a single statement made by the President of Turkey on this topic deserves commentary after he attempted in his 2019 April 24th statement to justify the genocide committed against the Armenian people in his historic homeland.

Another group of Armenian specialists left for Syria

Paul Hambardsumian
Arminfo, Armenia
Oct 15 2019

ArmInfo. Another group of Armenian specialists left for Syria.

According to the press service of the Center for Humanitarian  Demining and Expertise, on October 14, the second group of the third  shift of the humanitarian mission, consisting of sappers, doctors and  specialists ensuring their immediate safety, with the support of  Russian partners, left for by airplanes of the Russian armed forces  to the Syrian Arab Republic to provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian  people. 

To recall, the first group of the Armenian humanitarian mission  consisting of more than 80 people left for Syria on February 8 this  year. The first rotation occurred in June of this year.

Next session of Council of CIS Heads of State to take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Paul Hambardsumian

Next session of Council of CIS Heads of State to take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

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 13:53, 11 October, 2019

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The next session of the CIS Council of Heads of State will take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on October 16, 2020, RIA Novosti reported.

The respective decision was adopted during today’s session in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

“According to our documents, the presidency at the CIS should pass to Uzbekistan. You know that the President of Uzbekistan has repeatedly expressed his readiness for the upcoming chairmanship. The leadership of Uzbekistan proposes to hold the next session in Tashkent on October 16, 2020”, CIS Executive Committee chair Sergey Lebedev said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan