Author: Rose Khoyetsian

Garni, bellezza e mistero

Rose Khoyetsian
Città Nuova– Italia
21 giu 2019
Garni, bellezza e mistero

21 giugno 2019 Di Oreste Paliotti
Fonte: Città Nuova
Un tempio che forse non è un tempio, un monastero parzialmente scavato nella roccia e formazioni laviche a “canne d’organo” rendono unico uno dei siti più affascinanti dell’Armenia.

 

Ponte tra Asia ed Europa, l’Armenia è ancora oggi un Paese immeritatamente poco conosciuto. Solo negli ultimi anni il turismo ha cominciato a considerare anche questa nazione, le cui vicende hanno molto da insegnarci: in particolare l’ostinazione a rimanere legati alle proprie radici, linguistiche e religiose, ritenute indispensabili a mantenere un’identità di popolo, sfuggendo al pericolo dell’assimilazione.

Giunge perciò a proposito, edita da Terra Santa e a cura di Alberto Elli, esperto di storia e lingue antiche, Armenia, una guida che vuole essere un aiuto a quanti decidono di compiere un viaggio sull’altopiano armeno, portandoli a comprendere un aspetto fondamentale di questa cultura: l’identità cristiana, coraggiosamente difesa in un ambiente in cui la pratica religiosa non è molto diffusa, soprattutto dopo la dominazione sovietica. Si sono pertanto volute privilegiare quelle informazioni che permettono al turista interessato di “capire” il popolo armeno e il suo patrimonio.

A una parte introduttiva contenente elementi fondamentali di storia (con la triste pagina del genocidio), di religione (la millenaria Chiesa armena e il monachesimo) e di cultura (arte, architettura e lingua), fa seguito la descrizione dettagliata di oltre quaranta siti scelti oculatamente tra le decine che la piccolissima Armenia offre.

Imbarazzato a mia volta a indicarne almeno uno per l’itinerario di turno, mi sono risolto a scegliere la fortezza di Garni (III-II secolo a. C.), situata a quasi 1400 metri di altitudine e a circa 28 chilometri dalla capitale Yerevan, all’estremità Sud-Occidentale del villaggio omonimo. Residenza estiva degli antichi re armeni munita di mura e di torri, conserva all’interno del suo perimetro resti di edifici civili e religiosi di enorme interesse architettonico e artistico: primo fra tutti il magnifico tempio in stile ionico-romano, simbolo dell’Armenia pre-cristiana e, assieme al vicino monastero di Geghard, una delle principali attrazioni turistiche del Paese.

Fu fatto costruire da re Trdat I (nome impronunciabile, che noi italiani abbiamo trasformato in Tiridate) dopo il 66 d.C., al suo ritorno da Roma dove aveva ricevuto la corona di sovrano d’Armenia direttamente dalle mani di Nerone. All’inizio del IV secolo, quando il cristianesimo divenne la religione di Stato degli armeni, esso sopravvisse alla distruzione degli altri templi pagani, forse perché trasformato in residenza estiva per la sorella di Tiridate III, Khosrovadukht (altro nome che inceppa la lingua). Unico edificio del mondo greco-romano oggi esistente più a Oriente, era ancora intatto quando nel 1679 un devastante terremoto lo ridusse ad un ammasso informe di rovine, malgrado la sua robustezza assicurata da grappe metalliche tra pietra e pietra. Nel XIX secolo, causa il rinnovato interesse per il sito, iniziarono i primi scavi archeologici e tra il 1969 e il 1975 lo storico dell’architettura Alexander Arami Sahinian pose mano alla sua ricostruzione integrale, riutilizzando fino all’80 per cento del materiale originale.

Il tempio si erge isolato sull’orlo di un promontorio triangolare che sovrasta il burrone del fiume Azat e le montagne di Gegham, la cui sola vista grandiosa merita il viaggio. È un periptero, circondato cioè da un portico colonnato di sei colonne sulle facciate corte e otto sulle lunghe. L’alto podio e la fronte dalla lunga scalea conferiscono maestosità all’edificio, interamente costruito in basalto grigio proveniente da cave locali (in grigio più chiaro le parti di restauro).

Ognuno dei ventiquattro capitelli è decorato in modo diverso; ricche decorazioni fregiano anche architravi, cornici e il soffitto del portico. Se il colonnato rispecchia l’ordine ionico-romano, la cella appare legata alle tradizioni architettoniche armene: invece di avere il tetto di legno, come tutti i templi greco-romani, presenta una volta a botte di pietra con un’apertura che, insieme all’ampio ingresso, fornisce luce all’ambiente. Sulla parete di fondo, all’interno di un tabernacolo con frontone, vi era la statua di culto: probabilmente Mihr, il dio del sole della mitologia armena, equivalente al Mithra iraniano.

Sulle origini e sulla funzione di questo singolare monumento, struttura aliena sul territorio armeno, non tutti gli studiosi sono d’accordo.

Secondo alcuni non era un vero tempio, ma la tomba dello stesso primo Tiridate o di un altro re armeno romanizzato: lo proverebbe la costruzione nel VII secolo, sul suo lato occidentale, della chiesa bizantina di Surb Sion, del tipo a pianta centrale con cupola, distrutta anch’essa dal sisma del 1679 (ne restano i ruderi). Non sarebbe stato più agevole e meno dispendioso trasformare il tempio pagano in cristiano, com’era successo in altri casi del genere? Se il monumento venne risparmiato, fu forse per rispettare quello che appariva un mausoleo funebre.

L’incertezza permane. Ad ogni modo il grande piazzale davanti al tempio (continuiamo a chiamarlo così) è oggi utilizzato per concerti e altre manifestazioni: come quelle che, a marzo e a luglio, vedono affluire in questo sito, considerato il loro santuario, i cosiddetti hetani o arordi (figli di Ari), ovvero i seguaci del neopaganesimo armeno, dottrina antecedente gli inizi del XX secolo, ma istituzionalizzata solo dopo il collasso dell’Unione Sovietica.

Altre attrattive segnala la guida di Alberto Elli a Garni: «Scendendo nella gola del fiume Azat, ci si viene a trovare nella Riserva Statale di Khosrov. Sulle pareti perpendicolari del canyon è possibile ammirare una splendida formazione rocciosa: un impressionante insieme di regolari colonne di basalto, a sezione esagonale, simili a canne d’organo (donde il nome “Sinfonia delle pietre” con cui è nota), paragonabile a quelle della Giant’s Causeway, nell’Irlanda del Nord, e di Fingal’s Cave, in Scozia».

Questi spettacolari effetti dell’intensa attività vulcanica della zona in epoche remote si devono al raffreddamento della lava a contatto con l’aria o con l’acqua.

E ancora, stavolta meta di pellegrinaggi cristiani: «Posto in fondo a una profonda gola del fiume Azat, in un’area di grande bellezza naturale, nel comune di Geghard, l’omonimo monastero (più precisamente Geghardavank) è in assoluto uno dei luoghi più affascinanti dell’Armenia, giustamente famoso per la sua peculiarità architettonica, essendo in parte costruito e in parte scavato nella roccia della montagna adiacente. Splendido esempio di fondazione monastica medievale, dal 2000 fa parte della lista del Patrimonio dell’umanità dell’Unesco».


RFE/RL Armenian Report – 05/27/2019

Rose Khoyetsian 
                                        Monday, 

Armenia, China Sign Visa Waiver Deal


Armenia -- Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian (R) of Armenia and Wang Yi of 
China sign a visa waiver agreement in Yerevan, .

The foreign ministers of Armenia and China signed an agreement on visa-free 
travel between their countries after holding talks in Yerevan on Sunday.

The agreement will allow Armenian and Chinese citizens to visit and stay in 
each other’s country visa-free for up to 90 days.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stressed the importance of the deal when he met 
with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later in day. He said it will spur 
people-to-people and commercial contacts between the two nations.

Pashinian also noted his May 14-15 visit to Beijing during which met with 
China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. “I am glad that as a 
result of our discussions we reached concrete agreements on developing mutually 
beneficial cooperation,” he said, according to his press office.

“We are prepared for and intent on deepening mutually beneficial cooperation 
with Armenia,” Wang said for his part.

Official Armenian statements on the talks suggest that Wang’s meetings with 
Pashinian and Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian focused on ways of boosting 
Chinese-Armenian economic ties. They specifically discussed Chinese involvement 
in infrastructure implemented in Armenia.

China is already Armenia’s second largest trading partner. According to 
official Armenian statistics, Chinese-Armenian trade soared by over 29 percent 
in 2018, to $771 million.

Regional security was also on the agenda of Wang’s talks in Yerevan, with 
Pashinian praising China’s “balanced” position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.




Scrutiny Of Armenian Judge ‘May Be Political’

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Smbat Gogian, chairman of the Supreme Qualification Committee, talks 
to journalists, Yerevan, .

The doctoral dissertation of an Armenian judge, who freed former President 
Robert Kocharian from custody last August, may have come under scrutiny for 
political reasons, a senior government official said on Monday.

The Court of Appeals judge, Aleksandr Azarian, overturned a lower court’s 
decision to allow investigators to arrest Kocharian on charges stemming from 
the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. He ruled at the time that the 
Armenian constitution gives the ex-president immunity from prosecution.

The higher Court of Cassation subsequently struck down Azarian’s ruling, paving 
the way for Kocharian’s renewed arrest in December. Kocharian was again freed 
on May 18 pending the outcome of his trial which began on May 13.

The decision made by a district court judge presiding over the trial angered 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his political allies and supporters. 
Pashinian demanded on May 20 a mandatory “vetting” of all Armenian judges, 
saying that many of them remain linked to “the former corrupt system.”

A few days after Kocharian’s latest release, Smbat Gogian, the head of 
Armenia’s Supreme Qualification Committee, a state body overseeing the granting 
of postgraduate degrees, claimed that Azarian plagiarized some parts of his 
doctoral thesis.

The allegation, strongly denied by the senior judge, led an Armenian parliament 
committee on science and education to hold on Monday an extraordinary session 
on “possible legislative solutions for the fight against plagiarism.” Gogian 
also attended the meeting.

Gogian stood by the plagiarism claim when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian 
service. He said his agency arrived at such a conclusion after being alerted by 
an individual whom he refused to name.

“By comparing files with each other, our [verification] system showed that 
[Azarian’s] dissertation has textual matches with two other dissertations,” 
added Gogian. One of those dissertations was written by Vazgen Rshtuni, the 
chairman of the Court of Appeals.

Asked whether political motives are behind the scandal, the official said: 
“Maybe they are … But I insist that the Supreme Qualification Committee did not 
initiate it.”

Azarian charged, meanwhile, that the plagiarism allegations as well as the 
parliamentary discussion organized by pro-government lawmakers are part of a 
coordinated smear campaign targeting him. “I think it’s clear to everyone that 
all bodies have been explicitly instructed to campaign against me,” the judge 
told News.am.

Azarian also said that he and Rshtuni were supervised by the same legal scholar 
when they worked on their dissertations. This why, he claimed, the two texts 
may have the same passages.




Ex-President’s Indicted Brother Again Allowed To Leave Armenia

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia -- Aleksandr Sarkisian is taken in for questioning by the National 
Security Service, Yerevan, July 4, 2018.

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) has again allowed an indicted brother 
of Armenia’s former President Serzh Sarkisian to temporarily leave the country.

An NSS spokesman, Samson Galstian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Monday 
that Aleksandr Sarkisian needs to undergo medical treatment abroad. He would 
not say in which country Sarkisian will receive it and for how long.

Sarkisian was already allowed by the NSS to travel to Europe in March. 
Investigators told him to return to Armenia in late April for further 
questioning.

The NSS charged Sarkisian with fraud in February several months after freezing 
his $30 million Armenian bank account as part of a separate inquiry. It 
announced shortly afterwards that he has donated $19.6 million from that 
account to the Armenian military. It said the state will also receive the rest 
of the sum in payment of Sarkisian’s back taxes.

The fraud charges stem from over a dozen drawings by the 20th century Armenian 
painter Martiros Saryan which were found in Aleksandr Sarkisian’s Yerevan villa 
in July. The NSS said his fugitive son Narek had fraudulently obtained them 
from Saryan’s descendants.

Narek Sarkisian, 37, fled Armenia in June 2018 before being charged with 
illegal arms possession and drug trafficking. The Czech police detained him in 
Prague in December on an Armenian arrest warrant. Armenian prosecutors have 
since been seeking his extradition.

Aleksandr Sarkisian’s second son, Levon, is currently standing trial on charges 
of attempted murder and illegal arms possession which he strongly denies. The 
33-year-old was arrested in July and freed on bail in September.

Sarkisian, 62, is thought to have made a big fortune in the past two decades. 
He held a seat in the Armenian parliament from 2003-2011.




Armenian, Azeri FMs To Meet Again

        • Susan Badalian
        • Aza Babayan

U.S. - Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov (R) of Azerbaijan and Zohrab 
Mnatsakanian (second from right) of Armenia pose for a photograph with the OSCE 
Minsk Group co-chairs in New York, 26 September 2018.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet again soon for 
further talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian Foreign Ministry 
said on Monday.

The ministry spokeswoman, Anna Naghdalian, said Foreign Minister Zohrab 
Mnatsakanian and U.S., Russian and French mediators discussed in Yerevan 
preparations his “upcoming” talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar 
Mammadyarov.

The three mediators co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group visited the Armenian 
capital at the start of a fresh tour of the Karabakh conflict zone. They met 
with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian later in the day.

Naghdalian gave no date of Mnatsakanian’s planned talks with Mammadyarov.

The top Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomats most recently met in Moscow on April 
15 in the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A joint statement 
released by the three ministers said the warring sides reaffirmed their stated 
intention to strengthen the ceasefire regime around Karabakh and along the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and to take other take confidence-building measures.

Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev briefly spoke with each other 
when they visited Brussels on May 13. It was Pashinian’s and Aliyev’s fifth 
face-to-face contact in about eight months. Their first meeting held in 
Tajikistan in September was followed by a significant decrease in ceasefire 
violations on the frontlines.

In an interview with the Russian daily “Kommersant” published on Monday, 
Mammadyarov sounded cautiously optimistic about further Armenian-Azerbaijani 
peace talks. He said Baku last year give Armenia’s new leadership time to 
“familiarize itself with details of the negotiation process.”

“That transitional phase ended, and negotiations resumed at the level of both 
the leaders of the two countries and the foreign ministers … The dialogue is 
going on in the existing format and under a particular agenda, which gives rise 
to certain optimism,” he said.

Mammadyarov also stressed that confidence-building measures by the two sides 
must go hand in hand with “real steps in the negotiation process” and 
“elimination of severe consequences” of the conflict. That first and foremost 
means a “withdrawal of occupation forces from Azerbaijan’s territories,” he 
said.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

New AUA President Appointed!

Rose Khoyetsian
PRESS RELEASE
Dr. Karin Markides Appointed AUA President as Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian Passes on the Baton
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Every remarkable achievement starts with an idea. The idea for the American University of Armenia (AUA) was born in the winter of 1989, a few months after the devastating Spitak earthquake. After this tragedy, Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian of the University of California (UC), Berkeley, and Dr. Yuri Sargsyan, then Rector of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in Armenia, began a conversation which eventually led to a proposal by Dr. Der Kiureghian and Dr. Mihran Agbabian of the University of Southern California to establish a western-style university in Armenia. Dr. Stepan Karamardian, the Dean of Business at UC Riverside, soon joined the team. With a partnership with the University of California and a funding commitment by Louise Manoogian Simone, then President of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), AUA was established. “An interesting fact about AUA is that it is as old as the Republic of Armenia, as it opened its doors on September 21, 1991, the same day Armenia declared independence from the former Soviet Union,” remarked President Dr. Der Kiureghian. Twenty-eight years later, AUA’s co-founder, who has been serving as president for the past five years, is passing the baton. Dr. Der Kiureghian also has held a variety of positions at AUA, including Founding Dean of the College of Engineering and Interim Provost.

At the time of its founding, the vision was to create a university that would act as a bridge between Armenia and the United States, bringing in American-style education – rooted in evidence-based inquiry, critical thinking, and liberal arts, and complemented with interactive and experiential learning. Asked whether he feels that vision has been achieved, Dr. Der Kiureghian believes the University has accomplished much beyond the initial aspirations. “We started the University at a very difficult time in Armenia. There were the lingering effects of the earthquake, an ongoing war, and severe shortages of basic necessities, but we persevered. Today, many of our graduates hold government positions all the way from ministers to regional governors. They are instructors and professors teaching in various universities, including AUA. There are great examples of successful startups, like PicsArt and Zangi, that are founded by our graduates. They work in banking, businesses, NGOs, government agencies, and educational institutions in Armenia and elsewhere. We have an increasing number of supporters and generous philanthropists – so, in many ways, the dream has been realized. The question now is how we grow the University so it can have even greater impact in Armenia.”

That is the question that the incoming President, Dr. Karin Markides, also has on her mind. In Glendale, CA, AUA spoke with her regarding her vision for the University. Having gone through a thorough recruiting process, she was one of the four finalists from a pool of 60 candidates who applied for the position. “I’m very much about how we work to make impact in a sustainable and collaborative way by first building trust among key stakeholders and then incentivizing an evolutionary process. Through my previous work as President of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, one of the main things we accomplished was breaking down silos by creating cross-collaboration among strong departments, excellent faculty, talented students, and dedicated external collaborators, creating open environments where complex challenges could be handled and innovation could happen. This is a method I believe that all institutions, whether governmental, business or academic, would benefit from.”

With an impressive resume that includes lecturing at Stanford University as a guest professor, Dr. Markides completed her doctorate at Stockholm University in 1984, after which she started her research career at Brigham Young University in Utah as a postdoctoral fellow, then as a research assistant and associate director. In May 1990, she returned to Sweden as a Chair Professor and Dean of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Uppsala University. Fourteen years later, in May 2004, she became Vice Director General of Vinnova, the Swedish innovation agency. Subsequently, Dr. Markides was selected as President of Chalmers University of Technology and, since 2015, she serves as the Chair of the Scientific Council for Sustainable Development under the Swedish government.

When asked what attracted her to the President’s role at AUA, her face lit up as she told about her mother-in-law who was raised in Smyrna among a multi-ethnic population, including Armenians. “Her insight that only inclusion can heal an experience makes her stories stay with me every day,” she related. Dr. Markides’s fascination with Armenia grew deeper as she talked about its unique geopolitical location. “Armenia’s position – the intersection where East meets West – can be an asset if the bright brains from neighboring countries become increasingly attracted to Armenia as a nexus where cultures and minds meet. I think these meeting places can attract many people, whether from Europe, Russia, China, and elsewhere for planned and unplanned interactions and true impact.”

As far as her vision for AUA and its role in Armenia, Dr. Markides remarked that she would like to see AUA play an even larger role in the transformation of the country, inviting higher education, private and public sectors to enable transformative impact in areas of high potential and emerging challenges. In these sectors, AUA would develop people’s skills for transformative co-creation and connect the urban and rural areas of the country, also attracting greater attention from the international community. Her experience working with innovation and technologies is something she plans to bring to AUA. 

Every region has cultural and societal roadblocks, she continued, and “it’s important to be inclusive, and to make sure everyone is at the table. They need to see and understand one another and develop trust in their diverse abilities for solving problems in a complex system that could lead to making transformative impact. This systems thinking approach supports creativity and inclusion to be more powerful.” Dr. Markides also acknowledges that there is still much for her to learn about Armenia, its challenges and opportunities, and how AUA can play a strategic role in building the future.

As Dr. Der Kiureghian passes the baton after five years as President of AUA, he wishes Dr. Markides the best and says she has the right standing, credentials, and experience to lead a growing university. “I feel very honored and privileged to have served as President in the last five years and happy with our accomplishments, watching the University grow threefold after adding undergraduate programs, and I’ve really enjoyed witnessing the enthusiasm among our students and seeing how learning is happening. I am grateful to my colleagues, faculty, and executive team who have made this possible.” 

Dr. Der Kiureghian will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of AUA, and he looks forward to writing two textbooks on engineering and spending more time with his family.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.

Best regards,
Margarit


—

Margarit Hovhannisyan | Senior Communication Specialist

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Asbarez: ReflectSpace Presents ‘Threshold: Armenian Passages’ on April 19

Rose Khoyetsian
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‘Threshold: Armenian Passages’ will run from April 19 to June 16 at Glendale Library’s ReflectSpace

New Exhibit Reflects on the Migratory Restlessness of the Armenian Diaspora

GLENDALE—”Threshold: Armenian Passages” explores the idea of a threshold as a physical, emotional and historical passage. This exhibition reflects on the migratory restlessness of the Armenian Diaspora. Thresholds happen at the beginning as well as the end of journeys: often ambiguous crossings that embody all the experiences of the before and after.

ReflectSpace Gallery has commissioned three contemporary artists–Sophia Gasparian, Kaloust Guedel, Gegam Kacherian—to create new work and site-specific installations to reflect on this idea of a threshold, specifically sourced and reflecting on their own personal experiences as global citizens and Armenians who share similar journeys. The Gallery is located inside the Downtown Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard Street.

The exhibition will run from April 19 to June 16, with an opening reception to take place from 7 to 9 p,m on April 19 at ReflectSpace Gallery.

The programmatic element of the exhibit will include a curatorial talk at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, which will be followed by presentation at 7 p.m. entitled, “Parallel Histories,” during which artists and scholars drawn from two years of ReflectSpace exhibitions consider their interconnected histories of injustice.

On Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. Gasparian, Guedel and Kacherian will reflect on their work and life journeys.

This exhibition is made possible with support from the Glendale Library Foundation.

About the Artists
Sophia Gasparian
Social identity, dislocation, human and woman’s rights are integral parts of Sophia Gasparian’s consciousness and artwork. Both intertwine in unexpected and surprising ways creating a narrative that is at once steeped in sociopolitical critique but also strangely childlike. She employs caricature, stencils, stickers, spray paint, and nontraditional media as if she is on the street, painting on walls. Gasparian’s journey started in Armenia and landed her in Los Angeles where her work has evolved to incorporate subtle but effective elements of her culture, as well as her immediate surroundings. For Threshold, Sophia will install a mixed-media mural that is semi auto-biographical while also providing a glimpse of the contemporary arc of Armenian history.

Kaloust Guedel
Kaloust Guedel is an artist, curator and progenitor of an art initiative called “excessivism” which is a direct critique of the excesses of Capitalism. His work takes many forms—painting, sculpture, installation, and public art—but always with a social and political undertow. Often he employs translucent material and vivid colors using vinyl as a surface: stretched, painted and extended as a sculptural form into space.

Guedel’s work tends to be abstract which allows him to explore boundaries of all types: physical ones between materials like painting and sculpture or spiritual ones between ideas of being and becoming. Kaloust’s journey began in Cyprus and continues now in Los Angeles. His installation for Threshold will reflect on his multi-continent passage and exploration of borders.

Gegam Kacherian
One would be hard-pressed to classify Gegam Kacherian’s work. Hallucinogenic? Psychedelic? Dreamlike? His paintings are dynamic compositions that defy fixation. All is in flux and in motion—what seems like a fixed element, like a person, a building or animal, will often morph into splotches of color or clouds or get lost into a vortex of paint-space-time. There is a certain liminal presence in Kacherian’s work, a here and not-here, elements in his paintings seem to cross hidden thresholds and either get lost completely or reappear elsewhere. This kind of in-betweeness is part of his journey as an artist and an Armenian. This is at the core of the work that Kacherian is producing for Threshold: a massive 3-canvas piece, nearly 12 feet in length.

ReflectSpace is an inclusive exhibition gallery designed to explore and reflect on major human atrocities, genocides and civil rights violations. Immersive in conception, ReflectSpace is a hybrid space that is both experiential and informative, employing art, technology and interactive media to reflect on the past and present of Glendale’s communal fabric and interrogate current-day global human rights issues.

Glendale’s Library, Arts & Culture Department began in 1907 and includes six neighborhood libraries as well as the Brand Library & Art Center, housed in the historic 1904 mansion of Glendale pioneer Leslie C. Brand, and the Downtown Central Library, a 93,000 square foot center for studying, learning and gathering. For more information call Library, Arts & Culture at 818-548-2030 or see the website

Genocidio degli Armeni, il ricordo a Brancaleone

Rose Khoyetsian
NTA calabria, Italia
11 aprile 2019


Maristella Costarella
Brancaleone ricorda il genocidio degli Armeni perpetrato dagli Ottomani nel 1915. Appuntamento fissato per il prossimo 25 aprile nel borgo antico.

Il 25 Aprile a Brancaleone Vetus si terrà un evento molto atteso.

Anche quest’anno – fa sapere Carmine Verduci, presidente della Pro Loco di Brancaleone – la nostra associazione, con il Patrocinio Morale dell’Ambasciata della Repubblica di Armenia; e dell’Amministrazione Comunale di Brancaleone ha organizzato l’importante giornata del ricordo per il popolo Armeno. L’evento si terrà presso una delle sedi più antiche e caratterizzate dalla presenza di popoli che hanno lasciato a noi e in tutto il territorio segni tangibili del loro passaggio. Si celebrerà a Brancaleone Vetus alla presenza di autorevoli personalità; accompagnati da delegazione Armena per condividere un momento di riflessione molto intimo.

Finalmente – continua Verduci – giunge anche la notizia che tanto aspettavamo! Il Governo Italiano ha riconosciuto in maniera ufficiale il genocidio degli Armeni ad opera dei turchi. E questo è un grandissimo onore per noi. Aver contribuito a questo processo culturale e morale che da anni, e grazie all’opera del più grande studioso degli Armeni in Calabria come Sebastiano Stranges (Socio Onorario della nostra Associazione); ha portato la nostra comunità alla riscoperta delle nostre antiche origini interessate dal passaggio e lascito di cultura; toponimi e DNA Armeno che pochi conoscono. Ma che sono tracce inequivocabili del loro passaggio.

Il nostro è stato un percorso lungo che in questi anni è molto maturato, realizzando uno degli eventi unici in Calabria che sta avendo forti risonanze mediatiche in tutta Italia e nel mondo.
La giornata del 25 Aprile sarà quest’anno commemorata con un momento molto importante sulla storia e sui fatti riguardanti il Genocidio degli Armeni perpetrato dagli Ottomani nel 1915. La relazione sarà a cura di Sebastiano Stranges.
Successivamente ci sarà la benedizione del pane tipico Armeno “Lavash” che dopo benedetto sarà distribuito ai presenti in segno di amicizia e nel ricordo dei Martiri Armeni.

Una processione guiderà i presenti sul sito dell’antica chiesa Protopapale dell’Annunziata (punto più alto del borgo antico di Brancaleone). Qui sarà quindi acceso un fuoco simbolico ed osservato un minuto di silenzio per le vittime di questo olocausto. Non mancherà dopo la visita alla Grotta dell’Albero della vita “simbolo storico ed archeologico del passaggio degli Armeni a Brancaleone”.

L’evento sarà regolato nel traffico, per cui abbiamo ritenuto opportuno mettere a disposizione una navetta che dalla frazione di Razzà raggiungerà il borgo (è previsto un contributo di 3€ per il servizio) di andata e di ritorno.

 

http://www.ntacalabria.it/area-grecanica/genocidio-degli-armeni-il-ricordo-a-brancaleone.html


Moscow to help Azerbaijan and Armenia to implement results of Vienna meeting – Russian MFA spox

Rose Khoyetsian

Moscow to help Azerbaijan and Armenia to implement results of Vienna meeting – Russian MFA spox

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14:45, 4 April, 2019

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS. Moscow will provide necessary support to Baku and Yerevan to implement the results of the recent meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Vienna, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview to ONA news agency, reports TASS.

“Supporting the sides in the Karabakh conflict settlement process is one of the key foreign policy priorities in Russia’s foreign policy concept. This fact attaches specific importance to the ongoing mediation activities, determines great attention to its results”, the diplomat said.

“The negotiation process for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict continues. The sides show intention to continue the work aimed at reaching the peaceful settlement”, Zakharova said.

According to her, this intention was also recorded in the statement made over the results of the Vienna meeting of Aliyev and Pashinyan. “We welcome the prevailing constructive approach in the negotiations. We will provide necessary support to the sides in order to implement the ideas over which a perception was reached in the capital of Austria”, she said. “However, as it has been repeatedly stated by the presidents of the co-chair countries, the responsibility to put an end to the conflict is on the sides involved in it. The most important is to demonstrate a political will”, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Sports: 5 possible transfer destinations for Arsenal’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Rose Khoyetsian
mirror.co.uk
March 27, 2019 Wednesday 3:01 PM GMT

5 possible transfer destinations for Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been linked with a shock move away from Arsenal in the summer transfer window

By Jake Polden


Henrikh Mkhitaryan could leave Arsenal in the summer as the club look to free up some funds for new recruits.

The Gunners' wage bill has spiralled out of control in recent years with Mesut Ozil on a staggering £350,000-a-week, and Mkhitaryan earning £180,000.

Neither player is a regular first team starter under Unai Emery and Armenian international Mkhitaryan has been linked with a move away.

Emery has his eye on a new left-back, centre midfielder, attacking midfielder and central defenderand could sign players in these positions once the wage bill has been lowered.

Here we take a look at what bookmakers Paddy Power are saying about Mkhitaryan's potential move away fromArsenal,and bring you five possible destinations.

Patrick Vieira reveals who 'forced him out at Arsenal' in joke at reunion

The Chinese Super League has become an increasingly popular destination for ageing players due to the lucrative wages on offer, and the Far East is the most likely destination for Mkhitaryan, should he leaveArsenal.

Mkhitaryan left Dortmund forManchester Unitedback in 2016 and could return to the German club in the summer should Arsenal part company with him.

The Toffees have had a disappointing season given the excitement following their summer spending spree and could move for the Armenian in a few months.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are among the Turkish teams who could afford Mkhitaryan's wages should he decide to leave Arsenal.

Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres are among the former greats who have moved to Japan in recent months and Mkhitaryan could follow suit.

Sports: Armenian national team holds training ahead of Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bosnia and Herzegovina

Rose Khoyetsian
Panorama, Armenia
16:35 19/03/2019

Armenian national football team will face Bosnia and Herzegovina and Finland
on 23 and 26 March consequently as part of the Euro 2020 Group J qualifications matches.

As the football federation reported, the national team has started a training camp at the Technical Centre of the Football Federation. Head coach Armen Gyulbdaghyants earlier announced the squad for the upcoming matches with 27 players invited to join the team. Sargis Adamyan and Norberto Briasko-Balekyan are expected to join the squad on Tuesday evening.

Glendale, California: International Flavor in an LA Suburb

Rose Khoyetsian
Courthouse News Service


Glendale, California: International Flavor in an LA Suburb

MARTIN MACIAS JR food, Los Angeles County, Southern California, Travel
<img data-attachment-id="469015" data-permalink="https://www.courthousenews.com/glendale-cookies/" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1000,750" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 8 Plus","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1552385275","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.041666666666667","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Glendale-Cookies" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1" src=”"https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?w=1140" alt="" class="wp-image-469015" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1 1000w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?resize=24%2C18&ssl=1 24w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?resize=36%2C27&ssl=1 36w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Cookies.jpg?resize=48%2C36&ssl=1 48w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" data-recalc-dims="1" />Traditional Armenian cookies at the Cafe De Jour bakery on Broadway Avenue in Glendale, California, are prepared with and without butter for those who observe Lent. (Martin Macias Jr. / CNS)

LOS ANGELES (CN) – As in many places across Southern California, a trek across the international notes and flavors of the city of Glendale offers a view into residents’ stories of migration and community.

First incorporated in 1906 and nestled between the Los Angeles basin and the Verdugo Mountains, Glendale has grown into a city of just over 200,000 people and home to a colorful spectrum of Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. With that comes the concurring reality of both international political tensions and gestures of solidarity that play out not across borders but in grocery aisles, schoolyards and sidewalks.

The city’s 34 neighborhoods – carved out by streams, washes and mountain ridges – are home to large diaspora communities of Persians, Filipinos, Mexicans, Thai and Armenians among many others. More than 70 percent of city residents identified as white, according to 2010 Census data, with Asians accounting for the second largest population at nearly 17 percent.

A walk along Colorado Boulevard captures a fragment of the color and flavor palate the city offers.

Inside India Organics, storekeeper Shreya Parekh glides between aisles lined with fragrant spices, religious talismans and a galaxy of curry mixes. The notes left in Parekh’s wake, combined with the Bollywood soundtrack playing overhead, entangle the spirit with sounds and smells of India.

Parekh prepares pani puri, puffed rice balls filled with potatoes, Indian spices and tangy water, in between tasks. The dish, eaten at food stalls on streets across India, is a quick snack.

“You can eat the pani puri here,” Parekh said, pointing to a small space next to the cash register, the only spot in the store where one could enjoy a prepared dish. “You just pop them in your mouth!”

Down the street at Baklava Factory, Suria Mehrabi helps her mother pick out a combination of beautifully constructed pieces of baklava – a dessert found across the Middle East made with light dough, nuts and sweet syrup.

Mehrabi says her mother will likely eat a third of the baklava before it makes its way to a family party.

“We have so many reminders of our [Persian] cuisine at home and in this neighborhood but [my mother] insists on clinging to the sweets,” Mehrabi said.

When Colorado meets Brand Boulevard to the east, it feels as though two worlds collide, with older, ethnic establishments overshadowed by massive chain restaurants such as Shake Shack, In-N-Out Burger and Buffalo Wild Wings.

<img data-attachment-id="469013" data-permalink="https://www.courthousenews.com/glendale-brandblvd/" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1000,750" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 8 Plus","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1552384538","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.00037495313085864","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Glendale-BrandBlvd" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1" src=”"https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?resize=378%2C284" alt="" class="wp-image-469013" width="378" height="284" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1 1000w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?resize=24%2C18&ssl=1 24w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?resize=36%2C27&ssl=1 36w, https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-BrandBlvd.jpg?resize=48%2C36&ssl=1 48w" sizes="(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px" data-recalc-dims="1" />Brand Boulevard in Glendale, California, the city’s commercial and entertainment corridor, stretches from the city center to the foothills. Large chain restaurants hover over highly manicured streetscapes that sweep past the older, ethnic restaurants found in other parts of the city. (Martin Macias Jr. / CNS)

The commercial strip on Brand, Glendale’s largest concentration of culinary and entertainment venues, also hosts a movie theater and bars. The energy is charged on the strip with people buzzing between stores, a stark contrast from the quieter pace on Colorado.

“It’s convenient, I mean, to go from Marshalls to T-Mobile and then grab food for later,” said Chris Dune, a college student running errands between classes. “I don’t live in [Glendale] and don’t have much time to explore other areas.”

The renowned Porto’s, a Cuban bakery famous for its guava pastries and cakes, is a staple of Glendale cuisine and has as much star-power and name recognition as top eateries across LA County. The bakery is minutes away from the Glendale Galleria, an upscale mall that has transformed the area in its immediate vicinity into a commercial mecca.

Glendale resident Annita Aramayis said she enjoys bringing her Armenian relatives to the Galleria when they visit from abroad.

“They don’t have these kinds of luxurious things and shopping options so [my relatives] like to get their fancy stuff here,” Aramayis said.

Glendale is home to a large Armenian community that has left its mark on everything from politics and cuisine to the auto dealership market. It also hosts the Consul General of the Republic of Armenia.

At the Lahmajune Factory on the corner of Broadway and Chevy Chase Drive, bakers pump out a variety of flat, Armenian pizzas called lahmajune and stuffed breads called borags.

<img data-attachment-id="469012" data-permalink="https://www.courthousenews.com/glendale-bakery/" data-orig-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?fit=1000%2C748&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1000,748" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 8 Plus","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1552385656","copyright":"","focal_length":"3.99","iso":"20","shutter_speed":"0.0010090817356206","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Glendale-Bakery" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?fit=300%2C224&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?fit=1000%2C748&ssl=1" src=”"https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?resize=375%2C280" alt="" class="wp-image-469012" width="375" height="280" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1 1000w, https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?resize=300%2C224&ssl=1 300w, https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?resize=768%2C574&ssl=1 768w, https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?resize=24%2C18&ssl=1 24w, https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?resize=36%2C27&ssl=1 36w, https://i1.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Glendale-Bakery.jpg?resize=48%2C36&ssl=1 48w" sizes="(max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px" data-recalc-dims="1" />A large Armenian diaspora community calls Glendale, California, home and has left its mark on the social, culinary and political spheres of city life. At Lahmajune Factory, ovens pump out “Armenian pizzas” and stuffed breads called borags. (Martin Macias Jr. / CNS)

During the Genocide Remembrance Day each April, the city swells in size to remember the roughly 1.5 million Armenians killed by the Ottoman Empire. But the community was rocked this year when someone hung dozens of Turkish flags outside two predominantly Armenian elementary schools in the LA area.

The act prompted widespread condemnation from officials, including LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA City Council member Paul Koretz who described the incident as “the equivalent of putting a Nazi swastika on the side of a Jewish school.”

The Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles said in a statement that they knew of no Turkish individual involved and called the incident “a defamation campaign against Turkey,” which has largely declined to recognize the events of 1915 as a genocide.

But Glendale’s international issues don’t just involve Armenians and Turkey: Tensions swirled in 2014, when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit demanding the city dismantle a bronze public monument to South Korean “comfort women” forced into sexual slavery during World War II.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal in 2016, finding Glendale has a constitutional right to express its international policy by installing public memorials like the bronze statue in the city’s Central Park.

During a mid-afternoon picnic with friends over burgers and fries at Glendale’s Central Park, resident Greg Ramirez said he hadn’t heard of the history behind the “comfort women” statue or news of the Armenian community’s response to the Turkish flag incidents.

“I’m still learning about everyone’s history and figuring out where I fit into the city myself,” Ramirez said. “But I feel like Glendale has space for everyone, like a container for stories.”

Fr. Hampartzoum of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem passes away

Rose Khoyetsian
The Jerusalem Post


Fr. Hampartzoum of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem passes away 

   

By Hagay Hacohen
Fr. Hampartzoum Chief Dragoman of the Armenian Patriarchate and a member of the St. James Brotherhood passed away on Sunday.

He spent more than four decades at the service of his church as a celibate priest, after being accepted into the order in 1979 by the late Archbishop Dirayr Mardikian.

His last position was that of Chief Dragoman, translator, a title bestowed on those who could speak Arabic, Turkish, and Persian, as well as European languages.

First recorded in the 13th century, the word became an honorary position for those who facilitate communication between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.  

The funeral services will begin on Tuesday afternoon and will continue until Wednesday morning during Divine Liturgy. Services will be held Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m. and Wednesday morning at 9 a.m., at St. James Cathedral.