Author: Shushan Frangulian

1993: Armenia

Shushan Frangulian
Mississippi, Dec 4 2021

  • Kaveh Kazemi // Getty Images

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  • Dec 4, 2021

Armenia was one of several countries whose economy fell on hard times after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991. Unfortunately, this is not where Armenia’s troubles ended. In 1988, a devastating 6.8 earthquake killed 60,000 Armenians and left thousands of people homeless, according to the BBC.

After the earthquake, government leaders decided to shut down the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, also known as the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, which led to severe energy and supply shortages in the early to mid-1990s. These factors eventually led to a monthly inflation rate of 438% in November 1993, according to the CATO Institute, with prices doubling nearly every 13 days.

 

COVID-19: Armenia announces 8-nation entry ban over Omicron variant

Shushan Frangulian

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 13:30,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is prohibiting the entry of travelers from a number of countries because of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan said at a news conference.

Following the WHO guidelines the Armenian authorities are imposing a ravel ban, she said.

“We plan to temporarily restrict the entry of citizens of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar and Tanzania,” Avanesyan said.

However, she added that other additional restrictions will also be imposed.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Russian State Duma speaker re-elected CSTO Parliamentary Assembly chairman

Shushan Frangulian

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 15:14,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin was re-elected as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) during today’s session of the Assembly, the State Duma’s press service said.

“At the proposal of Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan, Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin has been unanimously re-elected as CSTO PA Chairman”, the statement says.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkologist: Aliyev is declaring Armenia’s elimination, while Pashinyan still has doubts about that

Shushan Frangulian
News.am, Armenia
Nov 26 2021
Turkologist: Aliyev is declaring Armenia's elimination, while Pashinyan still has doubts about that
17:06, 26.11.2021

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has directly declared that Armenia needs to be eliminated. Moreover, after all this, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan still has some doubts about the Azerbaijanis’ intentions. This is what Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Yerevan State University, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan told reporters today.

According to the analyst, these moods are not new in Baku. “This idea lies at the core of the Turkish state. They existed 100 years ago and still exist today, and now they exist in Azerbaijan,” Melkonyan clarified.

As the Oriental studies expert stated, a rather large number of citizens of Armenia don’t consider Turkey and Azerbaijan hostile countries. “We can take as a basis previously conducted studies, based on which nearly 30% of the country’s population isn’t against the claims that “Azerbaijan is not Armenia’s enemy”, “Turkey didn’t perpetrate the Armenian Genocide”, etc. This is the biggest and most serious blow that the incumbent authorities have managed to deal,” the Turkologist emphasized.

Pashinyan fails to clearly state whether Armenia applied to Russia and CSTO in writing in regard to Nov. 16 attack

Shushan Frangulian
News.am, Armenia
Nov 24 2021
23:40, 23.11.2021

During his online press conference, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan didn’t give a clear answer to Armdaily.am’s question whether Armenia has applied to Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) through a written procedure in order for the country and the CSTO to fulfill the obligations laid down in the relevant treaty and whether Russia and the CSTO are fulfilling those obligations before Armenia.

“I don’t know if the news has been released, but Armenia has applied to the Russian Federation and the CSTO in regard to the situation created on May 12 of this year. The event that took place on November 16 is part of the events of May 12 — the Azerbaijani Armed Forces invaded the territory of Armenia, and we continue the discussions, and Armenia will consistently protect its rights in all instances.

Armenia won’t accept the policy of coercion. Armenia is a sovereign state. During the session of the Security Council, I expressed the will of our government and people to protect the sovereignty, independence and statehood of Armenia, and yes, also democracy. I believe we need to provide solutions. However, Armenia won’t act under coercion. We will use all the international formats and leverages to protect our rights,” Pashinyan said.


UN calls on Azerbaijan, Armenia to show restraint

Shushan Frangulian
TASS, Russia
Nov 16 2021
We want to avoid any return to the sort of escalation we had earlier, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq said

UNITED NATIONS, November 16. /TASS/. The United Nations calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia to demonstrate restraint and use peaceful means to settle problems between themselves, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq said on Tuesday.

"We are following with concern the reports of this latest violence. And we'll need to verify those reports. And at this point we urge all sides to exercise restraint, to act in accordance with the ninth of November and 11th of January trilateral statements and address any related concerns peacefully through dialogue. We want to avoid any return to the sort of escalation we had earlier," he said.

Azerbaijan, Armenia restart war?

Shushan Frangulian
Global Village Space
Nov 17 2021

The Armenian Parliament said 15 of its soldiers died as a result of the recent border clash and claimed that it lost two combat positions while blaming Azerbaijan for the violence. Reports also emerged of Azerbaijan capturing a dozen Armenian soldiers. 

ByNews Desk
17 November 2021

Tuesday, Azerbaijan and Armenia reported military clashes on their shared borders. The escalation in military clashes comes a year after a 44-day war between the two sides that Azerbaijan won.

The Armenian Parliament said 15 of its soldiers died as a result of the recent border clash. It also claimed that it lost two combat positions and blamed Azerbaijan for the violence. Furthermore, reports emerged of Azerbaijan capturing a dozen Armenian soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Azeri defense Minister, in turn, accused Armenian forces of committing a “large-scale provocation at the state border.” Azerbaijan also revealed that two of its soldiers were injured.

Read more: Armenia, Azerbaijan blame each other for igniting the decades-old Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

While both sides blamed each other for the provocation, the intense fighting has sparked concern among world leaders.

Taking to Twitter, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on both sides to “constructively” resolve issues.

“We are troubled by the reports of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We call on both sides to engage directly and constructively to resolve all outstanding issues, including border demarcation,” Antony Blinken wrote.

The French Foreign Ministry also expressed concern about the deteriorating situation and urged both the countries to respect a ceasefire.

Read more: Armenia reports “fierce combat” with Azerbaijani forces

According to the latest reports, Armenia and Azerbaijan again agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday after Russia urged them to step back from confrontation.

“In accordance with an agreement by the Russian side, fire ceased on the eastern section of the Armenian-Azeri border. The situation is relatively stable,” Armenia’s defense ministry said.

Important to note, Russia mediated a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia back in 2020 after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The conflict ended after Russia deployed almost 2000 peacekeepers to the region.

Read more: Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to new ceasefire after Putin warning

This time around, Russia once again de-escalated the tensions. However, it is highly likely that the border clashes will once again flare up owing to Armenia being an obstacle for Azerbaijan’s Zangazur corridor.

To clarify, the Zangazur corridor would connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to the rest of Azerbaijan via Armenia’s Syunik Province. However, Armenia has steadily objected to it, asserting that “corridor logic” deviates from the ceasefire statement trilaterally signed at the end of that war, and that it is a form of propaganda.

In response, Azerbaijan’s leader, Ilham Aliyev, pledged earlier this year that he would “force” Armenia to concessions regarding the corridor.

Interestingly, both countries are also increasing their military budget.

Nora Armani Leaps ‘Back On the Couch’ to Take Fans on Magical Journey of Self-Discovery

Shushan Frangulian
 by Contributor

 

 November 12, 2021

 

in Arts & Culture, Latest, News, Top Stories
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“Back on the Couch with Nora Armani” flyer

“Back on the Couch with Nora Armani” will be presented on November 21, 4:30 p.m. as part of the 12th UnitedSolo Theatre Festival on Theatre Row in New York City.

NEW YORK—”Back on the Couch with Nora Armani,” a funny and poignant tour-de-force, written and performed by Nora Armani to worldwide acclaim, comes back to New York after a short absence, this time to audiences on Theatre Row as part of the UnitedSolo Theatre Festival 2021.

Armani is an Armenian-Egyptian-French-British-American woman embarking on a journey of self-discovery in her self-penned, one-woman show, revisiting her adolescence on the banks of the Nile while settling accounts with a long lost love. Sharing her inner world through laughter and tears, she invites us on her breathtaking odyssey of belonging, searching, and finally discovering herself.

“I am excited to revisit this work that is such a personal story, after several years, where a lot has happened in my life personally and in the world in general,” said Armani. “Therefore, it was impossible not to take all those changes in to come up with an updated version. So here it is.”

Stories from pre-1915 Anatolian summers passed on to her by her grandmother are evoked and mingle with Nora’s own personal reminiscences of her childhood and adolescence in Nasser’s Egypt, her desperate need to belong somewhere, her peregrinations through the world, and poignant experiences that have forged her identity shaping her into the woman she has become today.

Armani is an award-winning actress (DramaLogue, Best Actress Armenia – Stage & Screen) and has represented the Ministry of Culture of Armenia in cinema. She has performed “On the Couch” on four continents in over 25 cities worldwide in its English and French versions to high critical acclaim. A multilingual actress, she performs in four languages.

Armani has made appearances at The MET Museum, Sydney Opera House, the New York Society Library, Cairo Opera House, Riverside Studios London, Joe’s Pub New York, Fountain Theatre Los Angeles, and Cartoucherie in Paris, to name a few.

“On the Couch with Nora Armani” is written and performed by Armani herself (New York), and directed by François Kergourlay (Paris). The show was highly recommended by filmmaker George Sluizer (“The Vanishing”).

“Rewarding moments of crystalline clarity. Armani gives herself the freedom to actually be herself,” wrote Talkin’ Broadway about the actress.

For tickets and information about UnitedSolo Theatre Festival visit the website.