Author: Shushan Frangulian

French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen pledges to continue to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, if elected.

“I will continue to commemorate the genocide of which the Armenian people have been victim since it is the first great crime against humanity in the twentieth century. Moreover, the arrival of many Armenians in France in 1915 was an important event in the history of our country because they contributed greatly to our nation and contributed to its reconstruction after the First World War and were perfectly assimilated,” Le Pen said in an interview with .

“It seems to me important that the genocide of 1915 is widely recognized by all the countries of the world and that Turkey at last begins a serious reflection on this terrible page of its history. France must absolutely support the struggle for recognition because of its status as a homeland of human rights and the large number of Armenians who have found refuge there and have successfully integrated themselves there,” she added.

Marine Le Pen said she stands against Turkey’s accession to the European Union. “Unlike the other major parties, MEPs of the National Front have always voted against the opening of new chapters of accession talks with Turkey, and we are the only ones to oppose it firmly and unambiguously. On this subject, I am the only candidate to have never changed opinions and to be credible.”

The presidential candidate said she stands for recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by France. “I believe it would be desirable for Azerbaijan and Armenia to reach an agreement allowing Nagorno-Karabakh to unite with Armenia.”

Photo: EPA

 

Two blasts targeting Coptic Christians in Egypt on Palm Sunday have killed at least 40 people, officials say, the BBC reports.

In Alexandria, an explosion outside St Mark’s Coptic church killed 13 people. Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Church, had been attending Mass inside and was unhurt, state media reported.

An earlier blast at St George’s Coptic church in Tanta killed 27 people.

So-called Islamic State (IS) says it is behind the explosions. The group has recently targeted Copts in Egypt.

Four police officers, including one policewoman, were among those killed in Alexandria, the interior ministry said. The suicide bomber blew himself up after they stopped him from entering the church.

The first explosion in Tanta, 94km (58 miles) north of Cairo, took place near the altar.

Security forces later dismantled two explosive devices at the Sidi Abdel Rahim Mosque, also in Tanta, the state-run Al-Ahram news website reports.

The explosions injured at least 78 people in Tanta and 35 others in Alexandria, the health ministry said.

Settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh depends on the political will of the parties and their readiness for compromise solutions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saidin an article published in newspaper.

“Much has been agreed but a number of issues, although the most complicated ones, are yet unsettled,” he said. “But, obviously, results of the work depend, first of all, on the political will of the parties and their readiness to demonstrate flexibility and meet each other half-way.”

According to Lavrov, Russia remains an active participant in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement efforts. “Jointly with the United States and France – the other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – we are helping the parties to reach sustainable solution to the conflict,” the Russian top diplomat noted. “It was a key task of last summer’s trilateral summit in St. Petersburg that was initiated by the Russian president.”

“What happened to Armenians was awful,” Elton John said, as he announced the release of the Armenian Genocide film The Promise. 

“I am excited to announce the release of The Promise, a story of the Armenian Genocide at the outset of World War I. What happened in Armenia was awful. It was wrong. Let’s keep the promise to never forget and to promote human rights wherever we are and however we can,” the singer said.

“Like our belief about HIV & ending AIDS, no one should be left behind. In this spirit of championing human rights, all of the film’s proceeds will be donated to charity. I thank you so much for your support, & hope that you too vow to Keep the Promise,” Elton John stated.

Elton John and EJAF chairman David Furnish at West Hollywood Park during an Oscar commercial break.

Set in 1914 right before the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the film follows Michael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac), a hopeful medical student who arrives in Constantinople to bring modern medicine to his ancestral village of Siroun in Southern Turkey. In the bustling capital, he soon meets Chris Myers (Christian Bale), an American photo-journalist, and Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), an Armenian artist. Both Michael and Chris soon fall in love with Ana and a love triangle ensues just as the Turks join the war on the German side, turning against the Armenians. Everyone must find a way to settle their differences in order to survive the coming chaos.

A German state minister on Tuesday accused Turkey of “unacceptable” spying on alleged followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for a failed coup attempt last year, AFP reports.

“It is notable with what intensity and ruthlessness the people living abroad are being investigated,” said Boris Pistorius, interior minister of the northern German state of Lower Saxony.

“It’s intolerable and unacceptable,” he said at a press conference.

Ankara had asked Berlin to help spy on about 300 alleged Gulen supporters, Pistorius said, adding that the list was handed to Germany’s spy service, which turned it over to state governments.

But Pistorius’s state decided instead to inform the more than 10 targets, including a school and at least two companies, fearing people could suffer “retaliation” if they travelled to Turkey while unaware they were on a watch list.

Turkish authorities were acting with “something close to paranoia,” he said, adding that “all Gulen supporters are assumed to be terrorists and enemies of the state even though there is not the tiniest scrap of evidence.”

“Until today, we have no evidence whatsoever that Gulen supporters have violated any rules in any way.”

Photo:PA

 

Five people have died and at least 40 were injured after an attacker drove a car along a pavement in Westminster, stabbed a policeman and was shot dead by police in the grounds of Parliament, the BBC reports.

The dead officer has been named as PC Keith Palmer, 48, a husband and father.

PM Theresa May said the attack was “sick and depraved” and struck at values of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech.

The attacker has not been named by police.

Acting Deputy Commissioner and head of counter terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, said they think they know who he is and that he was inspired by international and Islamist-related terrorism, but gave no further details.

The attack unfolded at about 14.40 GMT when a single attacker drove a grey Hyundai i40 along a pavement over Westminster Bridge, near the Houses of Parliament in central London, killing at least two people and injuring many more.

The car then crashed into railings outside the Houses of Parliament.

The attacker, armed with a knife, ran to Parliament where he was confronted by the police. PC Palmer – who was not armed – was then stabbed and killed.

The attacker was shot dead by armed officers.

When the lights go down and a film flickers to life on the movie theater screen, we are quickly transported to a different time and place. Through film we can hear others’ stories and walk in their footsteps. Highlighting the transformative power of movies and filmmaking, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan opened its “Mosaic of Human Stories” American Film Showcase – a two-month program featuring 33 American films – with a gala screening of the award-winning “Jack of the Red Hearts” on February 13 at the Moscow Cinema.

“Movies transport us to new worlds, open our eyes to different perspectives,  and give us a better understanding of the larger world around us, ” said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, Jr. in his opening remarks.

Janet Grillo, an award-winning filmmaker/producer and the director of “Jack of the Red Hearts,” is visiting Armenia for one week to participate in the launch of the American Film Showcase, engage with Armenian audiences, discuss filmmaking with student groups, and share her experiences with autism.  At the opening, Ms. Grillo led a question-and-answer discussion with the members of the audience following the screening of her film, which tells the story of a tough teenage runaway who impersonates a trained caregiver and forms a unique bond with an 11 year-old autistic girl and her family.

The American Film Showcase runs through March 31 and features both documentary and feature films, which will be shown in Yerevan, Gyumri, and Vanadzor.  Other movies to be screened as part of the Showcase deal with topics such as disabilities, online bullying, environmental protection, the gender gap in computer programing, and the ties between food and culture. All screenings are open the public and free, with seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. A complete schedule can be found online at .

Along with film screenings, the “Mosaic of Human Stories” American Film Showcase includes a week-long training session on film editing for Armenian documentary filmmakers with Doug Blush, an Oscar award-winning film editor, as well as an award-winning director, producer, writer and cinematographer.

“Armenians have so many moving stories to tell, and I think it is wonderful that our guests will be spending so much time with young Armenian filmmakers,” Ambassador Mills said. “By strengthening the skills of these filmmakers, we hope to help give a stronger voice to the next generation of Armenian artists so they can share their stories with wider domestic and international audiences.”

“Alexander Lapshin’s detention and extradition cannot have any impact on the work of journalists and human rights defenders in Artsakh. This work has been and will be viewed as lawful, this is the principle,” Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said in a statement.

“The fact of Alexander Lapshin’s extradition is an obvious infringement of human rights. The escorting by masked representatives of special forces upon Lapshin’s arrival in Baku and the wide coverage in the press come to prove the obvious forbidden attitude toward him,” the Ombudsman said.

He said “the promotion of visits by foreign journalists and human rights defenders to Artsakh, contributing to the participation of Artsakh’s democratic institutions in international meetings should be among the basic directions of the activity of any of us. There is no alternative to the work in this work.”

The U.S. government is committed to continuing to work with partners in the Armenian government to expand trade opportunities between the U.S. and Armenia, U.S. Ambassador has said.

Addressing the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia, Ambassador Richard Mills
reported considerable progress in the past year.

“ContourGlobal completed the acquisition of the assets of the Vorotan hydroelectric facility in 2016, and now represents the largest single U.S. private investment in Armenia’s history and the first U.S. investment in Armenia’s energy sector.  In addition, ContourGlobal plans to invest more than 70 million dollars over the next several years – and create about 150 near-term jobs,” the Ambassador said.

Meanwhile, he added, another U.S.-affiliated firm, Lydian International, started the construction of its Amulsar mining project in 2016.  “By 2018, Amulsar will likely represent the largest U.S. equity investment in Armenia, with construction costs estimated at 370 million dollars from 2016 to 2018. During the peak construction phase up to 1,300 jobs will be secured, while 700 people will be employed directly by Lydian Armenia during 10 years of production,” Richard Mills added.

“The U.S. government is committed to continuing to work with partners in the Armenian government to expand trade opportunities between the U.S. and Armenia,” Ambassador Mills said.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s agent Raiola, who negotiated the £27m switch to Old Trafford, says he was always convinced his man had what it took to succeed in the English game, reports.

Mino Raiola says the new “more aggressive” Henrikh Mkhitaryan is primed to take the Premier League by storm.

The Armenian, a £27million signing from Borussia Dortmund this summer, struggled to adapt earlier this season with boss Jose Mourinho preferring others in his place.

But the Manchester United manager has turned to the 27-year-old in recent weeks and Mlkhitaryan has repaid his faith with a string of impressive performances.

And agent Raiola, who negotiated the switch to Old Trafford, says he was always convinced his man had what it took to succeed in the English game.

“He showed his class in Germany,” he told talkSPORT . “But now I see a more aggressive, determined player than in Germany. Now he has this aggressiveness that the Premier League needs.

“I knew Micki could come in and be one of the best in the Premier League. He showed that in Ukraine, in Germany.

“I see that now Manchester United is coming together. It is getting balanced.”