Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

Photo: AFP

 

The evacuation of Syrian civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo is continuing round the clock, as a truce was reported to be holding overnight, the BBC reports.

More than 3,000 people were bussed out on the first day of the evacuation on Thursday, but the UN says as many as 50,000 are still trapped there.

Syria’s army, backed by Russia, has taken nearly all rebel-held districts.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday hailed the liberation of Aleppo after more than four years of fighting, saying that history was being made.

 – The office of the Armenian National Committee of South Americalaunched a campaign celebrating the ten years of the Argentine National Law 26.199 that officially recognizes the Armenian Genocide in the country.

The bill was supported by the Armenian National Committee of Buenos Aires and was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on November 29, 2006, and by the Senate on December 13, 2006.

What did make of the draw that pits against his brother Florentin's club?

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s dedication and commitment enabled him to win back his place at Manchester United.

Mourinho admits he has been impressed by the player’s determination to prove his worth.

“I have had similar processes and adaptation with other players,” Mourinho told a press conference today.

“We bought him, he was not chosen by other people, he was bought because I asked the club to do it.

“So it would be more frustrating for me if everything went wrong.

“In that period, when he did not play, he was a great professional.

“Another guy would blame the pitch, the weather, the manager — but he was quiet, closed his mouth, worked really hard and waited for opportunity.”

Jose Mourinho said he was “scared” about losing Henrikh Mkhitaryan to a lengthy lay-off after watching a replay of the tackle on the Manchester United midfielder which saw him stretchered off during the Premier League win against Tottenham Hotspur.

Mkhitaryan is expected to be sidelined for just two weeks as a result of the ankle injury sustained after Danny Rose’s challenge during the 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

But Mourinho, who is hopeful of having the Armenian back in the team during the Christmas period, feared the worst initially.

“When I saw the tackle on TV, I was scared,” Mourinho said. “It’s a pity because he will miss matches in his best period, but at least we won’t miss him for long.

“Hopefully he can play at Christmas. We believe that is possible. When I saw on stretcher, I thought it was more difficult.”

 

 

 

Issues of Armenian-Turkish relations and Turkey’s role in conflicts were raised at the 62nd NATO Parliamentary Assembly Session held in Istanbul November 18-25. The Q&A periods turned into heated debates at times and was described in Turkish media as “row” between Armenian and Turkish politicians.

The head of the Armenian delegation Koryun Nahapetyan asked about the closed border with Armenia and Turkey’s role in the Karabakh conflict after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s report on the concept of “zero problems with neighbors.”

“Trapped in an awkward situation, the Turkish FM tried to make some baseless accusations against Armenia and Armenians. He even referred to the issue of Genocide although we had never raised the question,” Nahapetyan said.

The head of the Armenian delegation said he would not describe the debate as a “row,” but added that “Cavusoglu definitely got nervous.” The Turkish Foreign Minister even recalled the reasons behind his decision to become a diplomat.

“He recalled ASALA, the fact that Turkish diplomats were affected by the organization’s activity. Cavusoglu said he became a diplomat ignoring his mother’s objections,” Koryun Nahapetyan said.

During the plenary sitting the Armenian delegates had an opportunity to address questions to NATO Secretary General. Asked about NATO’s possible role in the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, Jens Stoltenberg said “it is an issue of the two countries and NATO can play no role here.”

Referring to the Karabakh conflict, the Secretary General said the organization’s stance on the issue had not changed. “NATO is in no way involved in the settlement of the conflict and welcomes the negotiation process under way within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.”

On October 20, 2016, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the direction of the Hadrut region, near the settlement of Ashaghi Abdurahmanli.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic), staff member of the Office of the CiO Personal Representative Peter Svedberg (Sweden), and representative of the OSCE High Level Planning Group, Major Christian Hirsch (Austria).

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria), Personal Assistant of the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain), and representative of the OSCE High Level Planning Group, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nepokritikh (Russia).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

10 guides will travel to Germany for an international training as a result of the cooperation of Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Matenadaran.

On October 8, the Feast of the Holy Translators, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has decided to grant US $20,000 to the Yerevan Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, the Matenadaran, to facilitate making Armenian culture more accessible to foreign visitors.

The grant will fund the training of ten Matenadaran guides. They will travel to Germany to visit museums and cultural centers in Germany to identify and learn the newest principles of museum management and presentation, and to develop skills necessary for museum guides who work in foreign languages.

“Matenadaran has always valued the importance of sharing information. We pay huge attention to professional competence of our guides. This project is enormously important and we are pleased that this partnership grows and is becoming strategic,” said Ara Khzmalyan, Advisor to the Director of Matenadaran.

The Yerevan Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts has the biggest flow of foreign visitors in Armenia as a research and cultural institution.

“Deciding on this grant on the feast of Holy Translators is not just symbolic. With this grant, we are proud to continue in the tradition of the 5th century translators who were instrumental in integrating Armenia and Armenians into world culture.  Better representation of Armenian culture through better-trained guides is very important, and an appropriate fit within the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative,” said Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.

This is the second instance of cooperation between the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Matenadaran as a project of the Armenian Memory Act. In 2015, the Matenadaran received US $25 000 grant to purchase a special scanner to digitize manuscripts making them more accessible for researchers and the wider public. 700 manuscripts and rare archive documents have been digitalized since the beginning of the project. The process of digitization is ongoing. The Armenian Memory Act, subproject of Aurora Initiative, is committed to enhancing the preservation and use of archives and documentation of the Armenian experience.

A delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will carry out an Electoral Assessment Mission to Armenia from 14 to 18 September, in order to monitor the local by-elections to be held on 18 September. Headed by Liisa Ansala (Finland, ILDG), the delegation includes eight Congress members and two members of the EU Committee of the Regions.

High-level meetings are scheduled on 15 September in Yerevan, where the delegation will exchange views with Tigran Mukuchyan and David Loqyan, respectively President of the Central Election Commission of Armenia and Minister of Territorial Administration and Development. Furthermore, the delegation will meet representatives of the diplomatic corps, NGOs and the media in Yerevan.

On 16 September, meetings are planned in Armavir with members of the Province Electoral Commission, representatives of the Armavir Development Centre and local media.

On 17 September, the delegation will also meet candidates for mayors and councillors from the Ararat and Aragatsotn regions and the President of the Union of Communities of Armenia, Emin Yeritsyan.

On Election Day, seven Congress’ teams will be deployed to different areas in which by-elections are going to be organised. The Electoral Assessment Mission will be followed by an Information Report to be discussed in the framework of the 31st Congress Session (19-21 October 2016).

– The world premiere of the late Kirk Kerkorian’s legacy project—the much anticipated Armenian Genocide epic “The Promise”—had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept. 11. The film had the honor of being designated as one of the gala presentations of the prestigious festival.

The sold-out, star-studded gala took place at the iconic Roy Thomson Hall, with over 1,000 movie lovers and guests in attendance. The screening was attended by most of the primary cast, including Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale, Marwan Kenzari, and Angela Sarafyan; musical artists who contributed to the soundtrack such as Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) and Serj Tankian (System of a Down); director Terry George; and the production crew.

Prior to the screening, the film team was introduced on stage, and the importance of depicting the Armenian Genocide in film was presented to the audience. A resounding applause was given when Kirk Kerkorian’s name appeared at the beginning of the screening, considering the film would not have been possible without his vision.

The film begins with Michael (Isaac), an aspiring medical student who leaves his village for Constantinople to pursue his studies. In both locations, the audience is shown the delicate coexistence of religious and ethnic minorities within the larger society of the Ottoman Empire—minarets and church domes side by side in the landscape, Armenian and Turkish businesses competing against one another for customers.

In Constantinople, Michael meets Ana (Le Bon), an Armenian from Paris he quickly falls in love with, and Chris (Bale), Ana’s boyfriend and an outspoken Associated Press reporter. A love triangle quickly develops—a plot twist that is perhaps overdone in film and could have been better executed, but effective in moving the story forward nonetheless. He also befriends a wealthy fellow Turkish student Emre (Kenzari), the fictional son of Djemal Pasha, who honorably treats his Armenian friend with respect and loyalty throughout the film.

The second act of the film sees the Ottoman Empire entering World War I, as the relative peace of the society gives way to mass arrests, violent mobs, beatings, and hangings of the Armenian and other minority populations. The cold and systematic actions by the army officials fills the viewer with dread and underscores the premeditated nature of the historical crime.

Michael is eventually apprehended and deported. He experiences a harrowing journey of repeated separation, loss, trauma, and hope.

The film excels in portraying the traumatic emotional and physical experiences of the victims of the genocide, showing entire villages murdered and disposed in rivers, mass executions, deportation lines, and large groups of Armenian orphans.

Although the film does not rely solely on being a history lesson, those familiar with the history of the Armenian Genocide will notice familiar figures appear in the film, such as Father Komitas, Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, as well as Talaat and Enver Pashas, and Nazim Bey. The heroic resistances of Van and Musa Ler are portrayed in the film as well.

It is also worth commending the film for portraying various characters who stand up for the persecuted minorities. Bale excels in his role as Chris, who sees the warning signs of turmoil before his Armenian friends, and works tirelessly to document the horrors around him and bring them to the attention of the American people. United States ambassador Henry Morgenthau speaks to Talaat Pasha in an attempt to stop the violence and disregards diplomacy, declaring the Young Turk’s true plans for the Armenians. Finally, Kenzari’s depiction of Emre, a wealthy and comfortable Turk, whose steadfast loyalty to his Armenian friend at his own personal peril reminds viewers that there were those during the Genocide who put humanity and compassion over hate and violence.

The movie leaves viewers with the weight of the experiences of those who perished and those who fought to survive. Armenian and non-Armenians alike feel the same depth of pain, which shows that genocide recognition and prevention are a common cause for all humanity. The personal connection developed with the characters helps deepen the empathy felt by the audience and many in the concert hall were tearful by the end of the film.

Kerkorian’s vision was realized—the film will help the world will recognize the trauma of the genocide as it has long been felt by the Armenians.