Author: Yeghisabet Vorskanian

A new documentary about the Armenian Genocide will premiere this week in Glendale, the reports.

“The Other Side of Home,” directed by Naré Mkrtchyan, follows the journey of an Armenian filmmaker and a Turkish woman whose lives have been defined by the genocide, which began more than 100 years ago, according to a news release.

The premiere will be at 8 p.m. Thursday at MGN Five Star Cinema, 128 N. Maryland Ave. It will run through April 28.

“It was important for us to create a documentary that tells a personal story about how this history-altering event affects us still today,” Mkrtchyan said in a statement. “Making this film, I realized that the sad reality is that genocide does not end the moment the killing stops. The effects actually continue and pass from generation to generation.”

The project was produced by Feeln, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.

 continues its annual Armenian Genocide commemoration campaign in various Massachusetts cities during the month of April with digital billboards dedicated to the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The first billboard “double-themed” went up in Foxboro on April 2 near Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.  The first screen is a group Photo of Armenian orphans who survived the genocide.  Its bright yellow text says: “1.5 million victims. 150,000 Orphans.”  The letter O was replaced by a bouquet of yellow roses.  The follow-on screen says: “In Remembrance of the Victims of All Genocides, 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.” The floral background with forget-me-not flowers represents the demanding eyes of the victims screaming for recognition and justice.

“On April 24, 2015 at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide memorial in Yerevan, I participated in the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  I witnessed Armenian children presenting a yellow rose to each of the many foreign leaders and dignitaries, including French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the presidents of Serbia and Cyprus.  Together they placed their roses into the main Centennial wreath.

It would have been wonderful to see the U.S. president himself in attendance, placing a rose in memory of the 1.5 million Armenian Christian victims of 1915 to 1923.  Unfortunately, President Obama has yet to make good on his widely-publicized 2008 campaign promise to formally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide,”  said Daniel Varoujan Hejinian, president and founder of Peace of Art, Inc.

Since 1996 Hejinian has been sponsoring the Armenian Genocide Awareness billboards campaign, and this project was taken over in 2003 by Peace of Art.  While in the past the constant message was “Recognize the Armenian Genocide,” this year the message is of remembrance.  The Centennial memorial wreath and its central floral bouquet, constructed rose by rose by world leaders, served as our visual inspiration.

“Despite the bitter rain, cold, and body-piercing wind in Yerevan on April 24, the children of the free and independent Armenia stood as honor guards, paying the world’s respects to the memory of the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide.  Images of the youngest victims of that genocide resurfaced before my eyes; thousands of defenseless and frightened beings, screaming FORGET ME NOT…” said Hejinian.

In 2015, Peace of Art, Inc. launched its Centennial genocide awareness billboard campaign, “100 Billboards for 100 Years of Genocide,” in the U.S. and Canada to commemorate not only the victims of the Armenian Genocide but also the victims of all genocides.

The situation in Nagorno Karabakh will be discussed at the plenary session of the European Parliament today.

Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will make a statement, which will be followed by a debate.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Turkey’s security during a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, while also discussing both countries’ efforts to fight Islamic State, the White House said, Reuters reports.

“The president extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today’s terrorist attack in Diyarbakir, and reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey’s security and our mutual struggle against terrorism,” the White House said.

“The leaders also discussed how to advance our shared effort to degrade and destroy ISIL,” it said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

In a statement on Friday, Turkey’s presidential office said the two NATO leaders discussed cooperation on resolving the refugee crisis and how partners in the fight against Islamic State can ramp up their efforts.

Armenia has welcomed the liberation of Palmyra.

“We welcome the liberation of ‪Palmyra‬. World Cultural heritage should be preserved,” teh Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a facebook post.

Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air support drove Islamic State out of Palmyra on Sunday, inflicting what the army called a mortal blow to militants who seized the city last year and dynamited its ancient temples.

The army general command said that its forces took over the city with support from Russian and Syrian air strikes, opening up the huge expanse of desert leading east to the Islamic State strongholds of Raqqa and Deir al-Zor.

Armenia has expressed solidarity with the Belgian people.

“Shocked by attacks in Brussels. We express our solidarity with Belgian people. Our thoughts are with families and friends of the victims,” the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

A hot line for Armenians hurt in the Berussels attacks has been launched at the Armenian Embassy in Belgium: +32.2.3484406.

The Azerbaijani side fired more than 600 shots from weapons of different caliber in the direction of Armenian positions last night.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army resorted to targeted retaliatory measures to silence the activeness of the rival.

The NKR Ministry of Defense reports that private of the Defense Army Hovhannes Harutyunyan, born in 1997, was fatally wounded because of violating the rules of use of weapons in one of the military units located in the southern direction of the Defense Army.

Investigation into the details of the incident is under way.

The NKR Defense Army said in a statement it shares the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses condolences to the families and friends of the soldier.

Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan had a meeting today with the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Issues related to the current development of the Eurasian Economic Union, deepening of economic relations with third countries and the common strategy of the EEU member states on the global market were discussed.

Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that Tigran Sargsyan has assumed the presidency of the Board at a hard time for world economy and added that “it’s difficult to find ways of growth under these conditions.”

The President said, however, he has no doubts connected with the ultimate usefulness of the Union, especially considering that a number of countries are willing to join EEU or create free trade zones.

The President of Kazakhstan noted that the membership in the integration union envisages not only the use of opportunities, but also the need to invest in its development.

Chairman of the EEU Board voiced confidence that Kazakhstan would give a new impulse to the development of the Union during its presidency of the EEU.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit New York February 24-25 to participate in the Ministerial meeting dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Minister Nalbandian is expected to have meetings with his counterparts from a number of countries, Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign affairs reports.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan. She laid a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims and toured the Genocide Museum Institute.