Author: Zhanna Nahapetian

Today was the official start of the Artsakh phase of the TUMO Army program, a joint initiative between the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies and the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Armenia. The launch was announced at the TUMO Center in Stepanakert by Minister of Defense for the Republic of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan and TUMO CEO Marie Lou Papazian, with the participation of President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Minister of Defense for the Republic of Artsakh Levon Mnatsakanyan and AGBU representatives Lena Baghdasaryan and Sasoon Baghdasaryan.

The Stepanakert center, which was founded and operates through a partnership between TUMO and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, hosts over 100 army conscripts stationed in nearby bases. They are acquiring skills in computer programming, robotics, graphic design and digital music composition.

The program, implemented through a partnership between TUMO and the Ministry of Defense, has been running since February, having started in TUMO Dilijan. Participating soldiers have already completed the TUMO program’s initial self-learning stage and have entered the first level workshops of their choice.

Marie Lou Papazian gave further details about the TUMO Army program to the President and Minister and, based on previous discussions with Vigen Sargsyan, suggested options for future expansion of the initiative. Vigen Sargsyan, in turn, affirmed the Defense Ministry’s intent to have a TUMO center at every major army base throughout the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. He also welcomed the plans to build a TUMO center in the border town of Koghb, noting its importance in the context of the TUMO Army program.

The guests also viewed the display of Shushi-related infographics created during a joint project between TUMO and the Artsakh Ministry of Culture; the infographic designs were created by TUMO students during a learning lab with Lebanese specialist Ahmad Gharbieh. The minister is sure that once the soldiers have passed through the graphic design workshops, they will also gain such important skills in the field and will be able to create graphic design pieces for the army.

TUMO Army will give draftees the opportunity to acquire aptitudes that will make them more competitive both while they are serving in the Army and once they return to civilian life. The program will help discover the full potential of soldiers who might not otherwise have the possibility of developing their areas of interest outside of formal educational institutions.

One of Europe’s oldest human rights bodies is being urged to set up a far-reaching anti-corruption investigation next week, amid fresh allegations of vote rigging that have put its credibility on the line.

Two people with high-level experience of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly (Pace) have told the they believe its members have been offered bribes for votes by Azerbaijan. The 324-member body is made up of delegates from national parliaments who meet four times a year in Strasbourg.

Arif Mammadov, a former Azerbaijani diplomat turned dissident, alleged that a member of the oil-rich country’s delegation at the Council of Europe had €30m (£25m) to spend on lobbying its institutions, including the Council of Europeassembly.

“Everyone” in the Azerbaijani delegation had heard of this number, although “it was never written down”, he told the Guardian. “It was said this money was to bribe members of the delegations and Pace generally.”

Tobias Billström, a Swedish delegate to the assembly and former justice minister, said “very credible members” had told him they had been offered bribes to vote in a certain way. He is one of 64 parliamentarians to have signed a resolution calling for an independent investigation into “serious and credible allegations of grave misconduct” centred on an Azerbaijani vote.

Allegations of “caviar diplomacy” have swirled around the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly for years, with Azerbaijan accused of offering cash and luxury gifts in exchange for favourable votes.

The claims were first laid out in a 2012 report by the European Stability Initiative thinktank, but have gathered momentum since Italian prosecutors began investigating a former chair of the centre-right group, Italian deputy Luca Volontè.

Volontè is accused of accepting €2.39m in bribes from Azerbaijan in exchange for supporting its government in the Council of Europe. He faces a trial for money laundering, and Milan’s public prosecutor is appealing a decision to drop a corruption charge against him. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

Although one fifth of MPs at the Council of Europe called for an urgent inquiry in January, assembly leaders failed to take a decision at their last meeting in March.

Pressure is building on the assembly president, Pedro Agramunt, to ensure that a robust investigation is set up when it meets later this month.

Agramunt, a Spanish centre-right politician, is already facing criticism for meeting the Syrian president, Bashar al-Asssad, on a Syria visit organised by the Russian government. He was accompanied by Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, as well as MPs from Belgium, Italy and Serbia, according to Russian media.

Members of the assembly believe the trip, which came two weeks before chemical attacks near Idlib, could tarnish the credibility of the Council of Europe as a human rights defender. The Socialist group has declared itself “extremely concerned and worried” and the head of the French delegation has made an official complaint.

Critics say Azerbaijan uses the assembly to add a veneer of legitimacy to the authoritarian rule of its president, Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the country since 2003.

One case concerns the decision of assembly members in 2013 to vote down a critical report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan by German social democrat Christoph Strässer. The Strässer report concluded that Azerbaijan’s judicial system was used to silence or intimidate critics of the Aliyev regime and was rejected by 125 votes to 79 with 20 abstentions.

Volontè is alleged to have played a key role in orchestrating the defeat with payments to him channelled through a company with a connection to Azerbaijan’s ruling family, according to a recent report by the investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Strӓsser said he knew Azerbaijan was giving out money but had no proof votes were bought. He said he wanted to see an investigation “as a point of credibility”.

“If there is any suspicion that there could be corruption within these structures and this was ignored, I think it might be the end of the Council of Europe.”

Asbarez – The month of April marks the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. It’s also a time when the California legislature appropriately adds its voice in recognition of these tragic events. This year, The Promise, the first major motion picture about the Armenian Genocide, is premiering across the country on April 21. The Promise will be screened in Sacramento as part of the special Capitol commemorations of the Armenian Genocide on April 17 organized by the new Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art and Cultural Exchange.

In addition, the Academy Award winning Director of the film, Terry George, will be in Sacramento on April 17 to meet Legislators and present the film. Special guests from The Promise, including actress Angela Sarafyan, will also be in Sacramento.

Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge), Chair of the Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art and Cultural Exchange, commented:

“I am excited to help facilitate this screening in Sacramento. Films are a powerful way of communicating important issues such as genocide awareness. The Promise is the first of its kind production about the Armenian Genocide. I believe that this film can be an important tool for informing and inspiring people to take action and become part of the anti-genocide movement. I look forward to having my colleagues join me in welcoming our guests from The Promise and watching this film.”

The Promise tells the story of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey at the outset of WWI. It was written by Terry George and Robin Swicord and directed by Terry George, who also directed Hotel Rwanda. The Promise stars Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon, and Angela Sarafyan. It was produced by Open Road and Survival Pictures.

The screening is the first event coordinated by the California, Armenia and Artsakh Senate Select Committee. In addition to Chair Portantino, the committee’s senate includes Senate Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, Tony Mendoza, Josh Newman and Scott Wilk.

Portantino on March 20 introduced Senate Resolution 29 designating the month of April for commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. The Resolution also calls on the Republic of Turkey to return confiscated church properties to their rightful congregations. The resolution was co-authored by all the members of the State Senate California, Armenian & Artsakh Select Committee, including Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, Scott Wilk, Tony Mendoza and Josh Newman.

Empires fall, love survives. When Michael (Oscar Isaac), a brilliant medical student, meets Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), their shared Armenian heritage sparks an attraction that explodes into a romantic rivalry between Michael and Ana’s boyfriend Chris (Christian Bale), a famous American photojournalist dedicated to exposing political truth. As the Ottoman Empire crumbles into war-torn chaos, their conflicting passions must be deferred while they join forces to get their people to safety and survive themselves. The Promise is directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker Terry George.

Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States has said  Armenia’s parliamentary elections were held in accordance with democratic norms and without violations.

Armenia’s parliamentary elections were held in accordance with democratic norms and without violations, Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergei Lebedev told on Monday.

“The April 2 elections to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia were held in accordance with the constitution, the electoral code and universally recognized democratic norms of holding elections,” Lebedev said.

Four political forces have passed the threshold to enter the Armenian legislature, with data frost polling stations processed, led by the ruling Republican Party with nearly 50 percent of the votes.

“We concluded that the elections were multiparty and competitive, free, transparent and open,” Lebedev, who leads the CIS observer mission, said.

The national football team of Kazakhstan is still in Armenia.

The plane carrying players of the national team had to make an emergency landing at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airpot shortly after take-off.

The flight of the Russian Severstal Airline initially scheduled for 00:30, but the plane took off at 1:13, the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia reports.

The plane had to return to Yerevan because of landing gear malfunction to avoid further problems and landed at Zvartnots Airport at 2:46.

The national team is expected to leave at 16:00 today.

Armenia captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan visited the Hematology Center in Yerevan at the invitation of First Lady Rita Sargsyan.

Henrikh talked to all children at the hospital and took photos with them. He gifted signed balls, shirts and photos to the patients.

Children in turn presented him a handmade poster and performed a song for him.

Mkhitaryan said he hopes the visit will be a small contribution to the improvement of the children’s’ psychological condition and their treatment.

“Never give up, be optimistic and fight for your goals,” Henrikh advised.

“A child’s smile can really light up the world. So grateful to spend some time with these little heroes at the Hematology Center in Yerevan. Thanks for your gifts! Stay strong!” Mkhitaryan said in a Facebook post.

President Serzh Sargsyan has offered condolences to British Prime Minister Theresa May over the attack in central London that claimed the lived innocent people and left many injured.

“At this hard moment we offer our sincere condolences and support to the friendly people and government of Britain, reconfirming Armenia’s commitment to fighting any expression of violence or terrorism,” President Sargsyan said.

“I wish strength of spirit to the families of the victims to overcome this severe ordeal and speedy recovery to those injured,” Serzh Sargsyan said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan will meet in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss bilateral cooperation.

The Armenian president will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to discuss bilateral cooperation in political, trade, economic cultural and humanitarian areas, as well as prospects of further integration in the Eurasian bloc.

“The two presidents will meet on March 15 to discuss key aspects of bilateral cooperation in political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian areas and examine the prospects for developing integration cooperation in the Eurasian region,” the press service of the Russian president said.

Photo: EPA

 

More than 30 people have been killed after attackers dressed as doctors stormed the largest military hospital in Kabul, Afghan officials say, the BBC reports.

Militants armed with guns and grenades gained entry after one detonated explosives at a hospital gate and then opened fire on staff and patients.

Commandos who landed on the Sardar Daud hospital roof killed all four attackers after several hours of fighting.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group has claimed the attack.

The Taliban has denied any involvement.

More than 50 people were also wounded, the defence ministry said.

On February 27, the Armenian National Institute (ANI) launched a Turkish-language version of its popular website documenting the facts and acknowledgments of the Armenian Genocide available at .

The ANI site is visited over four million times a year and the number of people accessing from Turkey is substantial. As Turkey regularly censors foreign and domestic websites and the ANI English site has been hacked by denialists, the new ANI Turkish site was designed to give access to broader Turkish-language audiences, both in the Republic of Turkey and outside. The Turkish-language site will parallel many of the most commonly used features of the ANI site. For its first phase, the Turkish site features translations of official documents from countries around the world that formally recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The resolutions, laws, and declarations from countries that have historically recognized the Armenian Genocide can now be read in Turkish. They range from the May 24, 1915 Joint Allied Declaration that invoked crimes against humanity at the time the genocide was being committed to more recent parliamentary resolutions, including the 2016 German Parliament resolution that recognized the historic events and admitted German responsibility in the matter. Earlier this month the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany upheld the validity of the resolution.

“The Turkish-language ANI site looks forward to contributing toward dialogue by paving one more path to a common understanding of history and by taking one more step toward a reconciliation cognizant of the consequences of the past while building forward toward a future where neighboring nations live in peace,” stated ANI Chairman Van Z. Krikorian.

Audiences in Turkey are also unaware of the voluminous Turkish records that confirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide. In 2004 the proceedings and legal analysis by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), commissioned by the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission, was published in Turkish and several books have appeared in print since, but there is a massive gap in resources for Turkish speakers.

The ICTJ legal opinion in Turkish is available on the new website, which also includes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section and a photographic collection. Additionally, a section for entries from the Encyclopedia of Genocide addressing several aspects of the Armenian Genocide is currently under construction.

The site will have new features that will be of particular interest to Turkish readers. The Institute is looking forward to expanding the site in the same systematic manner and by the same objective standards by which the ANI site was created.

“Many courageous individuals have spoken up and some brave scholars have pioneered groundbreaking research documenting the Armenian Genocide on the basis of official Ottoman records. Despite the broad-ranging global dialogue on the historical importance and dark precedent of the Armenian Genocide, more progress in Turkey is necessary for Turks to understand and reconcile with their own real history,” Krikorian added.

This policy continues to have serious domestic consequences. Recently Turkish parliamentarian of Armenian origin Garo Paylan was penalized with suspension from participation in three sessions of the legislature for daring to reference the consequences of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey itself.

His suspension in January arrived almost to the day of the tenth anniversary of the assassination of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a crime that remains in many ways unsolved. Dink’s courage in raising awareness of the legacy of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey emboldened many others in the Turkish media to re-examine the issue, while it infuriated ultranationalists who took the law into their own hands.

The new site also features the ANI map keyed in Turkish, and links to other popular features, such as its digital exhibits and online museum.

ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian stated: “The Turkish site was created thanks to the support and encouragement of many contributors, including translators, consultants and web designers who helped to make this information on the Armenian Genocide accessible to readers in Turkey and elsewhere. New translations will be added very soon and we look forward to enhancing the site to reflect the vast amount of information on the Armenian Genocide already available on the ANI site.”