ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
Friday
La Boheme ballet performance premier will take place in Yerevan,
dedicated to Charles Aznavour
Yerevan May 26
Marianna Mkrtchyan. La Boheme ballet performance will take place on
May 29 in Armenian Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after
Alexander Spenidarov, dedicated to famous chansonnier Charles
Aznavour.
According to theatre press service, the performance will be attended
by chansonnier himself. "La boheme" is based on Aznavour's 12 songs.
In the performance , Aznavour's famous songs are used such as: "Je
m'voyais deja", "Les comediens", "For me formidable", "Pour faire une
jam", "Je t'attends" and "La boheme". The premiere of the performance
will take place thanks to the assistance of the Armenian Ministry of
Culture, the "Ballet 2021" foundation, and the Yerevan ArArAt Brandy
Factory.
At the same time, it is noted that the premiere of the performance
involved official program of humanitarian ceremony Aurora.
The 50th and jubilee edition of the Biel International Chess Festival is set to be held in Switzerland from 22 July to August 2. A number of chess tournaments, simultaneous games and chess seminars will be held within the festival.
As the Chess Federation of Armenia told Panorama.am, the chess festival features two GM tournaments, one of which will be held in classical chess variant, with the second one in rapid chess discipline. Armenian GM Rafael Vahanyan will take part in the two tournaments.
In the Classic Chess Tournament the opponents of the Armenian player are Pentala Harikrishna, David Navara, Ruslan Ponomariov, Peter Leko, Etienne Bacrot, Alexander Morozevich, Yifan Hou, Noël Studer and Nico Georgiadis. Anatoly Karpov, David Navara, Pentala Harikrishna, Alexander Morozevich, Yannick Pelletier, Yifan Hou, Vlastimil Hort and Rafael Vahanyan will compete in the Rapid Tournament.
Round 9 of “World’s Youth Stars” international chess tournament was held in Kirishi, Russia. Chess Federation of Armenia reports, Armenia’s representatives Aram Hakobyan and Shant Sargsyan ended their games in draw. In the round 9 Sergey Lobanov claimed important victory.
According to the source, ahead of the penultimate round, Aram Hakobyan and Sergey Lobanov lead the table sharing the first two places with 6.5 points each.
Kirill Shubin and Kiril Shevchenko are closely trailing the leaders with half a point apiece.
To note, World’s Youth Stars” international chess tournament is the first leg of European Youth Grand Prix.
The European Union is supporting the OSCE Minsk Group mission and the Co-Chairs’ latest statement on ceasefire violation, the Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski, told reporters at a briefing during the Europe Day Information Fair held at the Northern Avenue.
“We believe that there is no military solution for this conflict, and that the status-quo can no longer be maintained. We believe that the ceasefire agreement must be respected,” Świtalski noted.
The EU Ambassador next pointed that the EU is ready to provide financial support to the population after the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is resolved.
“When this conflict is settled, and when peace returns to Artsakh, the European Union is ready to support the population of this area with significant resources,” he said.
The first-ever concert of Trio Mandili Georgian folk band will be held at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan, Armenia on 11 June. As the organizers of the concert informed Panorama.am, the three girls of the fold band will also perform Armenian songs during the concert. The girls are learning Armenian and have managed to make a video for their Armenian fans.
The trio has recently recorded their first album titled “With Love”. The title is not random, since the band holds concert tours in different countries of the world, full of love towards music and life.
The trio already have a great army of fans not only in Georgia, but also in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Europe, US and even in Australia.
The band’s Yerevan concert is organized by Prime Production and Azd Production companies.
At about 4 years old, Alex Babajanyan II used to run away from his school in Armenia so that he could spend time drawing.
Although today the E.D. White Elementary School art teacher advises his students against the same practice, Babajanyan said his uncle, for whom who he’s named, bought him art equipment back then and encouraged him to draw as much as possible.
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“There hasn’t been a day when I wanted to try something else,” Babajanyan said. “It’s always been art.”
Babajanyan, a professional artist since he was 14, is now living with his 7-year-old son in the newly opened affordable housing artist colony in Glendale, ACE 121, which was created to bring local artists under one roof near the downtown hub of culture and entertainment.
Roger Wilson / Glendale News-Press
The Glendale artists' colony ACE 121 at 121 N. Kenwood St. had its grand opening on May 25. (Roger Wilson / Glendale News-Press)
Located at 121 N. Kenwood St., walking distance from the Alex Theatre and the Museum of Neon Art, ACE 121 is a five-story, 70-unit colony that integrates a maker space, performing arts and music room, as well as a gallery run by resident artists.
Babajanyan contributed two pieces to the gallery, one titled “Vladimir Atanian,” a pencil-on-paper drawing of his former art teacher. The piece won a National Juror’s Award for works on paper last year.
“When I teach art history at school, I talk about the community of artists that they used to have in Paris — even in Armenia they had a community of artists,” Babajanyan said. “That sense of community, you don’t see it a lot anymore.”
Babajanyan also works out of his nearby studio, which he keeps open to the public. He runs regular art programs out of the space, including a twice-monthly session that gives the ability for military veterans and orphans to come in and draw for free.
Michelle Coulter, project manager at Meta Housing Corp., which, along with the city’s Housing Authority, developed the complex, said the colony brings a level of authenticity.
“As [nearby artist colonies] get more investment and make their names as arts districts, they are also pushing out many of the artists,” Coulter said. “And so what ACE 121 does is really preserve an authentic community of artists.”
Babajanyan is currently working on three pieces, one of them for a forthcoming art show at the Brand Library and Art Center.
“We’re always fighting for the arts, always fighting for arts education in school, so when you have an artist colony … it sends a positive message,” Babajanyan said.
Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS, has been invited to deliver a special talk on “Promotion of humanitarianism and peace by arresting violence” on May 29 at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.
Samanta as a keynote speaker at the event has been given a time slot of one and a half hours to share the best practices at KISS with the esteemed audience consisting of Nobel laureates, leading experts from across the international humanitarian community, businessmen, philanthropy, student leaders and media in Armenia. He is the first Indian to have been invited to speak at this important event.
Armenia, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, is observing 2015 to 2023 in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide from 1915-1923. In this eight year’s commitment Aurora Humanitarian Initiative was founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviours.
Aurora Humanitarian Initiative considers Dr. Samanta as a saviour and his contribution to the society, particularly the marginalised poor sections as humanitarianism par excellence.
He has created revolution through KISS that is working on eradication of poverty through education and creating sustainable and peaceful society.
In recognition to his humanitarian service, Dr. Samanta has been invited to be the keynote speaker in the open lectures at the Second Annual Aurora Dialogues, one of the most important events culminating with the presentation of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.
Daily Sabah
Democracy boost for minorities in electing leaders
DAILY SABAH WITH ANADOLU AGENCY
ISTANBUL
Members of the Armenian community attend the opening of a restored
church in Istanbul. The city is home to the majority of Turkey's
non-Muslim minorities.
The head of a state-run authority overseeing foundations said that
they were working on regulations allowing non-Muslim minorities to
elect administrators of their foundations. The move is a major
democratic initiative for minorities that have been tightly supervised
by the state in the past and have suffered discrimination
General Directorate of Foundations head Adnan Ertem said his agency is
working on a set of regulations to allow independent elections in
minority-run foundations. If approved, it will mark a milestone for
non-Muslim minorities that conduct their daily affairs and preserve
their heritage through foundations. It will give broader freedom to
communities that are mostly concentrated in Istanbul after decades of
discriminatory policy and tight control by the state. "We would like
(minority) foundations to have the same status as other foundations.
We want them to elect their own administration independently, and we
will only act as observers," he told Anadolu Agency. Non-Muslim
minorities in Turkey were long treated as second-class citizens in the
20th century.
The controversial wealth tax imposed in 1942, targeting rich
non-Muslims, a pogrom in 1955 and the deportation of non-Muslim
Turkish citizens in 1964 added to "a fear of the state" among
non-Muslim minorities. The "democratization package" announced by the
government a few years ago looks to change the state's view of
minorities and restore their rights. Then-prime minister and current
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced in 2011 that hundreds of
properties that were confiscated from minorities over the years would
be returned and compensation would be paid for properties later sold
to third parties. Though no comprehensive laws exist to restore
property rights, Turkish courts are gradually returning properties to
minorities that prove ownership.
The election issue is a matter overshadowing democratic rights for
minorities. Although the minorities are free to elect their own
foundation members, they are still subject to inspection by the state
and need the approval of the authorities.
Ertem said they were working on viable alternatives to current
regulations for 167 foundations run by minorities, including the
Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Assyriac communities. "The main idea is
decreasing intervention by the Foundations Directorate in elections.
In the end, it is the directorate that faces lawsuits when problems
arise in elections," he said. "One of the options is that our
directorate will be merely an observer inspecting results. Every
foundation will have its own administration, its own election system.
This may be implemented through a law or regulation," he said.
During the late Ottoman period and in the early years of the Republic
of Turkey, foundations belonging to non-Muslim minorities were able to
hold their own elections, but a set of changes in later years hindered
the election process, critics say. In 2013, Turkey suspended
regulations on elections to create a new one with cooperation between
minority representatives and the state. The move was praised for
cooperation with minorities, something rare in the history of the
Republic.
Foundations control the properties of minorities, a main source of
income for small-sized communities, and their administrations largely
consist of influential figures of those minorities. In a way, they
head an entity that is almost the sole representative of their
minorities.
In an interview in February with Anadolu Agency, Deputy Prime Minister
Veysi Kaynak whose area of responsibility covers foundations said that
foundations have been part and parcel of the Republic of Turkey since
the Lausanne Treaty granted them rights in 1923. "(The ruling) Justice
and Development Party (AK Party) governments took important steps
about minority foundations, such as the return of seized properties,"
he noted. Kaynak said a decline in minority populations posed a
challenge for elections in areas hosting only a small number of
community members. Due to past discriminatory policies and changes in
economic conditions, members of minorities left where they and their
ancestors lived for centuries. As most foundations are based in
Istanbul, and the city has the highest number of minorities, the
elections are allowed only within the limits of certain districts.
Kaynak said they have been working on the status of minority
foundations since last year, but the July 15 coup attempt thwarted the
process.
Supporters of new regulations call for a comprehensive change in the
status of foundations, such as broadening their constituencies.
Speaking to Daily Sabah last October when the planned regulations were
on the agenda again, Toros Alcan, a representative of the Armenian
community, said their communities had to handle their affairs with
regulations and other temporary measures and were in need of a law
that would grant their foundations firm legal status. "The foundation
certificate" is another key issue for Jewish, Armenian, Greek and
Assyriac communities, as this document grants any foundation a firm
footing in supervising their own affairs. A 1936 regulation mandated
"minorities" establish foundations via charters and included a list of
the properties owned by them was followed by an unofficial ban on
foundations to acquire properties other than those on the list,
dealing a blow to close-knit communities dependent on revenues. Alcan
said every community had its own dynamics, and while some have many
members and few foundations to address their social and financial
needs, others have many foundations and few members.
Yeni Safak , Turkey
Friday
Turkish, German leaders discuss Incirlik airbase in Brussels
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Ankara on Thursday to allow
German lawmakers to visit the troops stationed in Turkey's Incirlik
Air Base.
Merkel met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on
the sidelines of NATO leaders' summit, and the two leaders discussed
current problems in bilateral relations, German government spokesman,
Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
"German Chancellor once again pointed out that it is indispensable
that German lawmakers can visit our troops stationed abroad," he said.
Seibert did not give any further details about the discussions between
the two leaders on Incirlik.
Earlier in the day, Merkel had told reporters that she would raise the
issue at a meeting with Erdogan.
"I will tell him that this is something indispensable for us," Merkel stressed.
"Because our army is a parliamentary army. Our lawmakers should be
able to visit our troops. Otherwise we will have to leave Incirlik,"
she added.
Since 2015, Germany has stationed six Tornado surveillance jets and a
tanker aircraft at Incirlik, along with around 260 personnel,
providing intelligence and logistics support for anti-Daesh
operations.
Situated in southern Turkey, the base is the main site for launching
airstrikes against Daesh in Syria.
Turkey has been reluctant to give permission for German lawmakers to
visit the base amid ongoing political tensions between Berlin and
Ankara.
Last June, the German parliament approved a controversial motion which
described the deaths of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as "genocide",
sparking outrage in Turkey.
Most recently, earlier in May, Germany granted political asylum to a
number of Turkish ex-soldiers suspected of involvement in last year's
coup attempt, further straining relations.
Berlin has repeatedly underlined the importance of visit of German
lawmakers with troops stationed abroad, saying the German army was not
under the control of the government, but the parliament.
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
Friday
Will Armenia sign an agreement with the European Union?
Yerevan / 26.05.17 / Turan: The European Union is full of hopes that
this time Armenia will sign a new comprehensive and expanded
partnership agreement. David McAllister, head of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the European Parliament, said this at a press conference
in Yerevan. Answering the question of Radio Liberty, he said that he
came to this conviction after discussions with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan.
"Yes, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, we know what
happened in 2013. But now President Sargsyan is ready to sign an
ambitious agreement with the European Union, which is important for
us, for the European Union," McAllister said.
It should be reminded that the European Union negotiated with Armenia
about the Association Agreement. However, in September 2013, after
almost 3.5 years of negotiations, unexpectedly, Serzh Sargsyan stated
that Armenia prefers to join the Eurasian Economic Union headed by
Russia.
At the same time, Armenian politicians admitted that in case of
refusal from the union with Russia, Moscow threatened Yerevan with the
loss of Karabakh.-02D-