Month: April 2016

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and NKR President Bako Sahakyan held consultations with the supreme command staff of the Defense Army today.

A wide range of issues related to army-building was discussed.

Armenia, My Love, a powerful film that commemorates the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide made its world premiere at the Laemmle Theater in Pasadena on Thursday, April 14. The premier kicked off with a roar as more than 20 members of the Armenian Brigade Motorcycle Club drove up on their motorcycles with Armenian flags, reports.

The film played for a sold out audience and will play a limited release in Pasadena and North Hollywood. As Director, Diana Angelson said earlier, “Hopefully [the film] will travel the world and it will teach many people kindness.”

Armenia, My Love begins its limited Los Angeles area theatrical on Friday April 15, 2016 at the Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood and the MGN 5 Star Cinema.

 

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) released the following statement after being left for a family in Tujunga because they hung an Armenian flag from their home, which is now being investigated by the LAPD as a possible hate incident:

“An act of hatred like that we saw in Tujunga this week has no place in our community, and I am deeply disturbed that someone would be threatened over their Armenian heritage, or for displaying an Armenian flag outside of their home. Coming so soon after the violence that claimed Armenian lives in Nagorno Karabahk and so close to the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in just a few weeks, this act of hatred is all the more reprehensible. I’m glad that the LAPD is investigating it as a hate crime.”

Asbarez – Richard Hovannisian, Professor Emeritus at UCLA, Chancellor’s Fellow at Chapman University, and Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Southern California as a consultant for the Shoah Foundation, was in Cleveland in April 4-6 for back-to-back events relating to remembrance of and learning from the Armenian Genocide.

At Case Western Reserve University, Hovannisian was a key speaker at the inaugural Cleveland Humanities Festival organized by the University’s Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities. Prof. Peter E. Knox, the new Director for the Center, selected “Remembering War” as this year’s theme for the Festival.
Dr. Hovannisian’s topic was “Under Cover of War: The Armenian Genocide and Its Continuing Ramifications.” The capacity audience of over 200 people was captivated as they learned about the relationship of the Armenian Genocide to World War I and its relationship to the Holocaust one generation later and continuing crimes against humanity. The Q & A that followed included brisk discussions and possible international measures to deal with the scourge. A reception of Armenian pastries ended the event.

On April 5, Richard Hovannisian was invited to speak at the Federal Building in Cleveland to connect the Armenian Genocide and its lessons with the Holocaust and massive civil rights violations in its annual Holocaust Remembrance Observation program. Mr. John Luckas, Chief of Staff, for Finance and Accounting Service, Department of Defense opened the program. Ms. Dzaghig Poundardjian, a Department of Defense employee and Chair of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee, introduced the speaker after sharing her own personal family’s past and current impact of the continuing turmoil in Syria today.

Dr. Hovannisian delivered a powerful message on the theme of “Learning through Acts of Courage.” Several hundred employees in Cleveland, and remote connections, listened as the speaker integrated the experience of the Armenian Genocide into the daily lives of students and the public today.
Cleveland Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee’s Ara Bagdasarian and Kevan Asadorian initiated conversations with Case Western Reserve University to include Dr. Hovannisian in this important inaugural Cleveland Humanities Festival on April 4. Ms. Dzaghig Pounardjian invited Dr. Hovannisian and organized the April 5 talk at the Federal Building.

Richard and Vartiter Hovannisian were guests of honor at a reception at the Armenian Church of St. Gregory of Narek on the evening of April 5. Ara Bagdasarian and Father Hratch Sargsyan welcomed the couple and reflected on the importance of the recent programs relating to the Armenian Genocide, before presenting Hovannisian with a beautiful commemorative plaque. The church’s chorale group enriched the evening prior to enjoyable reception.

Armenia’s Hripsime Khurshudyan won a gold medal at the European Weightlifting Championships under way in Norway.

She lifted 113 kg in the snatch and 137 in the clean & jerk.

This was the third gold medal of the Armenian team. Andranik Karapetyan became the winner in the 77 kg weight category, with Tigran Martirosyan coming second. Nazik Avdalyan won the gold in the 69 kg weight category.

Simon Martirosyan (105 kg) won a bronze medal.

Armenia’s Gor Minasyan won a silver medal in the super heavyweight class at the European Weightlifting Championships under way in Norway.

He lifted 205 kg in the snatch and 237 kg in the clean & jerk.

At least nine people have died and more than 250 are injured after a powerful earthquake hit southern Japan, toppling buildings and cutting power supplies, the BBC reports.

Officials say more people could be trapped under collapsed buildings.

Thousands fled their homes and many people spent the night in the open in the town of Mashiki, near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu.

Troops have been sent to the scene but rescue operations are being disrupted by aftershocks, officials said.

No tsunami warning was issued after the magnitude 6.4 quake struck at 21:26 on Thursday (12:26 GMT) east of Kumamoto.

Nuclear reactors on the island are not reported to have been affected.

The two Sendai nuclear reactors on Kyushu were operating as normal while the three Genkai nuclear reactors still in operation were already closed for routine inspection.

A threatening note was left for a family in Tujunga because they hung an Armenian flag from their home, according to detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department, reports.

Hasmik Chatalyan contacted police at about 12:30 p.m. on Thursday after the threatening note was discovered in her family’s mailbox.

The married mother of two said she hung the flag on her house in the 10000 block of Pinyon Avenue in honor of her fallen heroes in Armenia.

At one point, the note reads, “You will be hurt.”

“Being threatened in my own home, it was shocking,” Chatalyan said.

Detectives took the note into evidence and said they would test it for fingerprints.

Officials said the act was being investigating as a “hate incident” and that hate crime charges could potentially be brought in the future.

“My kids are home and I don’t know who is going to come up to my house and try to put the flags down or break-in and hurt me, because in the letter it says, ‘You’re going to get hurt,’” Chatalyan said.

Neighbors on the same block said their car was egged last year after they put an Armenian flag on their vehicle.

“Violated, angry and frustrated,” Tujunga resident Adelaida Yian said. “Why do people have so much hate in their hearts?”

In response to the suspect’s threats, the Chatalyan family kept the Armenian flag up and hung a second flag as well.

They also called on other Armenian families to place flags on their homes.

“I grew up here, but I’m also from Armenia and I’m proud of my country and I will not let anybody put that down,” Chatalyan said. “I will not let anybody tell me how to love my country.”

Head of the Armenian Mission to the OSCE, Ambassador Aram Kirakosyan briefed the OSCE Permanent Council on the violations of the international humanitarian law by Azerbaijan.

The Ambassador noted that Azerbaijan targeted populated areas and civilians, including children and elderly people, in Nagorno Karabakh during the recent large-scale attack. One of the first victims was Vagharshak Grigoryan, 12, who was killed as a result of shelling from Grad system on his way to school, while two other children were injured.

The Ambassador referred to the torture and cruel killing of three members of a family in the village of Talish. He added that servicemen Hayk Toroyan, Hrant Gharibyan and Karam Sloyan were beheaded in a style peculiar to the Islamic State terrorist organization.

The Azerbaijani social media were flooded with photos of tortured Armenians soldiers. The bodies that Azerbaijan returned to the Armenian side with the mediation of the ICRC and the Office of the Personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office had signs of mutilation.

Ambassador Kirakosyan stressed that such barbaric acts contradict the elementary norms of the civilized world, constitute violations of the basic principles of international documents, including the Universal declaration of Human Rights, the Convention of Children’s’ Rights, the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols and amount to war crimes.

Arman Kirakosyan informed that criminal cases have been launched by the Karabakh authorities to investigate all circumstances. He stressed the importance of condemnation of the crimes and the punishment of the perpetrators.

The Basque Parliament has adopted a statement, condemning the recent Azerbaijani attempts to solve the Karabakh conflict in a military way.

The statement was adopted unilaterally by all political forces represented in the Parliament.

The statement notes that on 2 April 2016, Azerbaijan unilaterally launched an unprecedented attack along the entire line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh. This attack has caused dozens of deaths, including four civilians, one of them a child.

The Basque Parliament shows its deep concern at the breakdown of the ceasefire in force since 1994 in Nagorno-Karabakh and expresses sorrow for the victims that the attack has caused.

The Parliament welcomes the resumption of truce the two sides announced on April 5 and hopes it will be respected.

The lawmakers demand to implement an international mechanism for investigation of border incidents proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

They reject the use of force to resolve the conflict and call on the parties to take practical steps to immediately cease military actions and withdraw the troops to the positions held prior to April 1, 2016.

The Basque Parliament also supports the need to return to the negotiation process mediated by the Minsk Group of the OSCE where Nagorno Karabakh must have a place, as already agreed this Parliament.