Month: October 2016

The Academy has disqualified Armenia’s submission in the best foreign-language film race, Zemletryaseniye (Earthquake).

“The committee deemed that Earthquake did not meet submission requirements,” a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences told on Wednesday. “Armenia’s selection committee was notified of the decision and given the opportunity to submit another film for consideration.”

The Academy’s problem with the film was that there are too many Russians and an insufficient number of Armenians among the crew, a spokesperson for Mars Media, the Moscow-based production company of Earthquake, told THR.

Mars Media sent to the Academy documents proving that the film was a coproduction between Armenia and Russia.

“We still hope that the film will be put on the list,” Ruben Dishdishyan, head of Mars Media, said in a statement, adding that the film was “by 90 percent made by Armenians from Armenia, Russia and France”.

Earthquake, a $3 million disaster movie directed by Sarik Andreasyan, is a dramatized recreation of one of the Soviet Union’s most devastating natural disasters — the Spitak earthquake in northern Armenia in December 1988.

The pic was Armenia’s fifth submission in the best foreign-language film Oscar category since the country gained independence in 1991.

None of the previous submissions — including If Only Everyone by Nataliya Belyauskene, Autumn of the Magician by Ruben Gevorkyants and Vahe Gevorkyants, Vodka Lemon by Hiner Saleem and Symphony of Silence by Vigen Chaldranyan — has been nominated for or won an award.

Head the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Hermine Naghdalyan had a meeting with PACE President Pedro Agramunt) on October 12. During the meeting, current issues concerning the Assembly works, the possible developments of the political processes, the cooperation and the procedure of the initiatives in PACE were discussed, Press Service of the National Assembly informs.

According to the tradition, the Assembly Presidents visit member states, and the incumbent PACE President expressed the wish to visit Armenia.

Pedro Agramunt informed about the plans to initiate contacts between the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations and discuss the perspectives of organizing the PACE activities in a more constructive way.

Hermine Naghdalyan stressed the importance of the ongoing processes and new initiatives at PACE. She noted that the Armenian side expects a more unbiased, balanced and impartial approaches from PACE President, which, she said, will contribute to the efficiency of Assembly’s work and the improvement of the atmosphere.

The parties agreed to refer to the issues raised at the meeting during the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly.

 

 

 

ArmHiTec-2016 first international exhibition of Arms and Defense Technologies opened in Yerevan today.

The exposition features advanced weapons and military technical equipment, security systems, special police equipment, including armored vehicles, missile armament and equipment, military aircraft, small arms and ammunition, unmanned aerial vehicles and systems, communications, automated command and control systems and robotic systems, means of protection and personal protective equipment, laser, information and telecommunication technologies, information protection systems, outfit, equipage medical support plus some more.

“Drones and three types of unmanned planes have been developed, constructed and are being used by the Military Aviation Institute.  They are competitive on the international market and are no worse than other similar products,” Daniel Balasanyan, Head of the Military Aviation Institute, said at the opening of the exhibition.

“The Armenian military production industry has enough novelties and all opportunities of becoming a locomotive in the field of high technologies,” Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said in his opening remarks. He urged all local producers, representatives of the scientific field, leading students of local and foreign higher educational establishments to spare no effort to outline the framework of their involvement in the army-society link.

The Defense Minister hopes the exhibition will contribute to the expansion of international military-technical cooperation and the development of the military production potential of the participating countries.

 

 

 

The activities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are aimed at ensuring the security of the member states, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha said at the opening of the ArmHiTec-2016 international exhibition of Arms and Defense Technologies in Yerevan.

“The main efforts are targeted at ensuring security through political means, utilizing the whole political potential that exists in our countries. However, the logic and trends of the developments prove the need to reinforce the organization’s military potential,” Bordyuzha said.

“This is the reason behind the close cooperation between CSTO member states,” the Secretary General said. He added that bases have been created around the CSTO to ensure the sovereignty and integrity of the member states.

Nikolay Bordyuzha said the forces should be equipped with advances armaments to be able to resist any challenge. He added that the CSTO Council is doing its best to ensure military-political and military-economic cooperation between the member states.

The CSTO Secretary General said “the exhibition is a testament to the close cooperation between the member states and shows the potential for the creation of new military technologies,  establishemnt of joint ventures and renovation of the existing armaments.”

Photo: AFP

US singer Bob Dylan has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, the BBC reports.

The 75-year-old rock legend received the prize “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.

The balladeer, artist and occasional actor is the first songwriter to win the prestigious award.

Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941 and began his musical career in 1959, playing in coffee houses in Minnesota.

Much of his best-known work dates from the 1960s, when he became an informal historian of America’s troubles.

Songs like Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They are A-Changin’ became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements.

His move away from traditional folk songwriting, paired with a controversial decision to “go electric” proved equally influential.

Dylan’s many albums include Highway 61 Revisited in 1965, Blonde on Blonde in 1966 and Blood on the Tracks in 1975.

Since the late 1980s he has toured persistently, an undertaking he has dubbed the “Never-Ending Tour”.

Dylan had long been tipped as a potential Nobel recipient, but few experts expected the academy to extend the prestigious award to a genre such as folk rock music.

Photo: AFP

 

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has died after 70 years on the throne, the palace says, the BBC reports.

The king, 88, was widely revered in Thailand. He was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups.

He had been in poor health in recent years and made few public appearances.

The king’s death comes as Thailand remains under military rule following a coup in 2014.

The palace had warned on Sunday that the king’s health was “not stable”.

Many Thais had been wearing pink to try to bring good luck to the ailing monarch. Hundreds of people had gathered outside the hospital where he was being treated.

Vice-Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly and PACE, head of the Armenian delegation to PACE Hermine Naghdalyan has handed over a report to PACE Secretariat, in which she sharply criticizes anti-democratic processes in Turkey after coup d’etat, at the same time opposing the statements voiced by the Foreign Minister of Turkey Cavusoglu. PACE today held a debate on the Situation in Turkey in the Light of the Attempted Coup d’etat.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today’s discussion is the best evidence that the situation in Turkey remains one of the “hot spots” of the international community attention. We all realize that the volatile situation in the country can be explosive not only for the region, but in a larger sense.

I am from Armenia, a country directly bordering Turkey, a country that feels negative consequences right immediately.

What is the situation today – after the coup d’etat attempt…?

The scope and depth of President Erdogan’s reaction is devastating, leaving no hope to country for any democratic processes to take place. The Turkish authorities started to use the coup attempt as an excuse for the crackdown in the country. Thousands of military officers, judges, educators and civil servants have been abruptly arrested or fired. The recently prolonged state of emergency means the suspension of basic human rights, while the death penalty is being discussed to be re-imposed.

The authorities closed several Kurdish TV and radio channels, including one for kids. Can you imagine – Turkey sees a source of threat in a cartoon channel?

The conclusion is inescapable, Dear Colleagues – Turkey is becoming more autocratic and unpredictable, which results in separation of the society.

Just very recently, we were discussing the state of play with regards to functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey. As you remember various standpoints have been expressed during our debates; we were much concerned with the misdevelopments in the country and supported the idea to re-open the monitoring process. Today this issue is more crucial because of the U-turn that Turkey made in its democratization path.

The Turkish authorities totally disregarding the rule of law are using the situation to fight their political opponents and national minorities in the country.

So, Minister Cavusoglu would better concentrate on these serious problems rather than sharing with the Assembly his personal stories.

Another reference to Minister’s yesterday’s misleading remarks – his vision on Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process lies in a parallel reality with illusive withdrawal from five regions. Whereas in reality the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue is aimed at the determination of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh through the legally binding expression of will of its people.

One more attempt of misleading: the Minister also touched upon the Armenian-Turkish relations. If Turkey intended to normalize the relations with Armenia it would have then ratified and started to implement Zurich Protocols signed in 2009: the only closed border of Europe will be open.

Liverpool Football Club and Manchester United Football Club are calling on their fans to help eradicate any offensive or discriminatory behaviour ahead of their Premier League clash at Anfield on Monday 17 October.

The clubs continue to work together and respect the great rivalry between them but will not condone any offensive or discriminatory behaviour in Anfield Stadium or Old Trafford.

In a joint statement, the clubs said: “Both clubs, their supporters and football fans around the world are looking forward to this historic and passionate match between two of the sport’s biggest and oldest rivals.

“There is great rivalry between our fans and we ask all supporters to be respectful and help eradicate all forms of offensive and discriminatory behaviour from the game.

“If any supporters are found to be engaged in any form of offensive or discriminatory behaviour by stewards or via CCTV then they will be immediately removed from the stadium, risk arrest, prosecution and be reported in accordance with the club’s ground regulations.

“This is an unrivalled fixture in the Premier League calendar and we thank all fans for their continued support in this important area of the game.”

According to the host broadcaster, Liverpool and Manchester United games are the biggest club games in world football and will likely be seen by an estimated 700 million people in over 200 countries.

On October 12 Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Paruyr Hovhannisyan had a meeting with Pedro Agramunt, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Congratulating the Armenian representative on appointment, PACE President wished him productive work and expressed his willingness to contribute to the efforts aimed at the development of parliamentary cooperation.

The interlocutors referred to the agenda of Armenia-PACE cooperation. Ambassador Hovhannisyan expressed his support to PACE’s “no hate, no fear” (#nohatenofear) initiative launched in June within the framework of fight against terrorism.

The genocides we witnessed, the crimes committed against ethnic Yezidis, military crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Islamic State in Northern Iraq unfortunately continue today, member of the Armenian delegation to PACE Naira Zohrabyan said, addressing the Parliamentary Assembly today.

In this context she stressed the importance of elaboration of more flexible mechanisms of cooperation with the International Criminal Courtto fight against impunity.

Naira Zohrabyan reminded that during the April military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh soldiers and civilians, including children were severely tortured, killed and beheaded. She added that the actions constitute a gross violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crime.

“Both the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Armenia, as a guarantor of Artsakh’s security, will do their best to have Azerbaijan recognized as war criminal,” Zohrabyan added.

She reminded that Azerbaijan unleashed a military offensive against Artsakh, violating the territorial integrity of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic – a party to the trilateral ceasefire agreement of 1994.

“Azerbaijan should be recognized as war criminal and most of you are aware of the Azerbaijani atrocities,” Naira Zohrabyan told PACE.