Month: November 2016

Georgia became the winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The country was represented by Mariam Mamadashvili. She is ten years old and has been performing since she was four years old.

Armenia – represented by Anahit Adamyan and Mary Vardanyan – came second.

On November 19, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Greek affiliate will kick off its sixth annual phoneathon. In the course of the two-day fundraising event, volunteers will make calls to close to 1,600 Armenian households in Athens and other Greek cities, to request donations toward the construction of the kindergarten of Karin Tak, a village in Artsakh’s Shushi Region. The kindergarten-construction project, now underway, is a joint initiative with Hayastan All-Armenian Fund benefactors in Argentina and Cyprus as well as the government of Artsakh. The project is slated to be completed in summer 2017.

“Although for a small Armenian community such as ours, it’s hard to sponsor major projects on our own, we continue to help implement them by teaming up with other affiliates of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund,” said Vatche Der-Garabedian, chairman of the fund’s Greek affiliate. “I think such collaborative efforts are marvelous symbols of pan-national unity. It’s thanks to this type of collaboration that projects such as the construction of the community center of Khachmach, a village in Artsakh’s Askeran Region, were made possible.” Der-Garabedian added that if, as he hopes, proceeds from the phoneathon in Greece surpass expectations, the Greek-Armenian community will go on to sponsor an additional development project in the homeland.

The total raised through the phoneathon in Greece, as well as the totals of proceeds from all 2016 Hayastan Fund fundraising campaigns worldwide, will be announced at the conclusion of the organization’s flagship annual event, the Thanksgiving Day Telethon, on November 24.

Emulating the successful model of the fund’s Pan-European Phoneathon, which is headed by the French affiliate, the Greek affiliate has held local phoneathons since 2010, to date raising a total of 140,000 euros for various projects in Armenia.

Asbarez – On November 10, Armenian students who peacefully protested a genocide denier’s lecture celebrating Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s career at Chapman University were attacked as the audience punched, shoved, spit, and yelled fascist hate speech at them.

The protest at Chapman University was one of several organized by the Armenian Youth Federation-Western United States (AYF-WUS), ARF Shant Student Association (ARF-SSA), and the All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA) against “Ataturk Week,” a series of events around Southern California about Ataturk, who is considered to be the father of the modern Turkish Republic and the leader who ingrained the Ottoman Empire’s genocidal policies into the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.

Viral videos posted to Facebook Thursday and Friday showed Armenian youth peacefully protesting these events at Chapman University and California State University Northridge (CSUN) on Thursday, November 10, 2017.

“The violence and racist behavior displayed by the audience is a fraction of what Armenian, Kurdish and other minorities face every day in Turkey. We had people screaming ‘terrorist’ in our faces, and one man yelled that Armenians ‘do not have a civilization,’” said Razmig Sarkissian, Central Executive member of the AYF-WUS.

The lectures, intentionally scheduled on the day of Ataturk’s death, were planned by the Turkish Cultural Foundation, Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California, and Ataturk Monument in Los Angeles (ATAMLA). The events were to feature a lecture by Professor George Gawrych titled, “The Young Ataturk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey.”  Gawrych is a known denier of the Armenian Genocide, and when describing what he calls a “complicated” case, he prefers the word “massacres” over “genocide.” Protesters stood and turned their backs to the speaker, who eventually chose to leave rather than engage.

The protests were rooted in objections to the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s glorification. Ataturk instituted a social engineering campaign that instilled a fervent ultranationalist and secular ideology in the modern Republic of Turkey. The Turkish Nationalist Movement sought to integrate and assimilate all non-Turkish entities in the republic, essentially eradicating the remnants of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. Ataturk offered amnesty to the members of the political party responsible for the Armenian Genocide (the Committee of Union and Progress) who switched allegiance to his government, including perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide who were directly responsible for the deportations and slaughter of over a million people. Ataturk’s revisionist policies and disregard for minorities set the foundation for the denialist policies that are still in force today.

Photo: AFP

 

At least 73 people have been killed in a fuel truck explosion in Mozambique, officials say.

A government statement said people had been trying to take petrol from the truck when it exploded in the village of Caphiridzange in Tete province, near the border with Malawi.

More than 100 others were injured, some of them critically, it said.

One report said that the truck had crashed and people had been trying to siphon off fuel.

Announcing an investigation, information ministry director Joao Manasses said it was also possible that the vehicle had been ambushed by residents.

Government ministers are due to arrive in the area on Friday to oversee the rescue work and the inquiry.

The tanker had been carrying fuel to Malawi from the port city of Beira.

Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries, with more than half the 24 million population living below the poverty line.

It gained independence from Portugal in 1975 but is still suffering from the effects of a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992.

More than 100 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 2,400 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The Azeri forces also used an automatic grenade launcher in the northeastern (Yarimja) direction.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continued with their military duty and resorted to response actions only in case of extreme necessity.

Photo: AFP

 

The dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as she sang “Happy Birthday Mr President” to John F Kennedy has been sold at auction for $4.8m (£3.9m), the BBC reports.

The figure-hugging Jean Louis gown, with 2,500 crystals, was bought by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum chain, exceeding the $3m guide price.

The company’s vice president said it was “most iconic piece of pop culture that there is”.

Monroe died from a drug overdose just three months after the performance.

The sultry rendition for President Kennedy’s 45th birthday at a 1962 Democratic fundraiser at New York’s Madison Square was one of her last public appearances.

President Kennedy was shot dead a year later.

The dress, which the auction house said was so tight she had to be sewn into it, had previously been bought at auction for $1.3m in 1999 by the late business mogul and collector Martin Zweig.

On November 18^th, 2016, 2 postage stamps dedicated to the theme “Museums of Armenia. Sergey Paradjanov Museum” have been cancelled and put into circulation.

The postage stamps with nominal values of 300 AMD and 380 AMD are printed in “Cartor” printing house in France.

The postage stamp with nominal value of 300 AMD depicts a part of the facade of the Sergey Paradjanov Museum and the stamp with nominal value of 380 AMD represents the collage image of the halls of the S. Paradjanov Museum.

The postage stamps were cancelled by the “HayPost” CJSC Trust Manager Juan Pablo Gechidjian, the President of the Union of Philatelists of the RA Hovik Musayelyan and the Director of the Sergey Paradjanov Museum Zaven Sargsyan.

Date of issue: November 18, 2016

Designer: David Dovlatyan

Printing house: Cartor, France

Size: 60,0 x 30,0 mm

Print run: 50 000 x 2

Manchester United attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be a good option in the No.10 role, claims former Chelsea and Celtic midfielder Craig Burley.

The Armenian has been overlooked by Jose Mourinho this season, however, can still be of use to the Red Devils according to the pundit.

The former Borussia Dortmund man has started just once for the side in all competitions since joining – against Manchester City in the Premier League – and has made a total of four appearances for United this season.

Despite this, Burley says the 27-year-old has much to offer the Old Trafford outfit.

“I would argue that Mkhitaryan, given a chance and longevity, could probably do a good job in that role, but that, for some strange reason, doesn’t see as if it is going to even get off the starters blocks,” said the Scotsman, as reported by ESPN.

The Red Devils host Arsenal this weekend at Old Trafford, with United looking to improve their current position of sixth on the Premier League table.

 

 

 

A task force will be set up to promote the exports of Armenian goods, including food and agricultural products to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan has given the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments five days to discuss and present a project in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Healthcare and Agriculture.

PM Karapetyan said at a government sitting today that the task force should work with the Iranian side towards creation of institutional structures in Armenia with a view of ensuring the compatibility of Armenian products with Iranian standards, so that they can be exported to Iran according to a simplified procedure.

The Prime Minister said he expects the head of the task force to report on progress by December 25.

Karen Karapetyan also instructed the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments to hold discussions with interested bodies and enterprises the perspective of establishing a free trade zone at areas bordering Iran and present a proposal before December 25.

New figures confirm that security is the main concern for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, and that combined support for independence or unification with Armenia grows from 91.7% in 2015 to 95.1% in 2016.

Hovhannes Grigoryan, CEO of the Institute for Political and Sociological Consulting (IPSC), presented results of a new opinion poll on socio-economic developments, public perceptions of foreign affairs, international recognition, and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. The poll was conducted in July 2016 (shortly after the Four-Day War) on a sample of 1,081 people in Stepanakert and the 7 regions of Nagorno-Karabakh, and cross-referenced with a similar survey conducted in March 2015.

The figures show an increase in the number of people who believe Nagorno-Karabakh should be independent, compared to those who prefer it become a part of Armenia. An even more significant trend was observed among younger and educated, who support the independence in a much higher proportion (61.2% of population between 18 and 30 years support independence; 53.6% of university educated support independence).

Furthermore, public’s approval of Government’s performance in the sectors of Defence and Foreign Affairs has decreased, while the perception that Nagorno-Karabakh is on the right track is still considerably high at 78.9% percent.

The question of peace and security remains the predominant concern for half of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, followed by unemployment and international recognition of the NKR. Despite these concerns, declared intentions for migration remain at a very low level.

Commenting on this last aspect, Hovhannes Grigoryan said that: “the poll has showed that the Four-Day war of April 2016 has not affected the migration tendencies of the Nagorno-Karabakh population, which remain the lowest in the South Caucasus region, when compared to figures from similar polls conducted in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In other words, people of Karabakh, regardless of the hardships of the unexpected war outbreak in April, are determined to stay in their country”.

Member of the European Parliament Frank Engel underlined the political maturity of people in Nagorno-Karabakh: “The Four-Day War changed the situation, but it hasn’t changed it fundamentally. People of Nagorno-Karabakh are very mature about their positions, especially on the independence of the Artsakh, and it is obvious that despite them becoming more critical of their state and authorities, they express strong loyalty to their country. Further tensions are likely to strengthen these sentiments, rather than to invalidate them.”

Following the presentation of the research, Diogo Pinto, EuFoA Director said: “The results of this latest opinion poll, conducted after April’s Four-Day war, very clearly show the determination and the resilience of the citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh, in spite of the continued Azerbaijani aggression and attempts for destabilisation. Although an overwhelming majority believes that further aggressions are likely to happen in the near future, they crave for peace and trust the OSCE Minsk Process and the international community. As European Friends of Armenia, we urge the international community and the EU in particular, not to let the people of Nagorno-Karabakh down. Pressure must be kept on Azerbaijan so that it understands that only a peaceful solution is acceptable and that no further violations of the cease-fire will be tolerated”.

For full results click.