Nearly a thousand years before the development of the modern seismograph in the 19th century, Armenian monks living in the Tatev monastery constructed the “Gavazan” column, a pillar with a pivoting base, which tilted when the ground shook from tremors caused by earthquakes (or approaching armies).
The 1,000-year-old, dramatically situated Tatev monastery was a great center of science and philosophy in the medieval era, as typified by the Gavazan and other structures within the complex. The site, overlooking the the Vorotan river gorge, was originally used for pagan worship, until the first church was built there sometime between 895 and 906, dedicated to the saints Paul and Peter. It was the bishopric seat of the Syunik region and wielded considerable influence.
With the construction of another shrine, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in the 11th century, the monastery entered a golden period, with nearly 1,000 monks and artisans making it their home. Its library housed more than 10,000 manuscripts. Unfortunately, both the books and this period of prosperity met their end with the invasion of the Seljuk Turks in 1170. The manuscripts had been sent to a fort for safekeeping but the fort was razed to the ground, and the monastery itself was ransacked and looted.
It was slowly reconstructed and academic recovery took place in the 14th and 15th centuries when the Tatev University was established and became a key Armenian center for learning, under the leadership of Grigor Tatevatsi. With three different schools, disciplines like architecture, philosophy, and astronomy were taught. The entire compound was self-sufficient with its own oil press, flour mill, and nearby orchards and vineyards in the Vorotan gorge. This period ended when Timur the Lame, and his son launched successive military campaigns in the region.
Across the following centuries, the stone complex was battered by invasions and an earthquake that struck in 1931. Efforts were made to partially rebuild the key structures and there’s an ongoing project to restore the extraordinary monastery to its former glory.
Visitors can ride on the Wings of Tatev, the world’s longest nonstop double track cable car, that takes you from Halidzor village to the monastery, offering a stunning bird’s-eye view of the gorge. The Gavazan column still stands at the monastery, though it no longer tilts when tremors hit. A well-preserved oil mill from the Middle Ages is also on the premises, along with the tomb of Grigor Tatevatsi, who headed Tatev during one of its most fruitful eras.
I'm sitting in my living room, peering down through a virtual reality headset into a dirt pit in Khor Virap where legend says St. Gregory the Illuminator was held for 15 years before curing his captor, King Trdat, of an ailment and convincing him to convert to Christianity. Fable or not, by the early 300s AD Trdat had declared Christianity the official state religion, making Armenia one of the first, if not the first, countries to institute a national Christian church.
Armenia’s claim to be the first Christian nation is contested by some—particularly the nation of Ethiopia, which also purports to be the first. The early history of Christianity is murky, but overall, many scholars today agree that Armenia holds this designation.
“Though there were Christians in Ethiopia—a few at least, very early—the same was true everywhere,” Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Berberian Chair of Armenian Studies, Emeritus, at Fresno State, told Smithsonian.com. “The Armenian Church claims an official conversion of the nation to Christianity in [the year] 301, though many scholars speak of 313 to 314.” Kouymjian says the actual date differs among Armenian historical sources, but researchers prefer to use a date of 314, because it comes after the Edict of Milan, which allowed the open practice of any religion throughout the Roman Empire. Even so, he said, this is still “some decades before Ethiopia, where we learned that a majority of the inhabitants converted after 340.”
Historians believe Trdat's decision may have been motivated both by a desire to consolidate power over the growing community of Christians within Armenia and as a political move to demonstrate to Rome, who at the time offered protectorate support, a parting of ways with Rome's region rival, the pagan Sasanian regime.
Regardless of the reasoning, with Trdat's support, St. Gregory became the first Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church and went about the region spreading the faith and constructing churches on top of pagan temples.
Today, the Armenian landscape is dotted with spectacular churches, the most notable of which date back to the medieval period when the development of communal monasteries transformed these remote locations into centers of art and learning. Today, many of these historic monasteries are still off the beaten path, perched overlooking vast gorges or hidden away in forested valleys.
This is part of what the 360GreatArmenia VR app and website is trying to solve for by making virtual tours available from anywhere. In addition to the Khor Virap Monastery, the project has captured more that 300 virtual reality tours of ancient sites within modern Armenia.
The project's founder, Vahagn Mosinyan, said seeing a 360-degree image of another town online back in 2012 "triggered…an interest to make the same 360-degree platform for Armenia, because it is a great tool to preserve and to archive cultural heritage." The resulting stitched images, taken both by drones and photographers on the ground, allow viewers to switch from aerial to street views, navigate through interiors and view relics and historical art. Users are invited to annotate the destinations with information and stories. Backed by Ucom, an Armenian internet service provider, the project was also recently featured in a special exhibit at the National Gallery of Armenia in Yerevan that focused on the more than 50 cultural monuments the project has captured in historical Western Armenia, in modern day Turkey.
The monasteries below can be explored through interactive 360-degree panoramas or navigated virtually using the project's smartphone app (iOS, Android) and a VR headset.
This rock-hewn collection of churches and tombs are cut right into the surrounding rock, earning its past name Ayrivank, or Monastery in the Cave (not to be confused with another location of the same name in Kiev, Ukraine today). Over the centuries since its construction, it became famous for the various relics housed in the complex. The most famous of these gave the monastery its current name: Geghard is said to have housed the spear that wounded Jesus’ side during his crucifixion for about 500 years, and Geghardavank means “Monastery of the Spear.”
Hidden among lush green trees, Haghartsin is a beautiful example of Armenia's medieval architecture. The complex features four churches, a dining hall, a gavit and a refectory and is the starting point for several hiking trails. It was built between the 10th and 13th centuries by the order of two princes from the Bagratuni kingdom. Their family seal can be seen on the back of one of the three churches, and intricately carved stone carvings, including one of the Madonna and child stand near the door of another.
The 10th-century monastery was built halfway up a hillside overlooking the Debed River during the reign of King Abbas of the Bagratouni family. The complex includes eight buildings encircled by a fortified wall. The oldest building, St. Nishan church, appears from the outside to be rectangular but forms a cruciform shape in the interior. On the exterior wall, a full-scale relief statue depicts two 10th-century kings holding a small model of the St. Nishan. Inside, part of a 13th-century fresco can still be seen.
From the 10th to 13th centuries, Haghpat was considered an important learning center, and today, visitors can still see the library, a domed building with a vaulted ceiling and skylights.
In its heyday, Kecharis was plated in silver and gold, a stunning display of wealth worthy of one of the great learning centers of the 11th to 13th centuries. The best Armenian academics are known to have traveled to teach at the school here. The first church on record at this site was built in 1033, but ruins of a 5th-century basilica can be found here, as well—though scholars are not sure about its history, nor that of the earlier structures that also occupy the grounds.
Noravank was built in the 13th century as a home for bishops as well as a prince’s tomb. Today, three churches sit inside a narrow gorge in the Amaghou valley, surrounded by red and gray rock cliffs. Momik, the architect of one of the churches and a sculptor who carved an intricate khachkar—an Armenian cross-stone—at the site, is also buried there. Noravank is most well known for a two-story church with a rock-hewn staircase on the outside wall of the building.
According to legend, a priest at Saghmosavank offered to cure a violent ruler and invader of his deadly illness, provided that he release as many captured Armenians as would fit inside the church. Seventy thousand prisoners packed into the monastery—and at this point, lore says, the priest turned them into doves and released them through a church window to fly back to their homes where they would return to human form. Beyond the legend, Saghmosavank is famous for its manuscripts and was considered an important center for calligraphy.
Like Haghpat, Sanahin (which is less than 30 minutes from Haghpat) was an important learning center in Armenia. This monastary was renowned for its calligraphy and illumination school and is a notable example of Armenian religious architecture that combined Byzantine styles with traditional designs from the Caucasian region. Sanahin is a bit older than Haghpat, and that may have played a role when it was named “sanahin,” meaning “it’s older than the other one.”
Think of Sevanavank as a holy reform school; monks from Ejmiatsin were sent here after committing a sin. As a result, Sevanavank had the strictest lifestyle and conduct guidelines of any monastery in Medieval Armenia. At the time when the monastery was built, the peninsula on which it is located was an island. Later, when Armenia was under soviet rule, water was drained from the nearby lake Sevan, dropping the water level roughly 20 meters and creating a land bridge.
Construction of the current complex began in the 9th century on a large basalt plateau overlooking the Voratan gorge, the largest gorge in Armenia. Starting in the 14th century, it became known as a university, making it one of the oldest in the world, where students could study science, religion, philosopy and the arts. Modern day Tatev holds a Guinness Book record for having the longest non-stop, reversible, aerial tramway in the world, called the “Wings of Tatev,” that transports visitors from the monastery to Halidzor village.
This is one of the few Orthodox monasteries in the country. Researchers have dated the main church to between the 11th and 13th centuries, with murals inside dating to 1205. At one time, the monastery held the cross that some believe John the Baptist used to baptize Jesus. Frescoes and murals cover the walls and domed ceiling inside, depicting scenes from the old and new testament, including the Last Supper.
Harichavank is a seventh-century monastery, but excavations at the site have found evidence of use as far back as the second century BCE. It was famous in its heyday for its school and scriptorium, housing an impressive selection of Armenian manuscripts and art—including one copied page of the Bible from 1209, reportedly done by Margare, a famous painter of the time.
At one time, after 1850, the Catholicos of Echmiadzin used Harichavank as a summer residence. Many of the monastery's ancillary buildings were added upon his arrival.
Sabato 03 Giugno alle 16:20 – ultimo aggiornamento
Inaugura stasera, alle 19, negli spazi della Ex-Gil in Corso Italia ad Arborea, una piccola anteprima rispetto alle date ufficiali di Istòria – Festival Multiartistico di Storia Contemporanea (sabato 10 e domenica 11).
Si tratta della mostra di arte contemporanea degli artisti armeni, un viaggio espositivo e narrativo che prosegue nella città dopo aver toccato nel 2009 Avellino, nel 2010 Napoli e nel 2012 Scafati.
È un progetto che vuole mettere in mostra la cultura del popolo armeno attraverso le opere realizzate da artisti contemporanei armeni: persone che, pur in diaspora in varie nazioni, non hanno mai cancellato il legame che gli unisce alla terra di origine.
Come ogni evento culturale, la mostra di Arborea vuole essere occasione di stimolo e riflessione su una realtà lontana. Il progetto è curato da Giacomo Carlo Tropeano.
La Cámara de Diputados conmemoró los 10 años de la Ley 26.199, que reconoce el genocidio armenio perpetrado por el Estado turco, con un acto en el Salón Pasos Perdidos.
El acto fue convocado por el presidente de la Cámara de Diputados, Emilio Monzó, y el presidente del Grupo Parlamentario de Amistad con la República de Armenia, el diputado Waldo Wolff (Pro), quien fue uno de los oradores junto a sus pares Remo Carlotto (PpV), Brenda Austin (UCR), y el presidente del Consejo Nacional Armenio de Sudamérica, Bartolomé Ketchian.
A su turno, Wolff sostuvo que “si en la Primera Guerra Mundial el mundo no le hubiera dado la espalda al pueblo armenio seguramente nosotros hoy no estaríamos lamentando la cantidad de genocidios que ocurrieron en el siglo XX”.
Austin, por su parte, afirmó: “el genocidio del que fue víctima el pueblo armenio y la humanidad entera es quizás el ejemplo más cruel de lo que es capaz un Estado cuando no reconoce en la vida del otro la dignidad humana”.
Carlotto recordó orgulloso haber formado parte de los 165 diputados que votaron a favor del proyecto de reconocimiento del genocidio armenio en 2006. “Aplaudimos de pie la posibilidad de dar una señal importante para el conjunto de la humanidad”, dijo.
“La Argentina ha construido una tradición desde el retorno democrático: los tres poderes del Estado han reconocido el genocidio armenio y han tenido conductas en consecuencia. Debemos estar siempre atentos porque sostener la memoria es cuidar que estos hechos no se repitan”, agregó.
En tanto, Bartolomé Ketchian, resaltó: “debemos reconocer que ante los intentos por tergiversarla, menoscabarla o invisibilizarla (a la ley), el Congreso se mantuvo siempre del lado de la verdad histórica”.
Ketchian hizo un recorrido cronológico hasta llegar a la sanción y promulgación de la Ley, recordando la importancia del reconocimiento explícito del presidente Raúl Alfonsín en septiembre de 1987; las distintas declaraciones de las cámaras de Diputados y de Senadores; recordó también el veto del presidente Carlos Menem en 1995 de una ley aprobada por unanimidad por el Congreso hasta llegar a la promulgación de la Ley en 2007 por parte del presidente Néstor Kirchner.
El Consejo Nacional Armenio entregó un reconocimiento a los legisladores que tomaron parte del proceso de aprobación de la Ley 26.199. Los diplomas fueron para Rafael Bielsa, Hermes Binner, Carlos Raimundi, Federico Pinedo, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, Rubén Giustiani, Ernesto Sanz, Vilma Ibarra, Agustín Rossi y Liliana Negre de Alonso.
Սիրելի ընթերցող,
Կցուած կրնաք գտնել «Զարթօնք»ի այսօրուայ թիւը ՝
Շնորհակալ ենք, որ ընտրած էք «Զարթօնք»
կարդալ:
Սիրով՝
«ԶԱՐԹՕՆՔ»ի
Խմբագրութիւն
By Artak Hambardzumian
YEREVAN (RFE/RL) – An American surgeon who has
saved thousands of lives in a war-torn region of Sudan received last week an
international humanitarian award created in memory of the 1915 Armenian
genocide in Ottoman Turkey.
Tom Catena, the sole doctor permanently based in Sudan's
Nuba Mountains,
was awarded the 2017 Aurora Prize for Awakening
Humanity at a solemn ceremony in Yerevan.
He was selected by an international committee from more than 550 nominations
submitted from 66 countries. The selection committee comprises dignitaries such
as the Hollywood star George Clooney, Iranian human rights campaigner Shirin
Ebadi, Mexico's former President Ernesto Zedillo and former Australian Foreign
Minister Gareth Evans.
The annual award was established in 2015 by three prominent Diaspora Armenians:
philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan, and Vartan Gregorian, the
president of the Carnegie Corporation of New
York. It is designed to honor individuals around the
world who risk their lives to help others.
The prize is named after Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian genocide survivor who
witnessed the massacre of relatives and told her story in a book and film. It
was first awarded to Marguerite Barankitse, a humanitarian worker from Burundi, at a similar ceremony held in Yerevan a year ago.
“I appreciate the Aurora initiative and what they are doing because my goal is
to help to publicize a bit the plight of the people of the Nuba Mountains who
have suffered tremendously over so many years," Catena said after
receiving the prize carrying a $100,000 personal grant.
Like Barankitse, the Catholic missionary doctor was also awarded an additional
$1 million to donate to organizations that inspired his work. He chose three
charities based in the United States
and Germany
as its recipients.
For almost a decade Catena has worked at the sole hospital in the rebel-held
Sudanese region ravaged by an ongoing civil war. He was among the four
finalists who were shortlisted for the inaugural Aurora prize in 2016.
Catena could not visit Armenia
to attend last year's award ceremony because of his busyness. He was able to
fly to Yerevan
this time around after three Armenian doctors travelled to Nuba to fill in for
him at the local Mother of Mercy Catholic Hospital.
"Sometimes people ask me: `What is the most difficult part of your
job?'" Catena said at Sunday's event. "The answer is very easy and it
comes very readily. The most difficult part is having to watch your patients
die. It's the most excruciating pain you can imagine. "At that point you
feel that all the sadness and the grief in the world are sitting on top of your
head," he added. "They are inside your chest, squeezing you. You
can't even breathe."
Charles Aznavour’s first stop was Halidzor station of the Wings of Tatev
ropeway, where the singer was greeted by CEO of IDeA (Initiatives for
Development of Armenia) Foundation Edgar Manukyan, Director of the ropeway Vahe
Baghdasaryan, and the foundation staff.
In the Church of St. Paul and Peter, Nicolas Aznavour was
baptized by Father Mikayel Gevorgyan. Tatev monastery choir sang at the
ceremony.
“I was born in France,
taught in Switzerland and Canada,
but the more I think about it, the more connected I feel to my Armenian roots.
I talked with my father and aunt, listened to their stories, and I returned to
my family’s roots. I’m learning Armenian. I felt I wanted to be christened in
no other place by Armenia,”
Nicolas Aznavour said. He described the baptism in Tatev as an unforgettable
moment.
Charles Aznavour was inseparable from his camera throughout the trip, hunting
beautiful shots.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 Sarkisian Denies Rift With Armenian PM June 6, 2017 Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (L) and Prime Minister Karen Karapetian at an awards ceremony at the presidential palace in Yerevan, 28Jan2017. President Serzh Sarkisian dismissed on Tuesday media claims that Prime Minister Karen Karapetian is increasingly at odds with him and will step down soon. A number of Armenian media outlets and commentators have speculated in recent weeks that Sarkisian plans to become prime minister or replace Karapetian by someone else after serving out his final term in April 2018. Some of them have claimed that the premier will resign or be sacked before that time because of his worsening relationship with the president. The Yerevan daily "Zhoghovurd" reported on Tuesday that Karapetian has already twice tendered his resignation and that Sarkisian has refused to accept it. Citing unnamed sources, it said that Karapetian will not remain in office much longer. "The prime minister has no reason to resign," Sarkisian said in rare comments to Armenian reporters made later in the day. "Periodical reports about alleged differences or a confrontation are untrue." "We understand very well, both at the party and the government levels, who the authors of those fabrications are and what they want. But I think that that cannot have any impact on the situation," he added, according to the Armenpress news agency. Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian and Prime Minister Karen Karapetian arrive at an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 31Mar2017. Sarkisian appointed Karapetian as prime minister in September last year with the stated aim of improving the socioeconomic situation in Armenia through more radical reforms. The 53-year-old premier, who is a former business executive, has since repeatedly pledged to create a level playing field for all businesses, combat corruption and tax evasion, and attract large-scale investments in the Armenian economy. Karapetian has also indicated his desire to retain his post after the end of Sarkisian's decade-long tenure, which will be followed by Armenia's transition to the parliamentary system of government. He told reporters on May 9 that he does not "see" preparations by Sarkisian to take his place at the helm of the government. The president himself has not publicly ruled out such a possibility. In a March 25 speech in Nagorno-Karabakh, he said vaguely that he would like to "play a role, in some capacity, in ensuring the security of our people" after April 2018. A spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) declined to clarify last week whether Karapetian, who is also the HHK's first deputy chairman, will stay on as prime minister next year. Ohanian Vows Continued Fight For Regime Change June 6, 2017 . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - Former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian attends an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 11Mar2017. Former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian made clear on Tuesday that he will not quit politics despite his opposition alliance's poor showing in Armenia's recent parliamentary elections. "False media reports that I left Armenia, got a job abroad [in Russia] and so on are untrue and unacceptable," Ohanian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in an interview. "I have served my homeland for 38 years, I have spent my entire life here, and I will carry on with my service for the homeland." "I will present the methods, forms and principles [of doing that] to the public after deciding on them," he said. "Everyone is in politics today," Ohanian went on. "Today no capable and intelligent force thinking about Armenia's future, security and development can stay away from processes taking place in Armenia and around Armenia." A retired army general, Ohanian was sacked in October last year after working as defense minister in President Serzh Sarkisian's administration for more than eight years. He began criticizing the Armenian government shortly afterwards. In January, he teamed up with opposition parties led by former Foreign Ministers Vartan Oskanian and Raffi Hovannisian to run in the April 2 parliamentary elections. Armenia -- Former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian (2nd R) speaks with local residents during an Ohanian-Raffi-Oskanian alliance campaign meeting in Gyumri, March 21, 2017 According to the Central of Election Commission (CEC), their ORO alliance polled only 2 percent of the vote, falling well short of a 7 percent threshold for having seats in Armenia's new parliament. The bloc rejected the official vote results as fraudulent but refrained from staging post-election street protests. Its leaders have kept a low profile since then. Ohanian insisted that the new National Assembly controlled by Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK) "does not reflect the will of the people." Opposition groups not represented in the legislature must therefore strive to "make our people's voice heard" by the authorities, he said. "In that regard, I do not exclude developments outside the parliament that could lead to a force majeure situation," Ohanian said, alluding to the possibility of future anti-government protests. "I believe that the people must make their voice heard by the authorities," he added. More Armenian Judges Prosecuted For Corruption June 6, 2017 . Naira Bulghadarian Armenia -- The main entrance to the Office of the Prosecutor-General in Yerevan, 15Dec2009 Two more Armenian judges as well as one prosecutor have been accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes in return for making illegal decisions on two court cases in the country's Gegharkunik province. It also emerged on Tuesday that law-enforcement authorities have arrested six other local residents who allegedly arranged or paid the kickbacks to the chairman of the Gegharkunik court of general jurisdiction, Aghvan Petrosian, one of its judges, Vanik Vartanian, and a regional prosecutor, Sevak Shoyan. Petrosian and Shoyan have been taken into custody. Armenia's Justice Council was expected to give the green light to Vartanian's arrest later in the day. A statement by the Office of the Prosecutor-General claimed that Petrosian was paid $23,000 to hand a suspended prison sentence to a young man prosecuted for his role in a violent assault that occurred in Vartenis, a small regional town, in 2014. Armenia's Court of Appeals subsequently struck down the lenient sentence and sent it back to the Gegharkunik court. According to the statement, the Vartenis man was detained and went on trial even though Shoyan, the local prosecutor, received a $4,000 bribe from the suspect's parents. The statement added that the two judges were also paid around $2,500 in exchange for an "illegal verdict" in a property dispute involving other Gegharkunik residents. The ruling was handed down by Vartanian, it said. Two other Armenian judges are being prosecuted on similar charges. One of them, Ishkhan Barseghian, was allegedly caught red-handed in October while being paid $1,000 by a citizen. Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) circulated video purportedly showing him receiving the sum at an underground pass in Yerevan. Barseghian, who served in a district court in Yerevan for 20 years, pleaded not guilty when he went on trial in April. Another judge was charged with taking a $600 bribe last month. He worked in the lower court of the Ararat and Vayots Dzor provinces. Despite having undergone frequent structural changes over the past two decades, Armenia's judicial system is still regarded by many people as corrupt and highly dependent on the government. Armenia's former human rights ombudsman, Karen Andreasian, highlighted the problem in a 2013 report that accused judges of routinely taking bribes. The report based on confidential interviews with lawyers, judges and prosecutors singled out the Court of Cassation, the highest body of criminal justice in the country. Both the court and an Armenian government body monitoring the judiciary denied the allegations. Yervand Varosian, a well-known defense attorney, insisted on Tuesday that bribery among Armenian judges remains widespread. "Few people in the judicial system are not corrupt," Varosian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Only sweeping personnel changes in the judiciary can eradicate the illegal practice, he said. Opposition Bloc Offers Guarded Support For New Anti-Graft Body June 6, 2017 . Sisak Gabrielian Armenia - Lena Nazarian, a senior member of the opposition Yelk alliance, speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan, 6Jun2017. A senior member of the opposition Yelk alliance on Tuesday welcomed the Armenian government's plans to set up a new body tasked with tackling corruption in the country. Under a bill approved by Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's cabinet on Thursday, the body is to prevent and detect corrupt practices among Armenian officials. It will be created on the basis of the existing State Commission for the Ethics of High-Ranking Officials. The commission receives income and asset declarations from Armenia's 600 most high-ranking state officials, including ministers and judges. The new body would not only scrutinize those financial disclosures but also investigate possible conflicts of interest or unethical behavior. It would be empowered to ask law-enforcement bodies to prosecute officials suspected by it of engaging in corrupt practices or even submitting false declarations. Under the bill, which the Armenian parliament will start debating on Wednesday, the anti-corruption body will consist of five members appointed by the National Assembly for six-year terms. Their candidacies would be submitted by a special council comprising not only government officials but also civil society representatives. Lena Nazarian, a parliament deputy from Yelk, said she on the whole supports the government initiative and is ready to vote for it despite having some misgivings. In particular, she said, state officials should be required to disclose not only their incomes but also expenditures. "I think that any bill that gives the opposition and the civil society an instrument to oversee submission of [income] declarations is positive," Nazarian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Some civic activists are far more skeptical about the new agency. Daniel Ioannisian of the Union of Informed Citizens predicted that it will not stop corrupt officials from falsely attributing their wealth to their friends or relatives. He also argued that the body will not be allowed to conduct criminal investigations. Former Justice Minister Arpine Hovannisian, who is the main author of the bill, insisted late last week that the anti-graft body will have sufficient powers to prevent many instances of corruption. The bill was also welcomed by Piotr Switalski, the head of the European Union Delegation in Yerevan. Switalski described it as a "step forward." Armenia ranked, together with Bolivia and Vietnam, 113th out of 176 countries evaluated in Transparency International's most recent Corruption Perceptions Index released in January. Press Review June 6, 2017 "Zhoghovurd" quotes Nagorno-Karabakh's prime minister, Arayik Harutiunian, as saying that international mediators' peace proposals praised by Armenia are unacceptable to the authorities in Stepanakert. The paper notes that the Karabakh Armenian leadership has long made clear its opposition to the so-called lands-for-status formula favored by the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. "It will be interesting to see how this dilemma will be solved if Karabakh continues to reject the variant under discussion," it says. It also wonders why President Serzh Sarkisian has not convinced the Karabakh Armenians to drop their objections to what he has publicly described as a reasonable compromise. Konstantin Zatulin, a Russian pundit and former parliamentarian, tells "168 Zham" that Moscow does not want to see any decline in its role and presence in the South Caucasus. "Unfortunately, the existing facts are that Azerbaijan sharply increased arms purchases from Russia and it may well be that the military balance [in the Karabakh conflict] was somewhat disrupted because of that," he says. "[Recent] Russian arms supplies to Armenia indirectly testify to that fact. If we sold weapons only to Azerbaijan and did not give or sell weapons to Armenia, we would undermine the balance. The challenge is to maintain it." Russia is "using" that balance in its policy towards the Karabakh dispute, adds Zatulin. "Zhamanak" says that opposition forces that failed to win seats in Armenia's new parliament "seem to be recovering from their post-election shock." "They have started to speak up little by little," writes the paper. "Not all of them, of course. The former ORO alliance -- and one of its leaders, Raffi Hovannisian, in particular -- is more active right now, even if Seyran Ohanian (another ORO leader) also does not miss opportunities to address the public." "Aravot" complains that pro-government and opposition politicians go out of their way to stress what they think must be done in Armenia but will not specify how. "They must put an end to meaningless air fluctuations," the paper says. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia June 5, 2017 Monday Mnatsakanyan: Armenian community should always be ready to war Yerevan June 5 Marianna Mkrtchyan. As long as Nagorno-Karabakh war is not finished, the nation always should be ready to war. This was stated by Artsakh Defense Minister, General-Lieutenant Levon Mnatsakanyan during the conversation with the journalists. "We still lead the war, it is not finished. We should be ready for it every day, regardless of whether we talk about it or not. The nation always should be ready, until this war is ready completely", the defense department head said. Talking about the situation at the troops' contact line, Mnatsakanyan said that today it can be estimated as a stable strained, without tendencies to develop. "Compared to recent months, tension decrease has been registered, in particular, shooting from the weapons of various calibers reduced, although the situation is periodically escalated. But if we compare the situation with the April events, then the tension decreased for several times, the subversive actions taken by the adversary ceased. The previous attempt of sabotage penetration was registered in February this year, "NKR Defense department head said. At the same time, General-Lieutenant stressed that Armenian said tries to respond to Azerbaijani armed forces to discourage them from hunt for new attempts, that is the damage done to them, was substantially greater than they could cause themselves. "Of course, Azerbaijan will always strive to maintain tension on the front line, will also seek to inflict damage on us, and we, in turn, will give an adequate response, and if necessary, when necessary, we will give the final blow", Mnatsakanyan said.