Month: February 2020

Armenian PM: Karabakh settlement has new content

Tatoyan Vazgen
News.am, Armenia
Feb 22 2020

15:05, 22.02.2020

STEPANAKERT. – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the new content of the Karabakh settlement.

In his speech during the joint meeting of Armenian and Artsakh national security councils, Pashinyan said this format is not a tradition, but an absolute necessity so that the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh could be “on the same scale.”

Interaction between Armenia and Artsakh is an important component of the security of Armenian people, he added.

It has become possible to state that the authorities of Artsakh and Armenia have identical positions on the settlement.

This does not mean that Armenia and Artsakh have identical views on all issues, but there is identical perception in terms of strategy.

“The most important of them I consider the statement that the Republic of Artsakh is a full-fledged participant in the negotiation process and it is impossible to resolve the Karabakh issue without Karabakh’s participation in talks.  In this regard, I consider it very important that in the course of our joint work, a new negotiation content is formed. I believe that this content is, first of all, representing the interests of Armenia and Artsakh more comprehensively, and secondly, it is constructive in terms of creating opportunities for the settlement,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

He also noted importance of a discussion within the framework of the Munich Security Conference where this content was clearly formulated and was called “the Munich principles”.

Armenian survivor of Baku Pogrom details horrors of killings in Congress

Baghdasarian Karlen
PanArmenian, Armenia
Feb 22 2020
  – 14:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Congressional Armenian Caucus leaders joined with human rights advocates and Armenian American community leaders in a solemn remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the anti-Armenian pogroms in Baku, featuring bipartisan calls for continued U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh, Asbarez reports.

The event featured moving keynote remarks by Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, who, along with her family, fled the anti-Armenian attacks in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, in the fall of 1989, finding safe haven in the US in 1992.

An accomplished lawyer, author, and human rights advocate, Astvatsaturian Turcotte, explained, “The same anti-Armenianism that made my grandfather an orphan and that made me a refugee is alive and well today. Just as with anti-Semitism, rooting out the hatred toward Armenians cannot be done by brushing aside this history.

The avoidance of calling things as they are contributes to the anti-Armenianism at the highest level of Azerbaijan’s government. These crimes continue with shooting across the Artsakh and Armenian borders at civilians.

The video below features Astvatsaturian Turcotte’s remarks

Armenian public bids last farewell to prominent actor Yervand Manaryan

Hovik Karapetian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 22 2020
Culture 15:25 22/02/2020 Armenia

“Yervand Manaryan’s name is inseparable from the 50-year old history of Armenian cinematography. Our film industry is a national heritage, and Manaryan represents one of the brightest colors of that richness,” Davit Muradyan, Honored Art Worker of Armenia, Professor at Yerevan Institute of Cinema and Theatre told reporters at the funeral ceremony of Yervand Manaryan.

Muradyan, who had come to bid farewell to the renowned actor, noted that people love Manaryan as a famility member. “He was not the type of actors to speak to the audience from a pedestal but was among the people – in every family. Kids and elderly, ordinary workers and academicians equally admired him. That is a virtue beyond the artistic and remains a very human charactersitic. The art created by Manaryan came from his human essence, his humor, kindness, and the decency of truly art lover,” added Muradyan.

To note, the funeral ceremony of Yervand Manaryan is being held at Yerevan Theatre of Musical Comedy named after Hakob Paronyan. The public applauded last time to the beloved actor, when Manaryan’s corpse was taken out of the theatre under the music of “A Bride from the North” film where Manaryan played a leading role.

Prominent Soviet Armenian actor, director, screenwriter and People’s Artist of Armenia Yervand Manaryan passed away at the age of 95 on Sunday.

Manaryan worked as an actor and a director at Hakob Paronyan Musical Comedy Theatre and Gabriel Sundukyan State Academic Theatre. From 1957 to 1959, he served as the general director of Yerevan State Puppet Theatre after Hovhannes Tumanyan. Manaryan became the artistic director of Argus Puppet Theatre in 1988. He also served as one of the chief directors of Yerevan State Puppet Theatre.

Joint meeting of the Security Councils of Artsakh, Armenia held in Stepanakert

Emma Jilavian
Aysor, Armenia
Feb 22 2020

On 22 February Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan together with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan partook at the joint meeting of the Security Councils of the two Armenian republics held in Stepanakert.

In his speech President Sahakyan touched upon a range of issues on domestic and foreign policies, particularly, related to the recent foreign political developments, army-building, realization of a number of strategically important socioeconomic projects in the republic’s southern regions.

Bako Sahakyan noted that the projects were ambitious, however, quite realistic, expressing his confidence that by joint efforts, systematic and consistent approach to the implementation of the activities, these projects would be brought to life.

Lydian presents false information to Canadian court, Armenian environmentalists say

Alex Jidarian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 22 2020

12:31, 22.02.2020
                   

Armenian Environmental Front revealed Lydian mining company provided false information to the Canadian court about Amulsar project.

“In January 2020, a number of documents and information about Lydian International became accessible to the public. The reason why this was possible is that in December 2019 Lydian applied for and was granted protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) which provided that no proceedings may be commenced or continued against or in respect of Lydian International and its subsidiaries (now extended till March 2, 2020). This basically means that during this period, Lydian’s creditors are not able to take the assets of the company in return to its unpaid loans,” the statement issued by environmentalists reads.

“The court protection period also give Lydian time for selling the Amulsar gold project or for raising money to sue Armenia in the corporate arbitration tribunals. Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc. was appointed monitor of the Lydian in the CCAA proceedings, and so a large number of documents became available on their website, including the Motion Report and affidavit of Lydian’s chief executive.

Armenian Environmental Front read those documents and found out that particularly the affidavit is full of false factual information and distorted or manipulative presentation of facts, which we would like to present to the public part by part. This first part concerns the Police and the Government of Armenia.

Edward Sellers, the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydian International Limited writes in his affidavit to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice:

“Police forces in Armenia have not acted on orders made by Armenian courts requiring the removal of blockaders and the commencement of criminal proceedings against them, and the GOA [Government of Armenia] has failed to cause the police to enforce court orders, further extending the illegal blockades.” (Affidavit of Edward Sellers, sworn December 22, 2019, para. 9.b; similar statements available in para. 44, 74-78)

We were, certainly, following the court proceedings against the Police of Armenia and the results of the court orders, but in order to confirm the information we had, we filed an official request for information to the Police or Armenia asking them to clarify the situation. Their response, basically, confirmed what we already knew:

Lydian Armenia’s court complaint was not about removal of blockades but about removal of the protestors’ house-trailers from the territory of the real estate in the ownership of the company. The company had also clarified the geographical location details which were in its ownership.

Police officers have negotiated with the protesters and moved the house-trailers out of the territory in the ownership of the company and placed them at the roadside.

The company filed an objection to the police claiming that the house-trailers have remained in the area of its ownership. However, the Police officers, accompanied by other relevant officials and professionals, conducted relevant land measurement actions and ascertained that the mobile house-trailers were not situated in the territory of the units of the real estate under the ownership of the company as well as there were no natural persons in those land plots, hence there was not any trespassory entry. Requirements under the court order VD/9786/05/18 have been adhered in full.

The above mentioned affidavit and other documents presented to the Ontario Court are full of similar wrongful data, and unfortunately, relevant public bodies of Armenia are undertaking no visible steps to confront or at least to voice out misinformation about their actions.”

Artsakh and Azerbaijan cannot exist in a common political area- Pashinyan

Garo Vardanian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 22 2020

The elections held in the Artsakh Republic throughout its history are incomparable in terms of democracy with those held Azerbaijan and come to demonstrate the existence of different realities in the two countries, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Saturday at the third joint meeting of the Security Councils of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh Republic.

“This circumstance comes to prove that Artsakh and Azerbaijan cannot exist in a common political area in any case as the level of democracy in Artsakh from over 3, 5, or 10 years on has been well ahead of the democracy in the neighboring country. This is not only an irreversible reality but I am confident, will be vividly illustrated once again during the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Artsakh,” Pashinyan said.

Speaking of the geopolitical reality in the region, Pashinyan noted that they are responsible not only for the security of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh but for the wider regional and global security.

“I am happy to state that Armenia and Artsakh share this approach, and our mission and responsibility are to ensure our national security, the regional security and contribute to the global security. This remains an important agenda issue for us and one of the topics of our bilateral cooperation,” Pashinyan said.

Armenian Church commemorates the memory of 150 Patriarchs participating in the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople

Karapet Navasardian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 22 2020
Society 13:19 22/02/2020 Armenia

The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates today the 150 Pontiffs participating in the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, Qahana.am reports. During different periods of history the Ecumenical Church has faced various problems of doctrinal, administrative and organizational nature, solutions to which have been provided during the Ecumenical Councils. One of such councils was the Second Ecumenical Council convened upon the order of the King Theodosios in Constantinople, in 381.

As the result of Arian disputes a new heresy had appeared, the head and supporter of which was Bishop Makedon of Constantinople, who denied the deity of the Holy Spirit. The Ecumenical Council convened in Constantinople on that special occasion, re-endorsed the definition of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea and stack for the formulation “One deity, three persons”.

Accepting the Ecumenical Council, the Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates the memory of 150 Patriarchs participating in the Council.

Artsakh reports around 190 Azerbaijani ceasefire violations in one week

Mary Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 22 2020

Azerbaijani military breached the ceasefire along the Artsakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact around 190 times in the past week.

In the period from February 16 to 22, the adversary fired more than 1,800 shots towards the Armenian defense positions from firearms of different calibers, the Artsakh Defense Ministry reported.

The Defense Army’s frontline troops continue to fully control the situation and take necessary steps for the reliable protection of their combat positions.

Air pollution exceeds safety limits in two Armenian cities

Ani Tigranian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 22 2020

The concentration of pollutants in the air of two Armenian cities – Vanadzor and Hrazdan – exceeds the limits of air-quality standards, according to the data, released by Armenia’s National Statistical Committee.

The data received from monitoring of the quality of the air basin held in December in the cities of Armenia, reveal that Sulphur dioxide exceeds the acceptable norm by 1.2 times in Vanadzor and 1.4 times in Hrazdan.

In all remaining settlements, all the air pollutants – dust, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide as well as ground-level ozone have been within the accepted norms.


Film: Renowned director and documentarian Artavazd Peleshyan marks birthday anniversary

Kalantarian Kevo
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 22 2020
Culture 18:15 22/02/2020 Armenia

Today marks the birthday anniversary of one of renowned directors of film-essays, documentarians of the world cinematography Artavazd Peleshyan. Filmmaker Sergei Parajanov once described Peleshyan as “one of the few authentic geniuses in the world of cinema.” Peleshyan is most famous for developing a style of cinematographic perspective known as distance montage, combining perception of depth with oncoming entities, such as running packs of antelope or hordes of humans.

Peleshyan was born on the 22nd of February, 1938 in Leninakan (Gyumri), Armenia. He later studied at the legendary Russian film school VGIK from 1963 to 1968 and now lives in both Armenian capital Yerevan and Russian capital Moscow.

His early films, made when he was still a student at VGIK, were awarded several prizes. To date, 12 films by Peleshyan are known to exist. The Beginning (Skizbe) (1967) is a cinematographical essay about the October Revolution of 1917. One of the unique visual effects used in this film is achieved by holding snippets of film still on a single frame, then advancing only for a second or two before again pausing on another, resulting in a stuttering visual effect. Other important films by him are We (Menq) (1967, a poetically told history of Armenia and its people, and Inhabitant (Obitateli) (1970), a reflection on the relationship between wildlife and humans. Artavazd Peleshyan’s most brilliant film is considered, by many critics, to be The Seasons of the Year (1975). Exquisitely shot by cinematographer Mikhail Vartanov, it is an outstanding look at the contradiction and harmony between humans and nature. It was the last collaboration between Peleshyan and Vartanov, Armenia’s two most important documentary auteurs; they first worked together on The Autumn Pastoral (1971).

Peleshyan is also the author of a range of theoretical works, such as his 1988 book, Moyo kino (My Cinema). He is now living in Moscow. His most recent film was edited at the ZKM | Karlsruhe Film Institute in 2005-2006 and has not yet been released.