Month: June 2022

Ishkhan Saghatelyan: Time will put everything in its place

Ekmekjian Janet
Panorama
Armenia – June 15 2022

Opposition leader and deputy parliament speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan reiterates the protest movement launched by Armenian’s opposition groups continues despite the decision to dismantle the tents set up in Yerevan’s central France Square.

Addressing a rally on Tuesday evening, Saghatelyan announced the opposition’s plans to scale back daily anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and try to attract greater popular support to the resistance movement launched in May.

“Let’s appreciate our work and the path we have passed, let’s record our achievements and continue our struggle with renewed vigor,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

“I don’t have time or intention to respond to stupid comments right now. Time will put everything in its place and will give answers to all questions,” Saghatelyan said.

He said he was heading to the penitentiary in the town of Artik to visit opposition activists being held there. Saghatelyan added he and his colleagues will deal with organizational issues related to the movement later in the day.

Court refuses to end prosecution of MP Armen Gevorgyan

Dabaghian Diana
Panorama
Armenia – June 15 2022

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction has rejected a request to drop charges against Armen Gevorgyan, an MP from the opposition Hayastan bloc, and end his prosecution.

Presiding judge Anna Danibekyan on Wednesday denied the defense motion at a court hearing on the case also involving Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan.

The decision can be appealed to a higher court within one month after its delivery, Kocharyan’s lawyers said in a statement.

Gevorgyan is standing trial for alleged corruption and money laundering.

Opposition activists protest outside Armenian Prosecutor’s Office

Emma Nadirian
Panorama
Armenia – June 15 2022

Members of the resistance movement launched by Armenia’s opposition staged a protest outside the Prosecutor General’s Office in Yerevan on Wednesday.

Opposition Hayastan bloc MP Aram Vardevanyan denounced the arrests of opposition protesters based on the testimonies of police officers.

“The current authorities, who came to power through acts of civil disobedience, once said that the testimony of a police officer could not serve as a basis for arresting a person. However, people are now being held in custody based on it,” he said via a loudspeaker.

Meanwhile, the MP said no policeman has been arrested and prosecuted for using violence against demonstrators demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation during around 40 days of protests in Yerevan.

“The Prosecutor’s Office should not shy away from charging and prosecuting police officers,” the lawmaker noted.

Vardevanyan said peaceful protests will continue until Pashinyan’s ouster.

Afterwards, the opposition activists blocked a road near the building of the law enforcement agency.

Film: Michael Goorjian’s ‘Amerikatsi’ to open Golden Apricot Film Festival

George Mamian
Panorama
Armenia – June 15 2022

CULTURE 12:28 15/06/2022 ARMENIA

The 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival will kick off with “Amerikatsi” (American) by director Michael Goorjian. The official opening ceremony of the festival will take place on July 10 at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. This year, the International Film Festival will present to the public films from different countries of the world as well as films from the most prestigious film festivals, organizers said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Amerikatsi” is a 2022 Armenia / USA co-produced film. Producers: Arman Nshanian, Patrick Malkassian, Sol Tryon. Script: Michael Goorjian. Director of Photography: Ghasm Ebrahimian. Music by: Andranik Berberyan. Edit: Mike Solemn, Michael Goorjian. Cast: Michael Goorjian, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nelli Uvarova, Mikhail Trukhin.

As a young boy, Charlie escaped the Armenian genocide by stowing away in a trunk bound for the United States. His family was not so lucky. Despite his tragic start, as an adult, Charlie has managed to maintain his child-like wonder for the world. However, like so many refugees and orphans, there’s a hole in Charlie’s big heart. Our story begins in 1947, as Charlie repatriates back to Armenia only to be greeted by the harsh reality of Soviet Communism. The soul of Armenia has been suffocated beneath the iron curtain. Almost immediately Charlie is arrested and sentenced to prison for the absurd crime of wearing a tie. To further ensure that he doesn’t influence other prisoners with his “cosmopolitan” ways, Charlie is placed in solitary confinement. Just as he appears to be succumbing to the terror of his situation, Charlie discovers that the prison wall outside his cell window had been damaged during a recent earthquake.

Michael Goorjian is an Emmy Award winning actor, writer, and filmmaker of Armenian decent, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Michael won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in David’s Mother alongside Kirstie Alley. He is also well known for playing Neve Campbell’s love interest, Justin, on the Golden Globe winning series Party of Five, as well as Heroin Bob in the cult classic SLC Punk. Recently he starred alongside Robert De Niro in HBO’s The Wizard of Lies. Other film & television credits include: Newsies, Chaplin with Robert Downey Jr., Forever Young with Mel   Gibson, Leaving Las Vegas, Hard Rain with Morgan Freeman, Broken with Heather Graham, The Invisibles, Lucifer, Covert Affairs, Lie to Me, House, Alias, Monk, CSI, Without a Trace to name a few. On stage, Michael has won numerous awards, including; an L.A. Weekly Theater Award for Best Lead Actor in Modigliani, and a LA Critics Choice Award for choreographing the world premiere of Reefer Madness the Musical. Most recently Michael appeared at Berkeley Repertory Theater World premiere of Imaginary Comforts by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket). As director, Michael achieved international acclaim for his award-winning feature film debut, Illusion, in which he starred alongside Hollywood-legend Kirk Douglas (and some other guy named Bryan Cranston).

The 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival will take place on July 10-17, 2022.

Film: Films about Artsakh continue being screened around the world

Aram Torosian
Panorama
Armenia – June 15 2022

CULTURE 15:54 15/06/2022 NKR

Armenian director Jivan Avetisyan’s “Gate to Heaven” was successfully screened at the Armenian Film Festival Australia in Melbourne and Sydney.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejikian was also present at the opening ceremony of the festival, the Facebook page of the movie said.

“45 Days: The Fight for a Nation”, a documentary by British journalist and filmmaker Emile Ghessen telling about the war in Artsakh in the fall of 2020, was also screened at the festival.

“It is encouraging and inspiring that films telling about Artsakh continue journeys in various cities around the world,” the post reads.

Jivan Avetisyan’s next film, “Reborn”, also centers around Artsakh.

Armenia`s defense minister must be outside "political party teams" – ex-minister of defense

Antranik Varosian
ARMINFO
Armenia – June 15 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. Armenia’s defense minister must be outside “political party teams,” believes the ex-minister of defense David Tonoyan, who is in custody now on huge  embezzlement charges. He is charged with embezzling $4.6mln. 

In responding to a statement by Gagik Melkonyan, a member of the  Civil Contract parliamentary faction, he said: 

“As far as I know, Gagik Melkonyan, an MP of the ruling party Civil  Contract, in commenting on the proposed amendments to the Law on  Defense, stated that the minister of defense must be fellow member of  Nikol Pashinyan’s team. He said literally that ‘one of the major  problems during the war we lost was that they were not his teammates.  We know how they organized escape,’.”

“In this context, I would like to emphasize a number of facts. First,  the fact that Gagik Melkonyan once held high posts at the Ministry of  Defense does not at al means he has the necessary professional skills  to draw conclusions. 

“Moreover, I am proud that as a government member I was not a member  of the team with Melkonyan as one of its members,” Tonoyan said. 

This April he gave an “exhaustive answer” to the question as to why  he did not consider himself a member of the Pashinyan-led team and  the reasons for his decision to agree to fill the post of minister of  defense. 

“Gagik Melkonyan’s statements only corroborate my doubts about the  real objectives of the ‘investigative commission’ of the Parliament. 

“I am deeply convinced that the minister of defense, as a government  member, assuming political responsibility for implementing the  government defense programmes, must, however, be outside the  ‘political party team’,” Tonoyan stated. 

South Caucasus part of Black Sea geopolitical agenda – Sergey Markedonov

Kalashian Nyrie
ARMINFO
Armenia – June 15 2022
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. The European Union (EU) is seeking independent activities in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Sergey Markedonov, Leading Researcher  at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), said in  an interview with ArmInfo.

“Brussels failed to accomplish the set task by itself either in the  Balkans or in Ukraine. The USA’s interference was needed in both  cases. This is the reason for the EU’s desire to show its own ability  to settle conflict at least in the South Caucasus. And Brussels  obviously has its own motives for and interests in it, which are, no  doubt, in conflict with Russia’s interests,” Mr Markedonov said. 

The launch of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine triggered  activities only on the part of the EU in the South Caucasus.  Specifically, Brussels is now actively involved in preparing border  delimitation and demarcation and a peace agreement between Armenia  and Azerbaijan. Certain processes got underway in Transdniestria, and  Tbilisi’s refusal to support the anti-Russian sanctions caused  problems in the Georgian – Ukrainian relations. 

“In other words, the Caucasus agenda is part of the Black Sea  geopolitical agenda – and it is extremely important. By and large,  the EU not being interested in Russia growing stronger does not give  rise to any questions. Rather, what causes questions is the EU’s  desire to ‘skim the cream off’ Moscow’s previous steps to establish  peace in Karabakh. The very same President of the European Council  Charles Michel prefers pretending that Russia is not at all involved  in Karabakh, whereas it was Russia that ended the war and ensured the  trilateral agreements to establish peace in the South Caucasus.  Moscow and Brussels are not in outright confrontation with each other  over Nagorno-Karabakh in contrast to that over Georgia and Ukraine.  They are just trying to ignore Russia,” Mr Markedonov said. 

Armenia bloc MP: Let’s gather in Vardanyan Park on Italy Street

Karagyozian Lena
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 15 2022
Armenia bloc MP: Let’s gather in Vardanyan Park on Italy Street
12:45, 15.06.2022

Dear friends, let’s hold a spontaneous gathering today at 2 pm in Vardanyan Park on Italy Street, Armenia Bloc MP Aram Vardevanyan wrote on his Facebook page.

“There is a matter,” Vardevanyan added.

https://news.am/eng/news/707356.html

Armenia PM: After ‘Common State’ idea, issue of exchanging territories appeared on negotiating table

Eduard Nalbandian
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 15 2022
16:07, 15.06.2022

During the time of [then-President] Robert Kocharyan, in November 1998, the country’s authorities were negotiating on the basis of the so-called “Common State” plan, which presupposed the presence of Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] in Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this speaking in the parliament after the report on the implementation of the 2021 state budget of Armenia—and on the negotiation process to resolve the Karabakh conflict.

Pashinyan again blamed the former Armenian authorities for all the failures; in particular, noting that in the aforesaid negotiations they were allegedly discussing the possibility of including Karabakh in Azerbaijan.

“But now, becoming an opposition, they accuse the [incumbent] authorities of treason. And the fact that Kocharyan, like his supporters—including [the ARF] Dashnaktsutyun [Party]—insist that Nagorno-Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan, smells of cunning—to put it mildly. Not only did they not rule out the possibility of Karabakh becoming part of Azerbaijan, but they also agreed with the key logic of the negotiation package, according to which Karabakh shall eventually become part of Azerbaijan. Moreover, they thus ignored the declaration of independence of Karabakh adopted on September 2, 1991, as well as the independence referendum held on December 10 of the same year,” the Prime Minister said.

According to him, after the idea of a “Common State,” the issue of exchanging territories appeared on the negotiating table.

“The essence of that plan was that Armenia gets Nagorno-Karabakh, and in return it gives Azerbaijan the Meghri region in Syunik Province [of Armenia],” Pashinyan assured.

From his point of view, Yerevan’s agreement to discuss that option, in fact, indirectly meant that Armenia, perhaps at that time, recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.

Starmus festival organizer: I’m ready with pleasure to collaborate postgraduate students from Armenia

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 15 2022
16:17, 15.06.2022

If good postgraduate students from Armenia want to collaborate, then I am ready with great pleasure. Astrophysicist Garik Israelian, the creator and general organizer of Starmus International Festival, said this Wednesday at the Science & Business days 2022 conference in Yerevan.

He explained that he has not had an Armenian student yet, as there is no good course in astrophysics in Armenia, and there have been and are respective problems in the country.

“I do not know what advice to give to the Armenian postgraduate student in connection with studying astrophysics in Armenia. Why aren’t there good courses? They can be organized,” Israelian added.

The astrophysicist noted that foreign scientists today can accurately say what will happen in 10-20 years with this or that star at a great distance.

“Then these laws are also applied to the study of galaxies,” explained the scientist.

Israelian said that the number of musicians interested in science is growing, and they respect science.

“So we decided to establish cooperation with art critics and tell about science through art. Through music they tell about science. Music is a manifestation of emotions that has not changed for 5,000 years already. And the emergence of the science fiction genre in the 20th century greatly changed literature, art, music, which in turn changed people’s feelings, and also influenced the development of science,” he concluded.

It should be noted that Soviet Armenia was famous for its world-famous astrophysicists and the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory.