Author: Alex Jidarian

Russia reports 8,053 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, lowest figure in 7 months

Alex Jidarian

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 17:12,

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Russia has documented 8,053 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the lowest daily case count since September 27, 2020, the data provided by the anti-coronavirus crisis center suggests, reports TASS.

The relative daily increase rate has reached 0.17%. In total, 4,779,425 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Russia.

In the past 24 hours, 2,098 cases were documented in Moscow, 712 in St. Petersburg, 592 in the Moscow Region, 230 in the Rostov Region, 183 in the Samara Region, 170 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 165 in the Voronezh Region.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Russia has dropped to 267,767, the data provided by the crisis center suggests.

Pentagon Says No Changes In US-Turkey Defense Relations While Ankara Fumes Over ‘Armenian Genocide’ Recognition

Alex Jidarian
Eurasian Times
By EurAsian Times Desk

The rift between NATO allies, the US and Turkey, seems to have further widened with Washington reopening old wounds about the 1915 ‘mass murder’ of Armenians.

Turkey’s growing ties with Russia and its decision to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense systems already strained its relations with the US. Last week, the US Department of Defense had notified Turkey of its exclusion from the F-35 program after a new memorandum of understanding was signed between the other eight program members. 

Call it another setback for Turkey, on April 25, Joe Biden became the first US President to recognize the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as “genocide”.

A statement issued by the White House on the anniversary of the ‘Armenian Genocide’, said the recognition was not to “cast the blame” but to “ensure what happened has never repeated again”.

For years, the successive American Presidents have avoided the term “genocide” of the Armenians during World War I. The Armenians call the 1915 mass killing “Meds Yeghern” or “The Great Crime.”

Reacting sharply to Washington’s remarks, the Foreign Ministry of Turkey issued a statement and summoned the US ambassador. While Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal met with US envoy David Satterfield last week to express Ankara’s disapproval of Joe Biden’s words, Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan has not made any comment yet.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter, “Political opportunism is the greatest betrayal to peace and justice” and that the statement by the White House was “based solely on populism.”

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on the other hand, has welcomed the statement and has highlighted the US’ “unwavering commitment to protecting human rights and universal values”.

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday that the US does not expect the military relationship between Washington and Ankara to change after President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.

“We don’t anticipate any change in the military relationship with Turkey,” Kirby told reporters on Monday.

The spokesperson stressed that Turkey remains a vital NATO ally and noted also that Biden’s announcement will not impact joint operations in Syria.

Despite Kirby’s assurances, Ankara expressed outrage over Saturday’s announcement made on Armenia’s Remembrance Day. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Biden’s decision regretful and a source told Sputnik that Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned US Ambassador David Satterfield to voice its opposition to the statement.

Turkey, which traditionally rejects the assertions of genocide, has repeatedly warned the Biden administration that such a move by the United States would hurt bilateral relations.

It is believed that Ottoman Empire killed 1.5 million Armenians during World War I. According to the University of Minnesota’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies, “The Armenian Genocide unofficially began with the arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals by Turkish officials on April 24, 1915.

Over the next several years a series of systematic deportations and mass executions along with intentional starvation would cause the deaths of more than one million Armenians. The aftermath left the remaining Armenian population scattered, resulting in one of the greatest diasporas in the twentieth century.“

Seen as a grim precursor to the Nazi Holocaust, the Armenians pressed that the campaign was a deliberate attempt to ruin their people and, thus, an act of genocide. The Turkish government has resisted terming it as a “genocide” stating that although atrocities took place, there was no official policy of extermination implemented against the Armenian people as a group.

Turkish political scientist Soner Cagaptay wrote in The Guardian that the Biden’s declaration would be a seminal moment in relations between Ankara and Washington, but said economic considerations may force Erdoğan to downplay the impact of an issue he previously considered an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the modern state.

Being a longtime regional ally and Turkey’s status as a NATO member prevented other US presidents from recognizing the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide.” However, Biden’s latest remarks are seen as a massive victory for Armenia. Many Armenians and rights groups have welcomed Washington’s decision.

Issues facing Lebanese-Armenian community discussed in Yerevan

Alex Jidarian

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 17:17,

YEREVAN, APRIL 26, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker foreign minister Ara Aivazian held a meeting with Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Youth and Sport Vartine Ohanian in Yerevan.

Aivazian attached special importance to the significance of Ohanian’s participation as Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s special representative in the commemorative events of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan, as a sign of Lebanon’s determination in honoring the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims, as well as the centuries-old warm friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

Aivazian and Ohanian especially highlighted the contribution of the Lebanese-Armenian community in the development of the relations between Lebanon and Armenia. The issues facing the Lebanese-Armenian community and the actions for addressing these issues were discussed.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia, Lithuania have great cooperation potential – President Sarkissian meets Minister Gabrielius

Alex Jidarian

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 18:54,

YEREVAN, APRIL 26, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received on April 26 Foreign Minister of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s administration, the interlocutors referred to the prospects of development of bilateral ties.  It was mentioned that the two countries have a great cooperation potential, particularly in the spheres of education, new technologies and business. President Sarkissian said that he encourages the steps aimed at the strengthening of bilateral relations and is ready to support those measures.

During the meeting the sides referred to the cooperation in the sidelines of Armenia-EU partnership. They also referred to issues of regional security and stability.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Artsakh reports 6 daily coronavirus cases

Alex Jidarian

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 11:48,

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. 6 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in the Republic of Artsakh in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,624.

93 coronavirus tests have been carried out on April 21, the ministry of healthcare of Artsakh said.

Currently, 34 infected patients receive treatment in hospitals.

On April 19 the vaccinations against COVID-19 have launched in Artsakh.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

US Ambassador to Armenia meets with Syunik Province governor and mayors of Meghri, Goris and Sisian

Alex Jidarian
News.am, Armenia
22:57, 21.04.2021

During a visit to Syunik Province, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy met with Governor of Syunik Province Melikset Poghosyan and Mayors of Meghri, Goris and Sisian Mkhitar Zakaryan, Arush Arushanyan and Artur Sargsyan. In the press release issued by the US Embassy in Armenia, it is sressed that Syunik Province was affected by the pandemic and the war the most.

The Embassy’s press release states that the regional governor and the mayors presented the situation in detail and considered the opportunity for the US government’s humanitarian assistance to those displaced as a result of the war. Ambassador Tracy and the Armenian officials also touched upon the US government’s ongoing support to the development of the province.

https://news.am/eng/news/640065.html

Alumna’s Book Shines Light on Forgotten History of Armenian Genocide

Alex Jidarian
Daily Bruin, California
April 16 2021

Alumna Kay Mouradian wrote a novel and released a documentary describing her mother’s experiences during the Armenian Genocide, both titled “My Mother’s Voice.” (Courtesy of Kay Mouradian)

Kay Mouradian’s mother survived the Armenian genocide at the age of 14.

However, while Mouradian heard stories of her mother’s experiences as a child, the alumna wouldn’t really learn about the details of the horrific event until she began writing a book on the subject called “My Mother’s Voice” in her 50s.

The novel and accompanying documentary focus on her mother’s life during the Armenian genocide, which Mouradian researched for 10 years in libraries, book shops and other countries. Mouradian won the Armenian Genocide Awareness Legacy Award at the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region’s annual awards banquet on Feb. 24 for spreading awareness of the topic and said she hopes a personal focus on the Armenian genocide will help people, especially teachers, remember a part of history that is often forgotten.

Mouradian said the idea for the book first came from her mother, who was suffering from severe dementia. As her condition got worse, she told Mouradian to write a book about her life and the Armenian genocide. However, Mouradian was teaching throughout Los Angeles and had plans to go to Beijing to teach overseas at the time.

But her plans changed – Mouradian never went to Beijing and ended up writing the novel instead. Mouradian said she wanted to help the Armenian genocide retain its place in history, and as a former teacher, she wanted to give other educators a more accessible way of understanding the genocide.

The Armenian genocide began in 1915, during which the Ottoman Empire – which includes modern-day Turkey – committed genocide of more than 1.5 million Armenians residing in the empire. However, Mouradian said people sometimes are unaware of the mass killings since Turkey refuses to acknowledge the genocide, and the word “genocide” did not exist until 30 years after the Armenian genocide.

“I thought to myself, ‘How do I make it easy for teachers to get a grasp of what happened in 1915 to make their job easier and to get their interest involved?’” Mouradian said.

Mouradian researched the genocide using a variety of sources including the history and memoir sections in used bookstores and international trips. At the bookstores, Mouradian would open books to the table of contents and buy them if she saw the word “Constantinople” in it. She also went to UCLA libraries for books on World War I and got in touch with the Library of Congress manuscript division for 10 microreels.

During three trips to Turkey and two to Syria, she searched for her mother’s rescuers, whose descendants remembered her mother decades after the end of the genocide, she said. She also traveled the routes her mother took from her village to Aleppo and through the Syrian desert.

However, Mouradian added to the complexity of “My Mother’s Voice” when she decided to create a documentary with the same name and focus as the novel. Mouradian said she wanted to create the documentary to help students understand the Armenian genocide via a more accessible medium.

Mark Friedman, a sound designer for Moriah Films, helped Mouradian make the documentary after meeting her through mutual friends. The documentary features Mouradian’s voice over archive footage and photographs, as well as live footage of Mouradian herself. Friedman said the focus on Mouradian’s mother’s life created an opportunity for viewers to personally connect with the story.

“When you tell (people) that a million and a half people were murdered (in the Armenian genocide) … that number is so large that they can’t identify with it,” Friedman said. “But when you follow somebody’s life specifically, I think it has a lot of meaning and really affects people in the way we wanted them to be affected.”

Mary Mason, the director of teaching and learning in Glendale, met Mouradian while working with her on the Genocide Education Project training committee for district teachers. Mason said she thinks the documentary is a useful educational tool because it is personal and appropriate for kids to watch and talk about but does not oversimplify the topic.

“It puts a very real face on something that happened 100 years ago, and I think that’s important in the bigger context,” Mason said.

“My Mother’s Voice” is currently pending approval of the curriculum review committee of Glendale, which would result in the distribution of class sets for middle schools. Mouradian said integrating her work into educational systems is the most important aspect of her work because it ensures future generations will learn about events that are currently left out of textbooks.

“The Armenian genocide does deserve its rightful place in history,” Mouradian said.

https://dailybruin.com/2018/03/08/alumnas-book-shines-light-on-forgotten-history-of-armenian-genocide 
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Smoking suspected in Yerevan hospital fire

Alex Jidarian

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 11:32, 16 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS. The administration of the hospital where a fire erupted early Friday morning suspects that it was caused by smoking.

Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) Chief of Staff Shushan Danielyan said in a statement that according to the preliminary version a patient violated the no-smoking rule in the hospital room, causing the fire.

“The health workers attempted to put out the fire before the arrival of [firefighters], as a result of which the department’s doctor injured their arm, and the patient who violated the safety rules has been taken to the burns clinic,” she said.

Earlier it was reported that a patient and a doctor suffered burns in a fire at the YSMU Heratsi N1 Hospital Complex in Yerevan early Friday morning.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations said a 911 call was made at 06:24.

6 fire engines were dispatched to the scene. The fire, which had erupted at a 2nd-floor hospital room, was contained at 06:34 and extinguished at 06:43.

The hospital had evacuated 11 patients before the first responders’ arrival.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Tigran Abrahamyan: No words to describe the true nature of our authorities

Alex Jidarian
Panorama, Armenia

The Head of Henaket analytical centre Tigran Abrahamyan reacted on the statements made by the lawmakers from the ruling “My Step” faction at today’s session in the parliament. 

“A failed festival of actors is underway at the National Assembly. The Armenian authorities have been advised to deliver as much stupidity as they can in an attempt to cover up the topic of heavy crimes they have committed,” Abrahamyan wrote on Facebook. 

“At the same time, we are witnessing an online casting of lawmakers from the ruling force to secure their place in the party list for the upcoming snap elections and for continuing justifications for ceding Artsakh. They are subject to thorough examination, and the available words may not fully describe their true nature,” added Abrahamyan.

Yerevan Police Arrest Women Protesters on Mothers’ Day

Alex Jidarian

April 7, 2021



Female members of Armenia’s VETO movement were protesting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government’s lack of response to plight of women whose husbands, sons and brothers still remain in captivity in Azerbaijan.

“About five months have passed since the signing of the disgraceful capitulation agreement, and it is already obvious that most of the burden of the consequences of the [recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war has been borne by Armenian women. (…). The mothers and wives of the missing and captives are in a particularly difficult situation. And the mothers of those in [Azerbaijan’s] captivity are living a nightmare for months, waiting for their children to return,” excerpts from the movement’s statement said.

The protest started at Yerevan’s Charles Aznavour Square, from where demonstrators made their way to the government where there was heavy police presence.

According to News.am, police attempted to apprehend Varduhi Ishkhanyan, the wife of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for prime minister, Vazgen Manukyan. In a vide published by News.am, police are seen pulling from her hands and neck, but they let her go after being reproached and shamed by the other demonstrators.

“The police not only prohibited us from holding our demonstration, but also apprehended several dozens of girls and women through use of force,” said organizer Anna Hakopyan, not to be confused with Pashinyan’s spouse.

“Among those arrested were sisters of deceased servicemen, mothers whose sons fell in the war, as well as wives and daughters of heroes. We witnessed how the treacherous authorities are simply horrified by women holding a demonstration,” Hakobyan said, adding that she and the other women will continue their fight until they achieve their ultimate goal—“getting rid of the ‘Turks’ from Armenia.”

She informed that all those who were apprehended during the demonstration have been released and that they have decided to hold more demonstrations in the coming days.

Alexandra Harutyunyan, another protest organizer, told reporters that almost all of the women who were arrested had bruises when they were released from detention.