Author: Alex Jidarian

A private Cessna plane has crushed in Crimea, killing four, Pravda reports.

The aircraft crashed on Wednesday night in the area of Klementieva Mount, Pravda.Ru reports with reference to LifeNews, citing a source in law enforcement bodies of the peninsula.

Four people were killed in the air crash; the causes of the tragedy are now being specified.

On November 4, a transport An-12 aircraft crashed in South Sudan, killing 39 people, 21 of them were residents of the village, on which the plane crashed.

On October 31, passenger jetliner Airbus A321 with 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board, crashed in Sinai, Egypt, leaving no survivors.

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won a critical parliamentary election, regaining the majority it lost in June, the BBC reports.

With almost all ballots counted, the state-run Anadolu news agency said the AKP had won 49.4% of the vote, with the main opposition CHP on 25.4%.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said voters had “shown that they prefer action and development to controversy”.

The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold needed to claim seats.

The nationalist MHP will also take seats in Ankara.

With almost all of the results counted, the AKP had won substantially more than the 276 seats needed in order to form a government alone.

However, it fell 14 seats short of the number needed to call a referendum on changing the constitution and increasing the powers of the president, AKP founder Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

With 60 more seats, the government would have been able to bring in those changes without a referendum.

 

A concert in Miami will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Joe Zeytoonian and his wife Eli will perform a concert at Arts At St Johns, Miami Beach, on November 7, the reports.

Douglas Kalajian’s father was 3 when his mother was killed during the Armenian Genocide. Now, 100 years later, Kalajian will share stories about his family’s experience, accompanied by performers Myriam Eli, Alique Mazmanian, Reza Filsoofi and Joe Zeytoonian.

When Kalajian was 8, a professor on TV started talking about the Armenian Genocide. His father broke down.

“I asked my mother, ‘Why is daddy crying?’ She said it was ‘because the Turks killed his mother.’ Until that moment, I had no idea. And from that moment, I wanted to know the rest of the story,” Kalajian said.

Kalajian discovered that it was a difficult topic to discuss; his mother discouraged his search, telling him never to ask his father about it “because it made [his father] too sad.”

He kept searching for answers, though, and documented his search in his novel, Stories My Father Never Finished Telling Me. Kalajian will read from his book during the event and will take questions from the audience.

The story of loss and silence isn’t rare for Armenians. Throughout the genocide, an estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million lives were lost.

Major facets of Armenian culture also were lost in the wake of the genocide. In an effort to preserve this culture, Arts at St. Johns and Harmonic Motion will host an Armenian Commemorative Concert to observe the 100th anniversary of the genocide.

Zeytoonian and his wife Eli were approached by Arts at St. Johns to put together the concert. Zeytoonian will play the oud (a traditional Armenian instrument) and his wife will dance and play percussion instruments.

“When musicians play these songs, they’re preserving this culture. It’s a gift not only to me, but to the whole world,” said Kalajian.

Zeytoonian also was deeply impacted by the genocide; both sides of his family were devastated. His grandfather was killed when his grandmother was eight months pregnant with his father. He decided to convey the loss his family felt through his music.

“Armenian music has a particular nostalgia in its sound. My sound is a combination of that and the Anatolian roots of my parents who were driven from their homes in Maras, Turkey,” Zeytoonian said.

The performances will consist of songs, dances and narratives. The aim is to inform people who may not have even been alive during the genocide.

“As with most heavy issues, simple awareness is crucial. In her book, A Problem from Hell, Samantha Power, ambassador to the United Nations, points out that the Armenian Genocide was the first of the 20th century. With muted reaction from familiar nation states, Hitler’s boldness became manifested just 30 years later,” Zeytoonian said.

The concert is called Hye Doun, which means Armenian home. It is part of the Arts at St. Johns 2015-2016 season theme, “Places We Call Home.”

Five resolutions were adopted during the 31st Ministerial Conference of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) in Yerevan, one of them related to the “prevention on genocide” initiated by Armenia. The resolution refers to the OIF Secretary General Michaëlle Jean’s statement on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in which she paid tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims and expressed her support to the Armenian people.

The resolution notes that the Organization strongly condemns all genocides and crimes against humanity that have claimed a huge number of human lives, pays tribute to the memory of the victims of those crimes and pledges to take measures to reinforce the mechanisms of prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity.

Under the resolution, the Organization undertakes to reinforce the cooperation between states and governments to put an end to the impunity of those responsible for the crimes.

Also, the Ministerial Conference adopted resolutions on “Francophonie as an area of peace, tolerance, plurality, dialogue and mutual understanding,” “Challenges to the 21^st Conference of the member states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Changes (UNFCCC),” “Refugees and Migrants,” “Youth Participation in Francophone Structures.” The first two were initiated by Armenia.

On 5 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan issued a congratulatory address in connection with the Day of Teachers.

The address runs as follows:

“Dear teachers,

On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and on my own behalf, I cordially congratulate you on the professional holiday.

This day is traditionally marked every year as an assessment of a teacher’s extremely significant and honorable work and a manifestation of our gratitude towards them. It is among the unique professions that has been always highly appreciated by people, enjoyed the love and respect of the public. Over the centuries teachers have not only educated and brought up the younger generation but also helped the people with their wise advices and recommendations in the most difficult situations. It is not accidental that in ancient times people named their prominent representatives as teachers.

Today too the teacher occupies his worthy place in our society. I am confident that all the disciples remember their teachers with love and warmth, those who remaining adherent to their noble title, diligently convey their knowledge and experience to pupils, help them become worthy individuals for their Motherland.

The state always keeps the sphere of education and science in the spotlight of attention, prioritizes solving issues existing here, implements various programs for building and reconstructing schools, creating conditions corresponding to modern standards, continuous raising the education level.

Dear friends,

I once again congratulate all of you on the Day of Teachers and wish peace, robust health, happiness and all the best”.

Tashir Group and Inter RAO have signed an agreement of sale and purchase of electric energy assets in Armenia. The deal was already approved by the Armenian Government and will be closed after the decision of Public Service Regulatory Commission. The parties have agreed that Electric Networks of Armenia and Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant will continue to meet all the liabilities.

Tashir Group takes full responsibility for the management of CJSC “Electric Networks of Armenia”, said the President of Tashir Group, Samvel Karapetyan. “Future development plans include an anti-crisis program to optimize the Company’s financial activities and control its commercial operations, as well as gradual modernization of its distribution network facilities. On a parity basis with the Government of Armenia, the Company will cover part of the electricity costs of the general public and small businesses for the whole of 2015, compensating the difference between tariffs before and after indexation on 1st August 2015. This decision has been taken to support the people of Armenia.

”While the assets were in our ownership, Inter RAO Group implemented international best business practices, invested in the development of the Armenian utilities sector, and ran an optimization and cost control programme, resulting in improved operational efficiency of the assets”, announced Boris Kovalchuk, Chairman of the Management Board of Inter RAO.  ”We agreed with Tashir Group to close the deal on terms that reflect the fair value of the assets. This approach will enable both parties to secure maximum economic benefit”.

On the evening of 28 September, President Serzh Sargsyan took part in a reception in New York held by U.S. President Barack Obama in honor of the heads of country delegations participating in the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.

At the reception, Presidents Barack Obama and Serzh Sargsyan had a brief conversation during which they discussed issues of Pan-Armenian importance.

On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Armenia, President Serzh Sargsyan has held a festive reception at Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex.

During the reception, Armenia’s president has sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of Independence Day.

***
Address by President Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of Independence Day
Your Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians,
Distinguished President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,
Honorable guests,
Fellow compatriots,

I congratulate all of us on the occasion of Independence Day.

The Armenian people’s millennial march has filled each page of our calendar with countless memories, has filled it with tears of joy and pain of loss, has filled it with resolve to struggle and heroes’ challenge, has filled it with prayers of hopeless nights and promising victories coming with the early morning rays, has filled it wholly and completely, has filled it from the first line to the last one upon which we are writing.

Our people perfectly recollect every single sheet from the calendar of their struggle and combat. They remember those, who fell on our ages-old path and celebrate each day of our victorious unity.

Our historical calendar includes sheets inscribed in golden letters that have become our destiny for decades, centuries and millennia. They have also become the pages of the passport representing our national character to the world.

It was exactly such a new page inscribed in gold that our people created in their calendar of historical memory this day 24 years ago. On September 21, 1991, an entire people almost unanimously announced to the world that they assume anew the burden, responsibility and honor of mastering their own destiny.

And every time, when sharply a hundred and one days remain until the end of the regular year, we reiterate our pledge and declare to the world vociferously that we are here, we stand firm and determined. We are the masters of our own destiny, and our ancestors’ legacy belongs to us. We are the guarantors of cloudless mornings for our children and the pledge of peaceful sunsets for our parents. It is we, and nobody else.

The tongue we speak is Armenian, in which we prayed at the dawn of civilization and which can be heard today from the highest rostrums of the world. It can be heard thanks to the absolute unity demonstrated by our people 24 years ago.

That unity has not only granted us independence, but has also given us the power to fight and the spirit to create throughout two and a half decades. The Army and the State, market economy and civil society have been the institutes we established as our unambiguous response to the chance given to us by time and challenges imposed upon us.

However, the sweetest fruit of our unity is, without doubt, our present-day prideful and beautiful generation of independence.

Our united and sonorous response to the call of independence, our “Ayo” worked a miracle. It gave birth to the soldier, who stands only a hundred steps away from the cold-blooded mercenary and brainwashed bandit. It gave birth to the soldier, who knows, however, that it is exactly those one hundred steps which separate the serenity, peaceful nights and the very existence of his brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers from disappearance. It gave birth to the soldier, who forces the adventurous neighbor of ours to pay, and pay dearly for every attempt to get through those one hundred steps.

My fellow compatriots,

This calendar day holds significance not only for us, but also for the entire humankind. By coincidence or destiny, on this very day, when our people triumphantly celebrate the holiday of their will to live independently and peacefully, the Peace Bell rings at the United Nations Headquarters. It rings sonorously and loudly to commemorate all those, who were slaughtered and continue to be slaughtered in war crimes. It rings to remind us of the fundamental human right to live peacefully and free from violence. It rings to demand ceasefire and peace for children and for the elderly, for women and men.

Unfortunately, even on this international day of peace the Peace Bell sounds are often muffled by machine-gun fire and shell bursts, by artillery volleys and rocket rumbles.

Likewise, on our borders, in our villages, our mountains and our valleys the 21st day of September sometimes, alas, breaks not under the sounds of the Peace Bell, but under the battle alerts.

People in the Middle East, who gave shelter to genocide survivors, grandfathers and grandmothers of ours, are writhing in agony in the clutches of war that is by international standards just a few steps away from our door. Our sonorous “Aye” on September 21 two and a half decades ago has provided today warm shelter for our consanguine brothers and sisters, who escaped from the engrossing conflicts in the Middle East.

My fellow compatriots,

The key importance of September 21 is, perhaps, the price of our decisions for our generations and our responsibility towards the future, the mark that our actions or inaction leave on the fate of our kind in the depth of time. That mark can be a crown, or a stigma.

Armenians should follow exactly this very message of September 21 since Armenia is now at the important stage of making its choice for the constitutional reform. Whatever decision you make, my fellow compatriot, remember that it is not only about your, but also your children’s future, remember that it is not as much yours, but next generations’ safety and welfare that is being decided.

May the rays of September 21 disperse the dark in our future and brighten the decisions of our compatriots both for those that have already made their minds up and those, who are still stuck in doubts at this cross-section.

Standing in front of the crucial gates toward the development of the power checks and balances and balancing of the rights and duties, I strongly believe we must have the courage to move toward the amendments, listen to the imperative of time and get out of the clutches of fear to accept the new. We must do that for the sake of generations. We must do that for the sake of a bright future for our people.

My fellow compatriots,

September 21 denotes also revival of our people that survived the first genocide of the 20th century – one of the gravest crimes against humanity.

Yes, this calendar sheet is also filled with lines fraught with our people’s blood. We remember those lines very well. And we will continue to remember it as long as the blood of our ancestors martyred by the Ottoman Empire’s sword in Van, Mush, Trabzon, Yerznka, Marash, Sebastia, Erzurum and Kharberd has not frozen in our veins. We have also their precept to do everything so that never again shall our kind face the danger of annihilation and massacre. We have the belief that in the world full of contradictions and dangers, that in our frantic and running days, the only true guarantee of the Armenian kind is the Armenian sovereign and independent state. We have the conviction that people are the only source of power. We have the confidence that popular unity at the decisive turns and around vital issues is the only force able to respond to the external and internal challenges.

September 21 is the symbol of our faith, our convictions and our confidence.

Congratulations on the Independence Day!

Long live the Republic of Armenia!

President Joachim Gauck of the Federal Republic of Germany has also sent a congratulatory message to President Serzh Sargsyan. The message reads as follows:

“Mr. President,

On September 21, the Republic of Armenia celebrates the 24th anniversary of its independence. I am sending you and the Armenian people my own and my countrymen’s heartfelt best wishes on the occasion of this special day.

In 2015, a significant year of commemoration for your country, Germany continues to stand beside Armenia as a partner. Since the restoration of Armenia’s independence, the close and trustful relationship between our two countries has experienced rapid and comprehensive development which is vividly illustrated by close bilateral contacts in the areas of culture and science.

In foreign policy affairs Germany supports Armenia’s readiness to continue its political and economic affinity for the European Union within the frame of the Eastern Partnership. By that your country shows that it is possible to simultaneously intensify relations with the European Union, as well as with the Russian Federation and with its the Eurasian partners. My heart wishes for the urgent and peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as for mutual understanding between Armenia and Turkey. In both cases Germany will continue its efforts to support dialogue.

I wish well-being and health to you, and a bright future filled with peace, freedom and prosperity to the Armenian people.”

Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has bought a new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Pirelli Edition, Bild reports.

According to the German tabloid, Borussia Dortmund is racing with breakneck speed through the season, winning everything on the pitch. But not just on the court has the BVB mighty power, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have bought mega expensive high-speed cars.

Mkhitaryan, who previously drove Mercedes-Limousine, has reportedly paid  400,000 euros for his Pirelli-special edition.