Author: Alex Nanijanian

The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church will celebrate the Palm Sunday, the triumphant entry of our Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, on April 9. Under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; Palm Sunday is also annually declared to be the Blessing of Children Day.

On the occasion of the Feast, a special service of Blessing of Children will be held at all Armenian Churches.

This year, with the blessings of the Catholicos of All Armenians; the Social Service Department of the Mother See will hold an event for 150 disabled children from the Hrazdan Children’s Support Foundation Day Center. Following the Blessing Service, a reception will be held for the Children of the Day Center, during which the Catholicos of All Armenians will distribute gifts to the children.

Trials of Dink murder case will continue on April 10, 11, 13 and 14, reports.

Trials of public officials, including former police chiefs Celalletin Cerrah, Engin Dinç, Ramazan Akyürek, Ali Fuat Yılmazer, Ahmet İlhan Güler, will continue on April 10, 11, 13 and 14.

Ali Fuat Yılmazer, former chief of the Office  of Istanbul Directorate of Security Intelligence Branch, will continue to present his defence. During previous hearings, Yılmazer argued with the chief judge and stopped presenting his defence. On March 16, during the cross examination of Yılmazer, his daughters Fatma Saadet Yılmazer and Rabia Yılmazer was detained as part of “FETÖ” investigation.  Upon the request of lawyers, the hearing was postponed to April 10.

The case against eight gendarmerie personnel in Trabzon also continues. On March 21, Trabzon 1^st High Penal Court asked for permission to join the case with the one tried in Istanbul 14^th High Penal Court.

The court in Istanbul is expected to respond to this request soon.

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to Baku (March 11), Yerevan (March 27) and Nagorno-Karabakh (March 28).

The main purpose of the Co-Chairs’ visits to the region was to receive the most current detailed political and military information on the Line of Contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, to discuss the implementation of agreements reached at 2016 Summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg and to address the next steps toward a settlement.

The Co-Chairs met with the Presidents and Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. They also visited territories around Nagorno-Karabakh. In their talks, the Co-Chairs reiterated their deep concern over recent incidents along the Line of Contact, calling on the sides to exercise restraint in their rhetoric and in their actions. The Presidents laid out their positions on the Co-Chairs’ proposals to strengthen the ceasefire and to avoid further escalation of hostilities, particularly in light of the Novruz and Easter holidays. They expressed their commitment to continuing the negotiation process toward a political solution.

In their talks, the Co-Chairs stressed the essential importance of continued support for Ambassador Kasprzyk’s mission and its expansion. The Co-Chairs also emphasized their conviction that respect for the ceasefire is of the utmost importance for building an atmosphere of trust to enable further negotiations.

The Co-Chairs will soon travel to Vienna to brief the members of the Minsk Group.

The European Union, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom have issued a statement on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia:

Over the past year, the European Union, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom have offered significant financial and technical support to Armenia’s voting process, including providing equipment to facilitate a free and fair parliamentary election on April 2. We are pleased with the latest tests of the voter authentication equipment developed for Sunday’s election.  We commend the Government of Armenia for its commitment to this project to support Armenia’s election process and the United Nations Development Program for its effective implementation of the project within a severely constrained timeline.

We firmly believe that this effort will diminish the likelihood of voter fraud on Election Day and will limit tampering with the electoral process inside polling stations.  We state firmly that the voting process remains anonymous and that the voter authentication devices and cameras installed in polling stations are not designed to track votes.  We laud and support the strong effort by credible local and international electoral observers to cover virtually the entirety of Armenia’s 2009 polling stations, with the aim of providing balanced, objective analysis of the conduct of the election.

We note that our ultimate assessment of the conduct of the April 2 election will not be limited to observing electoral procedures on Election Day, itself.  We are aware of and concerned by allegations of voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties.  We continue to urge all parties engaged in the election to abide by the letter and spirit of Armenia’s electoral law, and call upon relevant law enforcement authorities and electoral institutions to implement existing laws in an unbiased and credible manner.

We hope the ultimate result of the election will pave the way to a future of prosperity, peace, and progress.  The Armenian people deserve as much.

Artur Sargsyan – known as “bread bringer” – died at Armenia Medical center today.

Representatives of the center say he had been hospitalized earlier today.

Artur Sargsyan was detained in August 2016 after he broke the police cordon to deliver food to members of Sasna Tsrer group, who had seized a police station in Yerevan last July.

Sargsyan was released earlier this month.

The Azerbaijani authorities have long turned everything into a farce – both the international law and their domestic life, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan has said.

The remarks come after the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office instigated a criminal case against three MEPs carrying out an observation mission at the Constitutional Referendum held in Artsakh on February 20.

The Deputy Foreign Minister refused from further comments. “It’s ridiculous and can in no way affect the visits to Artsakh,” he said.

Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Atom Egoyan was named a Companion of the Order of Canada on Friday for his contribution to Canadian culture, Global News reports.

It is the highest honor the Canadian government bestows to its citizens.

The US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination for attorney general, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, by a vote of 52 to 47.

The confirmation follows a series of divisive hearings during which Democrats attacked Mr Sessions’ record on civil rights.

Democrat Elizabeth Warren was silenced after recalling historic allegations of racism against Mr Sessions.

The Alabama senator’s nomination was among Mr Trump’s most controversial.

The vote largely followed party lines, with just one Democrat senator – Joe Manchin of West Virginia – voting for Mr Sessions.

Mr Sessions’ Republican colleagues in the chamber applauded him as their majority carried him over the line. He will now take charge of the Justice Department and its 113,000 employees, including 93 US attorneys.

More than 500 members of one Chinese family have posed for the ultimate family photo, the BBC reports.

The pictures were taken at a Ren family reunion at Shishe village in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang.

It was held last week during the Lunar New Year period, which is usually marked by the Chinese with large family gatherings and meals.

Photographer Zhang Liangzong took the pictures with a drone in front of basalt formations near Shishe.

Village elders recently began updating the family tree records and managed to track down at least 2,000 living descendants spanning seven generations, Mr Zhang said.

They marked the family tree’s completion by holding a massive reunion, and managed to gather more than 500 people.

The Armenian National Committee of America on Monday issued the following statement regarding the January 27, White House Executive Order on immigration, titled, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States”.

The complete text of the ANCA statement is provided below.

ANCA Statement on the White House Immigration Executive Order

The Armenian National Committee of America remains engaged and concerned regarding the developing situation surrounding the White House’s January 27th immigration Executive Order, both at the level of U.S. policy and in terms of this action’s impact on Armenian individuals and families.

As has been widely reported, the Executive Order, titled, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States,” places restrictions on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan.

This travel ban has been applied to refugees and visa holders from these designated countries as well as to those with green cards who already have permanent residency or other legal status in the US. The ban, initially in effect for a period of 90 days, may become permanent. We have witnessed uneven and inconsistent enforcement of the order, reflecting apparent confusion among government officials and within the travel industry. The federal courts have issued a stay on the enforcement of the order, but the extent of this legal action, and how it will affect non-U.S. citizens, remains unclear. Future Congressional and court action may also influence how non-U.S. citizens and their families are impacted.

As the ANCA continues to engage relevant stakeholders – including Congress and the White House – we offer the following recommendations:

1. The ANCA encourages Armenians whose relatives or friends have been detained at U.S. ports of entry or who have been blocked from re-entry to the U.S. to contact us immediately at [email protected]/* */ or (202) 775-1918. Please be prepared to share basic information, including a description of the situation and the name of any legal counsel. (This information will remain confidential.)

2. Until there is greater clarity regarding the full legal scope and nature of these restrictions, the ANCA recommends that Armenians from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, who are not U.S. citizens, refrain from leaving the U.S., due to the increased risk that they will be denied re-entry, regardless of their immigration status.

3. The ANCA is regularly consulting with civil and legal rights organizations for the most up to date information on this unfolding situation and will provide community updates, as they become available.

As Americans of Armenian heritage – a community of proud immigrants, many descended from the families of Armenian Genocide survivors with roots in Syria, Iraq, Iran and other countries cited in this order – we remain deeply concerned by the moral, legal and humanitarian implications of these new restrictions. We will act vigilantly to protect the human and legal rights of Armenians harmed by this executive order. As a matter of public policy, we are communicating our concerns, on a bipartisan basis, with both houses of Congress and the White House. Consistent with our mission, we will remain vigilant in protecting the welfare of our community and advancing our shared interest in a strong Diaspora, a secure Armenia, a free Artsakh, and a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.