Thursday,
Freed Oppositionist’s Brother Quits Armenian Central Bank
Armenia -- The Central Bank building in Yerevan.
A senior official from Armenia’s Central Bank announced his resignation on
Thursday the day after prosecutors refrained from trying to extend the detention
of his brother and opposition figure Avetik Chalabian.
Chalabian was released from prison late on Wednesday more than two months after
being arrested on what he calls trumped-up charges resulting from his political
activities.
Chalabian’s younger brother Ara has until now headed the Central Bank’s
Department of Corporate Services and Development. Armenian news websites claimed
earlier this month that the Central Bank governor, Martin Galstian, has told him
to step down, citing an order from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
An article subsequently posted on Hetq.am said the brothers’ father made the
same allegation in a private conversation. It said Galstian told Ara Chalabian
that he himself will have to resign if the latter refuses to quit.
The Central Bank’s press service did not confirm or refute those reports when it
was contacted by RFE/RL’s Armenian earlier this week. Pashinian’s office has
declined to comment on them.
Armenia - Central Bank governor Martin Galstian.
Ara Chalabian gave no reasons for his resignation when he announced it on
Facebook.
“Starting today, I am no longer working at the Central Bank of Armenia, where I
have been for quite a time, received and given back a lot,” he wrote. “I
celebrate the freedom in my life and will conquer the world, as one of my good
colleagues likes to say.”
Avetik Chalabian made no explicit mention of his brother’s exit from the bank in
a Facebook post made two hours later. He said only that the Armenian authorities
“will try to continue their campaign against me and members of my family” who
already “have borne the brunt” of it.
Chalabian was set free immediately after the expiry of the maximum period of his
arrest. Prosecutors did not ask a court to extend it.
Chalabian, who leads a small opposition party, was arrested on May 13 on charges
of trying to pay university students to participate in daily anti-government
demonstrations in Yerevan. The 49-year-old rejects the charges as government
retribution for his active participation in the protests aimed at forcing
Pashinian to resign. The prosecutors deny any political motives.
Baku Accused Of Truce Violations In Karabakh, On Armenian Border
• Naira Nalbandian
Nagorno-Karabakh - A house window in the village of Karmir Shuka piereced by
bullets, Juy 28, 2022.
Azerbaijani forces opened fire at two villages in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian
army positions on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, authorities in Yerevan and
Stepanakert said on Thursday.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry was quick to deny violating the ceasefire
regime and accuse the Armenian side of spreading “disinformation.”
According to Karabakh officials, the Armenian-populated villages of Karmir Shuka
and Taghavard came under “intense” Azerbaijani gunfire that lasted for 20
minutes. None of their residents was injured as a result.
Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanian, said the small arms fire
damaged a house in Karmir Shuka. He released a photograph of one of its windows
pierced by two bullets.
“There is no gunfire at the moment and the villagers are going about their
business,” a spokesman for the Karabakh interior ministry said, adding that
Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh have been informed about the incident.
A Taghavard resident, Sergei Gevorgian, confirmed the reported shooting. “Nobody
has left the village. We are already used [to such incidents,]” he told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service.
It was the first serious armed incident reported in Karabakh since March.
Nagorno Karabakh - A road sign outside the village of Taghavard, March 30, 2022.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported, meanwhile, an Azerbaijani truce violation
at one section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Armenian troops guarding the
border section returned fire, it said, adding that none of them was hurt in the
skirmish.
The shootings incidents were reported amid what a senior Armenian lawmaker
described earlier this week as preparations for another meeting of Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone calls with both leaders on
Monday. Blinken tweeted afterwards that he sees a “historic opportunity to
achieve peace in the region.”
Tigran Grigorian, an Armenian political analyst, suggested that the reported
truce violations signify the Azerbaijani leadership’s dissatisfaction with the
current state of the peace process. He said Baku may be trying to ratchet up
tensions in the Karabakh conflict zone in a bid to “clinch diplomatic-political
concessions from Armenia.”
UN Official Removes Tweet On Visit To Armenian Genocide Memorial
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid (right) visits the
Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan, .
UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid has deleted a tweet about his visit
to the Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan condemned by Turkey.
Shahid, who is also the foreign minister of Maldives, arrived in Armenia on
Tuesday on a three-day trip involving talks with the country’s president,
foreign minister and senior lawmakers.
On Wednesday, he visited the Tsitsernakabert memorial to some 1.5 million
Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Turks during the First World War. He also
toured the adjacent Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide.
“Laid a wreath at the Memorial to the Victims of Armenian Genocide,” Shahid
tweeted afterwards. “Special thanks to Museum-Institute Director Harutyun
Marutian & Hasmik Martirosian for a tour of the Museum.”
The post was removed several hours later. Shahid on Thursday refused to comment
on that.
Reacting to his tweet, the Turkish Foreign Ministry charged on Wednesday that
Shahid’s trip to Armenia was “exploited with the purpose of exposing one-sided
Armenian claims” about the events of 1915.
“Mr. Shahid, who assumes the Presidency of the UN General Assembly, would have
been expected to act in a fair and impartial manner, to be more careful and
responsible in this regard,” said in a statement.
The Armenian government did not respond to Ankara as of Thursday afternoon.
Shahid met with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan earlier in the day. The two men
also attended and addressed a graduation ceremony held at the Armenian Foreign
Ministry’s Diplomatic School.
The Armenian genocide has been recognized by the governments and/or parliaments
of more than two dozen nations, including France, Germany, Russia and the United
States.
Turkey has for decades denied a premeditated government effort to exterminate
the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population. The vehement Turkish denials are
dismissed by most scholars outside Turkey.
Vanadzor Election Winner Transferred From Prison To Hospital
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Former Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon Aslanian stands trial, June 10, 2022.
A former Armenian mayor arrested after defeating the ruling Civil Contract in a
local election in Vanadzor last December has been hospitalized following a
reported deterioration of his health.
Mamikon Aslanian, who ran Armenia’s third largest city from 2016-2021, was
transferred from prison to a medical center in Yerevan on Wednesday after what
one of his lawyers described as “drastic fluctuations” of his blood pressure.
“Medical examinations [of his condition] have been going on since yesterday,”
the lawyer, Yervand Varosian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Thursday.
Varosian said his client’s health problems have been aggravated by his
seven-month imprisonment strongly condemned by the Armenian opposition.
An opposition bloc led by Aslanian essentially won a municipal election in
Vanadzor with about 39 percent of the vote. Civil Contract finished second with
25 percent in what was the most serious of setbacks suffered by Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian’s party in nationwide local polls held on December 5.
Armenia - The building of the Vanadzor municipality, December 13, 2021.
Aslanian was thus well-placed to regain his post. But he was arrested on
December 15, with law-enforcement authorities saying that he illegally
privatized municipal land during his five-year tenure.
The 48-year-old ex-mayor insisted that the charges leveled against him are
politically motivated when he went on trial on June 10.
His lawyers petitioned a Vanadzor judge presiding over the trial to release him
from custody pending a verdict in the case. The judge refused to do that, saying
that Aslanian could pressure witnesses in the case if set free.
Varosian brushed aside the explanation, arguing that the criminal case is based
on purported documentary evidence submitted by prosecutors. “So it doesn’t
really matter what testimony witnesses will or will not give in the court,” he
said.
Armenia - Opposition supporters hold pictures of former Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon
Aslanian and other arrested opposition members during a demonstration in
Yerevan, December 17, 2021.
Aslanian’s supporters as well as opposition figures in Yerevan claim that
Pashinian ordered the ex-mayor’s arrest and prosecution to make sure that the
Vanadzor municipality remains under his control. The prime minister, they say,
thus effectively overturned the local election results.
Vanadzor’s new municipal council has still not been able to meet and elect the
city’s new mayor. Armenia’s Administrative Council has banned the council from
holding sessions, citing an appeal against the election results lodged by
another pro-government party, Bright Armenia.
The ban remains in force even though the appeal was rejected by two other courts
earlier this year. Bright Armenia, which fared poorly in the December polls,
appealed to the higher Court of Cassation. The court has still not ruled on the
complaint.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Andranik Taslakhchian
Political scientist: Armenia-Turkey border will not be opened until substantive, political part of issue is resolved
NEWS.am
Armenia –
15:05, 27.07.2022
After Erdogan’s well-known words, it is an insult to human logic to say that Turkey does not have preconditions in its relations with Armenia. Political scientist Beniamin Matevosyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am this—and referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement that Azerbaijan was the red line for Ankara from the very beginning in the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations.
The political scientist is of the opinion that the more the process of Armenian-Turkish relations deepens, the demands increase that much more.
“Turkey implements its policy in our region through Azerbaijan, which is its proxy. An approach is widespread in the political-analytical circles of the authorities: compromises should be made to Azerbaijan, maybe the relations with Turkey will be normalized. The process of normalizing relations with concessions is a road of endless concessions. At the end of that road, the borders will not be opened, but the last page of Armenia will be closed,” he said.
Earlier, Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s special representative in negotiations for the normalization of relations with Armenia, had visited the Armenian-Turkish border. And on Tuesday, Eduard Aghajanyan, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly of Armenia, had assessed this visit positively and said that it speaks about the fact that the agreements are already entering the practical phase.
Beniamin Matevosyan, however, assures that new concessions will be extracted from Armenia in exchange for this visit.
“Until the substantive, political part of the issue is resolved, the Armenian-Turkish border will not be opened,” the political scientist concluded.
Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 26-07-22
17:15,
YEREVAN, 26 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 26 July, USD exchange rate down by 1.89 drams to 409.43 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 5.29 drams to 415.57 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.11 drams to 6.98 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 4.36 drams to 491.28 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 343.15 drams to 22626.70 drams. Silver price down by 1.87 drams to 246.88 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.
Ruling power MP: Armenia defends only its interests in talks for normalization of relations with Turkey
NEWS.am
Armenia –
14:56, 26.07.2022
Armenia defends solely its interests during the negotiations for the normalization of relations with Turkey, and will not back away from them under any circumstances. Maria Karapetyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to the OSCE PA and an MP from the ruling majority “Civil Contract” Faction of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters in the NA on Tuesday.
The legislator was asked how Yerevan treats the statements by Turkish officials that Turkey is developing its approaches toward negotiations with Armenia in coordination with Azerbaijan. In response, the Armenian lawmaker said that Ankara’s such approach should not surprise anyone.
“The fact that Turkey coordinates its approaches with Azerbaijan should not shock us. Their relations are not a secret for us. The results of the negotiations with Turkey are of primary importance for us. Both Armenia and Turkey record that the negotiations are proceeding without any preconditions. At the moment, there is a specific agreement,” Karapetyan noted.
PRESS RELEASE – AUA Hosts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Sona Hamalian Conference Room
PRESS RELEASE
AUA Hosts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Sona Hamalian Conference Room
YEREVAN, Armenia — On June 27, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Sona Hamalian conference room (413M), named in memory of the first director of the AUA Extension program.
Since the day AUA opened its doors in 1991, Hamalian served as the administrator and right-hand assistant to Dr. Mihran Agbabian, AUA’s co-founder and first president. In 1992, she became the director of AUA Extension, now called Open Education. Following her untimely death, Hamalian’s twin sister Sossy and her husband Dr. Vicken Aharonian, both AUA Pillars, memorialized her legacy by naming conference room 413M in the AUA Main Building in her honor.
The ceremony was attended by the Aharonians’ and Hamalians’ immediate family members, close friends and relatives, as well as AUA community members who had known and worked with Sona Hamalian in the past.
Following the ribbon-cutting, the guests gathered for a reception in the Faculty Center. In her welcoming speech, AUA President Dr. Karin Markides addressed the guests highlighting the naming of 413M Sona Hamalian conference room in commemoration of her life and in honor of her memory.
“Sona Hamalian was a well-respected and devoted member of the AUA community, whose memory will live on through the widely used Sona Hamalian conference room, which serves as a meeting point for discussions, interviews, and team meetings to collaborate, recruit the best faculty and staff, and work towards the flourishing future of the University. She would have been very proud to see all the accomplishments AUA continues to have,” said Dr. Markides.
AUA’s co-founder and former president Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian reflected on the past, on the University’s inception and Hamalian’s crucial role in its development.
“Dr. Mihran Agbabian hired Sona around July of 1991. He was familiar with her work ethic and skills. Sona did an impossible job in setting up offices, classrooms, library textbooks, the registrar’s office, housing for faculty members, and more. It was all possible due to her dedication and commitment to the University,” remarked Dr. Der Kiureghian.
Following his speech, Dr. Der Kiureghian shared a short passage from Sona Hamalian’s report on the Extension program. The very last paragraph of the report contained the following message:
When asked “What is your vision for the 90s,” I respond humorously. “I am not a visionary. I am a dreamer and I have fantasies”. We are excited for our next 1000 years (after all, for a nation 4000 years old, this kind of exaggeration is permissible). The technological advancements of recent years are revolutionizing education, and we are looking forward to providing the highest quality of instruction in the formats that best serve Armenia’s educational goals.
Dr. Vicken Aharonian, brother-in-law to Sona Hamalian, shared the thought that had inspired the naming of the conference room in her honor and expressed gratitude to the University staff, faculty, and guests for their support and efforts in developing Armenia.
“We wanted to honor her memory. Nobody will live forever, but it is good to create something that will, and I hope that this conference room will serve AUA, where her name will endure forever,” he said. “We are truly grateful to the University, which we have been supporting for many years. AUA is the future of this country. I wish you the best. Thank you very much.”
For more information on naming opportunities at AUA, visit: https://philanthropy.aua.am/naming-opportunities/
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values. For more information about AUA and its donor opportunities, please visit philanthropy.aua.am.
Kind regards,
Margarit Hovhannisyan | Communications Manager
Margarit Hovhannisyan|: Communication manager
+374 60 612 514,
__________________________________________
American University of Armenia
Republic of Armenia, 0019, Yerevan, Marshal Baghramyan Ave. 40:00
40 Baghramyan Avenue, Yerevan 0019, Republic of Armenia
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Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian addressing guests at t…
Dr. Karin Markides, Dr. Vicken Aharonian, and S…
President of the UN General Assembly to visit Armenia
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –
The delegation headed by the President of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid will visit Armenia July 26-29.
In this regard Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has signed an order, instructing the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of the State Protocol Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare the program of the visit, ensure the proper organization of events during the guests’ stay in Armenia.
Armenia highly values further development of relations with Colombia – President addresses message
12:57,
YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan sent a congratulatory letter to President of Colombia Iván Duque Márquez on the occasion of the Independence Day, the Presidential Office said.
The letter reads:
“I warmly congratulate you and the people of Colombia on the national day – the Independence Day.
Armenia attaches great importance to the further development and deepening of the relations with Colombia and is ready to make necessary efforts to expand the bilateral cooperation.
I believe that the cooperation between our countries will continue developing and expanding for the benefit of our peoples.
I wish you good health and success, and to the people of Colombia – peace and welfare”.
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 07/18/2022
Monday,
nister Concerned About Armenian Currency Appreciation
• Narine Ghalechian
Armenia - Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobian, July 7, 2022.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian expressed hope on Monday that the Armenian dram
will weaken against the U.S. dollar, saying that its recent significant
appreciation is hitting hard export-orientated sectors of Armenia’s economy.
Like the Russian ruble, the dram weakened against the U.S. dollar and the euro
in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but rallied strongly
in the following months. Since the outbreak of the war on February 24, the dram
has strengthened by 15 percent against the dollar and 29 percent against the
euro on aggregate.
The Armenian currency has been boosted by relative macroeconomic stability in
Russia, Armenia’s number trading partner, as well as an influx of thousands of
mostly middle-class Russians. Its continuing appreciation is prompting growing
concerns from Armenian companies selling their products in Western and other
non-Russian markets.
Kerobian shared those concerns as he answered questions from Facebook users in
the RFE/RL studio in Yerevan.
“In our view, 450 drams [per dollar] is a red line for our economy, and such a
strong dram is putting a number of export-oriented sectors at serious risk,” he
said.
One dollar was worth 415 drams on Monday.
Kerobian claimed that the Armenian Central Bank is also concerned about the
dram’s current exchange rate.
“It’s not that the Central Bank is doing nothing,” the minister said. “And it’s
not that this is only the Central Bank’s job.”
The bank’s governor, Martin Galstian, made clear last month that it will not cut
interest rates or intervene in the domestic currency market to slash the dram’s
value. Galstian said that the stronger dram is somewhat easing inflationary
pressures on the Armenian economy aggravated by the Ukraine war.
“By artificially weakening the dram we would create an even worse inflationary
situation which would hit all citizens, including exporters,” he told reporters
on June 14.
Russian Spy Chief Visits Armenia After CIA Director’s Arrival
Armenia - Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, at a
meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, .
The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) met with Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan on Monday three days after CIA Director William
Burns’s unexpected arrival in Armenia.
The Armenian government’s press office said Sergei Naryshkin discussed with
Pashinian “international and regional security” and “processes taking place in
the South Caucasus.” It did not elaborate.
The office used the same words in a statement on Pashinian’s meeting with Burns
held on Friday. It said they also touched upon “the fight against terrorism.”
Neither the CIA nor the U.S. State Department has commented so far on what was
the first-ever publicized visit to Armenia by a CIA director.
“My visit to Yerevan is definitely not connected with the arrival of my American
colleague,” the state-run Russian news agency Sputnik quoted Naryshkin as
saying. “But I don’t exclude that his visit is on the contrary connected with
mine.”
Incidentally, Sputnik was the first to reveal Burns’s visit. It said that that
the CIA chief will stay in Armenia for several hours.
Tigran Grigorian, an Armenian political analyst, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
on Friday that U.S. and Russian security “experts” arrived in Yerevan in recent
days for confidential discussions focusing on the war in Ukraine.
Burns, 66, is a former career diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia
from 2005 to 2008. He visited Moscow in his current capacity last November. He
reportedly warned the Kremlin against invading Ukraine.
Pashinian’s press office implied that Russian-Armenian relations were also on
the agenda of his talks with Naryshkin. It cited the Russian intelligence chief
as praising the “high-level political dialogue between Russia and Armenia.”
Naryshkin told Russian media outlets after the talks that Russia and Armenia
have a “great deal of common tasks which need to be accomplished.” He also
touted Russian-led alliances of former Soviet republics of which Armenia is a
member.
“Besides, the Russian Federation has enough strength and resources to protect
allies and friends in difficult times,” added Naryshkin.
Pashinian spoke with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin by phone earlier
in the day. According to the Russian government’s readout of the call, they
discussed Russian-Armenian trade and the “implementation of large joint
projects.”
Washington Briefed On Armenian-Azeri Talks
Armenia - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried is interviewed by
RFE/RL, Yerevan, June 20, 2022.
A senior U.S. official telephoned Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his
Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on Sunday to discuss the results of
their face-to-face meeting held in Tbilisi on Saturday.
Mirzoyan and Bayramov reported no concrete agreements after the meeting
facilitated by the Georgian government. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
was quick to hail it as a “positive step.”
“Direct dialogue is the surest path to resolving Azerbaijani and Armenian
differences,” tweeted Blinken.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried reportedly called for the
continuation of the dialogue during her phone conversation with Bayramov.
According to the official Azerbaijani readout of the call, Bayramov presented
Baku’s position on the planned demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
and its opening to cargo shipments as well as preparations for official
negotiations on a peace treaty between the two South Caucasus states.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry made no mention of that treaty in a statement on
Mirzoyan’s separate call with Donfried. It mentioned only the border demarcation
and Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links.
“Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that the Armenian side continues to attach
importance to the role of the co-chairmanship and the co-chair countries of the
OSCE Minsk Group in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,”
added the statement.
Baku has repeatedly questioned the need for the mediating group co-headed by the
United States, France and Russia.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani ministers met in the Georgian capital the day after
CIA Director William Burns made a surprise visit to Yerevan. The Karabakh
conflict was apparently on the agenda of Burns’s talks with Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian. Pashinian’s press office said they discussed “processes taking place
in the South Caucasus” and “the fight against terrorism.”
Washington has not commented on the purpose of the CIA chief’s visit.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
15 American educators undergo training in Armenia for teaching Genocide in their States
10:39,
YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. The Genocide Education Project of the United States, in cooperation with the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, has organized a ten-day intensive professional development program in Armenia for a group of American educators.
The Genocide Education Project Executive Director, American-Armenian Roxanne Makasdjian told ARMENPRESS that the organization has been founded around 20 years ago by herself and two friends. It’s an independent initiative aimed at introducing and teaching the US teachers on the history of the Armenian Genocide so that they will start teaching the Genocide to their students.
“The program is being held in the conference hall of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in a format of a lecture-practical training. The historical, legal, social-psychological perspectives of the Armenian Genocide will be presented to the participants, at the same time showing them the long-term impact of that crime, its impunity on Armenia’s current political and economic situation”, she said.
Roxanne Makasdjian said that there is also a separate course on the Artsakh issue, as well as the program has a special cultural part that will contribute to raising general awareness among educators on Armenians, the Armenian history and Armenia.
“15 educators from 15 US states will participate in the program this year. Most of them have more than 20 years of experience in teaching in humanitarian sector, some of them have edited or participated in the publications of collections on the Genocide, as well as in the development of education programs of different museums”, Roxanne Makasdjian said.
She said that the program participants will later organize such training programs and courses in their States with the support of GenEd.
Justin Bilton, an English teacher at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, said that before the participation in this program, he was already teaching the Genocide in a high school and a university and he understood that in order to teach the genocides of the 20th centuries a basis is needed, and that will be the Armenian Genocide.
“In fact, I didn’t have many materials about the Armenian Genocide and I started looking for primary sources by which I could teach the Armenian Genocide. Meetings started with the Armenian community, the Genocide Education Project, ties were established with program members and organizers. After that I decided to visit Armenia which is very important for my activity because after visiting Armenia I understood what the Armenian Genocide means for the identity of today’s Armenian”, he said.
He said that the visit to Armenia was very important for him.
“Walking to the Genocide Memorial, standing near the Flame for the first time was very emotional for me because it more helped to see an individual in that common crime which we usually cannot transfer it via books and films to our students”, Justin Bilton said.
Amy Perkins, a Social Studies teacher currently at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan, said that her knowledge about the Armenian Genocide comes from the University of Michigan where she has studied, and currently as well there is a department of Armenian Studies and she keeps ties with them.
“I will use the knowledge I got on the Armenian Genocide through this program in three main directions. Firstly, as a teacher of World History, secondly, I am working with the Armenian community of Detroit on developing teaching guidelines which all schools of the State will start using, and thirdly, this year a big conference attended by history teachers will take place in Philadelphia in December where the main topic of my report will be the teaching of the Armenian Genocide”, Amy Perkins said.
She said that she will continue keeping ties with the Genocide Education Project, by using their resources and the materials provided by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.
AW: Starting from scratch again: Artsakh war veteran Yakov Altunyan
Yakov Altunyan in his vineyard in Hadrut before the 2020 Artsakh War
“We were living peacefully in Hadrut, when everything changed in a second,” Yakov Altunyan begins his story. Altunyan lived through three wars, lost his home and homeland and was forcibly displaced. The Weekly met not in his hometown, but in the Armenian city Abovyan.
Altunyan, 55, is from the village of Mets Tagher in the Hadrut region of Artsakh, which has been occupied by Azerbaijan since the 2020 war. However, the bitterness of the war and its aftermath knocked on Yakov’s door during the first Artsakh war in 1993, when at the age of 27 he was wounded by a mine during a reconnaissance and lost his legs. He made a wheelchair that he uses to “walk” with his hands.
Yakov with his wife Inga and two daughters
Altunyan believes that an Armenian man should build a house, create a family and plant a tree. After the first Artsakh war, he married Inga, and they had three children. Now his daughter, Mariam, has given them a grandchild. While rebuilding his grandfather’s house and adjusting to his “walking hands” wheelchair, he took the third step: planting a tree. He has been growing a vineyard since 2007 and made about 2,000 liters of wine from the Khndoghni grapes. Last year, he and his family planned to start their own winery. He also had two mulberry orchards, from which he made the famous Artsakh mulberry vodka.
The family also practiced beekeeping and gave pure honey to their relatives. Altunyan regrets how they left the ripe grapes in the field, wine and vodka in the cellar and famous Hadrutian pickled vegetables in clay, along with everything else in their village.
Producing honey
“On the 17th day after the start of the war, we left the village, because it was impossible to stay under the bombardment. Only the young people were left to defend the village. We left everything and moved to Abovyan. Of course, we thought we would definitely go back. Until the end, we believed that we would go back, that the ceasefires would be strong, but the next day it would start again,” Altunyan says.
Yakov Altunyan and his son Grigor in Abovyan (Photo: Laurent Renaux)
Altunyan’s only son Grigor was a conscript in the army during the war in one of the most intense areas of fighting. He takes pride in his son’s heroism on the battlefield, often proudly showing off the Medal of Courage he was awarded.
Yakov Altunyan was awarded the Battle Cross/2nd class, Combat Service medal and the Conqueror medal
“We left the graves of our ancestors, our history, our past, our land, our nature, everything. We must take care of our past. It’s not just about remembering. It’s about keeping your footing strong,” Altunyan says. “Now we are in the air. We have no place to set foot. We have become like Western Armenia, because our past has been taken away from us. Maybe because we have remained faithful to humanity, and the centers of human civilization, the West, have been far from it. Now I understand that we should not have been so humane and Christian, because our opponent was not like that. I am not talking only about our enemy, Azerbaijan or Turkey. I am talking about the same centers of Western civilization. We are forgotten because our lives are worthless for them,” he continues.
Altunyan, who has seen three wars, cannot help but compare them.
“In the first Artsakh war, we thought about helping each other. The whole nation was united. Maybe the fuel was not enough, the living conditions were not good, but we helped each other. It did not matter if you knew the person in need or not. We all lived in common interest. During this war we were not like that. We were instilled with individuality in order to take victory away from us and change our values. The images of our leaders have also changed. Many generals have become businessmen. In the first war we did not have a professional army, but we had values. Our values have changed,” Altunyan says.
When speaking about his plans for the future, his face sinks.
Yakov Altunyan gazes out at the vineyards of Hadrut
“A person starts from scratch again, several times in his life, and it is not bad, but we must unite again, rediscover ourselves, first as a nation, as a state. To start again, it is necessary to give Artsakh status and security guarantees. I am ready to become the first settler in liberated Hadrut, but now it is not realistic. It is only a great wish and dream. I do not have a house. The most important thing for me is to be attached to the ground, to plant a garden. That was my way of life. Now I do not know where my house and garden will be. But if I receive support, I am ready to go back and re-establish my house and vineyard in a handful of villages in Artsakh, and if that is not possible, to live and create in another part of Armenia,” Altunyan says.
Since the Weekly’s meeting with Altunyan, he and his family have moved back to Stepanakert to an apartment provided by the government. Officials have also promised him a home in a rural area where Altunyan hopes to once again have a vineyard and produce Artsakh wine.