Author: Anna Tamamian

Three arrested in attack on Armenian priest in Jerusalem

Anna Tamamian
Panorama, Armenia
Society 19:59 18/05/2021World

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem strongly condemns the attack on Rev. Fr. Arbak Sarukhanyan by a group of Jewish young men.

The Armenian priest was attacked on his way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

“Fr. Arbak was injured. He was rushed to hospital and was discharged after receiving the necessary aid,” Fr. Koryoun (Hovnan) Baghdasaryan, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem lodged a complaint with the police, after which three of the attackers were arrested, he said.

“We demand that the police conduct a fair investigation and bring all the perpetrators to account in accordance with the law in order to avoid such incidents in the future,” Fr. Koryoun said.  

Russia, Armenia discuss recent tensions on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Anna Tamamian
China.org
Xinhua · china.org.cn | 

MOSCOW, May 14 (Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a recent territorial dispute on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in a telephone conversation with Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday night, the Kremlin said Friday in a statement.

Putin said it is necessary to comply with the ceasefire regime agreed upon earlier within the joint statements by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to the statement.

Russia is willing to act as a mediator and facilitate contacts between Yerevan and Baku amid a recent escalation between both sides, Putin added.

Pashinyan thanked the Russian president and called for “a constructive dialogue and interaction aimed at resolving any emerging problems solely by peaceful, political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.

Pashinyan on Wednesday accused Azerbaijani forces of crossing Armenia’s border and said this was “an encroachment on the sovereign territory” of the country.

Azerbaijan called the claim provocative and assured it was committed to “defusing tensions in the region.” Enditem

Another Punished People: Khemshils Struggle To Define Themselves Between Turks And Armenians – OpEd

Anna Tamamian
Eurasia Review
  
Hemshin (Khemshil) women, Rize, Turkey. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Paul Goble

Ethnographers and anthropologists have long recognized that studying small groups on the margins of or between larger nations often provides critical insights into these larger communities. One such ethnic group is the Khemshils, a 400,000-strong community with Armenian roots but largely Turkic speaking and Muslim in religion.

Historically, they arose among Armenian communities in the southern Caucasus who were either forcibly Turkified and Islamicized or voluntarily changed their language and identity reflecting their changed political fortunes (trtrussian.com/mnenie/hemshily-kak-udalos-sohranit-edinstvo-naroda-5425931).

The Khamshils lived on both sides of the Turkish-Soviet border and in 1944, the eastern Khamshils who lived in 12 villages of Ajaria were deported by Stalin to Central Asia, a human tragedy that was deepened by the fact that only a very few were able to return to Georgia. As a result, large numbers have remained in Central Asia or moved to Krasnodar Kray.

Because they combine religious, linguistic and cultural elements that are generally thought to be irreconcilable, Alim Makhsutov, a blogger who specializes in Turkic groups of the Caucasus, they are not unified either as a group – there are many sub-ethnic communities within them – or as to who they are as a nation.

According to him, there are three distinct points of view in ongoing debates about who the Khemshils are and what their future will be.  According to one, held by a majority of Muslim Khemshils, they are “Turks and have no relationship to Armenians,” whatever scholars say about their origins.

According to the second, “the Khemshils are a people separate from both the Turks and the Armenians.” That view is held by some Muslim Khamshils. And according to the third, “the Khemshils are a special group of Armenians, distinguished from them by language and partially religion,” a position taken by Christian Khemshils and those within the nation of left-wing views.

“As we see,” Makhsutov says, “the Khemshil Muslims, especially the Turkish language part, do not try to identify with Armenians,” the result of their experiences over the past century. But among all Khemshil groups, there are activists who promote a common identity and bridge divides that aren’t bridged elsewhere.

That is especially interesting because this bridge building is taking place primarily on the former Soviet space even though the center of Khemshil activism at present is to be found among communities in the major cities of Turkey which regularly promote exchanges between members of that nation there and members of it in Georgia and Russia.

Paul Goble is a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions in Eurasia. Most recently, he was director of research and publications at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. Earlier, he served as vice dean for the social sciences and humanities at Audentes University in Tallinn and a senior research associate at the EuroCollege of the University of Tartu in Estonia. He has served in various capacities in the U.S. State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the International Broadcasting Bureau as well as at the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mr. Goble maintains the Window on Eurasia blog and can be contacted directly at [email protected] .

Armenia adopts universal inclusive education in preschools

Anna Tamamian

Save

Share

 09:40,

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. Education authorities say 2021 will see “significant work” in the direction of introducing universal inclusive education system in Armenian preschools. The transition will be phased, according to the deputy education minister Zhanna Andreasyan.

The training of preschool employees, development of modules and relevant toolbox, as well as awareness campaigns will take place this year, and starting from 2022 the universal inclusive principle will be launched in the provinces of Syunik, Lori, Tavush and in Yerevan. The other remaining provinces will shift to the new system in 2023.

“The important part here is for the preschools to be attached to the regional pedagogical-psychological support centers so that it’s clear which centers are working with the preschools. Therefore, we are also going to change the funding procedure of these centers taking into account that they are going to render services to the preschools. The new procedure is in the final stage of circulation and is submitted to the prime minister’s office,” Zhanna Andreasyan, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport told ARMENPRESS.

Since the law envisages funding increase for including children with special needs to preschools, the education authorities have also developed and introduced a new funding procedure, which is already submitted to the prime minister’s office as well.

“These changes will enable to improve the conditions on one hand from professional perspective and on the other in terms of infrastructure. I attach much importance to awareness campaigns. We must ensure broad public awareness so that citizens get informed and benefit from these opportunities. Training of preschool employees is also important, annually at least 1/5th of the employees must undergo training and this is going to be a mandatory component in the inclusive system,” Andreasyan said.

Andreasyan reiterated that the government’s policy in this sector is to raise and enhance the quality of preschools. She mentioned the recent Cabinet decision which authorized the construction of 10 modular kindergartens with modern infrastructures in full compliance with needs of children. Andreasyan says the 21 preschools which were opened across Armenia in 2020 are all equipped to meet the needs of children with special needs.

“We must have the kind of conditions that parents of children with special needs have the opportunity to take their child to any kindergarten they want. The same goes for schools.”

Speaking about stereotypes regarding inclusiveness among the society, Andreasyan says some change is observed in the recent years, albeit insufficient.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

COVID-19: Mobile site in downtown Yerevan provides easy access to everyone willing to get vaccinated

Anna Tamamian

Save

Share

 09:00, 7 May, 2021

YEREVAN, MAY 7, ARMENPRESS. The mobile vaccination site deployed to Yerevan’s busiest pedestrian Northern Avenue in downtown intended to increase access and make it easier for people who want to get the shot against COVID-19 is showing positive results. The health workers at the site told ARMENPRESS that the activeness is so high that at some hours of the day there are people waiting in line. Both locals and foreigners are using the site to get vaccinated.

A tourist from Iran who introduced himself as Mahmud Dashtban told ARMENPRESS in Northern Avenue that he’s in Armenia to visit his student son and to spend his vacation here. He said he decided to get vaccinated when he found out about the mobile site. “Having this mobile vaccination site is a very good idea. Being in Armenia I decided to take this opportunity, why not? I want to get vaccinated and be protected,” he said.

Another person getting the shot was 61-year-old Armen Grigoryan from Yerevan. “I liked this idea. At first I was thinking to go to the clinic but why not come here if there is an easier option,” he said.

Another mobile vaccination site has been deployed to the Dalma Garden Mall shopping center.

Armenia uses the Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and CoronaVac vaccines.

Photos by Tatev Duryan

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 03-05-21

Anna Tamamian

Save

Share

 17:10, 3 May, 2021

YEREVAN, 3 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 3 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 520.63 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.21 drams to 627.41 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.08 drams to 6.87 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.79 drams to 721.23 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 80.29 drams to 29588.06 drams. Silver price down by 6.92 drams to 433.11 drams. Platinum price up by 31.14 drams to 20387.67 drams.

Social Media Reacted To Biden’s Recognition Of The Armenian Genocide

Anna Tamamian
Forbes
Peter Suciu

Contributor

Social Media

Armenian-American march to a rally against the Armenian genocide in Beverly Hills, Calif., Saturday, … [+]

 ASSOCIATED PRESS

On Saturday afternoon President Joe Biden became the first United States leader to officially recognize the “Armenian Massacre” as a genocide. The systemic mass murder and ethnic cleansing of more than one million ethnic Armenians began 106 years ago on this day during the First World War under the direction of the Ottoman Empire, and its ruling party, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP).

No Turkish government has acknowledged the crime that was committed, and all of the major political parties in Turkey, expect the Peoples’ Democratic Party maintain support for Armenian Genocide denial. Over the past 100 years, Ottoman and Turkish leaders have argued that the mass deportation of the Armenian populace was justified by national security concerns.

In a statement marking the start of the massacre, in which Biden wrote, “Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from every again occurring.

“Today, as we mourn what was lost, let us also turn our eyes to the future – toward the world that we wish to build for our children. A world unstained by the daily evils of bigotry and intolerance, where human rights are respected, and where all people are able to pursue their lives in dignity and security,” Biden added. “Let us renew our shared resolve to prevent future atrocities from occurring anywhere in the world. And let us pursue healing and reconciliation for all the people of the world.”

Numerous news organizations have already posted on social media links to primers and background to help better understand the genocidal event.

Lawmakers React

A number of American lawmakers also took to social media to weigh in on Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Massacre. Among those was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) (@AOC) who posted, “Truth-telling and full acknowledgment of injustice can be one of the most important steps towards healing. Acknowledging the Armenian genocide is long overdue, and I hope this day brings some degree of peace to impacted families and communities as we move forward together.”

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) (@SenSanders) also praised Biden’s recognition, “Recognition of the Armenian genocide is long overdue, and I applaud President Biden for this announcement. It is important for all of us to look honestly at history to make sure such atrocities never happen again.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), (@RashidaTlaib) posted, “In the #13District, we always speak the truth. It’s been 106 years since 1.5 million lives lost to the #ArmenianGenocide. We must remember this tragic history and continue to value truth above all else.”

It seems this could be a defining moment that should bring American lawmakers from both sides of the aisle together.

“The Biden Administration is doing the smart and sensible thing in recognizing a clear historical wrong,” said Harry Kazianis, senior director at the Center for the National Interest. “President Biden should receive high praise from all parties and sides of the political spectrum as this move is long overdue.”

Historical Context

While we’d like to think that such a moment would be one without controversy – that is unlikely to be the case however. Some voices on social media quickly suggested that the event occurred during the Ottoman Empire, which was abolished at the end of the First World War. Therefore blaming modern Turkey would be akin to blaming modern Italy for what happened in the Roman Empire, was among the common arguments made not just today but increasingly by some in the Turkish community in recent years.

@OzlemFinnegan was among those who took such a hard line to the facts, writing, “Interesting explainer; they said that, and others said this..Turkish Republic was established at 1922. Why does it have to accept and deal with this? We are not Ottomans, we are Atatürk’s Turks.”

Others also suggested it was the Armenians who started the troubles, and the Ottomans only were responding to a potential uprising, a refrain that has been repeated by Turkish leaders for more than 100 years.

@Hayrani responded to @RashidaTlaib, writing, “Then, learn the truth first, not the distortions of facts and numbers and the hundreds of thousands of muslims mutilated by the Armenian gangs first. Go to US archives in DC  and Boston. Repent for siding with slanderers!”

Future Recognitions

As might have been expected, there were a few that suggested that other events from history – recent and past – should also receive such recognition from our national leaders. This argument was made both as deflection from the plight of the Armenians, but also to call out America’s own past crimes.

“I guess American’s aren’t on the hook for any genocide of Native Americans before the revolution (1776) cuz we were British then, then magically transformed into Americans,” wrote @RiffSkjerven.

“Isn’t time to recognize the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima as a Genocide?,” pondered @mouhab.

@ay_askar was among those who questioned Biden’s recognition, writing, “We are all well aware of the age and memory issues of the current US President @POTUS. But his statement on fake ‘#armenian genocide’, really makes me want to remind him that if he is looking for #Genocide, he should probably check out his own ancestors”

It shouldn’t have been surprising that some people would try to label the event – if not the recognition – as little more than “fake news,” yet the fact it is now recognized could change the attention  and how the tragedy is covered in the media and even addressed on social media.

“Recognition of the Armenian genocide has been a century in coming,” said Matthew J. Schmidt, PhD, associate professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven.

“America’s reliance on Turkey during the Cold War meant no president was willing to risk losing such a key ally,” added Schmidt. “But President Biden’s recognition finally acknowledges the truth. And in so doing he is also putting China on notice and other states that have counted on the U.S. to look the other way for transient interests. That won’t happen now.”

 

Turkish press: Turkey to continue to defend truth of 1915 events: Erdoğan

Anna Tamamian
 ISTANBUL DIPLOMACY 
APR 22, 2021 4:23 PM GMT+3

We will continue to defend the truth against those supporting slander, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday regarding the events of 1915.

Speaking at a meeting with Turkey’s High Advisory Board, Erdoğan once again made clear Turkey’s stance on the 1915 events.

Erdoğan’s remarks came following reports that U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to recognize the 1915 events as genocide, which is a first in American history.

Biden is expected to announce the genocide designation on Saturday, the 106th anniversary of the 1915 events, according to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Such a move would further deteriorate relations with NATO ally Turkey, which vehemently rejects the designation.

Turkey objects to presenting the 1915 incidents as “genocide,” rather calling them a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties in the heat of World War I.

Armenian Genocide commemoration events launch in Ukraine

Anna Tamamian

Save

Share

 10:04, 22 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The events commemorating the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide have launched in Ukraine, Analitikaua reports, adding that the events have started with an information campaign. In particular, information banners about the Armenian Genocide have been installed in several streets of major Ukrainian cities.

On the sidelines of the commemoration events, an online lecture will be held on April 24 about the Armenian Genocide, the crime against humanity and civilization.

Round-tables, thematic exhibitions, flash mobs, rallies, tree-planting and screening of movies about the Armenian Genocide are also planned. All the events will take place with strict maintenance of anti-coronavirus rules.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkish press: Armenian patriarch slams use of 1915 events as political tool

Anna Tamamian
 ISTANBUL DIPLOMACY 
APR 23, 2021 4:44 PM GMT+3
The Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Sahak Maşalyan during an interview with AA in Istanbul, Turkey, . (AA)


The Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Sahak Maşalyan Friday criticized the sorrow of the Armenian community being used as a political tool by third parties, underlining that such actions prevent Turkish and Armenian societies from moving on or building fresh relations.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Maşalyan expressed the importance of building bridges of friendship and sincerity between Turkish and Armenian people in order to have a clear understanding and evaluation of the historical events.

“It is desired that third party countries provide encouraging contributions to these aims,” he stated and added that governments for decades have used the 1915 events in their agendas, which only causes further tension and serves no solid positive contribution.

Maşalyan said that he will continue to wish for peace, friendship and well-being between Turks and Armenians, as his predecessors did before him.

“We will see the events that took place 105 years ago as an exception to a 1000 years long common history and encourage for relations to be rebuilt in mutual neighborhood and interests,” he continued.

Maşalyan also expressed his thankfulness to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for being the only Turkish president so far who expressed open solidarity with the Armenian community.

“In the messages (shared by Erdoğan on the 1915 events), there is respect that attracts attention. We believe it would be right to see these messages as positive steps for a future reconciliation. I wish there could be a joint history commission as it was suggested (by the Turkish government),” the patriarch further highlighted.

As allegations are being stirred up by Armenian lobbies and some countries for political goals, it was reported this week that United States President Joe Biden is planning to recognize the events of 1915 as “genocide.”

Turkey objects to the presentation of the events of 1915 as “genocide,” rather calling them a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties in the heat of World War I. Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia under the supervision of international experts to examine the issue.