The California
Courier Online, July 28, 2022
1- Armenian
Officials Falsify the Reason
For Banning
Papazian from Armenia
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Netflix to
acquire Zareh Nalbandian’s animation studio Animal Logic
3- Paul
Chepikian Set to Appear in Upcoming Steven Spielberg Film
4- Turkey Reaffirms Conditions for Normalizing Ties
with Armenia
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against
COVID-19
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1- Armenian
Officials Falsify the Reason
For Banning
Papazian from Armenia
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Last week, I wrote about a scandalous incident when Armenian
officials did not allow Mourad Papazian, a French Armenian community leader who
has devoted his life to the defense of the Armenian Cause, to enter Armenia after arriving at the Yerevan Airport.
Despite Papazian’s repeated questions at the airport as to why Armenian
officials were banning him from entering the country, he was not given an
answer. I will now comment on the latest developments in this case.
Initially, government officials told the media that they are
unable to reveal the reason for Papazian’s expulsion in order not to violate
his right to privacy. When Zareh
Sinanyan, Armenia’s
Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, was first asked why Papazian was
banned from the country, he said that he had no idea. Sinanyan then wrongly
claimed that the organization co-led by Papazian, the Coordinating Council of
Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), had no right to represent the entire
French Armenian community, since it was just one organization. Contrary to
Sinanyan’s statement, the CCAF is not just one organization, but a coalition of
around 60 French Armenian organizations.
Later, one of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s unnamed aides
gave a lengthy interview to the Armenpress wire service last week, alleging
that Papazian was banned from Armenia
for violating Chapter 2, Article 8, sections 1.k and 1.z of the law on
“Foreigners.” The aide went on to claim that Papazian was one of the individuals
who attacked Pashinyan’s motorcade in Paris
on June 1, 2021. What happened to the government’s initial excuse that it
cannot reveal the reason for Papazian’s expulsion to protect his privacy? The
real reason for his expulsion was the Prime Minister’s intolerance to anyone
who dares to oppose his regime.
Here are the true facts: I verified that Papazian was not
involved in any attack on Pashinyan’s motorcade because he was not there. The
protest was carried out by a group of young men who regrettably hurled tomatoes
at Pashinyan’s motorcade. That is not a proper thing to do to Armenia’s
leader while on foreign soil. Nevertheless, last year’s incident was viewed by
the Armenian government to be so unimportant that the Embassy of Armenia in Paris did not even file a
complaint with the French authorities.
Secondly, it is very strange that after the June 1, 2021
motorcade incident in Paris, Papazian visited Armenia on four different occasions and no one
at the Yerevan Airport obstructed his entry. If the
Prime Minister’s aide is serious about his baseless accusation against
Papazian, why did the government not object to his entry to Armenia until a
year later, during his fifth visit? The Prime Minister’s aide is thus
acknowledging that Armenian officials are so incompetent that they cannot even
implement properly their own decisions.
Furthermore, Pashinyan’s aide falsely claimed that there are
media reports about the Paris
incident, including video tapes on the internet showing Papazian’s and others’
protest. The fact is that there is no such video showing Papazian at that
protest simply because he was not there. Had there been such a video, the
Armenian government would have disseminated it widely to prove Papazian’s
guilt.
Since the Prime Minister’s aide based his accusation of
Papazian on Article 8, sections 1.k and 1.z of Armenia’s law on “Foreigners,” I
found it interesting that section 6 of Article 8 of that same law lists the
following government officials as the only ones who can have access to the
black list of individuals banned from entering Armenia: “The staff of the
President of Armenia, the national security agency, authorized police
officials, Foreign Ministry officials, the courts and the prosecutor’s office.”
Importantly, neither the Prime Minister himself nor his aides are on this list
of officials authorized to access the black list. How did Pashinyan’s aide know
that Papazian’s name is on the black list and the reason why he was banned from
entering the country? This is an obvious violation of the law, the same law
that Pashinyan’s aide quoted to justify banning Papazian. In a normal
democratic country, this aide and his superiors would be prosecuted for
breaking the law. What they have done to Papazian is an abuse of power. Armenia is not
Pashinyan’s private house so he can decide whom to let in and whom to ban.
Finally, while the government is busy blocking an Armenian
nationalist from entering the country, a widely circulated video on social
media showed a Turkish extremist at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan,
sticking his tongue out, howling like a wolf, giggling hysterically, ridiculing
the Genocide and making the hand gesture of the terrorist Turkish Grey Wolves
group, while wearing the flag of a Turkish soccer club which has the crescent
and the star, the emblem of the Turkish Republic. While it is not always
possible for the police to prevent such ugly incidents, if Armenian officials
were not so busy trying the silence their political opponents, they would have
more time to deal with the real enemies of the Armenian nation. How ironic that
an Armenian nationalist is banned from entering Armenia, at the same time a
Turkish extremist is allowed to enter the country and insult the memory of the
Genocide martyrs.
It would have been far better for Armenian officials to tell
the truth by acknowledging that they should not have expelled Papazian from Armenia,
instead of inventing more lies to cover up their initial wrongful action.
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2- Netflix to acquire Zareh
Nalbandian’s animation studio Animal Logic
Netflix is acquiring Australian animation studio Animal
Logic, which is producing films for the streamer including “The Magician’s
Elephant,” directed by Wendy Rogers, and “The Shrinking of the Treehorns,” directed by Ron Howard, Variety reports.
Animal Logic, which was co-founded by Zareh Nalbandian, has
about 800 employees, mostly based in Sydney, Australia and Vancouver, Canada.
The acquisition “will help us accelerate the development of our animation
production capabilities and reinforces our commitment to build a world-class
animation studio,” Netflix said in its Q2 letter to shareholders.
Founded in 1991, Animal Logic’s film work has included The
Lego movies, the two “Peter Rabbit” films, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls
of Ga’Hoole” and “Happy Feet.” The studio also has produced visual effects for
movies including “The Matrix,” “Moulin Rouge!”, “300” and “The Great Gatsby”
and “Captain Marvel.”
Netflix said Animal Logic, led by CEO and co-founder Zareh
Nalbandian, will continue operating under the Animal Logic brand and will
“fulfill production of existing and ongoing commitments and continue to collaborate
and work with longstanding studio partners.”
Nalbandian said in a statement provided by Netflix, “After
30 years of producing great work with great people, this is the perfect next
chapter for Animal Logic. Our values and aspirations could not be more aligned
with Netflix, in working with diverse content makers, producing innovative and
engaging stories for audiences around the world. Our collective experience and
talent will open new doors for all our teams and will empower a new level of
creativity in animation.”
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3- Paul Chepikian Set to Appear in
Upcoming Steven Spielberg Film (Armenianfilmsociety.com)—Paul Chepikian is set
to appear in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film, The Fabelmans.
“It’s official, I am now listed on IMDB as a cast
member on the latest Steven Spielberg movie, The Fabelmans. I play the owner of
the Pinnacle Peak Restaurant. It will be released on November 25th, 2022. Thank
you to my agents, Terry Soil Mandel and Jan Rosenthal, from Abstract Talent.
And as always, to my Angel, Terry Mason,” said Chepikian in a Facebook
post on July 29.
The film has completed production and is scheduled for a
limited theatrical release in the United States on November 11,
before expanding wide on November 23.
The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical film and is a
portrait of the formative years of Steven Spielberg, before he became a
celebrated director. The film stars Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Paul Dano,
and Gabriel LaBelle.
Chepikian says he thrives on the creative process. Chepikian
is credited in the film as “Pinnacle Peak Owner.”
Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse was a restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona,
where Steven Spielbeg shot his first film, The Last Gunfight, at the age of 11.
The young Steven Spielberg fulfilled his request for the photography merit
badge by filming the nine-minute film. The director and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona
in 1957, where Steven Spielberg grew up. The restaurant closed in 2015.
Paul Chepikian is a Greek-Armenian born in Jidda, Saudi Arabia.
He lived in Cairo, Egypt
and Beirut, Lebanon
before moving to New Jersey
in 1963 when he was 8 years old. He speaking Armenian, Greek, Arabic, Turkish,
and French
He spent twelve years with the Harvey Lembeck Professional
Comedy Workshop honing his comedic and improvisational skills.
In 1992, Deep Dish TV, a show Chepikian co-produced,
co-wrote and acted in was nominated for a Cable Ace Award as Best Comedy
Special on the ShowTime Network. **********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- Turkey
Reaffirms Conditions for Normalizing Ties with Armenia
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday, July
21 made the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on Armenia negotiating a peace accord with Azerbaijan and
opening a land corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave.
Cavusoglu complained that Yerevan has taken no “concrete steps” in that
direction after four rounds of Turkish-Armenian normalization talks held this
year.
“We don’t yet see clear steps from Armenia on the
Zangezur [corridor] and other projects or the peace treaty,” he told Turkish
state television. “Armenia’s
leadership headed by Prime Minister Pashinyan should take positive steps for
peace. Words alone are not enough.”
“Whether Armenia
likes it or not, this is the reality,” said, pointing to the Turkish-Azerbaijani
alliance. “We are one nation and two states. That is why if there is to be
peace in the region, everybody needs to take steps, including Georgia and
Central Asian countries. We expect concrete steps from Armenia on this
issue, be it Zangezur, the comprehensive peace treaty or steps towards us.”
Cavusoglu has repeatedly made clear before that Ankara is coordinating the ongoing Turkish-Armenian
dialogue with Baku.
He stressed in February the importance of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty
which Baku says must commit Yerevan to recognizing Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian government has said, by contrast, that it wants
an unconditional normalization of relations with Turkey. Foreign Minister Ararat
Mirzoyan complained in May that Ankara
is “synchronizing” the normalization process with Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks.
Meeting in Vienna
on July 1, special envoys of the two neighboring states agreed to open the
Turkish-Armenian border to citizens of third countries and to allow mutual
cargo shipments by air. The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries said this
will be done “at the earliest date possible.” But they set no concrete time
frames.
Armenian opposition leaders have repeatedly accused
Pashinyan of being ready to accept the Turkish preconditions. The prime
minister’s political allies have denied that.
Pashinyan’s administration maintains that the possible peace
accord with Azerbaijan
must address the thorny issue of Karabakh’s status. It has also ruled out any
exterritorial corridors passing through Armenia’s internationally
recognized territory and southeastern Syunik province in particular.
Syunik is the sole Armenian province bordering Iran. Tehran has repeatedly warned against attempts to strip it
of the land border with Armenia.
“The Islamic Republic will not tolerate policies or plans
that lead to the closing of the Iran-Armenia border,” Iran’s supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tweeted on Tuesday after holding separate talks in
Tehran with the presidents of Turkey and Russia. ***********************************************************************************************************************************************
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against
COVID-19
More than 2.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered
in Armenia
since commencing the vaccination program a year ago, authorities said on July
25. Armenia
has recorded 424,400 coronavirus cases. Armenia has recorded 8,629 deaths;
for the sixth week, no new deaths were reported. There are 3,110 active cases;
412,661 have recovered.
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