News.am, Armenia
On May 30, the Armenian national team departed on a charter flight to the capital of Croatia Zagreb, where it will prepare for a friendly match against the Croatian team, the FFA press service reported.
Author: Antonian Lara
Delimitation now may create some problems in Karabakh negotiation process, says Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan
News.am, Armenia
13:24, 25.05.2021
At the moment, delimitation may create some problems in the negotiation process over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). Second President Robert Kocharyan, who heads the “Armenia” bloc ahead of the snap parliamentary elections on June 20, stated this at Tuesday’s press conference of the leaders of this bloc.
“The hurriedness which the Azerbaijani side is showing is connected with this very issue. This delimitation will have an impact on the negotiation process on the Karabakh issue. In general, there is no need to be too afraid of delimitation; it’s just that it’s a quite problematic issue now,” Kocharyan said.
Oversight Board rules against Facebook in Armenian genocide case
POLITICO
May 20 2021
An independent group of experts on Thursday ordered Facebook to reinstate an online post that criticized Turkey’s portrayal of the Armenian genocide, the latest in a growing number of content cases that have gone against the social networking giant.
In its decision, the so-called Oversight Board — a group of legal experts, human rights campaigners and former politicians put together by Facebook to review the company’s content decisions — decided the tech company was wrong to remove a post from a user in the United States, which included a meme with language associated with the mass killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the then Ottoman Empire more than a century ago. Turkey has long maintained that a genocide did not take place.
Facebook had initially removed the post — which included the sentences “The Armenian Genocide is a lie” and “The Armenians were terrorists that deserved it” — because its content moderators believed the language fell afoul of the company’s hate speech rules, as well as its cruel and insensitive community standards.
The Oversight Board disagreed.
In its decision, which is binding on Facebook, the group said that the post should be allowed to remain because of people’s legitimate right to share hateful content if it is done to raise public awareness, which the board understood to be the post’s intent. The board also said the post should have been left up because it fell under Facebook’s satire exception for potentially harmful content.
The majority of the group “found that the user shared the meme to raise awareness of and condemn the Turkish government’s efforts to deny the Armenian genocide while, at the same time, justifying these same historic atrocities,” the Oversight Board said in a statement.
Still, a minority of the experts said it was not clear if the post was aimed at criticizing the Turkish government’s portrayal of the Armenian genocide, and that the content most likely broke Facebook’s community standards.
Earlier this month, the board ruled that Facebook was correct to remove former U.S. President Donald Trump’s account following the January 6 riots in Washington, but it ordered the company to determine within six months if he should be allowed back on the global platform.
The Oversight Board has ruled against the company in the majority of cases that have been submitted to the body.
Armenia fires warning shots at Azeri border
Jerusalem Post
May 20 2021
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of sending troops across the border last week, highlighting the fragility of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that halted six weeks of fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces last year. Azerbaijan has previously denied crossing the frontier.
May 20 2021
By REUTERS
MAY 20, 2021 17:19
Armenia’s defense ministry said on Thursday it had fired warnings shots at the border with Azerbaijan due to an alleged Azeri incursion, the RIA news agency reported.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of sending troops across the border last week, highlighting the fragility of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that halted six weeks of fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces last year. Azerbaijan has previously denied crossing the frontier.
Streetwise Kolkata – Armenian Street: Named after a community that preceded the British by centuries
The Indian Express
Even before the British East India Company joined other European settlers in the Bengal Subah in 1612, the Armenians had already established commercial settlements in Bengal, extending as far out as Benares and Patna much before the city of Calcutta was established.
Written by Neha Banka | Kolkata |
Updated: 10:02:38 pm
For the dwindling Armenian community, it is this church and the 200-year-old Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy on Mirza Ghalib Street that is helping keep the community’s unique cultural traditions alive. (Express photo by Neha Banka)
The Armenians only came to Calcutta in August 1690, although historical records indicate the community had settled in the Indian subcontinent since at least the 8th century. Even before the British East India Company joined other European settlers in the Bengal Subah in 1612, the Armenians had already established commercial settlements in Bengal, extending as far out as Benares and Patna much before the city of Calcutta was established.
Eight decades later, when British East India Company employee Job Charnock combined the villages of Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kalikata along the banks of the Hooghly river to form the city of Calcutta, he invited the Armenians to this new urban settlement, perhaps as a return for the favours that the community had provided when the East India Company had first reached Bengal. In his book ‘History of the Armenians in India from the Earliest Times to the Present Day’, published in 1895, Mesrovb Jacob Seth writes that the community was first settled in Syedabad, a commercial suburb of Murshidabad, when the British first arrived in Bengal.
“At Syedabad the Armenians rendered valuable services to the Hon’ble East India Company during the eventful year 1756, when Holwell and his fellow-captives were taken to Murshidabad after the tragedy of the historical Black Hole of Calcutta,” writes Seth. The Armenian in Syedabad, particularly Agah Manuel Satoor, “treated the hapless captives with much kindness, sympathising with them as fellow-Christians in a foreign land.”
What is less well-known is that it was the Armenian community that helped Charnock acquire the zamindari rights for the settlement that eventually became Calcutta. The British East India Company had learned soon after their arrival in Bengal, that the Armenian community would be indispensable in the fulfillment of the company’s socio-economic agendas and made efforts to maintain amicable relations with the community.
Seth points to an entry in the writings of William Bolts, a Dutch-born British employee of the East India Company who wrote a book titled ‘Considerations on India Affairs’ (1772), that explains how the company viewed the Armenian community which had been well-established in Syedabad by the time the British had arrived.
When the Armenians first arrived in Calcutta, they settled in the area now known as ‘Armenian Street’, a narrow street in central Kolkata. (Express photo by Neha Banka)
“The Armenians, who have ever been a great commercial body in Hindustan, have also long had considerable settlements in Bengal, particularly at Syedabad. Their commerce was likewise established by the Mogul’s finnan whereby the duties on the two principal articles of their trade, piece-goods and raw silk, were fixed at three-and-a-half per cent,” writes Bolt.
When the Armenians first arrived in Calcutta, they settled in the area now known as ‘Armenian Street’, a narrow street in central Kolkata. In 1688, the Armenians built the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth on one end of the street and it was around this church that the Armenian community set up their homes and businesses in the city.
There isn’t much known about what the area around Armenian Street looked like when the community first settled here, but in his book ‘Calcutta in the Olden Time: Its Localities & Its People’ (1852), James Long provides some details. “The Armenians are among the oldest residents, and their quarter attracts by its antique air, constructed with conspicuous modern buildings in Calcutta,” Long writes.
In 1688, the Armenians built the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth on one end of the street and it was around this church that the Armenian community set up their homes and businesses in the city. (Express photo by Neha Banka)
The community’s commercial success allowed them to invest in the building of schools, chapels and other public spaces, mostly for the Armenians in the city. When the 18th-century Armenian Apostolic church burned down, it was rebuilt in the same location in 1724 by philanthropist Agha Jakob Nazar. In their writings, both Seth and Long have meticulously detailed all the ways in which the community found favour with the British East India Company, which in part helped them become enormously successful.
“The Armenians, like the Jews, were famous for their mercantile zeal, and in the early days, were much employed by the English as the Gomasthas—they are to be commended for their always having retained the oriental dress—they never had much intercourse with the English,” writes Long. Gomasthas were agents of the British East India Company, who signed bonds with locals to deliver goods to the Company and were appointed by the Company.
The community did not remain limited to the neighbourhoods around Armenian Street, but over the years shifted out to other parts of the city and were instrumental in the redevelopment of some of the city’s most iconic neighbourhoods and the buildings that continue to stand there. Park Street’s mansions, which today house a mix of residential apartments and commercial enterprises, are some of the most visible examples of the community’s contributions to the city’s architectural landscape.
Historian P. Thankappan Nair writes in his book ‘A History of Calcutta’s Streets’ (1987) that according to an entry in the Calcutta Municipal Gazette of April 1958, it appears that the city’s Municipal Corporation had been considering the renaming of Armenian Street, with a proposal for it to be named Akshay Kumar Mullick Street. That proposal did not materialise and the street retains its original name. It is unclear who Mullick was or even what his contributions to the city of Calcutta were, for the municipal corporation to consider renaming an entire street after him, especially one that is among the city’s oldest neighbourhoods and of importance to the Armenian community here.
There is little on Armenian Street that reflects the community’s history today. The street has been overtaken by shops and hawkers who have set up their wares wherever they find space on the pavement. But upon entering the church complex, the chaos fades away behind its thick white walls. For the dwindling Armenian community, it is this church and the 200-year-old Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy on Mirza Ghalib Street that is helping keep the community’s unique cultural traditions alive.
Sports: Henrikh Mkhitaryan scores goal in Roma vs Lazio clash
News.am, Armenia
Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a goal in the Roma vs Lazio clash in the Italian football season.
The midfielder of the Armenian national team scored in the 42nd minute.
In the current Italian season, 32-year-old Mkhitaryan is playing the 33rd clash, scored 12 goals and made 11 assists.
Armenia officially sends application to CSTO – deputy PM
15:36,
YEREVAN, MAY 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has officially sent the application to the CSTO regarding the Azerbaijani military’s border infringement against Armenia’s state border in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik, the caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan told reporters.
“The application has officially been sent. There is a three-day term, the defense ministry and the foreign ministry will notify on the procedure,” he said.
Avinyan says the Azeri side is showing fake maps. “In fact, the Azeri border troops advanced based on these maps. But nevertheless the Azeri side confirms its efforts aimed at a peaceful solution. According to them, they aren’t taking any actions and don’t want to take action to further deepen the tension,” Avinyan said, stressing however that the Armenian side is ready for all potential developments.
On May 12, Azeri military units breached the Armenian state border in an attempt to seize the area of the Sev Lake in Syunik Province. Azeri military formations advanced into the Gegharkunik Province as well. A total of 250 Azeri troops are illegally deployed inside Armenian territory.
PM Pashinyan called the Azeri actions a pre-planned provocation and infringement on Armenian sovereignty.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Turkish press: Biden’s ‘genocide’ step puts China, Turkey in same boat | Opinion
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pose for photos before a meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo)
Sixty years ago, the U.S. landed in the Bay of Pigs with the goal of forcefully replacing the Fidel Castro Marxist regime in Cuba. In the years that followed, Vietnam, Cambodia, Granada, Panama, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and others were on the receiving end of U.S. invasions and bombing, causing untold deaths among the civilian population. And yet, those who live in glass houses seem to have no problem throwing stones.
For the second time, in its 100 days in office, the Biden administration decided to weaponize the designation of genocide against countries with which the U.S. is at odds.
The first was last month’s designation by the U.S. State Department of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as genocide, with the hope that other countries follow suit.
The United States also awakened the ghosts of the World War I this month, recognizing as “genocide” the tragic events that the Armenians were subjected to during the wars with the Ottomans in 1915 and the ensuing exile.
For Biden, this may be good politics considering that 84 of the 100 members of U.S. Congress who urged him to do so are Democrats, mostly from the state of California, where most Armenian-Americans reside. But it is certainly not good policy.
First, the timing of the recognition is poor, and not only because it comes during the holy month of Ramadan when 85 million Turks are confined to their homes due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Turkey is standing at a fork in the road, torn between its traditional allegiance to the West and the economic promise of the East. Its relations with Washington have been strained for quite some time, but by succumbing to the Armenian lobby pressure Biden missed what could be his last opportunity to lure Turkey back into the Euro-American orbit.
This folly comes at a time Turkey, a NATO member and the gateway to the Black Sea, is facing a strategic dilemma on how to position itself between Russia and Ukraine as the conflict between the two intensifies.
It is also important for the U.S. and NATO interests in the East Mediterranean, Syria, Libya, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. Biden chose to sacrifice all this for “historic justice.” But what makes his “genocide” recognition most self-defeating is that it helps drive Turkey into the arms of America’s number one strategic rival – China.
For some time, Turkey has been working to strengthen its relations with China:
- It was one of the first countries to validate the Chinese coronavirus vaccine
- It supports China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
- It refuses to adhere to U.S. pressure to ban Huawei from its telecommunication backbone
- It has expanded the use of the Chinese yuan in its economy, helping China to internationalize its currency and challenge the U.S. dollar as reserve currency.
Most important, Turkey has been relatively restrained in its criticism of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, considering it has the strongest ethnic affinity to them.
If Washington had any hope that Turkey would side with it on Xinjiang, this hope is now dashed. Ankara is certainly sensitive to the treatment of the Uyghurs; however, despite its clear stance on the issue, it cannot blame China for committing “genocide” while the U.S. has now baselessly targeted itself for the very same crime.
A protester from the Uyghur community living in Turkey waves a Turkish flag during a protest against China’s treatment of Uyghurs, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo)
And by causing Turkey to reject Washington’s narrative of a Uyghur genocide, Biden essentially gave the rest of the Muslim world, especially Turkic countries, a convenient excuse to sit on the fence. By conflating the historical event that happened 106 years ago with an ongoing one Biden created a new commonality between China and Turkey.
As the two countries mark this year the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, they now share a similar predicament: they are both targets of America’s selective weaponization of human rights. Selective indeed because Washington has no problem turning a blind eye to mass murders committed by its friends.
The persecution and killing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar under the leadership of Washington’s darling and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was never labeled as genocide.
Nor was the starvation of millions in Yemen courtesy of Saudi Arabia. And there was not even a whisper about the mass killing of millions of Chinese by Japanese occupiers in World War II or the million or so Indians killed by the British during the Indian mutiny of 1857.
Such inconsistency and selective memory in applying the term “genocide” based on geopolitical expediencies or – even worse – political contributions, undermine America’s moral authority and international leadership.
Biden’s latest action should indicate to Ankara what it should have realized by now: that its bromance with the U.S. is over. Courtesy of Biden, Turkey and China are now in the same boat. It’s time to start rowing.
*Professor in OSTİM Technical University and co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS)
Economy Minister willing to resign if double-digit growth isn’t secured by yearend
12:33,
YEREVAN, APRIL 29, ARMENPRESS. If Armenia fails to record a double-digit economic growth by yearend, the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan says he’d resign.
Asked by reporters what he’ll do in the event of failing to secure the double-digit growth he’s been vowing to ensure since taking office, he answered : “I will resign.”
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan