Author: Antonian Lara

On 26 June 2015 the Executive Committee of the AGBU London Chapter organised an evening, “Living Memory” at the Chelsea Old Town Hall  dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide and  the rebirth of the Armenian nation.

The first part of the event (4-7 P.M.) was an impressive exhibition, “The memory is still alive”, dedicated to the works of the young painter Nairi Afrikian. The visitors watched the exhibits of this very talented artist with great interest and admiration. Some of the works were a combination of painting and sculpture, manifesting a style which uniquely belongs to Nairi Afrikian. It should be noted that the exhibition was dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

The second part of the evening was opened by Assadour Guzelian, who welcomed the honorary guests attending the function, such as Baroness Caroline Cox, Ex-Mayor of Chelsea Councillor Condon Semmondz, Honorary Alderman Mushtaq Lasharie and Counsellor of the Armenian Embassy Tigran Galstyan, as well as the audience. After making a short reference to the Armenian Genocide, Guzelian read the following passage from Winston Churchill’s book, “The Aftermath” regarding the extermination of the Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish Government during WWI. “There is no reasonable doubt that this crime was planned and executed for political reasons. The opportunity presented itself to clearing Turkish soil of a Christian race.” Guzelian then read the letter he received from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in response to his Open Letter written in February to P. M. Cameron, President Obama and President Netanyahu about recognising the Armenian Genocide. The letter confirmed that the British Government had not altered its position. Guzelian pointed out that “powerful governments like USA and Great Britain can bury JUSTICE, but they should always remember that TRUTH has never had a grave in history. One cannot bury the truth.”

The founder-director of the Komitas Institute Ara Sarafian, a historian specialising in late Ottoman and modern Armenian history, delivered a lecture entitled “Let us remember the Armenians living in Turkey today”.  He referred to his meetings with the Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals, representatives of various organisations, public figures, ordinary citizens and peasants in different provinces of Turkey, illustrating his talk with maps and pictures. In his very interesting lecture Sarafian pointed out that compared to the undemocratic and dictatorial regime of two decades ago, the situation has improved considerably in present day Turkey. Many issues, which were considered taboo and could not be publically referred to then, including the Armenian Genocide, can now be openly discussed, and as a result many hidden Islamised Armenians are returning to their roots. Sarafian emphasised that for the pursuit and peaceful solution of the Armenian question, we must ensure the cooperation of Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals, public figures and organisations. A reputed specialist in his subject, Ara Sarafian’s lecture had a great impact on the audience.

One of the greatest friends of Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian people, Baroness Caroline Cox delivered an excellent speech full of emotion, entitled “The spirit of Armenia: Beauty from the ashes of destruction”. After a short reference to the Armenian Genocide centennial commemoration event on April 24 at the Tsitsernagapert in Armenia, Baroness Cox spoke about the atrocities perpetrated by Azerbaijan on Armenians of Artsakh during the war. She condemned barbaric crimes committed by Azerbaijan and praised the Armenians of Artsakh for their Christian spirit and patriotism. She narrated many moving stories related to her 82 humanitarian visits to Armenia and Artsakh.

According to Baroness Cox, during the Azerbaijan-Artsakh war, the Azeris launched 400 Grad rockets every day on Stepanagerd. Hundreds of missiles and rockets were launched, amongst other sites on historic Gantsassar Church. Only one bomb fell on the church, but did not explode!  Baroness Cox attributed this to Divine intervention. She spoke from her heart and that is why her moving stories made some members of the audience cry! Baroness Cox ended her speech by reading the English translation of a poem written by Gegham, a ten year old Armenian boy from Artsakh.

“The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide marked a new stage, a new beginning in the irreversible process of international recognition,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Lubomír Zaorálek.

He emphasized the fact that resolutions are being submitted to parliaments with the participation and support of all political forces. Among the recent cases the Foreign Minister stressed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Bolivia, Austria, Luxemburg and Brazil.

“We value the statements from leaders of different countries. In this context I would like to emphasize the recent statements by the German President and the Belgian Prime Minister. I would like to stress once again that the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide is irreversible,” he said.

Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia Nerses Bedros XIXpassed away Thursday after suffering from a heart attack, reports.

The renowned Egyptian patriarch, who resides in Lebanon, is widely known for serving the Armenian community and promoting its interests. The patriarch had visited Armenian communities in Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. to boost Armenian catholic schools.

At his request, the archbishop of Mardine Ignace Maloyan, martyr of the Armenian genocide of 1915, was proclaimed blessed by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

The Catholicos Patriarch also sent the first parish priest to Moscow in 2002 in an attempt to begin a new mission among the Armenian Catholics in Russia, following the opening in 1991 of missions inArmenia and Georgia.

Bedros XIX was ordained as a priest in Cairo in 1965. He was known to his perish in Heliopolis as Father Pierre Taza.

In 1999, the 75-year-old succeeded Hovhannes Bedros XVIII Kasparian as the Catholicos Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics and took the name Nerses Bedros XIX after Bishops of the Holy Synod of the Catholic Armenian Synod elected him.

In the same year, the patriarch was enthroned and received the Ecclesiastical Communion from Pope John Paul II.

 

 

 

Armenian singer Hayk Mkhoyan has returned with golden medals from the VI Bulgarian National Championship of Folklore “Euro Folk 2015” and the “Voices of the Time 2015” folk festivals held in Bulgaria from May 7 to 17. The festivals featured participants from about 60 countries.

Mkhoyan was conferred an award in the “Individual Performance” category after he impressed the jury with a cappella performance of “Horovel” by Komitas.

This was the first time Armenia participated in this international festival, which has been held for eight years now.

“The songs I performed (“Krunk,” “Horovel,” “Dle Yaman”) were translated so that the listeners and the jury can understand their meaning, and as a result reference was made to the Armenian Genocide,” Hayk Mkhoyan told a press conference today.

According to him, it was important to raise the issue of the Armenian Genocide from an international podium, especially in the presence of the Turkish delegation,” he said.

The singer believes this international competition will open new perspectives of cooperation. He has already received an invitation to participate in the world folk championship.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was hit by a voting scandal, when two countries’ votes were discounted.

The reported that Montengro and Macedonia’s voting results have been disqualified after it was discovered the two countries used votes from the televoting to account for 100% of the country’s votes, rather than 50% with 50% coming from a jury, as is required.

The Eurovision Song Contest press office released the information in a statement after Sweden’s victory was confirmed.

The statement reads: “The jury results of FYR Macedonia and Montenegro for the grand final have been excluded after consultation of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the contest’s independent voting observer, and upon the decision of the executive supervisor and the chairman of the reference group.

“In both countries, televoting applied for 100%. The exclusion of two juries will be further discussed in the next reference group meeting in June.”

The results will not affect Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

US mathematician John Nash, who inspired the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, has died in a car crash with his wife, police have said, BBC News reports.

Nash, 86, and his 82-year-old wife Alicia were killed when their taxi crashed in New Jersey, they said.

The mathematician is renowned for his work in game theory, winning the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994.

His breakthroughs in maths – and his struggles with schizophrenia – were the focus of the 2001 film.

Russell Crowe, who played him, tweeted: “Stunned… My heart goes out to John & Alicia & family. An amazing partnership. Beautiful minds, beautiful hearts.”

The film’s director, Ron Howard, also tweeted his tribute to the “brilliant” John Nash and his “remarkable” wife.

Alicia Nash helped care for her husband, and the two later became prominent mental health advocates.

 

On 20 May Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the French Senate and met a group of Senators.

The President briefed the Senators on the state-building process in Artsakh, its domestic and foreign policy, the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement process, regional trends and responded to questions.

The President underlined that official Stepanakert attaches importance to the development of bilateral relations with France, a friendly country and one of the cradles of democracy, a country which  became a second homeland for hundreds of thousands of Armenians, who escaped their historic land following the Armenian Genocide.

The President rated high the role of France in the Karabakh conflict settlement process and in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to France Vigen Chitechyan was present at the meeting.

Asbarez – A delegation of United States election observers traveled to Artsakh in early May to closely observe what resulted in a successful and democratic parliamentary elections.

The delegation was  comprised of elected officials Andreas Borgeas from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, Gail Pellerin the Santa Cruz County Clerk, experts Karin Mac Donald Director of the UC Berkeley Election Administration Research Center, Kristen Abajian from the UC Davis Human Rights Initiative and Peter Abajian from Paros Foundation, as well as Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA WR) Board Member Nareg Kitsinian and Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan.

“The electoral process in this Republic is fair and transparent,” stated Nareg Kitsinian, Esq., board member of the ANCA-WR. “As election observers, we witnessed an organically high voter turnout as the citizens believe it is of paramount importance to the continued independence of the Republic that they fought for. As a testament to the Republic’s commitment to the democratic process, this election was conducted with a distinguished level of integrity that would parallel any democratic country in the western world.”

The traveling delegation also used the opportunity to meet with the government’s leadership prior to the election to understand the methodology and process of the elections.

During a meeting with the Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission, Srbuhi Arzumanyan, the U.S. observation team was able to understand the process of the election and the structure of the polling locations. Observers were particularly impressed by the number of poll workers required at each polling location. During a given election, there are nine poll workers assigned to a location and all must undergo seven days of training in order to qualify as a poll worker. The poll worker positions are not all stipend, rather, the people of Artsakh see this as an important part of their civic duty.

Following the meeting with Central Election Commission, the delegation had the honor of meeting with President Bako Sahakyan where they expressed their gratitude on being invited to observe the election and offer their guidance to further improve the process. The President expressed his and the people’s willingness to hear their recommendation and further assured the observers that they would witness a transparent election.

The delegation also had the opportunity to meet with the Speaker of the Artsakh Parliament, Ashot Ghoulyan and Prime Minister Arayik Harutyuyan to get their perspective on how the election process had changed since the presidential election in 2012. During these meetings they also had the unique insight on how the role the political parties in the country played in affecting voter turnout.

Finally, in meetings with the Republic of Artsakh’s Human Right’s Defender, Yuri Hayrapetyan, observers voiced their concerns over accessibly issues for voters with disabilities. Mr. Hayrapetyan was open to their recommendations and concerns noting that the country is still in the process of making the polls more accessible to those who are physically handicapped.

In a preliminary report issued after the election, the University of California Election Observation and Technical Assistance Team as “a fair, accurate, and transparent election process.”

As observers they also noted that women in Nagorno-Karabakh were equal participants in the elections in every aspect including participating as voters, poll workers, party representatives, government officials, and candidates. “I am impressed how Artsakh conducted its national elections consistent with international standards, I think there are lessons we in the U.S. can learn from them, especially in terms of voter turnout and civic engagement,” commended Fresno County Supervisor Andreas Burgeas.

Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin has offered to continue collaboration to develop the process of elections in the Republic, “I found the election in Nagorno-Karabakh to be fair, accurate, secure, and transparent. The commitment of the voters and poll workers would rival any country. The citizens of this democratic republic are very engaged as demonstrated by the 70.6% turnout in the May 3 election.”

“As someone who has participated in elections in the United States as a poll worker, a member of a campaign, and as a candidate, I am impressed by the level of commitment the people of Artsakh have for their elections,” noted ANCA-WR Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan. “The level of dedication observes witnessed during these elections are representative of the strength of democracy and the commitment to sovereignty the people of Artsakh practice. We in the U.S. can learn from their example in better exercising our right to vote,” she added.

According to NKR Central Election Commission, 70.6% of voters came out for the sixth parliamentary elections of the country,, during which 33 members of parliament were either re-elected or newly elected for a ten-year term. Approximately one hundred and six international observers from 30 countries gathered in the Artsakh Republic to monitor the vote. Observers from the European Union, United States and countries like Zimbabwe and Israel were present. For the first time in Artsakh’s election history, the elections were also observed by scholars and experts from Brazil and Mexico.

California Assemblymember Chris Holden has introduced legislation to extend the statute of limitations for the victims of human rights abuses.  AB 15 was approved on May 6 with unanimous, bi-partisan support in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. The vote was 10 to 0.   The bill now goes to the Assembly floor for consideration, the reports.

AB 15 will bring California law into line with federal regulations for filing civil lawsuits based on acts of genocide, torture, war crimes and human trafficking. In California, these human rights abuses are brought as assault, battery or wrongful death claims and carry a two-year statute of limitations. AB 15 extends the statute of limitations to ten years aligning the time limit for filing a human rights claim in California with current federal law.

“This reform is long overdue. Victims often suffer mental and physical problems that prevent them from filing quickly,” pointed out Assemblymember Holden. “Because of that, many of these crimes are never prosecuted and the abuse continues. This bill would help the victims and their families find some measure of justice in the face of these horrific crimes.”

This bill would also revive eligible claims finally allowing victims of the Holocaust, Armenian Genocide, and other historic incidences of human rights violations to seek a remedy for the abuse they suffered.

“Passing this measure would be a critical step towards re-balancing the scales in human rights cases where short filing deadlines currently favor abusers over victims,” said Amanda Werner, Legal and Policy Fellow with International Corporate Accountability Roundtable. “Though the number of cases brought under AB 15 would be small in number, they would be significant in allowing a remedy for survivors, ensuring that perpetrators of the worst human rights abuse cannot find safe harbor within California’s borders.”

AB 15 is supported by a number of local, national and international human rights advocates including Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), American Jewish World Service, Amnesty International, Consumer Attorneys of America, EarthRights International, International Corporate Accountability Roundtable and Oxfam.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have appeared outside the hospital with their daughter, who was born earlier on Saturday, the reports.

The princess slept in her mother’s arms during her first public appearance on the steps of St Mary’s Hospital. They then left for Kensington Palace.

The couple emerged from the London hospital to crowds of well-wishers and the world’s media. They stood on the steps for a while before heading back into the hospital to put the princess in a car seat. Prince William then drove them to Kensington Palace.