Author: Arbi Tashjian

The Academy has disqualified Armenia’s submission in the best foreign-language film race, Zemletryaseniye (Earthquake).

“The committee deemed that Earthquake did not meet submission requirements,” a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences told on Wednesday. “Armenia’s selection committee was notified of the decision and given the opportunity to submit another film for consideration.”

The Academy’s problem with the film was that there are too many Russians and an insufficient number of Armenians among the crew, a spokesperson for Mars Media, the Moscow-based production company of Earthquake, told THR.

Mars Media sent to the Academy documents proving that the film was a coproduction between Armenia and Russia.

“We still hope that the film will be put on the list,” Ruben Dishdishyan, head of Mars Media, said in a statement, adding that the film was “by 90 percent made by Armenians from Armenia, Russia and France”.

Earthquake, a $3 million disaster movie directed by Sarik Andreasyan, is a dramatized recreation of one of the Soviet Union’s most devastating natural disasters — the Spitak earthquake in northern Armenia in December 1988.

The pic was Armenia’s fifth submission in the best foreign-language film Oscar category since the country gained independence in 1991.

None of the previous submissions — including If Only Everyone by Nataliya Belyauskene, Autumn of the Magician by Ruben Gevorkyants and Vahe Gevorkyants, Vodka Lemon by Hiner Saleem and Symphony of Silence by Vigen Chaldranyan — has been nominated for or won an award.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a “stable peace” as he visited mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, several months after pushing for an end to a festering territorial feud while in arch-foe Armenia, AFP reports.

The pontiff met in private with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev – who is accused by rights groups of ruthlessly stamping out dissent in the energy-rich country – before addressing a gathering of government officials.

The Pope – on the last leg of a Caucasus tour that also took him to Georgia – reiterated calls for peace to he made three months ago in neighbouring Armenia, with the two country’s locked in a long-simmering conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh.

“There is no alternative to patiently and assiduously searching for shared solutions by means of committed and sustained negotiations,” he said in a carefully worded statement that did not mention the disputed territory explicitly, expressing sympathy “to the many people who suffer the effects of bloody conflicts.”

Calling for “a new phase for stable peace in the region”, the pope invited all players “to grasp every opportunity to reach a satisfactory solution.”

The delegation headed by the Director of the Belarussian GPS/GLONASS navigation satellite system will visit Armenia on September 19.

During a three-day visit the delegation will hold negtoiations at the Armenian Ministry of Defense and participate in the testing of the system.

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the RA Prosecutor’s Office and introduced to the leadership of the Office – members of the Board, prosecutors from the marzes and garrisons and heads of the subdivisions the newly appointed Prosecutor General Arthur Davtian.

At the beginning, the President of Armenia thanked the former Prosecutor General for his efforts and noted that during his tenure there has been register certain progress in the upholding the rule of law in the country, as well as in the fight against crimes and abuses, including in the system of the Prosecutor’s Office.

The President wished all the best to the Prosecutor General Arthur Davtian and the employees of the Prosecutor’s Office headed by him in furthering their activities. Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Arthur Davtian possesses all necessary knowledge, experience, willpower so that our country could register success with the assistance of the employees of the Prosecutor’s Office. The President of Armenia stressed the importance of bringing together efforts and giving a new impetus to the activities of the Office and noted that in any country there can be no success in the economic or public and political areas as long as there is no progress in the judicial system.

Gevork Kostanian thanked the President for the assessment of his work and assured that combined efforts of all employees of the Office allowed the structure to make a step forward. The former Prosecutor General expressed confidence that works aimed at the establishment in our country of law and order and strengthening of the legal system will continue with the same principled stance, consistency, and energy. He wished every success to the newly appointed Prosecutor General.

Prosecutor General Arthur Davtian thanked for the trust vested in him. He assured that the staff of the Prosecutor’s Office is well aware of the problems facing the country as well as of the importance of solving the tasks set before the Office and will do his best to find the most efficient avenues to solve them and meet everyone’s expectations.

– Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and peoples. On Sept. 22, the Association for Trauma Outreach & Prevention (ATOP) and Meaningfulworld will celebrate The International Day of Peace at the majestic Down Town Association located in trendy Tribeca.

This year’s theme is “Art for Peace” and the work of several accomplished artists will be available for sale through a silent auction. ATOP/Meaningfulworld will recognize and honor several organizations and individuals whose work deserves special recognition for their efforts made to achieve peace locally and globally.

This year Meaningfulworld is also celebrating its 26th Anniversary of healing, peace-making, transforming pain and generational trauma, and establishing Peace and Forgiveness Gardens globally in over 46 countries and 20 states in the United States.

Along with the auction fine art, distinguished guests will be honored with peace awards in recognition of their dedication and contributions to serving humanity and building peace. Distinguished peace award recipients include H.E. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) of the Republic of Armenia; Ms. Ashley Tobias, the developer of an anti-bullying educational program; and the International Institute of Peace.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Mnatsakanyan is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and holds a Master’s Degree from Victoria University, U.K., in Western European Politics.

Mnatsakanyan is decorated with the Medal of Mkhitar Gosh of Armenia (2011) for distinguished service in diplomacy. He is an advocate of human rights and an educator on genocide. He has played a critical role in the ongoing implementation of parliamentary resolutions, laws and declarations, which have led to the acknowledgement and assertion of the Armenian Genocide.

On Sept. 11, 2015, after years of persistent diplomatic efforts, the Republic of Armenia succeeded in having the UN General Assembly adopt by consensus a generic resolution on all genocides. The resolution establishes Dec. 9 as the “International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the Prevention of this Crime.

Ambassador Mnatsakanyan spoke about his “sense of duty” while presenting the proposed resolution to the General Assembly on September 11. Paying tribute to Raphael Lemkin who had coined the term genocide, the Ambassador stated “For the victims of our past inaction, the International Day will render dignity. The denial to millions of the sanctity of life is ultimate injustice. Justice denied haunts generations of survivors. We speak from experience.”

Photo: Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

 

Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been appointed Uzbekistan’s acting president, TASS reports.

Uzbekistan’s parliament recommended the Central Election Commission to organize presidential elections in accordance with the country’s law.

Uzbekistan’s first President Islam Karimov died after suffering a stroke at the age of 78 on September 2.

The Armenian translation of Turkish historian Taner Akcam has been published in Yerevan, Akunq.net reports.

The book titled “Forced Islamization of Armenians: Silence, Denial and Assimilation” consists of three parts. In the first part the author speaks about the impossibility of an unbiased study of the Armenian Genocide issue in Turkey, about the difficulties and persecutions he has passed through.

The second part presents the story of discriminatory and biased discussions on the Turkish edition of Armenian Officer Sarkis Torossian’s Memoires, which raised a second wave of criticism against Taner Akcam, who tracked down Torossian’s family in America.

In the third part the author presents the policy of forces Islamization and assimilation of Armenians between 1915 and 1918. Taner Akcam describes this as a structural element of the Armenian Genocide.

The book has been translated and prepared for publication at the Research Center on Western Armenian Studies. Meline Anumyan has translated the book from Turkish, Haykazun Alvrtyan is the managing editor.

The book published under the sponsorship of the Jerair Nishanian Foundation is dedicated to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan has issued the following statement on the events in Armenia:

“We are following developments with growing concern.  We deplore the death of another police officer this afternoon and wish to express our condolences to his family. With a view to the growing risk of escalation, we call on all sides to show maximum restraint from violence and to refrain from provocations. The situation should be resolved and public order restored in compliance with the rule of law.”

On July 21, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the northern direction of Martakert.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain).

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic) and staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azeri side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-lines.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

Renowned film director Roman Balayan has been named the winner of this year’s “Let There Be Light” Award of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival.

The solemn award-giving ceremony was held at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin today.

“It’s a great honor for me to receive this award at this place,” the director said. “Before arriving here I never felt what I feel now,” he said.