Author: Bedik Zaminian

Turkish Press: Turkish-Armenian artist Hagop Ayvaz’s exhibition extended | Daily Sabah

Bedik Zaminian
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Feb 21 2021
ISTANBUL Events
Feb 21, 2021 11:24 am GMT+3

A photo of Aşod Madatyan (L), Torkom Sırabyan (C) and Hagop Ayvaz in 1934. (Courtesy of Yapı Kredi Culture Arts)
by DAILY SABAH
Feb 21, 2021 11:24 am

The Yapı Kredi Culture Center’s unique exhibition featuring works and archives of Istanbul-based theater performer and publisher Hagop Ayvaz, titled “Coulisse: Hagop Ayvaz, A Chronicler of Theater,” will continue to welcome visitors until July 25.

The exhibition, which was prepared in collaboration with the Theater Foundation of Turkey and Hrant Dink Foundation, was launched on Dec. 15 and was scheduled to stay open until Feb. 21. Due to the great interest of visitors, however, the show will be extending its displays of almost 600 theatrical pieces, manuscripts in Ottoman, Armenian and Turkish, some 500 periodicals, brochures, approximately 12,000 photographs, posters, cartoons, drawings and other visual pieces.

The exhibition, named after Ayvaz’s Kulis magazine, which focused on Armenian art and culture, also displays 1,104 issues of the magazine and special pieces from Ayvaz’s personal belongings and archives.

Actors in the play “Besa” by the Osmanlı Theater Company. (Courtesy of Yapı Kredi Culture Arts)

The exhibition consists of three sections with the first focusing on Armenian-language theater productions in Istanbul during the period of Ayvaz’s career.

The second section is centered around Kulis magazine and its cultural impact, while the final section features many artists, communities, plays and venues that were key to Ottoman and Turkish theater.

Ayvaz was born in 1911 and had his stage debut in 1928 as an extra in a play on the Narlıkapı Şafak Theater when he was only 17 years old. His first lead role was in the play, “The Trail of the Serpent,” which was shown at the Beyoğlu Yenişehir Garden Theater in 1930.

Ayvaz went on to become a unique theater actor, taking part in many plays, while he also published periodicals, most importantly Kulis, which received multiple awards throughout its five-decade runtime. Later in his career, he also started directing.

Ayvaz was a distinguished artist, writer and thinker. He received the 1997 Press Service Award of the Writers Union of Turkey and the 2005 Honorary Award from the Theater Critics Association of Turkey. He passed away on Sept. 29, 2006, and was buried at the Şişli Armenian Cemetery.

November 9 declaration contains no provision on creating transport corridor – MFA responds Aliyev

Bedik Zaminian

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 19:36,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The 9th point of the trilateral agreement signed between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020 contains no provisions on creating any transport corridor. Any road or communication passing through the territory of Armenia has always been and will be exclusively under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Armenia, Anna Naghdalyan, spokesperson of the MFA Armenia announced, answering the question of ARMENPRESS news agency.

  • Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev has announced that in the joint declaration signed on November 10 there is special provision about creating a corridor linking Nakhichevan with Azerbaijan. How would you comment on this?
  • The 9th point of the November 9 trilateral declaration is about the unblocking of all regional infrastructures and this is the approach of Armenia for the future regional stability and cooperation. The mentioned point does not contain any idea of creating a corridor. Any road or communication passing through the territory of Armenia has always been and will be exclusively under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Armenia


Polish politician pens letter to Macron, asks to help hold Aliyev liable for war crimes against Armenians

Bedik Zaminian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 8 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

Polish politician and lawyer Tomasz Lech Buczek has sent a letter to French president Emmanuel Macron, asking to intervene to hold Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev liable for the war crimes against Armenians committed during the Artsakh War.

In addition, he has attached 150 copies of the brochure on Azerbaijan’s war crimes.

The letter reads:

Dear Mr. President,

I am asking you to intervene in the case of bringing to criminal liability the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who, as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, committed documented crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Armenians during the Karabakh conflict in 2020 on the basis of: Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims (1949) with Additional Protocols (1977), The Hague Declarations on the Prohibition of Gaseous Missiles and Expanding or Flattening in the Human Body (1899), Fourth Hague Convention on the Principles of War on Land (1907), Protocol on ban on the use of chemical and gas weapons (1925).

I am asking Your Excellency, the President, to designate a place for trial of Azerbaijani criminals on French territory.

I am also asking for a ban on İlham Aliyev, his entire family and Azerbaijani dignitaries to enter France and the European Union.

To the letter I adds a few copies of my publication about Azerbaijan’s War crimes against the Armenians – Karabakh 2020.

Tomasz Lech Buczek earlier sent letter and brochures to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Azerbaijani political prisoners’ families hold protest in front of US Embassy in Baku

Bedik Zaminian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 9 2021
Azerbaijani political prisoners’ families hold protest in front of US Embassy in Baku
18:33, 09.02.2021

Members of the families of political prisoners tried to hold a protest in front of the US Embassy in Baku. According to Turan, among the protesters were editor of xeberman.com Polad Aslanov’s wife, director of Azel.TV Afgan Sadigov’s wife and members of the families of those arrested under the ‘case of Ganja’. The family members were holding photos of the political prisoners.

The protesters have called on the US Embassy and the diplomatic representations of other countries, as well as representatives of international organizations to take part in the trials over the arrested.

Aslanov’s and Sadigov’s wives reminded about their husbands’ hunger strikes and health problems. Police officers arrived at the scene and stole the posters and photos from the demonstrators. In regard to the demonstration, the US Embassy told Turan the following: “We support the rights of everyone to protest peacefully and their right to freedom of assembly.”

According to the information of the Union for Freedom of the Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan, there are currently 146 political prisoners in the country’s prisons.

Earthquake Shakes Armenia’s Capital

Bedik Zaminian
Big News Network
Feb 13 2021

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake shook the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on Feburary 13, prompting residents to flee buildings into the streets in fear of an aftershock.

Armenia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations reported some destruction in Yerevan, and local news reports said items were knocked off shelves in stores.

The ministry has reported about 20 minor aftershocks.

One person was injured, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on his Facebook page.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said the quake’s magnitude was 4.7 and its epicenter was 13 kilometers south of Yerevan.

With reporting by AP 

Authorities backpedal on snap elections, knowing Robert Kocharyan has never lost them – Aram Harutyunyan

Bedik Zaminian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 8 2021

“Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan has no contender in our political arena,” the leader of “National Accord” party Aram Harutyunyan told a press conference on Monday. Harutyunyan added that the only way out of the existing situation in Armenia is through consolidation around Kocharyan. 

“In his recent interview, the president presented clear assessments. And his decision to run for elections was very important. He will participate in the political processes, as a patriotic person would act in the current situation,” said Harutyunyan. 

The politician believes Robert Kocharyan is a symbolic image for the Armenian nation, like Garegin Nzhdeh who is acknowledged for liberating Syunik. 

“Later, Kocharyan was sent to prison. When we have the symbol of Artsakh war victory in prison, Shushi was naturally handed over to the enemy. Those were signs revealing Pashinyan’s intentions. The one thing we should appreciate in Pashinyan is that he always reveals his intentions for the future. With this respect, everything was clear,” said the politician.

As to holding snap parliamentary elections, Harutyunyan said authorities are now backpedaling on holding them, bearing in mind that Kocharyan has never lost elections. 

“The fact that Robert Kocharyan was behind the bars was a shame for all of us. That meant that we had not perceived our victory, and the motherland was not ours,” said Harutyunyan.

Armenia actively negotiates purchase of Russian Sputnik V vaccine – Minister

Bedik Zaminian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 3 2021

Armenia is ready to buy a new batch of Russian Sputnik V vaccine, Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said at a meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kopirkin and the Adviser of the Russian Embassy Pavel Kurochkin.

During the meeting the parties discussed the directions of cooperation achieved within the framework of the sitting of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission between the Ministries of Health of the two countries.

Anahit Avanesyan attached importance to the regular Russian support to Armenia – including vaccines, laboratory-diagnostic equipment, and mobile diagnostic-therapeutic clinics.

The Armenian-Russian health conferences, which are held annually in Moscow and Yerevan, play an important role in the development of bilateral relations, she said.

Minister Avanesyan thanked Russia for its invaluable assistance in the fight against the new coronavirus (COVID-19), emphasizing that it has actively cooperated with its Russian counterparts over the past year.

“Close cooperation with the Russian side, regular information and exchange of experience are very important for us, and today our specialists are actively negotiating the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine,” the Minister said.

In this context, she noted that the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia has signed a cooperation agreement within the framework of the COVAX FACILITY initiative, but Armenia is ready to acquire additional batches of Russian Sputnik V vaccine within the framework of this initiative.

Armenian military denies Azerbaijan’s allegations on cross-border shooting

Bedik Zaminian

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 10:36, 2 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of Armenia is denying the information spread by the Azerbaijani State Border Service which claimed that the Armenian military has opened gunfire in the direction of a village in Azerbaijan’s Ghazakh District.

“There is no such thing, it’s a total lie,” an Armenian Ministry of Defense spokesperson told ARMENPRESS.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Opposition Lawmaker Asks PACE to Pressure Baku into Releasing POWs

Bedik Zaminian

January 25,  2020



Leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party Edmon Marukyan holds protest at PACE session in Strasbourg, France on Jan. 25

Opposition lawmaker Edmon Marukyan from the Bright Armenia party, who is a member of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe, is raising awareness about the issue Armenian prisoners of war who are still in Azeri custody, in an attempt to make the international community exert pressure on Azerbaijan to release them.

He released a video from the PACE winter session from Strasbourg, displaying a “Freedom To The Armenian Prisoners of War Kept In Azerbaijan” sign before the session began.

“We started the PACE session by raising our voice of protest and demanding to exert international pressure upon Azerbaijan with the demand of immediately releasing the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives,” Marukyan, who is the leader of the Bright Armenian party said.

Leader of two political groups at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have raised the issue of Armenian prisoners of war with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, Marukyan said.

“As a result of our work done during the discussions in the PACE political groups this morning and during the plenary session, the leaders of the two political groups Aleksander Pociej (European People’s Party) and Jacques Maire (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) raised the issue of releasing the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe,” Marukyan said in a Facebook post.