Author: Chakrian Hovsep

Armenian PM accepts Putin’s invitation to visit Russia — Kremlin

Chakrian Hovsep
TASS, Russia
Feb 21 2022
The latest meeting between the two leaders took place in Russia’s Sochi in November 2021

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to pay an official visit to Russia and this invitation has been accepted, the Kremlin press service said on Monday.

“In view of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Armenia to be marked in April, Vladimir Putin invited Nikol Pashinyan to pay an official visit to our country. The invitation was accepted with gratitude,” it said.

The latest meeting between the two leaders took place in Russia’s Sochi in November 2021 but they maintain telephone contacts.

Meanwhile, the press service of the Armenian government said that Pashinyan invited Putin to visit Yerevan. It said that the two leaders discussed several other topics linked with the efforts toward strengthening stability and establishing lasting relations of peace and cooperation in the region, and the current situation in the Russian-Ukrainian relations.


Minister presents main goals of 2030 education development strategy

Chakrian Hovsep

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 13:06, 21 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Two goals are placed in the basis of the 2030 education development program of the government, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Vahram Dumanyan said at a press conference.

“Everyone has their talent, the first objective is to discover that talent. Everyone must have the chance to express themselves,” he said.

He said the second goal is for education to be high-quality, competitive, based on national values in all phases of education. He said that this all should contribute to the development and strengthening of Armenia.

“I’d like to emphasize that the strategy we presented is in line with the Government Program, as well as the 2050 Armenia Transformation Strategy,” Dumanyan added.

The California Courier Online, February 24, 2022

Chakrian Hovsep

1-         Don’t Let Turks Buy Land in Armenia;

            Impose Tariffs on Turkish Imports

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Armenian Librarian, Scholar Gia Aivazian Passes Away

3-         Sarky Mouradian Passes Away:

            Armenian Writer-Director, TV Host Was 90

4-         Marderosians sue NBC, US figure skaters over use of song
during Olympics

5-         Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19

************************************************************************************************************************************************

1-         Don’t Let Turks Buy Land in Armenia;

            Impose Tariffs on Turkish Imports

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

The Armenian government must take two important steps prior to opening
the border with Turkey: 1) Forbid Turkish citizens from buying real
estate in Armenia; and 2) Place tariffs on the import of products from
Turkey.

Obviously, Turkish citizens do not have to cross the Armenian border
to be able to buy real estate in Armenia. But, with the opening of the
mutual land border, more Turkish citizens will be able to come to
Armenia, thus increasing the flow of people and products from Turkey.

Allowing the citizens of a hostile country like Turkey to purchase
real estate in Armenia is a serious national security threat,
particularly if these properties are located near sensitive border
areas.

There is a big contradiction between what the Constitution and laws of
Armenia stipulate regarding the purchase of real estate by foreigners
and what is actually practiced. Now that a Constitutional Committee
has been set up to reform the existing Constitution, last amended in
2015, this is the right time to reconsider the existing provisions as
to who can buy real estate in Armenia. There should be a ban on
foreigners’ purchase of properties near Armenia’s border. In addition,
citizens of Azerbaijan and Turkey should not be allowed to purchase
any kind of property anywhere in Armenia.

This problem is particularly urgent because several years ago the
Turkish government adopted a law that forbade the purchase of property
in Turkey by citizens of four countries: Armenia, Cuba, North Korea
and Syria. Citizens of another 35 countries are restricted to purchase
property in Turkey based on the nature and location of the land. One
would think that since the Turkish government has forbidden Armenian
citizens from buying land in Turkey, Armenia should have reciprocated
by banning the purchase of land in Armenia by Turkish citizens.

I wrote an article in 2012, informing Armenian officials of the
Turkish law that banned the citizens of Armenia from buying land in
Turkey and urged “the Armenian Parliament to consider adopting
retaliatory measures against citizens of Turkey interested in
purchasing Armenian properties.” Regrettably, my suggestion was
ignored.

The 1995 Constitution prohibited foreigners from purchasing land in
Armenia. However, this was contradicted by the Armenian government’s
subsequent report to the World Trade Organization: “foreigners have
the right to own real estate properties built on Armenian land.” The
report also stated that “the [Armenian] legislation grants the
Government the power to limit and prohibit foreign investment for
national security concerns.”

In line with the Constitution of 1995, the subsequent Armenian
Constitutions of 2005 and 2015 also stated that “Foreign citizens and
stateless persons shall not enjoy ownership right over land, except
for cases provided for by law.”

If foreigners are not allowed to purchase land or real estate in
Armenia, then how were they able to buy them? In 2019 alone,
foreigners, contrary to the Armenian Constitution, purchased 186
apartments, 72 houses, two factories, nine public properties and even
121 plots of land. How was this possible?

Much more concerning is that citizens of the enemy states of
Azerbaijan and Turkey have been buying properties in Armenia without
any objection. According to the figures released last week by the
Armenian government’s cadastre or official registry of real estate,
from 2010 to 2021 citizens of Azerbaijan purchased six properties in
Armenia, which included five apartments and one public property.
During the same period, citizens of Turkey bought 71 pieces of real
estate, including 55 apartments, five houses, one garage, seven public
properties and three plots of land in Armenia.

I assume that many of the Turkish citizens who purchased real estate
in Armenia are of Armenian origin. I suggest that the Armenian
government make an exception for those who are of Armenian origin, if
and when the purchase of real estate by Turkish citizens is banned.

Finally, turning to the import of products from Turkey and other
countries, the Armenian government must impose tariffs to protect the
viability of domestic production. Since Turkey has a very large
population, it is able to produce items much cheaper due to mass
scale. Armenian producers, unable to compete with them, will go out of
business. Already the Armenian market is flooded with Turkish
products. After opening the border, Turkish products will no longer
have to go through the expense of importing them via Georgia, which
means that they will be even cheaper creating a bigger problem for
domestic producers. Making matters worse, the collapsing value of the
Turkish Lira has made the prices of imported products from Turkey
cheaper.

Before several sectors of Armenia’s economy are completely devastated,
the Armenian government must place tariffs on imported Turkish
products to protect Armenia’s vulnerable producers.

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2-         Armenian Librarian, Scholar Gia Aivazian Passes Away

LOS ANGELES — Armenian librarian and scholar Gia (Dziadzan) Aivazian
passed away on February 10. Aivazian was born in Kavala, Greece on
December 22, 1934.

She received her B. A. (1966) in English literature, a Master’s in
Library Science (1967) and a Candidate in Philosophy degree in Near
Eastern Languages and Cultures (1982) specializing in Armenian
literature — all from the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA).

She was the Librarian for Armenian and Greek at UCLA’s Young Research
Library for many years and was the primary person responsible for the
development of the large internationally known Armenian collection of
that library. Aivazian was awarded the Hagop Meghabard Medal for
Achievement in Armenian Bibliography and Librarianship by the National
Library of Armenia in 1991.

Aivazian lectured, taught, and published articles and conference
papers, primarily in the areas of Armenian literature, folklore, the
press and Armenian women. She strongly supported the UCLA Narekatsi
Chair in Armenian Studies and served for some years as president of
the Friends of the Narekatsi Chair, starting in 2006/7.

She was a co-founder of the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) of Los
Angeles and was a member of the board of the TCA Arshag Dickranian
School. She served on the Armenian General Benevolent Union’s central
committee of America from 1987 to 1990.

Funeral services will be announced.

She is survived by her brother Adam and Ani Aivazian; nephews Sevag
and Krikor Aivazian; great-nephews and nieces Nathan, Sevana, Atam,
Christopher and Haylen; sister Arshalouis Stevenson; nephew and niece
Damian and Anoush Stevenson; great-niece Poppy Stevenson; cousin
Takouhi Torosian and family; Susan Apamian and family; the Apamyan
family in Armenia; the Chuchian family; Sylvia and Dr. Haig Minassian;
Levon and Marie Missirli; Asadour Kouyoumjian; and the entire Aivazian
and Apamian families, relatives and friends.

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3-         Sarky Mouradian Passes Away:

            Armenian Writer-Director, TV Host Was 90

By Erik Pedersen

(Deadline)—Sarky Mouradian, an Armenian writer-director who also
hosted a U.S. TV series in which he interviewed celebrity countrymen,
has died. He was 90.

The Armenian Film Society said he died February 10 in Los Angeles,
where he’d been based for decades.

“The passing of Sarky Mouradian is a huge loss, not just for the
Armenian community but for the film community at large,” the group
said in a statement. “Mr. Mouradian was a pioneer in more ways than
one and was prolific up until his passing at the age of 90. The
Armenian community will remember him for his incredible contributions
to film and television.”

Born on November 15, 1931, in Beirut, Mouradian began performing music
at the age of 16. In 1955, he moved to Boston to continue his
education in music then relocated to Los Angeles in 1960 to pursue his
passion for film. There he attended the Theater of Arts and began
working in the industry.

 He wrote and directed such films as Sons of Sassoun (1973), Tears of
Happiness (1975), Promise of Love (1978) and Alicia (2002). Mouradian
also successfully adapted Franz Werfel’s 1933 novel The Forty Days of
Musa Dagh into a feature film in 1982, after numerous unsuccessful
attempts by filmmakers ranging from Louis B. Mayer to Sylvester
Stallone, the Armenian Film Society. The adaptation repeatedly was
objected to by the Turkish government.

Known as “the Godfather of Armenian Television in the U.S,” Mouradian
established one of the first Armenian TV shows in Los Angeles in 1978.
Armenian Teletime featured interviews with various Armenian celebrity
performers and politicians. The program was also notorious for its
flamboyant ads—for instance, Brand Furniture—which almost invariably
featured Mouradian’s booming tenor.

He continued his work in cultural preservation and documentation on
YouTube, archiving decades of footage while producing original
episodes of his popular show up until his passing.

In 2016, he was awarded a gold medal by the Ministry of Culture of the
Republic of Armenia.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

4-         Marderosians sue NBC, US figure skaters over use of song
during Olympics

By Jordan Mendoza

(USA Today)—Music group Heavy Young Heathens filed a lawsuit on
Thursday against NBC, U.S. Figure Skating and figure skating pair
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, saying their copyright for the song
“House of the Rising Sun” was violated when the pair used it for their
short program earlier this week.

The group, comprising brothers Robert and Aron Marderosian, are known
for their compositions in numerous television shows, movies, trailers,
advertisements and video games, such as ESPN’s “30 for 30,” Adidas,
“Deadpool” and “The Simpsons.” One of their compositions, “House of
the Rising Sun” is based on a traditional folk song, but their version
of it “is a signature song of theirs throughout the world,” as it has
been famously used for the film “The Magnificent Seven” and Ford auto
commercials.

During the team figure skating event of the 2022 Winter Olympics,
Knierim and Frazier used the composition for the short program portion
of the event in which the United States won a silver medal for.

In the lawsuit first obtained by Reuters, the Marderosian brothers
allege they were never contacted by Knierim or Frazier, Team USA or
U.S. Figure Skating about licensing the track for their performance.
They also allege NBC, USA Network and Peacock never inquired either
since it was broadcasted on all mentioned platforms.

“These violations cause great harm to the value of (the Marderosians)
command for such a well known piece of their recording catalog, and
insults the integrity of their professional reputation. While
Knierim/Frazier, USFS, NBC, USA, PEACOCK are all profiting from the
revenue the 2022 Winter Olympics generate, (the Marderosians) have
been and continue to be deprived of what their creation ‘House of the
Rising Sun’ earns them per license,” the lawsuit reads.

Mick Marderosian, the group’s attorney and father, told Reuters the
Knierim and Frazier’s agent “basically refused to listen to our
issue.” He also said NBC removed posts of the performance since the
lawsuit was filed.

The group says they are “entitled to damages in an amount to be proven
at trial.”

This isn’t the first time the group has filed a lawsuit over licensing.

In 2017, they sued Warner Bros. over the use of the theme song for
FOX’s “Lucifer.”

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

5-         Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia continues the fight against COVID-19, as the country continues
promoting the vaccination phase. Armenia’s Ministry of Health
announced on January 11 new restrictions to curb the fast spreading of
the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. From January 22, people above 18
must present either a vaccination certificate or a negative recent
test result prior to entering restaurants, hotels, cinemas and other
similar venues. As of January 30, 842,212 people have been fully
inoculated against COVID-19, or approximately 28-percent of the
population. About 64-percent of the population, or 1,883,413 people,
has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The highest rate of
inoculation is among people between the ages of 35-60. Only 18 to
19-percent of citizens over the age of 65 have received two doses of
the vaccine. The vaccination mandate for employees might be
responsible for the age disparity in vaccination rates. Since October,
employees have been required to provide proof of vaccination or a
negative PCR test every 14 days to their employer. Employees who
choose not to get inoculated against the coronavirus must take tests
at their own expense. A PCR test in Armenia costs roughly 10,000 drams
(about $20).

The MoH also instituted a coronavirus “green pass” in January to enter
cultural and entertainment venues. As of January 22, people can only
enter restaurants, hotels, gyms, libraries, museums, theaters, cinemas
and other cultural sites if they present proof of vaccination, a
negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours or an antibody test from
the previous 24 hours. The mandate, which was announced on January 9,
excludes children under the age of 18, pregnant women, people who
cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and people who have been
previously infected with the coronavirus.

The U.S. State Department on July 26 warned American citizens to
reconsider travel to Armenia due to the increase in cases of the
Covid-19. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Armenia due to COVID-19,
indicating a high level of COVID-19 in the country.” The State
Department also urged U.S. citizens not to travel to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region due to armed conflict. “The U.S. government is
unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in
Nagorno-Karabakh as U.S. government employees are restricted from
traveling there,” the State Department added.

The Armenian government last week made changes in the COVID-19
response measures, shortening the recommended self-isolation time from
14 days to 7 days for vaccinated people and 10 days for unvaccinated
people starting the day of an administered PCR test. The
self-isolation period for the unvaccinated can be shortened down to 7
days in case of producing a negative PCR test result. The Armenian
government cited the policies of the United States CDC and a number of
European countries. The government changed airport regulations,
allowing visitors to enter the arrival hall by maintaining safety
guidelines. The decision took effect February 1. Armenian health
authorities recorded a peak number of positive COVID-19 cases on
February 2.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Armenia reported 3,956 new cases on
Wednesday, the highest number of positive cases registered in one day
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus cases have
been steadily increasing in Armenia since mid-January.

There were 15,339 active COVID-19 cases in Armenia as of February 21.
Armenia has recorded 415,757 coronavirus cases and 8,338 deaths;
392,080 have recovered.

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UNESCO mission deployment to Karabakh sparks tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Chakrian Hovsep

Feb 17 2022


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

UNESCO mission to Nagorno-Karabakh

“UNESCO continues to work to send its mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, negotiations are underway”, this is how the press service of the organization responded to a request from the Armenian news agency Armenpress. The request concerned reports received by Armenia about the destruction of Armenian monuments in the territories that, after the 2020 war in Karabakh, came under the control of Azerbaijan.

Recently, the statement of the Azerbaijani side on the formation of a working group of “specialists in Albanian history and architecture” has been actively discussed in the Armenian society. The working group will reportedly be responsible for removing Armenian inscriptions and other “fictitious traces” from churches that are declared “Albanian” in Azerbaijan.

The Armenian side believes that there is an ongoing process of deliberate destruction of the Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.

  • Armenia vs Azerbaijan: Hearings at the UN International Court of Justice
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Armenia is closely following the statements of the Azerbaijani side regarding historical and religious monuments in the territories controlled by Azerbaijan.

Both the Armenian authorities and the residents of the country believe that Azerbaijan is deliberately eliminating the Armenian traces in Karabakh. In early February, the reason for this was the statement of the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Anar Karimov. He announced the creation of a working group, consisting of local and foreign experts, which was created “to eliminate fictitious traces left by Armenians” in “Albanian” churches.

“Armenians left traces on our monuments, we are now collecting evidence of this”, the minister told reporters.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Hadrut, where he also spoke about Armenian inscriptions:

“Armenians have defiled the Albanian temple in the same way they have desecrated our mosques. But we will restore them. All these inscriptions are false, they were made later”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the unrecognized NKR responded to the statement of the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan. He described it as a gross violation of the decision of the International Court of Justice of December 7, 2021.

On that day, the Hague court issued a ruling on taking urgent measures on the counterclaims of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both countries accuse each other of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Armenian side demanded to take urgent measures before considering the main claim against Azerbaijan and to oblige Baku not to destroy Armenian cultural monuments in the territories that came under the control of Azerbaijan. The court granted this appeal.

According to the court decision, Azerbaijan is obliged “to take all necessary measures to prevent, suppress and punish acts of vandalism and desecration of the Armenian cultural heritage”.

The “Azerbaijani initiative” is not only an open challenge to the decision of the Hague court, but also contradicts Azerbaijan’s statements about its readiness for reconciliation, creates obstacles to establishing peace in the region, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in response.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry considers it a priority and an urgent necessity to send a UNESCO fact-finding mission to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone:

“Recorded cases of vandalism of Armenian monuments, as well as the announcement by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan about the creation of a working group to distort the identity of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage, indicate that this danger is real”.

“At the moment, there are no necessary conditions for sending a mission”

Meanwhile, UNESCO reports that it has not yet been possible to launch a fact-finding mission:

“We continue to work on sending an independent UNESCO technical mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, in accordance with the 1954 Hague Convention [for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict]. We hope that this will become possible in the near future, but at the moment there are no necessary conditions for this. So the discussions are still ongoing”, said spokesman Thomas Mallard.

Armenpress agency addressed the organization with a question: “Can the Azerbaijani interpretation of history become a justification for the destruction of Armenian historical inscriptions and other traces from religious and other monuments?”

UNESCO answered that the historical and cultural heritage “should not become a tool for achieving political goals”:

“We call on all our member states to respect this principle throughout the world”.

According to the official data of the Armenian side, as a result of the 44-day war, approximately 1,500 Armenian monuments – churches, monasteries, fortresses, khachkars (cross-stones), museums with their exhibits – came under the control of Azerbaijan. A year and a half after the war, according to the information that Armenia has received, some of them were completely or partially destroyed or desecrated.

After the online meeting of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France and the head of the European Council in February, information appeared that the parties agreed to deploy a UNESCO mission to Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reports that there are no “specific dates and agreements” yet.

Only way to protect civilians is Azeri withdrawal near villages: Armenia and Artsakh ombudsmen present facts of crimes

Chakrian Hovsep

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 10:28, 17 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan and Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan were on a fact-finding mission from February 14 to 16 regarding human rights in the communities of Taghavard, Karmir Shuka, Aghavno, Khramot and elsewhere in the Republic of Artsakh.

The Human Rights Defender’s Office said in a press release that shootings from Azerbaijan happen nearly every day in Taghavard and Karmir Shuka.

“Just few days ago, on February 11, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire in the direction of residential civilian homes. Walls and roofs of houses were damaged. Women and children were inside the homes at the time of the shooting. A window was hit by the bullets, and at that time a toddler was asleep in the room. The Azerbaijani military servicemen are deployed directly in front of these residential houses, only a few hundred meters away, and people are under their full observation,” the Human Rights Defender’s Office said, adding that the Azerbaijani troops are deployed on the lands owned by the residents: pastures and grasslands.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani soldiers have direct vantage point on the Taghavard public school.

“Separate meetings and discussions with teachers and students revealed that targeted shootings happen also in the direction of the school. Moreover, residents said that in Taghavard and Karmir Shuka the Azerbaijani servicemen are releasing special lights from their positions or vehicles onto residential houses, including inside the homes in order to terrorize the residents. This is frequently done especially at nights or evenings. Moreover, during our time in Artsakh we were directly convinced in the Azerbaijani criminal acts. Particularly, on February 15, around 15:30, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired targeted shots at farmers who were engaged in agriculture in Khramort village on Askeran region, which resulted in a tractor’s tire being damaged. Yesterday, on February 16, between 10:00 – 11:00, when residents were working in the vineyards of Khramort village, they were approached by armed servicemen of Azerbaijan and were forced to leave the field. Moreover, most of the residents who were working were women. In all communities, residents noted that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fire targeted shots whenever they attempt to approach agricultural lands which are even a few hundred meters away. These acts cause the most serious social problems for people. They are deprived of the opportunity to earn income for their families. It is obvious that associated with the seasonal period, not working would lead to serious problems for people. In Aghavno community, people are facing serious problems of drinking and irrigation water supply: Nearly all residents told us how they witnessed Azerbaijani armed servicemen slaughtering cattle and then throwing the remains into the water used by residents of the village. This has caused mass poisoning from the water among the residents of the village: women and children and elderly people were poisoned. Several villages in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia are also deprived of water supply because of the Azerbaijani incursions, the water security in several communities of Syunik province is under real danger.

It is obvious that the Azerbaijani authorities are engaged in a criminal policy of terrorizing peaceful residents and creating an atmosphere of despair, which is of coordinated and targeted nature.

In all places where Azerbaijani armed servicemen are deployed the security of people is disrupted, life is under real danger.

The Azerbaijani servicemen who have appeared in the direct vicinity of villages in Armenia and Artsakh are doing everything to make the life of peaceful population impossible and that life doesn’t restore after the war: they shoot at villages, obstruct farmers from doing agricultural work, steal domesticated animals etc. All facts prove that the criminal actions of Azerbaijani armed servicemen against the peaceful population in both Armenia and in Artsakh are same in nature, with aggressive manifestations in Artsakh.

It is obvious for us that the foundation of this all is the continuous policy of Armenophobia and propaganda of hate of the Azerbaijani authorities against Armenia and Artsakh.

As long as the Azerbaijani authorities are engaged in this policy (and this is the source of their political life), the terroristic criminal actions committed by their armed servicemen won’t stop, therefore the only way to protect the peaceful population is that these servicemen must not be stationed in the vicinity or nearby Armenian villages and roads, in order for peaceful residents to exercise their rights,” Tatoyan and Stepanyan said in a joint statement.

Armenian ombudsman: School in Artsakh’s Taghavard also targeted by Azerbaijani forces

Chakrian Hovsep
panorama.am
Armenia – Feb 17 2022


Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan and his Artsakh counterpart Gegham Stepanyan visited the communities of Taghavard, Karmir Shuka, Aghavno, Khramot and others in Artsakh to collect facts about the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani military against the civilian population.

In a statement summing up the fact-finding mission carried out on February 14-16, Tatoyan says the villages of Taghavard and Karmir Shuka come under Azerbaijani gunfire almost every single day, as a result of which the houses of local residents are damaged.

“Just few days ago, on February 11, Azerbaijani forces opened fire at houses of civilians, damaging walls and roofs of the buildings. Women and children were inside the houses at the time of the shooting. The bullets hit the window of one of the houses, where young children were asleep,” the ombudsman said.

“Azerbaijani soldiers are stationed in close proximity to houses in these communities, at a distance of several hundred meters, and people are fully in their sight,” Tatoyan noted.

Moreover, the ombudsman says the school in Taghavard is under the full observation of the Azerbaijani military.

“Private meetings and discussions with teachers and students revealed that the school also comes under targeted shootings. Moreover, residents said that in Taghavard and Karmir Shuka the Azerbaijani troops are releasing special lights from their positions or vehicles on civilian homes, including inside houses, to terrorize the residents. This frequently happens especially at night or in the evening,” the statement says.

Tatoyan underlines that the Azerbaijani military is constantly preventing the villagers from carrying out agricultural work, opening fire at them, stealing their animals and creating very serious social problems for them.

All this is systematic and has far-reaching plans. The Azerbaijani troops stationed near civilian settlements do everything to create an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness.

“All facts show that the criminal actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen against the civilian population in both Armenia and in Artsakh are identical, with aggressive manifestations in Artsakh.

“It is clear to us that all this stems from the continuous policy of Armenophobia and incitement of enmity towards Armenia and Artsakh by the Azerbaijani authorities,” the ombudsman stated.


CivilNet: Kocharyan could face seven years imprisonment for bribery

Chakrian Hovsep
CIVILNET.AM

15 Feb, 2022 09:02

  • The next meeting of the 3+3 regional negotiation format, which includes the three South Caucasus states – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – and the three neighbouring powers – Iran, Russia and Turkey, will take place in Iran, according to Iranian media.
  • Former President Robert Kocharyan could face seven to twelve years imprisonment for taking bribes during his presidency.
  • A new Armenian church has been consecrated in San Diego, California.

ALT-ROCKER JUSTIN MAYFIELD GIVES TRADITIONAL ARMENIAN FOLK MUSIC THE HIPSTER TREATMENT

Chakrian Hovsep
Feb 10 2022

Alt-rocker Justin Mayfield talks about Ghedtair Composite, a hypnotic blend of Armenian folk standards mixed with a math-rock meets indie-folk hybrid.

By Jay Honeycomb / 10 February 2022

Ghedtair Composite: Music from Armenia is an upcoming album of traditional Armenian folk songs reimagined for the Bandcamp era by Brooklynite Justin Mayfield. The benefit album, releasing 18 February, draws from Mayfield’s high-school period “obsession” with influential Californian band Mr. Bungle, and a compulsion to explore his Armenian heritage. Justin was galvanised by the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, “The country is going through a lot right now,” Mayfield says via zoom, “and there are certain things they need to completely flip over and rethink in order to grow. And this [the album] is obviously not going to help in any way,” Justin laughs.

While not likely to win a Nobel Peace Prize, the album is a hypnotic blend of Armenian folk standards and a math-rock meets indie-folk hybrid. Recorded with a group of Armenian musicians and singers, mostly through file sharing, it features especially haunting vocal contributions from Shauna Topian, Sevana Tchakerian, and Chicagoan up-and-comer Sima Cunningham.  While there are some uneven aspects to the album, as a whole it is an entertaining and idiosyncratic reinterpretation of storied music history. 

Armenian folk music can largely be attributed to the work of Komitas, an 18th-century priest who travelled the country transcribing the music of the people. Komitas is known as a pioneering figure in ethnomusicology, and his music has been interpreted by contemporary musicians such as soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, who earned a Grammy nomination for Gomidas Songs in 2008, and System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, who recently worked with contemporary jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan on a version of “Garuna“. Ghedtair Composite, however, could mark the first time Komitas has been given the hipster treatment.

Justin, who holds a BA in music theory and composition from Muhlenberg College, always had an interest in the ‘other’ and what was different. He would get excited whenever he heard exotic structures. “As a kid, for whatever reason, you can probably psychoanalyse this, I was always looking for something that felt unusual or different melodically, and the way you flat the second note of the scale and sharp the fifth note always felt nice, like it tickled my brain. That is where some Armenian music goes, so maybe that comes from within me.

Despite the interest in his lineage, Mayfield comes across as somewhat challenged by his own cultural identity. “I didn’t get the ‘ian’ end to my name,” he laments when explaining his Northern European paternal origins. “For the Armenian diasporans, it’s like ‘I am in this country because my great-grandparents had to escape the genocide in Armenia in 1915’ and a lot of third-generation Armenians lost connection to their culture because they either chose to assimilate [into the US] or they did their best to keep their culture intact. My family chose the former. I needed to learn about [Armenian] culture. In a way, it helps you understand your family better, and eventually yourself too.” 

He got the opportunity to trace his roots by travelling to Armenia in 2014, taking part in the Birthright Program, a semi-funded three-month volunteer program for those of Armenian heritage. His eyes light up when I ask him about his time there. “There are a lot of aspects of it that are stuck in time. A small example is the cars, they’re mostly old soviet cars, the smell of gasoline permeates everything. The buses are crammed with people [poses as though crammed in a bus]. You’re with people all the time.  You’d be in this restaurant and they wouldn’t bring you the bill because they wanted you to stay, so you’d end up staying there all night drinking and talking by candlelight because the electricity was out. Goofy stuff like that.” It was on this trip that Justin met his fiancée, videographer and photographer Kohar Minassian, who was also taking part in the program. While Mayfield created the artwork for Ghedtair Composite, Kohar did the design and layout.

After his short but rich experience in Armenia, Justin returned to New York and passed the years playing in the indie rock band Sheen Marina, working audio production jobs, and being involved with a local group known as Armenian Creatives, who organise cultural projects around Brooklyn. “It’s a way to find all the young Armenians in the city who work in the arts. It started with ten people. We would get together in someone’s apartment. I wasn’t really involved with the setup of the group – that was two women, Caroline Partamian and Katie Giritlian. They found us through friends, because going to Birthright we connected with a lot of people, and that network grew once we came to New York. We meet at each other’s apartments or in the park and would bring food and talk about what we’re all working on.” 

Life went on like this comfortably. Justin, a night owl, would stay up late working on music in his basement until the small hours. “If I do get up early I normally have a good day after that, but it’s hard.” It wasn’t until stumbling upon an obscure book of Armenian folk music for guitar did Mayfield have his eureka moment. He would combine his passion for and knowledge of music with his search for his Armenian identity. Using the book as his main reference point, Mayfield chose songs that were both popular and less known to give a broader representation of the Armenian folk music canon. “It was really hard to find sheet music for a couple of them that didn’t come from the book. I had to do a lot of Googling.”

Once the songs were sourced and digested – often painstakingly due to Mayfield’s admitted rustiness with sight-reading – he was able to rearrange them around his own brand of alternative rock music. “Who were your biggest influences, from a rock perspective?” I ask. “It started in high school. I was obsessed with Mr. Bungle, which got me into Dillinger Escape Plan, Daughters – all of the Mr. Bungle side projects,” Justin answers.

“I was pretty loose with my interpretations. Some of the songs I flipped and I sped up the tempo and changed the key to a major key, making them sound more joyful. A lot of Armenians feel like we’re only known for the tragic events we’ve experienced, and a lot of the art reflects, that so I wanted to flip that because there’s a lot more to… when you go to Armenia people are blue-collar chip-on-their-shoulder, but they aren’t pretentious there. So I consciously tried to make some of the songs peppier, or weird.”

To get the most out of the project, both for himself and for the legitimacy of the project, Mayfield planned to work with as many Armenian musicians as possible. He found musicians through contacts of the Armenian Creatives. “Some people got back a day after I first emailed them, others were months, months down the line. People were busy. The ones who did agree [to contribute], I sent them rough mixes once I had basic tracks down, but the songs weren’t finished, so a lot of what they sent me back gave me ideas or ways to finish the song.”

The vocal contributions of Topian, Tchakerian, and Cunningham are highlights on the album, as are the smooth bass lines by Noah Garabedian and Daniel Ehramjian. Contributions elsewhere on the album are also of high quality, with “Alagyas” made majestic by Michael Sarian’s trumpet, and “Saren Guka” is given a beautiful steel guitar treatment by Craig Heed. Perhaps the most alluring feature of the album is the cross-breeding of math-rock and the loose time signatures of Armenian folk music.

Traditional Armenian folk music is not based on the European tonal system, but on a system of tetrachords. The last note of one tetrachord is also the first note of the next tetrachord. This means that, theoretically, most Armenian folk music is based on an endless scale. Math rock, on the other hand, is characterised by its rhythmic complexity. Merging these two styles of play manages to feel comfortable while also like it’s discovering new territory in the prog-rock landscape. This fusion is most successfully accomplished on “Havaradim” a track bookended by world-rock and a more psychedelic, meandering outro. As most of the tracks were recorded via file sharing, with musicians in different locations, I was curious as to how the drums, so complicated in their shifting time signatures, were worked out. 

“I did record those in the room with the drummer,” Justin explains, “I play with him [Alex Ruiz] in my main band [Sheen Marina], which is a math-rocky band, so he’s used to playing that kind of stuff. I sent him a demo of it and he learned it and showed up and was able to play it. I did chart him the parts, but he just threw that to the side.”

On the excellent closing track “Saren Guka”, Mayfield comes across as world music curious Beck; it’s a sonic exploration driven by melody. Mayfield’s vocals on “Saren Guka” (and “Es Kez Tesa”) reveal him to be a gentle singer capable of stirring emotions with his restrained croon. After a somewhat a clumsy start, “Es Kez Tesa” reaches the heights and sensibilities of Sigur Rós, with its soaring melody and spacey background. 

On four tracks there is spoken word dialogue running underneath the music. “Those are my grandparents that my dad recorded in 1982. I’ve always had that recording floating around the family,” Justin explains. There are times when the spoken word segments work well, adding a very human layer, but more often they do not, are unintelligible, too frequent, and ultimately distract from the music. After some segway in our conversation I go back and ask Justin again about his reasoning for using them. 

“It’s been a recording that I’ve always had. I hear [his grandfather’s] voice talking while thinking about this music, thinking about them [his grandparents]. There were some parts where I wanted to have something going on spoken word-wise. So I would go through the recordings and find things that I thought would fit. He had a traumatic childhood. He spoke about being mocked or threatened as a kid by soldiers. Some of it was the classic ‘I came to America with one dollar in my pocket.’ It was in my head while I was working on this so I threw it in there,” he says with finality. I sense him becoming perturbed, in the most polite way possible, as though through my questioning he could tell I wasn’t too fond of the generous use of audio samples. I decided to wrap things up.

“What do you feel you’ve accomplished with this project?” I ask him, smiling. He pauses for a several seconds, looking up, thinking. I interject his rumination with “Perhaps a better question is: What did you get from this project?”

“One of the main goals I had with this was to internalise more Armenian music. When you record someone else’s music, it comes out in other ways, it’s like wearing used clothing. I like the idea of taking cultural artifacts and regurgitating them, making them relevant in whatever small way, for whoever hears this.”

As for his future musical plans: “I want to return to doing Armenian music and make the next one a more consistent album, like surf rock. That’s the kind of stuff my main band plays. I have a show tomorrow in Bushwick, right down the street here.” His head turns as he looks at someone who came into the room. 

Ghedtair Composite: Music from Armenia is a brave album. It takes risks and isn’t afraid to be itself. There are a handful of very special moments and a smattering of brilliant ones among the abstract clutter. The album will be released on Bandcamp on 18 February before being released on other streaming services. All sales made through Bandcamp will be donated directly to the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund.

Arukun, Amran. “‘Ghedtair Composite‘ Album Reimagines Armenian Folk Music”. Mirror-Spectator. 25 January 2022

Bayrakdarian’s ‘Gomidas Songs’ Nominated for Grammy,” Loussapatz Weekly (Canada), No. 772, p. 41. 2009.

Birthright Armenia

Komitas. Various articles about church music. Komitas.am

McCollum, Jonathan Ray (2004). “Music, Ritual, and Diasporic Identity: A Case Study of the Armenian Apostolic Church”. (PDF). University of Maryland. p. 11.

“Professor Isabel Bayrakdarian’s album Armenian Songs for Children to be considered for Grammy Award nomination”. US Santa Barbara Department of Music. 18 November 2021.

“Serj Tankian and Tigran Hamasyan record Komitas’ song”. Style News.

Shrum, Tony. Song Premiere: Sheen Marina – “Everything’s the Water”. New Noise Magazine. 28 September 2018.

Blinken to talk with Lavrov

Chakrian Hovsep

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he is planning to hold a phone talk on February 12 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reports TASS.

“I am planning to underscore the unity and resolve of [allies]”, Blinken said.

Last time Blinken and Lavrov held a phone talk on February 1.

EU, France Mediate Release of 8 POWs

Chakrian Hovsep
by Asbarez Staff

 

 February 7, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, News, Top Stories

Eight Armenian POWs were released on Feb. 7 in an effort mediated by France and EU

Through a mediation effort from the European Union and France, Azerbaijan has released eight more prisoners of war who arrived in Armenia on Monday and were greeted at the airport by French and and European representatives in Armenia.

This latest release of POWs comes days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev had a virtual meeting mediated by the President of the European Council Charles Michel and President Emanuel Macron of France on Friday.

French and EU representatives greet the POWs upon their return to Armenia

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry released the name of the eight prisoners of war. They are: Sargis Tarzyan, Vardges Balayan, Armen Petrosyan, Artur Babayan, Hmayak Sargsyan, Gurgen Galoyan, Grigor Kyureghyan and Vagharshak Maloyan.

Azerbaijan announced the release of eight POWs, saying that some of them were captured on November 16, when Azerbaijani forces attempted to invade Armenia.

Azerbaijani authorities reportedly have said that in exchange for the release of the POWS, Baku expects to receive information about Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians killed in the first Karabakh war and presumably buried in mass graves, as well as the location of these graves, News.am reported.

“Both in the first and the second Artsakh war, the Armenian side has missing persons. We attach importance to finding out the fate of the missing. In this sense, the Armenian side did not assume any unilateral obligations,” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Azatutyun.am’s Armenian Service on Monday.

Armenian Investigative Committee’s spokesperson Vardan Tadevosyan announced that all returned POWs will be interrogated. This has become the norm for Armenia’s authorities, who have questioned all POWs who were captured during the November 16 military operations. Thus far, five POWs have been detained and are facing criminal charges for allegedly not carrying out their combat duties.

In Tweet on Monday, Macron thanked French diplomats and military officials who were involved in the process of returning the eight POWs from Azerbaijan.

“8 Armenian detainees were released by Azerbaijan and transferred from Baku to Yerevan. They were reunited with their families, from whom they had been separated for several months. Thanks to our diplomats, as well as our soldiers who were mobilized for this operation,” Macron tweeted.

The EU supports stability and prosperity in the region, Michel, the European Council president said in a tweet on Monday.

“The release by Azerbaijan and reparation [sic] to Armenia of 8 Armenian detainees is another sign of positive developments following the meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan. The EU supports stability and prosperity in the region,” he said.

Javier Colomina, NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs also tweeted a message on the POW release.

“It is indeed good news. NATO values our partnership with both Armenia and Azerbaijan , and supports the normalisation of their relations, which will contribute to increase stability and prosperity in the region,” Colomina said in this tweet.