Author: Chakrian Hovsep

Armenian church in Malatya hosts first religious service in 106 years

Chakrian Hovsep
Aug 30 2021
, 16:46

 1 minute read

Sourp Yerrortutyun (Holy Trinity) Armenian Church in Malatya hosted the first religious service in 106 years.

The church is located in the neighborhood where assassinated Armenian journalist Hrant Dink had grown up.

Closed since 1915, the Church was opened to worship on August 28.

Sahak Mashalyan, the Armenian Patriarch in Turkey and Grigoriyos Melki Urek, the Metropolitan Bishop of Adıyaman and Surrounding Provinces and the Deputy Patriarch, as well as the mayor and governor of Malatya, attended the opening ceremony.

“The opening of the Surp Yerrortutyun Church is a milestone for this region. For the Armenians of Malatya, this opening is a day of the feast,” said the Patriarch.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Nuran Gezdirici, the chair of the Malatya Philanthropist Armenians Culture and Solidarity Association said the reopening of the church is a great pride. She commemorated Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist who was assassinated in 2007, noting that he had grown up “two streets away from the church.”

Armenians from across the country also attended the opening ceremony.

The construction of the Sourp Yerrortutyun (Holy Trinity) Armenian Church began in 1878 with the participation of a Greek architect and Armenian stonemasons.

In 1893, the construction of the church was completed. The dome of the church was destroyed in the earthquake of 1893. The building was repaired between 1905-1907. After 1915, the church building was used as barracks and a prison.

The dome of the church burned in the fire of 1969. The church was in ruins. In 2010, the restoration of the building was planned by the order of the Governor of Malatya, Mr. Ulvi Saran. Construction work began in 2012. Work on the project was stopped due to technical problems and lack of funding.

In 2021, restoration works were completed under the chairmanship of Malatya Mayor, Mr. Selahattin Gürkan. Malatya’s HAYDER association also participated in the process.. HAYDER also provided financial support for the restoration of the church’s altar/ dome section and the baptistery.

Azeri soldier arrested in Artsakh for breaching into apartment and threatening to kill children

Chakrian Hovsep

Save

Share

 11:20, 26 August, 2021

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, ARMENPRESS. An Azerbaijani soldier has been placed under arrest by Artsakh authorities after unlawfully crossing the border and breaching into an apartment in the town of Martakert, the Artsakh prosecution said.

The Azerbaijani serviceman, identified as Jamil Babayev, was apprehended by Artsakh police and national security service officers in an apartment on Teryan Street in Martakert on August 25.

Babayev is arrested and charged with illegal border crossing, threatening to kill the children in the apartment and espionage.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian Prime Minister sees “some positive signals” from Turkey over regional peace

Chakrian Hovsep

Save

Share

 11:41, 27 August, 2021

YEREVAN, AUGUST 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he sees some positive public signals coming from Turkey in terms of regional peace.

“We will evaluate these signals and we will respond to positive signals with a positive signal,” Pashinyan said during the Cabinet meeting.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian Church responds to false announcements of Grand Mufti of Azerbaijan made in Shushi

Chakrian Hovsep

Save

Share

 19:51,

YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. Fr. Archimandrite Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Inter-Church relations Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin commented on the false announcements made by the Grand Mufti of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board Allahshukur Pashazadeh in an interview with ARMENPRESS, as well as spoke about the possible meeting between the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board and the Patriarch of All Russia.

– How would you comment on the statements of Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board, made in Shushi about St. Ghazanchetsots Church, that it’s allegedly of non-Armenian origin?

– We learnt from the media about the regular false announcements made by Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board Allahshukur Pashazadeh in front of different religious denominations of Azerbaijan… What can we say? It is a style typical of Pashazadeh, to interpret facts according to their own interests and perceptions. Avoiding thinking about the occupation of the most part of Artsakh, leaving thousands of families without shelters, desecration and destructions of religious-cultural values of the Artsakh Diocese, Pashazadeh again referred to the so-called Aghvan-Udi church (Caucasian Albania-edited) and its false religious-cultural agenda.

– It’s known that there is an official format of meetings between the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board and the Patriarch of All Russia, in the sidelines of which a declaration has been signed on the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Does that format still exist and is that possible that new meetings and discussions are held in that format?

– There is an official format of trilateral meetings between the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board and the Patriarch of All Russia, where the religious leaders have discussed the opportunities of finding ways for a peaceful settlement of the Artsakh conflict, and naturally, many other issues related with it. Still during the military operations the Catholicos of All Armenians had sent a letter to Patriarch Kirill, expressing readiness to meet with the leader of the Caucasus Muslims in a trilateral format aimed at fostering the restoration of the ceasefire and regional peace.

After the 44-day war the Catholicos of All Armenians sent an official letter to Patriarch Kirill, so as he could leave for Baku under Patriarch Kirill’s mediation to meet with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Pashazadeh for discussing the issues of returning the Armenian POWs and the preservation of our religious-cultural heritage in the territories that have passed under the Azerbaijani control.

As refers to the announcement of Allahshukur Pashazadeh about his willingness to meet under the UN auscpices, that’s a result of misunderstanding. The Catholicos of All Armenians answered to the proposal of the UN representative in the USA about meeting with the Azerbaijani Sheikh (Pashazadeh) that Patriarch Kirill has already agreed to hold such a meeting in Moscow.

Pashinyan congratulates Xi Jinping on 100th anniversary of formation of Communist Party of China

Chakrian Hovsep

Save

Share

 10:41, 1 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 1, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the centenary of formation of the Communist Party of China, Pashinyan’s Office told Armenpress.

The message reads:

“Excellency,

Please accept my most cordial congratulations on the centenary of the Communist Party of China.

The Communist Party of China has won the Chinese people’s trust since its inception by defying numerous challenges and leading the country along the path of sovereignty, empowerment and socio-economic development.

The achievements of the CPC continued and multiplied under your leadership. This landmark year was marked by two key milestones: China achieved its centennial goal of overcoming extreme poverty and returned to the path of development by overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armenia is eager to further develop the friendly relations and the ongoing mutually beneficial cooperation with the People’s Republic of China.

I am confident that the Armenian-Chinese relations will continue to strengthen and deepen for the benefit of our two countries and peoples.

I wish you robust health and ever new achievements, as well as peace and prosperity- to the friendly Chinese people.”



Two Armenian blocs to demand top court annul election results

Chakrian Hovsep
PanArmenian, Armenia

– 16:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Two Armenian blocs that collected enough votes to secure seats in the parliament will challenge the results of the June 20 elections with the Constitutional Court, demanding that the court invalidate the outcome.

Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won almost 54% of the vote, while Hayastan (Armenia) bloc headed by second President Robert Kocharyan secured around 22% of the ballots. “I Have Honor” bloc too will get seats in the parliament.

Hayastan member Robert Hayrapetyan said on Sunday, June 27 that the bloc will file an application with Armenia’s top court by July 2, alleging voter fraud and the use of administrative resources. Hayrapetyan said “we are dealing with” 200,000 ballots, which he said could have a significant impact on the outcome of the elections.

Sos Hakobyan from “I Have Honor” bloc raised similar questions and said they will demand the annulment of elections results.

Deputy head of the Armenian National Congress Levon Zurabyan told Pastinfo, meanwhile, that the party would not take the matter to the Constitutional Court, although the ANC said in an earlier statement that elections were “far from being free and fair.”

Armenia to host Summit of Minds in October 2021 for the third time

Chakrian Hovsep

Save

Share

 13:18, 23 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia will host the Summit of Minds, an annual event taking place in the French resort area of Chamonix, for the third time in October 2021, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The Summit of Minds is a major event gathering over 300 politicians, scientists, businessmen-investors, heads of large companies and media outlets from all over the world. The event aims at presenting new ideas on issues of global importance, establishing reliable partnering relations through direct discussions.

This year the Armenian Summit of Minds will be held in Dilijan at the Training-Research Center of the Central Bank. This decision was announced by co-organizers of the event – Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian, Central Bank President Martin Galstyan and The Monthly Barometer founder Thierry Malleret during an online meeting with the summit participants.

“I think many of us miss the Summit of Minds. This year it will be held in several locations – Chamonix, Dilijan and Washington. These three summits show that people are really interested in the opinions voiced by the participants about this or that particular issue”, the Armenian President said in his welcoming remarks.

The meeting touched upon the main topics to be discussed at the Summit, relating to the geopolitics in South Caucasus, technology development issues.

“The Summit of Minds must continue in Armenia, must examine the future of special technologies – artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, in order to understand what 2021 differs from 2019”, the Armenian President said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkish press: Assets of 12 fugitives in 2007 Dink murder case to be seized

Chakrian Hovsep
  • June 24 2021 15:54:00

A Turkish court on Thursday decided to seize the assets of 12 fugitive suspects, including ringleader of FETÖ, in the 2007 murder case of a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist unless they return to the country, according to a judicial source.

In its interlocutory decision on the case over the murder of Hrant Dink, the Heavy Penal Court no.14 in Istanbul ordered newspaper advertisements to be prepared for fugitives as well as to be posted to their addresses if there are, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The advertisements will notify the defendants about the seizure of their assets as they will be deemed fugitives if they do not return in 15 days.

The fugitives in question include FETÖ ringleader Fetullah Gülen, former prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, Adem Yavuz Arslan, Coşgun Çakar, Halil Ibrahim Koca, Mehmet Akif Yılmaz, Faruk Mercan, Metin Canbay, Ömer Faruk Kartin, Serkan Sahan, Yılmaz Angın, and Yunus Yazar.

All of them are being sought with red notice, the source said.

The decision excluded another fugitive Ekrem Dumanlı as his lawyer wanted to withdraw from the case. The court ordered appointment of a new lawyer for Dumanlı.

Dink, then editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was gunned down outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007.

The Istanbul court announced its verdict on the case on March 26, the defendants of which included former prosecutor Oz, journalists, gendarmerie and former security officers, as well as Gülen of FETÖ, which was behind a 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

A total of 76 defendants, including six in custody and 13 fugitives, were tried as part of the case.

Former police chiefs Ramazan Akyürek and Ali Fuat Yılmazer were handed aggravated life sentences for premeditated murder, while former military officer Muharrem Demirkale was given two-times life sentence for both violating the Constitution and aiding premeditated murder.

Detained defendants Okan Şimşek and Veysal Şahin received over 28 years in prison each for the charges of premeditated murder and forgery of an official document.

The court also sentenced Ercan Gun to a decade in prison for being a member of an armed terrorist organization, namely FETÖ, though he was found not guilty for violating the Constitution.

It also gave prison terms ranging from three years and four months to aggravated life sentences to 26 other defendants.

Kremlin: Telephone conversation with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Chakrian Hovsep
The Kremlin – President of Russia
June 24 2021

Telephone conversation with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Pressing issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation in various areas were discussed. Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed gratitude for the decision taken by Russia to resume flights to Turkey, as well as for the start of deliveries of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

The exchange of views on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh was continued. A positive assessment was given to the work of the Joint Russian-Turkish Centre for Monitoring the Ceasefire and Military Operations. The President of Turkey expressed support for Russia’s efforts to ensure the full implementation of the agreements set in the Statements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. A mutual willingness to continue coordination was reaffirmed, including in the interests of economic development and rebuilding the region’s transport infrastructure.

When reviewing the settlement in Syria, the importance was emphasised of cooperation between the Russian and Turkish militaries aimed at preventing the escalation of tensions in Idlib and in northeastern Syria and fighting the remaining terrorist groups in these regions.

Vladimir Putin also shared his impressions of his recent talks with US President Joseph Biden in Geneva.

It was agreed to continue personal communication and joint work at other levels.