By Joshua Keating June 08, 20206:18 PM Move over, George Soros: There’s a new nefarious mastermind behind the ongoing political turmoil in the United States. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday and, according the state-run Anadolu Agency, told him,“Those behind the recent violence and looting during protests in the U.S. are working with the YPG/PKK, a terrorist group operating in northern Syria.” The Turkish government has spent the past few days blaming the YPG for instigating violence during the massive protests against police brutality in the U.S. Last week, Matthew Petti of the National Interest reported on a graphic released by the Turkey Directorate of Communications, tying antifa—the loose movement of militant activists that Trump has threatened to designate as a terrorist organization—to the Kurdish YPG rebels. What is going on here? While completely preposterous, the theory has a certain logic. But it requires some understanding of the strange bedfellows in this conflict. The YPG, the Kurdish rebel group that controls a large swath of northern Syria, has been the U.S. military’s main ally against ISIS. It is also an offshoot of the PKK, the Turkey-based group that has fought the Turkish government for decades and whom the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. The YPG follows the ideology of the PKK’s imprisoned founder, Abdullah Öcalan, which is heavily influenced by the American anarchist philosopher Murray Bookchin and his writings on “libertarian municipalism.” Some number of American leftists and anarchists have traveled to Syria to fight with the YPG. It’s not inconceivable that some of these Americans may have put in time with antifa as well. Does this mean that the YPG is coordinating with antifa—which by all accounts is not a formal organization—or orchestrating acts of violence and vandalism in America? Of course not. (One American YPG volunteer hilariously told the National Interest, “Are we meant to believe that YPG had the time to train people on how to [defecate] in a fish pond or how to draw penises on the side of a church building?”) It does, however, make complete sense that Erdogan would try to push this narrative into Trump’s brain. (Erdogan, like many other world leaders, has condemned the killing of George Floyd, though Turkish police dispersed and arrested activists taking part in a Floyd-inspired rally against police violence in Istanbul last week.) In another phone call last October, Erdogan convinced Trump to pull back U.S. troops ahead of a planned Turkish military invasion into Kurdish-held territory in Syria. In the ensuing days, Trump dismissed the Kurds as “not angels” and “more of a terrorist threat in many ways than ISIS,” seemingly parroting the Turkish government’s talking points. After seeing Trump railing against “terrorists” and “anarchists” of antifa in recent days, why wouldn’t Erdogan try to tie the two groups together? It’s not crazy for him to hope Trump might take the bait again.
10:39, 4 June, 2020
YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS. The total amount of assistance provided to the beneficiaries within the framework of the Armenian government’s measures aimed at eliminating the socio-economic consequences of the novel coronavirus surpassed 100 billion drams, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said live on Facebook today.
On the sidelines of the 9th anti-crisis measure, which is envisaged for non-registered workers, assistance has been provided to 186,000 children with a total amount of 4,9 billion drams.
“Within the frames of the 8th anti-crisis measure, assistance has been provided to 124,000 people. This concerns those citizens whose work was suspended due to the coronavirus-related restrictions. A total of 8,4 billion AMD assistance has been provided to them”, the PM said.
The Armenian government recently adopted the 17th measure to eliminate the socio-economic consequences of COVID-19.
Reporting by Norayr Shoghikyan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
15:12, 2 June, 2020
YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian had a video talk today with Ambassador of Italy to Armenia Vincenzo del Monaco to congratulate him and the Italian people on the Republic Day, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.
President Sarkissian once again expressed his support to the friendly people of Italy, expressing confidence that the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic will soon be eliminated, and the two countries will continue further developing the relations.
The Ambassador thanked for the congratulations and wishes and stated that during the pandemic in Italy he always felt the warmth and friendship of the Armenian people.
Talking about the deep friendly ties between Armenia and Italy, the sides highlighted the importance of constantly strengthening and developing the mutual cooperation. In this context they touched upon the expected state visit of the Armenian President to Italy this year in autumn, the cooperation prospects and opportunities between the two states in economic, scientific-technical, cultural and other areas. The Italian Ambassador said this visit will be very significant in terms of expanding the bilateral ties and deepening the cooperation in the aforementioned sectors.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
An Armenian Trilogy, a new documentary about Dan Yessian’s journey from advertising music creator to writing his first classical composition in honor of the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, has been released on Amazon. In addition, his three-movement classical composition, “An Armenian Trilogy–Live in Yerevan,” performed by the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra, is now available on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon. This concert is also included as bonus footage at the end of the film. Yessian is the founder of Yessian Music Inc., an international music and sound company responsible for creating original music for TV commercials and programs, movie trailers, video games, theme parks and memorials, including the One World Observatory at the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City.
“When my Armenian church priest asked me to create a piece of music to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it proved to be a life changing request. I discovered the path my ancestors had taken during this dark time and I began to tell their story through music, then ultimately film,” said Yessian, who is Armenian-American. His film, in surround sound and closed-captioned in English, has been shown at festivals throughout the U.S. and has won numerous awards including Best Score, Audience Choice and Exceptional Merit.
The Armenian Genocide, when 1.5 million Armenian citizens were massacred by the Turkish Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1922, made headlines in December 2019 when the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to recognize the mass killings as genocide and then again mid-February, 2020, when the Syrian Parliament also recognized the massacres as genocide.
Yessian initially wrote “An Armenian Trilogy” as a duet arrangement for violin and piano creating three movements: The Freedom, The Fear and The Faith, which debuted in Michigan in 2015. Yessian then took on the immense task of orchestrating his composition for 91 pieces, which was performed at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall by the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra in Armenia in 2017.
The documentary film, An Armenian Trilogy, follows Yessian through his childhood as a budding clarinet player, the early years of his company which was started in a 200-square-foot bait shop in metro Detroit, through to the success of the international company he heads with offices in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City and Hamburg, Germany. The film centers on Yessian’s visit to his ancestral homeland of Armenia, where he and his family explore their rich heritage and the composer hears, for the first time, his composition performed by a full orchestra.
Yessian was inducted into the 2018 Adcraft Hall of Fame in Detroit and was recognized for Lifetime Achievement at the Detroit Music awards in 2016. Nowadays, he can be found working alongside his sons Brian and Michael, on campaigns for companies such as United Airlines, Ford Motor Company, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Nintendo, Disney, Walmart, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. Yessian Music has also provided music for many television shows including NBC’s Sunday Night Football, The Voice and America’s Got Talent, ESPN’s College Football and all Major League Baseball, A&E’s Veteran’s Day with A&E and Live PD, PBS’ Sesame Street and other themes and promos on channels including NBC, Disney Channel, HGTV, Lifetime, PBS and CBC. This year Yessian was responsible for preparing a 360 audio experience for Aerosmith’s Las Vegas residency.
Hampig Sassounian
Despite a recommendation in December by the Board of Parole in favor of Hampig Sassounian’s suitability, Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday rejected that decision and denied his parole, saying in a lengthy decision that while he acknowledged the steps Sassounian had taken over decades to rehabilitate himself, he did not believe Sassounian to be fit for release.
“I commend Mr. Sassounian for his rehabilitative efforts in prison, but I find they are outweighed by negative factors that show he remains unsuitable for parole at this time,” said Newsom in his letter obtained by Asbarez on Tuesday.
“I believe that Mr. Sassounian has not yet demonstrated that he has developed and sustained the necessary insight and skills for a sufficiently long period. In particular, I am concerned that Mr. Sassounian has continued to underestimate the vigilance that is required of him, now and in the future, to consistently conduct himself in a manner that promotes the rule of law and avoids fomenting violence, even inadvertently,” added Newsom.
“After reviewing and considering the evidence in the record, I believe that Mr. Sassounian must do additional work before he can be safely released. Accordingly, I find that he still poses an unreasonable danger to society if released and I reverse the Board’s decision to parole Mr. Sassounian,” Newsom concluded in his letter.
“We are extremely disappointed in Gov. Newsom’s decision to reject the recommendation of the Parole Board and choose to deny Hampig Sassounian the freedom he deserves,” the Hampig Sassounian Defense Committee told Asbarez soon after the governor’s decision was published.
“Throughout the decades that he has spent in prison, Hampig has taken every conceivable step to rehabilitate himself and has been a model prisoner, a fact that the governor himself acknowledges in his decision,” added the Hampig Sassounian Defense Committee. “We hope that, like in previous instances, the governor was not swayed by pressure from the Turkish government, which used the White House to do its bidding.”
“We are concerned that unjustified arguments have received greater consideration than the governor’s record on human rights and the experience we anticipated from the governor,” the Defense Committee told Asbarez, adding that it will continue its efforts to seek other avenues for Sassounia’s release.
In 2016, Sassounian was granted parole only to see it be rejected in 2017 by then governor Jerry Brown, who cited letters he had received from then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Attorney General Jeff Sessions opposing the parole.
Sassounian has been serving a life sentence when he was convicted in 1984 for the 1982 murder of Turkish Consul General to Los Angeles Kemal Arikan. In 2002 a federal appeals court overturned a special circumstances finding in his sentence, making Sassounian eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 25 years. Sassounian has now served 38 years. Sassounian will be eligible for parole in 18 months.
Armenia’s Special Investigation Service (SIS) has refused to open a criminal investigation into the brawl which erupted in the country’s National Assembly on May 8.
As lawmaker from opposition “Bright Armenia” fraction Ani Samsonyan wrote on her Facebook, the decision was made due to lack of grounds for initiation of criminal case.
“We can only conclude that is is permitted to punch an opposition lawmaker during a speech at the National Assembly. There is no need to speak of other details as the incident was live-streamed. On the other hand, those resorting to violence against a lawmaker from the ruling party may feel the full weight of the Criminal Code and the decisiveness of the judicial system to call the perpetrator to responsibility,” Samsonyan wrote.
To remind, the brawl broke out in the parliament while opposition Bright Armenia faction head Edmon Marukyan was addressing lawmakers and cabinet members. After a dispute with the latter, My Step faction MP Sasun Mikayelyan approached Marukyan as he was leaving the parliament floor and hit him, followed by a fight.
Dozens of legislators, as well as deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan tried to pull the MPs apart, which turned into a big clash. The lawmakers also traded insults and swear words.
The Prosecutor General’s Office later announced it had examined the footage of the incident and sent the materials to SIS.
Parts of the sculpture group dedicated to the legendary football team “Ararat 73”, which had become the USSR champion and winner of the USSR Cup, have been stolen in Yerevan.
The Head of Pyunik FC Office Grigor Tadevosyan posted a video on Facebook from the scene, asking for the public’s help in revealing the thieves and returning them. Tadevosyan also offered rewards for the help.
The sculpture group “Ararat 73” was opened in 2016 nearby “Hrazdan” stadium and authored by thenChief Architect of Yerevan Tigran Barseghyan.
16:38,
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan has called on Armenians not to believe conspiracy theories around the COVID-19 pandemic and warned that doing so may result in letting one’s guard down and losing vigilance as the numbers of confirmed cases grow.
“Parallel to the growth of coronavirus disease cases the number of those who believe in conspiracy theories is also growing. This is concerning in terms of people potentially letting down their guard towards the disease. And this in turn means that this can contribute to more cases happening soon,” Torosyan said on social media.
Torosyan said there are many phrases like “We are definitely going to get micro-chips”, “No such disease exists”, “It won’t get us”, “It is an international bluff”, “It is all a lie”, “It’s for getting foreign funding” on social media.
“Such opinions are also widely covered by the press. We don’t want our population to lose vigilance and if this trend continues we will have to report the details of social media users spreading such false and unsubstantiated claims to the law enforcement agencies, first of all to understand who stands behind this and what are their motives on endangering our citizens,” the minister said.
Given the growing number of COVID-19 cases, Torosyan once more asked citizens to be highly vigilant and maintain all safety precautions to slow down the transmission rate.
He also urged citizens to follow official information as a reliable source.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
14:43, 14 May, 2020
YEREVAN, MAY 14, ARMENPRESS. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko informed today that the upcoming summit of the leaders of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), scheduled on May 19 in Minsk, will be held in a video conference format.
“I have proposed that issue [the price of the Russian gas] during the EAEU video conference and soon a similar conference will take place”, he said.
The summit must have taken place in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on May 19, but due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, several countries have closed their borders and applied a quarantine regime.
EAEU member states are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan