Author: Chatinian Lara

Photo: AFP

 

Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who helped thousands of Hungarian Jews to escape Nazi mass murder in World War Two, has been formally pronounced dead by Sweden’s Tax Agency, the reports.

He was arrested by Soviet forces in Hungary in 1945 and disappeared. He is thought to have died in a Soviet prison, but his fate remains a mystery.

Thousands of Jews escaped deportation to Auschwitz because Wallenberg gave them Swedish protective passes.

His story became legendary after 1945.

The former Soviet authorities said he must have died in a Moscow prison in 1947.

But his family were sceptical about that version of events, and spent decades trying to establish what actually happened to him.

Last November they called on the Swedish Tax Agency to officially declare him dead. The request was made via Sweden’s SEB Bank, acting as a trustee.

“He shall be deemed to have died 31 July, 1952,” the tax agency said.

Pia Gustafsson of the tax agency said that date was chosen because it fell “five years after he went missing, which was believed to be the end of July, 1947”.

Photo: AFP

 

Turkish police have detained the editor and several writers of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet amid a crackdown on media after the failed July coup, the BBC reports.

The journalists are suspected of links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused of plotting the coup, as well as Kurdish militants.

Cumhuriyet is Turkey’s oldest secular paper.

At the weekend, 15 other media outlets were closed and 10,000 civil servants were dismissed.

Those targeted include academics, teachers, health workers, prison guards and forensics experts.

Critics have accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using an emergency law imposed after the coup attempt to silence opponents. Since then, a total of about 110,000 people have been sacked or suspended and 37,000 arrested.

The government argues that Mr Gulen’s network of followers is so vast that a wholesale purge is needed.

Cumhuriyet editor Murat Sabuncu and eight other newspaper staff were detained on Monday, including columnists Aydin Engin and Guray Oz, state news agency Anadolu reported,

Arrest warrants were also issued for other staff, including Cumhuriyet’s previous editor Can Dundar, who resigned in August after being sentenced to five years in prison for revealing state secrets involving Turkey’s operations in Syria. He fled Turkey when he was freed pending an appeal.

The  Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have issued the following statement:

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to the region from 23 to 25 October 2016.

‪The Co-Chairs met with the Presidents and Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Armenia’s newly appointed Defence Minister, and de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh. The purpose of the Co-Chairs’ visit was to discuss the situation after the unprecedented violence last April, and to clarify positions on the negotiation process.

‪During the meetings, the sides confirmed that the situation on the ground remains relatively calm.  The Co-Chairs underscored that respect for the ceasefire provides a critical foundation for ongoing negotiations, and stressed the importance of fully implementing decisions taken in Vienna and St. Petersburg.

‪The Co-Chairs also discussed current working proposals to advance substantive negotiations towards a lasting peace. The Presidents each expressed their views on how to move the settlement process forward.  The Presidents also reaffirmed their agreement to expand the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, and operational details are still being discussed.

‪The Co-Chairs plan to meet with the Ministers including on the margins of the December 2016 OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Hamburg to discuss a possible meeting of the Presidents at the earliest opportunity.  Such a dialogue at the highest level is necessary to make progress towards a settlement.

‪While in the region, the Co-Chairs also met with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss the work the organization has undertaken on the exchange of data on missing persons, a humanitarian measure which the Co-Chairs have fully supported in meetings with officials at all levels.

Turkish police have tortured and otherwise ill-treated individuals in their custody after emergency decrees removed crucial safeguards in the wake of a failed coup attempt in July, 2016, said in a report released today.

The 43-page report, “,” documents how the weakening of safeguards through decrees adopted under the state of emergency has negatively affected police detention conditions and the rights of detainees. It details 13 cases of alleged abuse, including stress positions, sleep deprivation, severe beatings, sexual abuse, and rape threats, since the coup attempt.

“By removing safeguards against torture, the Turkish government effectively wrote a blank check to law enforcement agencies to torture and mistreat detainees as they like,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The cases we have documented seem to indicate that some have done just that. Turkey’s government should reinstate these crucial safeguards now.”

A provision in the emergency decrees absolves government officials of any responsibility for actions taken in the context of the decrees. And the authorities’ decision to postpone a visit to Turkey by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture casts serious doubt on the authorities’ commitment to prevent torture and ill-treatment.

Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 40 lawyers, human rights activists, former detainees, medical personnel, and forensic specialists.

At least 241 police officers and citizens died and up to 2,000 were injured when elements of the military attempted a coup d’état against the elected government on July 15-16. Human Rights Watch interviewed several people injured while resisting the coup.

Nearly 100 people, more than half from Armenian churches in Southern California, gathered Sunday in Solvang to honor a Danish woman credited with saving thousands of children from genocide, reports.

The crowd gathered in the Bethania Lutheran Church garden, where a bust of Maria Jacobsen with a brass plaque was unveiled and dedicated near a pair of benches, where people can sit and contemplate her heroic actions.

Overhead a banner read, “Thank you, Maria ‘Mama’ Jacobsen and people of Denmark. Always grateful — your Armenian friends,” and nearby stood a wreath of red and white flowers.

“The world can seem so big until we come together to celebrate this wonderful, wonderful person,” said Chris Brown, pastor of Bethania Lutheran Church. “And then it seems so much smaller.”

More than 50 members of the Southern California churches traveled to Solvang to worship with the Bethania congregation and afterward share a meal, where several — including some who knew her — spoke about Jacobsen’s efforts to save Armenian orphans.

The campaign against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire began as early as 1909, but in 1915, the Ottoman government began the systematic extermination of the Armenian people.

It began with the forced labor and massacre of able-bodied men, which was followed by forcing women, children, the elderly and the infirm on “death marches” into the Syrian desert without food or water, subjected to robbery, rape and murder.

It’s estimated that by 1923, the Ottomans had murdered 1.5 million Armenians.

Moved by the plight of Armenian orphans, Jacobsen left her home in Denmark and traveled to the Ottoman Empire, where she helped the wounded and ill and worked to save orphaned children.

She, along with other Danish missionaries who joined her, is credited with saving 4,000 orphans.

Including others she rescued in Lebanon from 1923 up until her death in 1960, she saved a total of 142,000 Armenians, said Nichan Kulukian, one of those who spoke at Sunday’s event.

“We called Maria ‘Mama’ because she was the only mother we knew at this time,” said Kulukian, who was orphaned at age 2, noting that Jacobsen and the other missionaries didn’t try to turn the children into Danes.

“She raised us as Armenians, speking only Armenian every day, even teaching our Armenian religion,” he said. “So we grew up as Armenians under these Danish missionaries.

“It is hard to understand how someone could give up her life and give herself to a cause totally foreign to her,” he said. “We have this commitment of love to her and all the other missionaries.”

Maria Karnikian knew Jacobsen as “grandmother,” because she had raised Karnikian’s mother, also noted how Jacobsen preserved the Armenian language and culture among the orphans..

“Her love for children was above everything,” Karnikian said. “She always had the time to play with children.”

Vartan Melkonian recalled how he was orphaned at age 4, just days after his sister was born as yet unnamed. Jacobsen gave her a name and baptized her.

Melkonian said as a result of Jacobsen’s care and encouragement, he went from being an orphan on the streets of Beirut to a resident of London and, eventually, the conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Garbis Der-Yeghiayan, president of Mashdots College in Glendale, summed up why it was important for the Armenian people to honor Jacobsen.

“We never stand so tall as when we stoop to lift a child,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Armenia on October 14 to participate in the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Kremlin confirms.

The participants are expected to discuss the situation in the CSTO area and the further improvement of the collective security system in the organization.

In line with the decisions adopted at the CSTO summit in Moscow in December 2015, special attention will be paid to the measures of fighting international terrorism.

During the CSTO session Armenia will convey the presidency of the organization to Belarus.

Asbarez – A famous saying tells us that “opportunity knocks,” but, sometimes, it uses a cell phone instead.

Two years ago, the widely respected Armenian actor, Levon Sharafyan, received an unusual phone call while relaxing at his home in Glendale, California. An American filmmaker had been searching for him for several weeks and wanted urgently to meet.

That filmmaker was Christopher Chambers, a director casting his first feature film, “Aram, Aram,” a coming-of-age drama set in Little Armenia. Chambers wanted to cast Sharafyan in the Lead Role of his film after seeing Sharafyan in an Armenian television series streamed over the internet.

Despite the fact that “Aram, Aram” would be a low-budget film with a long, difficult schedule and despite the fact that Chambers spoke no Armenian at all, Sharafyan agreed to star in the film.

Long heralded for the range and depth of the roles he inhabits, Sharafyan first gained fame acting on the stage in his hometown of Yerevan. He eventually performed in every Shakespearean Tragedy, touring around the globe from Yerevan to Moscow to Paris to London to Glendale. Sharafyan later became a familiar face in Armenian television and film, starring in over 500 episodes of television and over 30 films.

Of Sharafyan’s decision to act in his film, Chambers said, “Mr. Sharafyan is a famous, well-loved star of both the stage and screen in Armenia, he took a huge risk when he agreed to star in this independent film directed by a no-name American director.”

Boasting a Lead Cast of all Armenian actors, “Aram, Aram” first premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, receiving critical acclaim for the powerful performances of Sharafyan and his 12 year-old co-star, John Sevag Roohinian.

The Award-Winning film played at film festivals in Montreal, Yerevan, Armenia, Sydney, Australia and many more cities. This Saturday, October 1st, “Aram, Aram” screens at the Glendale International Film Festival at MGN Five-Star Cinemas where it has been nominated for an impressive six awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Sharafyan’s performance.

Upon hearing of his Best Actor Nomination, Sharafyan reflected, “It was a nice surprise for me to learn about it. I am very happy that my work on “Aram, Aram” has been recognized. It is an honor to receive this nomination.”

When asked what he thinks of his own performance in the film, Sharafyan replied with his trademark humility, “I would like to invite all my fans from my favorite city of Glendale to see the film this weekend,” he paused before continuing as a twinkle came to his eyes, ”Let the audience give us their opinion – I value that more.”

Legendary Charles Aznavour will perform at the Palais des Sports in Paris on 21, 26 and 28 December 2016.

After six special sold out concerts at the Sports De Paris in September 2015, and a tour around the world, which broke all attendance records, Charles Aznavour returns to Paris.

Charles Aznavour is the only singer of his age to perform at the most prestigious concert halls worldwide.

The artist remains the most celebrated in the world by international performers such as Elton John, Bob Dylan, Placido Domingo, Celine Dion, Liza Minnelli, Ray Charles and many others.

Recognized by CNN in 1998 as “Greatest Artist of the Century”, Charles Aznavour has written more than 1,000 songs, featured in nearly 80 films, and has traveled all over the world, performing in over 94 countries.

The delegation of the Armenian Defense Ministry participated in the Second International Military and Technical forum “Army-2016” held at Patriot Park near Moscow from September 6 to 11.

The Armenian booth was attended by the leadership of the CSTO, representatives of the Federal Service of the Russian Military-Technical Cooperation, officials from the Russian Defense Ministry and others.

The Armenian enterprises represented at the forum received proposals for cooperation from Russian and Belarussian companies.

The Armenian delegation received the Grand Prix of teh Army-2016 forum along with delegations from Belarusa nd Kazakhstan.

Russian citizen Sergei Mironov, who was detained in Armenia following a request by the United States and later released, will return to his home country on August 31, his lawyer Karen Nersesyan said Tuesday.

On Saturday, Mironov, 33, was detained in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. US authorities suspect Mironov of laundering $50,000 and of an illegal technology transfer.

“Mironov has a round-trip ticket. He has a return ticket for tomorrow, for August 31. If the prosecutor’s office does not summon him, we will leave for Russia,” Nersesyan told RIA Novosti, adding that no summons has been received so far.

On Monday, the court denied the request of the prosecutor’s office for Mironov’s provisional detention. The prosecutor’s office may file an appeal against the court ruling within five days.