Dabaghian Diana – Page 45 – Armenian Directory & News

Torosyan: By the end of May, the number of patients with coronavirus may exceed 6 thousand

May 11, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

Arminfo, Armenia

ArmInfo. Cases of coronavirus in Armenia double every 15 days. the RA Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan presented the data taking into account the analysis of the current situation.

“If this trend continues, on May 24 we will have about 6350 cases of coronavirus, and on June 8 – about 12700 cases,” he said, once again urging citizens to strictly follow the rules for preventing the spread of the virus.

The day before, the Minister visited MC “Surb Grigor Lusavorich” – the largest hospital in Armenia allocated for the treatment of coronavirus. Torosyan informed that it is equipped with 40 ventilation devices, several of which are currently being used. As of May 10, 45 patients in serious and extremely serious condition are in intensive care unit at “Surb Grigor Lusavorich”. In total, 70 patients are being treated at the hospital, whose condition is also assessed as severe and extremely serious. As of May 10, a total of 3313 cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, 1325 people recovered, 45 died, 1928 are receiving actual treatment.

Armenian court rules to arrest son-in-law of ex-president on charges of illegal enrichment

May 8, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

JAM News

May 7 2020

07.05.2020

JAMnews, Yerevan

An Armenian court ruled on May 6 for the arrest of Mikayel Minasyan – son-in-law of former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Minasyan is being charged with illegal enrichment, declaring false income, and the legalization of property obtained by criminal means.

He is not the first member of the former president’s inner circle to have problems with the law.

Criminal proceedings were also filed against his brothers and nephews, as well as his father, Mikayel Minasyan.

Serzh Sargsyan himself is accused of embezzlement of budgetary funds in the amount of more than a million dollars.

The criminal case against Mikael Minasyan was opened in March 2020, at which time he was put on the wanted list. There have been some suggestions that he is now in Italy.

Minasyan’s lawyer Migran Poghosyan called the court’s decision to arrest his client “absurd and shameless.” In his opinion, the document “does not even hint at the analysis of the arguments presented by the defense”.

Recently, the ex-president’s son-in-law has been posting video messages addressed to citizens of Armenia on his Facebook page. From his home in an unknown location abroad, he delivers harsh criticism of the authorities and talks about the various ways he has served his homeland.

What Mikael Minasyan Says

The ex-president’s son-in-law claims that the current authorities tried to remove him from the political playing field and persuade him not to return to his homeland in exchange for ending the criminal prosecution.

Minasyan said that the former head of the national security service met with him to discuss this issue on behalf of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. However, he declined this offer because he could not “be civil to deceitful and irresponsible people, who are traitors to the people.”

The press secretary of the former head of the NSS, Artur Vanetsyan, responded to this statement. Kristina Melkonyan suggests that everyone recall the interview with Arthur Vanetsyan, in which he expressed his attitude towards Mikael Minasyan.

“Let no one draw any connection between me and Mikael Minasyan, because for me, this is a person who still has to answer many questions before the law of the Republic of Armenia,” Vanetsyan said in September 2019 after his resignation.

The Prime Minister’s press service has not yet commented on the statements of Mikael Minasyan.

Minasyan also stated that he was not returning to Armenia because the Armenian Prime Minister “decided long ago to arrest him.” “But someday I will definitely be back,” says Minasyan.

In his following Facebook speeches, he promised to investigate the mistakes that were made during the presidency of Serzh Sargsyan.

Serzh Sargsyan awards Mikael Minasyan with the medal “For Services to the Fatherland,” April 2018

The parliament treats Minasyan’s statements with general distrust

Hayk Konjoryan, a member of the National Assembly from the ruling “My Step” faction, considers Minasyan’s statement a “primitive ploy” to avoid punishment:

“To make political statements…only to then say, ‘Look, I’m being subjected to political persecution.’ Regardless of who you are, a former gambler who placed bets casinos using the people’s money, or a former high-ranking official who has accumulated millions from several different ventures.”

Taron Simonyan, a member of the Enlightened Armenia opposition faction, also views Minasyan’s statements as an attempt to justify and divert attention from himself. But the opposition still feels that the country’s authorities need to respond to the statement addressed to them.

Independent deputy Arman Babajanyan also does not trust the version described in the video message:

“It seems a long shot that the Armenian authorities, in particular, Nikol Pashinyan, could somehow make him an offer only a year after he rejected the first one – and not just him, but the whole system that Minasyan clearly represents.”

For the 1st time since June 2019 Azerbaijan fires mortars, Artsakh sufferes no losses

May 4, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

18:57, 29 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 29, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani troops fired 60 mm mortars in the direction of the Armenian positions in Martuni section at 15:00 and 17:25.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh, the Artsakh units suffered no losses as a result of the shelling.

The adversary was silenced following the retaliation of the Armenian side.

‘’We want to note that this is the first mortar shelling by Azerbaijani side since June, 2019. At the same time it should be added that other ceasefire violation cases took place from other firearms.

At this moment the situation is calm on the front line. The front line units of the Defense Army continue to confidently carry out their military duty”, reads the statement.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Music: Big online pan-Armenian concert expected to last 8 hours

May 1, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

News.am, Armenia

May 1 2020

Big online pan-Armenian concert expected to last 8 hours (PHOTOS) Big online pan-Armenian concert expected to last 8 hours (PHOTOS)

15:10, 01.05.2020

YEREVAN. – The creative and technical staff of the “TOVMASYAN” Charity Foundation’s online concert to be held on Saturday is making preparations to make the live broadcast as uninterrupted as possible. Hrach Keshishyan, the chief director of this concert, said this at a press conference Friday, emphasizing that this project will be unprecedented in its scale and type.

“The whole broadcast will take place online, not on television, and this has its interesting development,” he said. “It means that we can gather a large audience, not only in Armenia, but also abroad. The team has done a lot of work, and we have come together to be able to create content and broadcast. Everything is being done at a very professional and high level.”

Keshishyan informed that this concert marathon will be held in Armenian, English, and Russian.

“We will try to work as uninterruptedly as possible on air,” he added. “During this time we are making very interesting videos. Everything is aimed at the fight against coronavirus, so that we can assist the medical staff and have a good situation.”

Hrach Keshishyan could not say exactly how long this concert will last and what scenario deviations there may be during it. According to him, this online broadcast will be interesting for this very treason. “According to preliminary forecasts, the concert will last about 8 hours. We will start at 20:20 Yerevan time, we will finish the next day at 04:00; at the moment, our assessments are as such,” he said. “But this is a live broadcast [concert] marathon, and there may be other surprises, too, that will make the broadcast even more interesting. Our entire technical staff is working to ensure that we have uninterrupted broadcasting.”

More than 60 artists from Armenia and Armenian diaspora have already joined this concert, and this number, according to the organizers, is increasing day by day.

Singers Alla Levonyan and Saro Tovmasyan, who also attended this press conference, lauded this project by the “TOVMASYAN” Charity Foundation, noting that they joined this idea without hesitation.

Food: A Recipe For Armenian Dumplings That Takes Chef Nina Festekjian Back To Her Childhood

May 1, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

WGBH

May 1 2020

Mise en place for mante (Armenian dumpings.)

Courtesy of Nina Festekjian

May 1, 2020

“My earliest memory of making mante was when I was about 10 years old,” she told us. “My sisters and I would gather around the kitchen table and help our mother in making these little boats. Nowadays, every time I make mante, I go back into that kitchen and experience the aroma of the mante cooking, my sister and I giggling while making the mante and telling each other how bad each other’s boats were.”

My mom would always say, ‘There is no such thing as bad mante as long as you do it with love and care.’ She always put her heart and soul into her cooking. That sense of cooking with love and joy serving others has lingered in me and has been the foundation of Anoush’ella.”

Ingredients:

For the dough

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the meat filling

1/2 pound ground beef sirloin
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper

For the tomato sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken and beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons red pepper paste
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to one ounce lemon juice

For the yogurt-garlic sauce

1 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt or 1 cup of labne mixed with 1/2 cup of water
2 cloves garlic crushed
Kosher salt
Sumac and Aleppo pepper for sprinkling

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare the dough
Beat the egg with the vegetable oil and then add salt and water. Combine the mixture with the flour and mix until a dough forms. On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide into two pieces and cover each with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for one hour.

Assembling the mante (Armenian dumplings.)

Courtesy of Nina Festekjian

Step 2: Make the meat filling
Combine the meat with the spices, chopped onion, and parsley; set aside in a bowl covered in the fridge.

Step 3: Make the tomato sauce
In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil for a minute and then add the tomato paste and the pepper paste and cook for another minute or so, until all is mixed well. Add the broth, lemon juice and the spices. Bring it to a boil then simmer and keep warm.

Step 4: Make the yogurt-garlic sauce
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and garlic and season with salt. Mix well and refrigerate.

Step 5: Shape the mante
Roll out the first dough into a very thin layer. Cut the dough with a pizza cutter or knife into small 1.5 inch squares. Add 1/2 teaspoon of mante filling in the middle of the squares and form small boat-shaped dumplings by pinching the two sides of the square. Using a round or rectangular pan covered with thin layer of vegetable oil, arrange the mante close together. Repeat with the second dough.

Shaping the mante (Armenian dumplings) into purses.

Courtesy of Nina Festekjian

Step 6: Cook the mante
Preheat the oven to 400F and roast the mante for about half an hour, until golden brown color. Meanwhile, heat the red sauce, making sure the mixture is almost boiling.

A finished plate of mante (Armenian dumplings.)

Courtesy of Nina Festekjian

Step 7: Serve and enjoy
Remove the pans from the oven and serve the mante in individual soup bowls. Add the tomato sauce and then top it with a dollop of yogurt-garlic sauce. Drizzle with sumac and Aleppo pepper. Enjoy!

Nina Festekjian and her mother in the kitchen.

Courtesy of Nina Festekjian

Remembering the Armenian Genocide during the coronavirus pandemic

April 26, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

Fox 11, Los Angeles

By Araksya Karapetyan

Remembering the Armenian Genocide

Friday marks the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

LOS ANGELES – Friday marks the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and commemorative events will be altered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For the longest time, the Armenian Genocide was dubbed “The Forgotten Genocide,” but that is no longer the case.

In December 2019, a historic move took place, in which both chambers of Congress passed the Armenian Genocide Reaffirmation Resolution in a near-unanimous fashion.

“I don’t know that we can the moral leaders this country aspires to be if we are going to pick and choose among the genocides we are willing to recognize. I think we have to very blunt and truthful about any genocide including the Armenian genocide,” California Rep. Adam Schiff said.

However, the Turkish government continues to refuse to recognize that a genocide took place.

Canadian Armenians donate to food banks to mark anniversary of 1915 genocide

April 25, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

Radio Canada International

By Levon Sevunts |
[email protected]
Posted: Friday, 16:13
Last Updated: Friday, 16:21

With millions of Canadians worried about putting food on the table due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on public gatherings, the country’s Armenian community has found a new way to mark the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide this year.

Instead of the usual solemn gatherings and protest marches that mark the anniversary of the 1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey every Apr. 24, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) is urging community members to donate to a program designed to feed vulnerable Canadians in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

La Tablée des Chefs project “Les Cuisines Solidaires” is raising money to provide 1.6 million meals to food banks across Canada with the help of different partners.

Jean-François Archambault, managing director and founder of La Tablée des Chefs, said he was proud to collaborate with the Armenian community across Canada.

“Seeing the serious impacts of the crisis in our communities, we looked for a way to help people and imagine a great engagement of leaders and actors of the agrifood sector,” Archambault said.

The response was immediate, he added.

“In less than a week, we mobilized generous public and private partners, received confirmations from chefs across the province and the support of many stakeholders in the agrifood industry!” Archambault said.

Donations to the initiative have also poured from the Armenian community.

“We are proud of our partnership with this great organization and we strongly believe that as the Armenian-Canadian community is preparing to mark the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide under the current difficult circumstances, it is our duty to help our fellow Canadians who are most in need, in honour of our 1.5 million victims,” ANCC co-presidents Hrag Tarakdjian and Shahen Mirakian said in a statement.

An Armenian woman kneeling beside a dead child in field near Aleppo, 1915.

Historians estimate that nearly 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered or died during death marches into the Syrian desert organized by the government of Young Turks as they sought to find a “final solution” to Turkey’s “Armenian Question” during WWI.

Within a short span Turkey’s millennia-old Armenian community was essentially wiped out from its historic homeland with survivors scattered around Diaspora communities in the Middle East, Europe, North and South America.

To this day the government of Turkey has refused to acknowledge the genocide, saying the number of victims has been inflated and that Turks as well as Armenians and other Christian minorities were killed during inter-communal strife.

Apr. 24 marks the symbolic beginning of the genocide when 234 of prominent Armenian intellectuals, politicians and community leaders were rounded up by Turkish police in Istanbul and sent to camps in the interior of the country where most were executed.

The Canadian government recognized the events of 1915 as genocide in 2006, under then Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In addition, the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada have also adopted resolutions recognizing the events of 1915 as genocide.

In 2015, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion declaring Apr. 24th as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

In a statement released on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this dark period of history should never be forgotten.

“As we recognize the strength and spirit of the Armenian people, we also look forward with hope to a future of peace and mutual respect,” Trudeau said in a statement.

“Hatred and violence must never again be met with indifference. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to building a world where everyone can feel safe from discrimination and persecution, no matter who they are, where they are from, or what they believe.”

Armenia launches massive police reforms, initiates creation of interior

April 24, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

ministry

14:10,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet approved the police reforms strategy and its 2020-2022 action plan which envisages the law enforcement agency’s re-organization into a Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan said at the Cabinet meeting that the ministry will be in charge of policy developments and will bear political responsibility for the reforms.

By the reforms, a new police patrol service and a tactical command center will be created.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the government has set an objective to have the new patrol service already in 2021 Q1. He said that the entire patrol service of the police must be changed, including patrol vehicles, uniform. “It should be changed not in the type, but in content”. He highlighted the educational and training phase as the first phase of this process. It has been delayed for some time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Editing and translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenpress: Ambassador Balayan expects close cooperation with First Resident Dutch Ambassador to Armenia

April 20, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

Ambassador Balayan expects close cooperation with First Resident Dutch Ambassador to Armenia

14:04,

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan commented on the appointment of Nico Schermers as First Resident Dutch Ambassador to Yerevan.

“Glad to read about Rijksoverheid [government of the Netherlands] decision to appoint an experienced diplomat Nico Schermers as First Resident Dutch Ambassador in Yerevan. Looking forward to our close cooperation”, the Armenian Ambassador wrote on Twitter.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Fresno will quietly mark anniversary of Armenian Genocide due to COVID-19, but not forget

April 20, 2020March 12, 2026 Dabaghian Diana

Fresno Bee, CA

By Sevag Tateosian

06:00 AM

People stand and sing during a memorial service for Soghomon Tehlirian at Masis Ararat Cemetery on April 23, 2006. The monument to the Armenian hero was created in 1969 and renovated in 1995. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee file

I stood there that afternoon staring at the nearly 20-foot monument located inside the Masis Ararat Cemetery off Belmont and Hughes. What I was looking at was an eagle swopping down and grabbing a snake.

The monument, located near the middle of the cemetery, is dedicated to Soghomon Tehlirian. Tehlirian avenged the murder of his father, mother, three sisters, two brothers and a niece by shooting Talaat Pasha, one of the principal architects of the Armenian Genocide. A Berlin jury found Tehlirian not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Most experts agree that Talaat had an active role in developing the plans to eliminate the Armenians.

Sevag Tateosian Fresno Bee file

My grandparents talked about Tehlirian. They also despised Talaat, a member of the Young Turks regime. Ironic that now, in their final resting place, they are steps away from this monument.

Like many others, commemorating the Genocide was important to my grandparents. I am certain they thought daily of those atrocities committed against the innocent civilian population. The truth is that for Armenians in America and around the world there is this heaviness that we feel when it comes to the Genocide, and this idea that so much was taken from us. For Tehlirian it was personal. His immediate family members were part of the 1.5 million killed.

Quantifying the loss is nearly impossible. My family, both sides, were landowners and wealthy. All of that was taken from them at the order of the Ottoman Turkish government. The part that bothers me the most is the spin by the present-day Turkish government that it was the Armenians fault. This is “victim blaming” at its highest degree.

This year as April 24^th approaches, there will be no massive commemorations. No large protests in front of the Turkish embassies. No flags raised in front of Fresno’s City Hall and the cemetery. No noontime or evening gatherings at Fresno State.

Instead, families are left to commemorate in private, sheltering in place. Even though the coronavirus has erased the ability for public gatherings, I bet families will still commemorate. I ask those reading this to join my family in lighting a candle on the evening of April 24^th and remembering those innocent lives that were lost. Since you are home, find a movie about the Genocide (“The Promise,” “Architects of Denial,” as well as others) to learn more. Although this occurred more than 100 years ago, it is still real and painful today.

As I began to drive off from the cemetery, I had many thoughts. I remembered a poem by Fresno’s own William Saroyan. His poem reads in part, “… Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.”

This year, just as commemorations will be different, there is a silver lining. The U.S. House and Senate passed resolutions recognizing the Genocide. It’s one more reason to celebrate and be proud of our country, the U.S.A. Armenian Americans have done really well in Fresno and the United States. They’ve led companies, been successful in business, construction, law, recycling, politics, food, health care, entertainment and much more.