His Beatitude Abp. Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, received soldiers injured in the 44-day Artsakh War and members of the Armenian National Assembly, Fr. Koryun Baghdasaryan, Chancellor at Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, informs.
The project is a result of cooperation between the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Armenian government.
ArmInfo.A rally of the parents of servicemen killed in the 44-day war is being held near the Supreme Judicial Council
The protesters demand a meeting with the head of the body, Gagik Jhangiryan, and holding open court hearings on their case in order to also take part in them. The protesters demand a meeting with head of the body Gagik Jhangiryan and that the court hearings on their case be held in an open format so that they also can participate in them.
Members of the opposition movement approached the building of the Supreme Judicial Council to support the parents of the dead servicemen.
FRANKLIN, Mass. — Ahead of the highly-anticipated 2022 summer season, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Camp Haiastan Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the official launch of Camp Haiastan’s new logo. This strategic initiative represents a refreshed commitment to empowering the dedicated community while also broadening Camp’s awareness to future generations of campers.
The new logo upholds Camp Haiastan’s long-standing identity, featuring prominent visuals of the beloved Mount Ararat and AYF logo, alongside modern font enhancements for a new look and feel.
“Equally as significant to on-site and operational updates, ensuring Camp’s widely-circulated visuals effectively represent its robust legacy and appeal to prospective families across the globe remains critical to long-term success,” said Taline Badrikian, board member and chair of Camp Haiastan’s marketing team.
Adding momentum to this exciting progress, the emblematic “tornig” icon will also undergo updates in the near term and will remain a key part of Camp’s branding.
This positive step forward is another fulfillment of the Camp promise to “make it better than it was” and is a strong way to begin another fantastic few months at 722 Summer Street.
Political analyst Suren Sargsyan has explained why the U.S. “supports” the Armenian authorities.
“I am often asked why the U.S. supports the Armenian authorities.
1. The top geopolitical priority of the U.S. in the South Caucasus is if not the complete ouster of Russia from the region, but at least the real counteraction to its influence. Of course, this policy of counterinfluence applies to all regions where the two superpowers compete. That is, all over the world.
2. Naturally, in our region the U.S. cannot form a counterweight to Russia through Iran, and in this matter they have only one ally – Turkey: the worst ally for the U.S., but an ally nonetheless. Even a bad ally is better than an enemy.
3. For the first time in history, there is a government in Armenia that is ready, through unilateral and global concessions, to form an environment (or has already formed it) which would allow Turkey, having penetrated into Armenia, to increase its role in the whole South Caucasus (let us not forget the Turkish influence on Georgia and Azerbaijan) and create a real counterweight to Russia. That is why the U.S. has been supporting the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation since 1992. Thus, their plans coincide more than ever,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“This is not the only reason to support the Armenian authorities, but this example is applicable in other areas, taking into account the points outlined in the first clause,” the expert added.
15:14,
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Due to the current Russia-Ukraine conflict, the process of immigration from these countries to Armenia has been activated, Head of the Strategy Development Department at the Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia Hovhannes Aleksanyan said during a press conference in Armenpress.
He said that many ethnic Armenians are interested in acquiring Armenian citizenship, getting different residency statuses.
“According to the data of the first quarter, there have been around 6000 border crossings into Armenia with Ukrainian documents, in other words, they entered our country with Ukrainian documents. Most of them are Armenians. Due to the escalation of the situation, the government of Armenia prepared brief information about the checkpoints of crossing by the Western border into the EU states – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, which helped many of our compatriots to leave Ukraine. In addition, we gathered the Armenian communities in these 4 EU states, who managed to create stop stations for our compatriots for organizing the return to the homeland. The Armenian communities provided major support in accommodating the people, solving the documentation issues, assisting financially, sending them off, for which we are grateful”, Hovhannes Aleksanyan said.
Armenia provided some support to those ethnic Armenians who lacked financial means of leaving Ukraine, tickets were purchased for their return to homeland. Aleksanyan said that there was a moment when the Armenian communities in the EU states, especially that in Poland was very overloaded and the capacities were not so big. The Office of the High Commissioner sent a letter to the government requesting to rise the funding of the embassies in order to continue providing the support to the citizens.
“Yes, a special flight was not organized, but there is support in other format, and the families, who apply to the embassy, are able to use that opportunity. I would like to state that the German government finances the return program. “Those who are citizens of Armenia and have temporarily resided in Germany after leaving Ukraine, could apply to the German government for getting a financial aid”, Hovhannes Aleksanyan said.
The next stage of the support provided to Armenians who left Ukraine is already being done in Armenia. The Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs is currently implementing a 4-component project with the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA). The first component is subsidizing the rent of the apartment up to 70,000 drams. The second component is educational as there are families from Ukraine whose children study in Armenian universities. If they submit the respective documents, they could get a subsidy for the tuition fee. The third component relates to healthcare issues, and the 4th one is the one-time assistance. Nearly 80 families from Ukraine, who have settled in Armenia, have already applied to the Office for using the different components of this project.
The Armenian community of Ukraine is the 4th largest in the world, with a population of about 400,000 ethnic Armenians. Hovhannes Aleksanyan said that thousands of ethnic Armenians in Ukraine have no plans to leave the country as they have conscription-age sons, husbands, property, etc.
19:35,
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish authorities have blocked the launch of talks of Finland and Sweden on NATO membership, ARMENPRESS reports DPA agency informed, citing its sources.
According to DPA, the North Atlantic Alliance was scheduled to consider on May 18 the applications submitted by Finland and Sweden, which would be considered the beginning of the process, but due to Ankara’s position, the talks did not take place. The Turkish side has made it clear that at present it cannot approve the start of those talks.
On May 18, the Ambassadors of Finland and Sweden formally submitted their applications to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to join the alliance.
18:53,
YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The United States bans the possibility of supplying nuclear weapons to Ukraine, that cannot be even considered, ARMENPRESS reports, citing “RIA Novosti”, Karen Donfried, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs said.
“The United States is providing security assistance to Ukraine by supplying arms, but as for the supply of nuclear weapons, this is out of consideration,” Donfried said during a Senate hearing on additional assistance to Ukraine.
Looking back at my four years as an undergraduate student at the American University of Armenia, I can recall so many experiences and memories.
Seeing Ararat from AUA’s windows, giving a TedxTalk, being late to class while grabbing an iced coffee, submitting papers on a Friday night and immediately leaving the house to go to a bar, car rides on Monday mornings talking about the weekend shenanigans, falling in love under the Armenian flag, taking a human rights class with Aram Vardevanyan who is currently a member of parliament, and well…graduating…
One vivid memory that will stay with me is the Four Day War in Artsakh. I remember sitting with my peers on the floor with our laptops, translating tweets and news items into different languages to share widely. I remember the fear and uncertainty in everyone’s eyes and the passion and dedication in their work. We knew we were doing our part to help, raising awareness and spreading information in as many languages as possible. Of all the information I had learned and everything I had done, this experience is the one I am most proud of, the one that made me feel like I have actually accomplished something.
My years as an undergrad student, the classes I took, the knowledge I gained, my professors and mentors all prepared me for the next step of my life: graduate school. I couldn’t wait to go, until I really had to go.
Emerson College graduation day, May 7, 2022
These past two years as a graduate student at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, have been the most challenging years of my life. Being away from home is never easy, but everyone said I’ll get used to it as time passes. The pandemic, however, made it nearly impossible for me to experience what a normal day in Boston would’ve been like, but I was still hopeful that I would get used to feeling homesick.
I was wrong.
Almost a month later, Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh. I was trying to convince myself that it’s not going to escalate, that this happens all the time, and it will end soon. It didn’t, and it hasn’t.
I started understanding the gravity of the situation when I saw pictures of my friends in military uniform. It was real. It was happening.
I felt paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do and how to help. Once again, I joined the “digital fight” and tweeted and retweeted, reported and flagged false information and Azeri bots. I participated in local protests, talked about the war during my classes and started writing a research paper about it.
My sleeping schedule was severely interrupted. I woke up scared every night, scared of seeing another name added to the list of martyrs, scared of losing the sacred land that we freed 30 years ago, scared that with that I’d lose a part of me.
After putting up with over a month of “haghtelu enk” tweets and the mediatization of the war, my biggest fear came true. I didn’t wake up to the news. It happened at 5:00 p.m.
I was on the phone with a friend, scrolling Facebook and Twitter when it happened.
A Facebook status. I read it, reread it, reread it again: a bucket of ice cold water (I feel it every time I remember it). I hung up the phone, trying to make sense of what was actually happening. Gone…it was gone.
With every inch of land we lost, I lost a part of myself.
With every inch of land we lost, I lost a part of myself. Anger, grief and a feeling of uselessness consumed me. What made it even worse was my research paper. Instead of being a distraction from real life, it served as a constant reminder of what had happened. That Facebook status was the most vivid memory of my two years as a graduate student.
Today, as I complete this chapter of my life, all I can think about is Artsakh with the hopes of visiting soon, and the dreaded fear of not being able to go ever.
Nanar Avedessian in Artsakh, 2017
My soul and heart are consumed with longing and pain that intensify with every breath I take away from home. I count the minutes until I get to breathe that air, walk on that land and drink that water, so I can feel alive again.
Until then, I will survive. I survive by doing things that work as temporary antidotes: fighting for our cause in any and every way, being as active as possible in the Armenian community, staying up to date with current events, encouraging my friends who are protesting, telling all my friends about the beauty and resilience of Armenia and Artsakh, and writing and designing for the Armenian Weekly.
This is not a call to action asking you to move to Armenia (even though that would be ideal). It’s a temporary antidote for me and those who feel the same. It’s a reminder that I’ve accomplished something significant and I am grateful for the opportunity that I’ve had, the support that I have received from my family here and in Armenia, from my friends and colleagues. But I know this would not have been possible without a firm belief in my work benefiting Armenia and Artsakh in some way. It’s a reminder of the love, passion and dedication we need to have for our homeland. The need to work for the homeland must prevail over all of life’s challenges and difficulties.
On the 107th anniversary of the tragic piece of history, Armenian ambassador to India Yuri Babakhanian remarked that individuals who lost their lives in the Armenian genocide are still waiting for justice. At the book launch of “Armenian Genocide, The Sin of the Ottoman Empire,” the Armenian envoy to India made these statements. “…It has been more than a century since the Armenian Genocide, when the Armenian people were deprived of their homeland and property. “However, the Armenian people as a whole are still yearning for justice because genocide has no statute of limitations,” he stated. Ambassador Babakhanian emphasized that if the first genocide of the twentieth century had been recognized and condemned sooner, the world would have been a better place.
He lamented that the genocide is a terrible tragedy for the Armenian people as a result of which they lost most of their historical homeland and about half of the population. “It is also the history of survival and struggle,” he said, adding “It was a fight in the name of life, struggle to preserve identity, struggle not to lose the memory of the nation, and the right and the opportunity to pass it on to the next generations.” Babakhanian continued by saying that during the past century, the Armenian people as the subject of the tragedy, raise this problem in various forms and focus the attention of the international community and the Turkish authorities.
According to the Armenian envoy, the issue of recognition that the Armenians raise before the international community and Turkey has several components and that is why Armenia constantly speaks from the rostrum of the United Nation, with an appeal to unite the efforts of all countries to prevent the “crime of genocide”. He noted that the mass extermination of Armenians in accordance with international law was officially recognized as genocide and condemned by many countries. As of 2022, governments and Parliament have 33 countries, including the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Uruguay and Brazil, formally recognized the Armenian Genocide.
The European Parliament has been trying for many years to pursue a Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, Babakhanian said. He said the bloc adopted a resolution proclaiming April 24, 2015, in the EU as the day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and also addressed Ankara with the corresponding appeal. Turkey in response warned that such calls could lead to a deterioration in relations with the European Union, he added. Turkey and Azerbaijan are the only nations in the world actively denying the Armenian Genocide. “We cannot accept such position of the successive governments of Turkey which have avoided and are still avoiding the recognition of the genocide, promoting the policy of denial at the state level,” Babakhanian added.
Some 1.5 million Armenians were estimated to have been killed during the course of the First World War. Rights experts believe it was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity. Separately, Ambassador of India to Armenia KD Dewal paid homage to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. “Ambassador KD Dewal paid homage to martyrs of this great tragedy and placed a wreath at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial,” India in Armenia said in a tweet.
Pressure Secretary of State over Lack of U.S. Assistance to Artsakh
WASHINGTON—Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez and House Foreign Affairs Committee members Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) pressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week to enforce Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan and expand U.S. aid to Artsakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The exchanges with the Secretary of State took place during Senate and House committee hearings reviewing the Biden Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 foreign aid priorities.
“Azerbaijan’s oil-rich, anti-Armenian Aliyev regime does not need and surely doesn’t deserve a single penny of U.S. taxpayer money,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We are grateful for the grilling of Secretary Blinken by Senator Menendez and Representative Sherman and Costa and echo their calls for an end to all U.S. arms and aid to Azerbaijan.”
During the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Chairman Menendez referenced the Government Accountability Office report that found that the State Department failed to properly report on the impact of the waiver of Section 907 restrictions on the military balance between Armenia and Artsakh. “I look at this budget now and I see a $1.4 million discrepancy between the support for Armenia and Azerbaijan. I see what the Azerbaijanis are doing in Nagorno-Karabakh, including trying to eradicate the presence of Armenians who have lived there. How is it that we’re going to provide more money – which in my mind is in violation, but forgetting about the waiver, is in direct violation of section907? That’s not something I’m going to support, just to have you know.”
Blinken responded, saying, “907 is, as you know, an annual decision. We have an interagency review going on and that review is underway, but I take what you say seriously and I’ll take a look at that.” He continued to note that he has been “very actively and directly engaged with leadership in both Armenia and Azerbaijan, including just as recently as a week ago phone calls with Prime Minister Pashinyan and with President Aliyev as well as their foreign ministers trying to help advance the prospects for a long term political settlement with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh. We have been developing and promoting various confidence-building measures.” In a surprising departure from the standard U.S. policy of false parity on Azerbaijani aggression, Secretary Blinken noted, “we’ve been trying to push back on any unilateral actions, particularly by Azerbaijan that would only inflame the situation.”
Menendez-Blinken exchange
During the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman asked: “Should the Administration not waive Section 907, at least until the POWs are released and those of Armenian ethnicity are able to go back to their homes from which they’ve been cleansed?” Secretary Blinken responded that the Biden Administration is “working very assiduously” to secure the release of POWs from Azerbaijan. “Second, 907 is, as it is annually, under review. And as soon as we have the results of that review, obviously we’ll make those known to you.” Rep. Sherman again urged Secretary Blinken not to waive Section 907.
Sherman-Blinken exchange
Rep. Costa pressed Secretary Blinken on U.S. aid levels to Artsakh. “The situation with Armenia and Azerbaijan has been very frustrating. And I don’t believe Azerbaijan has lived up to their agreements, and certainly we’ve learned a lot of things in the last few months, but Russia clearly is not good at keeping their word with the war criminal who is heading the country today. What can we expect for additional support for Armenia and trying to hold Azerbaijan to the commitments they made in the truce settlement?” Secretary Blinken, reiterated his outreach to President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan, “trying first of all to make sure that no one takes any steps that would potentially revert to conflict, but also to try to advance and support a long term political settlement.” When he referenced the $2 million allocation for Artsakh demining, Rep. Costa promptly replied, “we need to do more.”
Costa-Blinken exchange
Similar to his budget request for FY2022, the President’s FY2023 budget includes $23,405,000 in foreign aid and $600,000 in military assistance to Armenia. A separate line item in the budget calls for $6,050,000 in International Narcotics and Law Enforcement spending in Armenia. Following broad-based Congressional outreach by the ANCA and the Armenian American community last year, the final FY2022 aid package for Armenia was increased to $45 million and included an additional $2 million in U.S. demining assistance for those affected by the 2020 Azerbaijan and Turkey-led attacks on Armenia and Artsakh. The ANCA has already issued calls on the White House and Congress for $50 million in US aid to Artsakh, to help resettle the over 100,000 indigenous Artsakh Armenians ethnically cleansed by Azerbaijan in 2020. To join the nationwide call to action, visit anca.org/aid.
Last week, a bipartisan group of 64 U.S. Representatives called on leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to stop military aid to Azerbaijan and allocate $150 million for Artsakh and Armenia to address the ongoing humanitarian and security crises caused by the Erdogan and Aliyev regimes. “The overdue process of holding Azerbaijan accountable must begin with Congress encouraging the Administration to fully enforce Section 907, restricting the State Department’s authority to waive this law, and enacting statutory prohibitions on any new U.S. military or security aid to Azerbaijan,” stated the lawmakers in the letter initiated by the Congressional Armenian Caucus and supported by the ANCA.
ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan echoed these concerns in ANCA testimony submitted to the key appropriations panel. “Azerbaijan has destroyed countless homes, churches, and hospitals. It has targeted civilians, used prohibited cluster munitions and white phosphorus, illegally detained and abused Armenian prisoners of war, and continues to desecrate Armenian Christian holy sites and cemeteries. Shockingly, Azerbaijan has yet to be held to account,” stated Yerimyan.
“Neither the Trump nor Biden administrations have investigated Turkey’s role in Azerbaijan’s aggression, including Ankara’s recruitment of jihadist mercenaries from Syria and Libya to fight against Armenians. Nor has either administration investigated reports of Turkish F-16s having been used in Azerbaijan’s attacks. Closer to home, we have yet to see either the Pentagon or Department of State look into potential violations of U.S. arms export laws related to the discovery of U.S. parts and technology in Turkish Bayraktar drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh,” continued Yerimyan.
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https://asbarez.com/menendez-sherman-costa-grill-blinken-on-continued-biden-aid-to-azerbaijan/?fbclid=IwAR2diJr4rnyBLyBW01hkly7ysBLRVmt_lmeJthbohjF16DAMjrEtX4l0PY8