Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

ACNIS reView #26, 2019_Weekly Update_August 10-17

Elizabeth Jabejian
Weekly Update   

 16 AUGUST 2019

CNN informs that last Thursday, seven nuclear specialists employed by Rosatom, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, were killed in a blast at a military test site in northern Russia, not far from the port of Severodvinsk.

“We think it was a nuclear-powered cruise missile that they call Burevestnik, also known as Skyfall” Jeffrey Lewis, an arms-control expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey said to the reporters.

The Guardian reports that the explosion caused radiation readings in neighboring cities to spike to 20 times their normal level for half an hour. Experts in Russia’s nuclear programme have also spotted the nuclear fuel carrier ship Serebryanka near the site of last week’s explosion, where it is believed to have been taking part in a recovery effort. The vessel had previously been spotted in the waters near Novaya Zemlya, where Russia reportedly tested the Burevestnik missile in 2017.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the U.S. believes the explosion was the result of a failure at a launch facility and not a missile that exploded after launch, a senior administration official said. However it remains unclear if the failure occurred at launch or through other circumstances.

The person close to the Defense Ministry also said he likewise doubted that Skyfall was responsible for the blast and said instead it was likely caused by tests of a different type of engine, called “Putin’s battery” among defense industry experts. The engine is meant to be used for space launches or the Poseidon.

The New York Times writes that authorities in Arkhangelsk region urged residents of a village near a missile test range to leave their homes, days after the explosion.

 

Prepared by Marina Muradyan


 


 

Fresno State to host panel on Western Armenian research

Elizabeth Jabejian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Aug 17 2019
– 11:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Four scholars from the University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles will discuss their research on Western Armenian in a panel discussion entitled “Western Armenian in the 21st Century: Challenges and New Approaches.”

The panel will take place on September 6 in the University Business Center’s Alice Peters Auditorium at California State University, Fresno. Armenian Studies Program Director Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian will moderate the discussion, Asbarez reports.

The presentation is part of the Armenian Studies Program Fall 2019 Lecture Series and is supported by the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

For the past few years, scholars have discussed how to best teach, and transmit, Western Armenian to future generations. In November of 2017, the Society for Armenian Studies and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation organized a conference on “Transmitting Western Armenian to the Next Generation,” with the participation of six scholars. The conference was organized based on this 2017 discussion, as well as from the 2010 report that UNESCO had placed Western Armenian on the list of the world’s endangered languages. The scholars at the conference presented the latest research in the field of language acquisition, which benefits from theoretical and practical approaches in the field of teaching minority languages in a diasporic situation.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/272126/Fresno_State_to_host_panel_on_Western_Armenian_research

In 2018, The Press at Fresno State published “Western Armenian in the 21st Century: Challenges and New Approaches” as part of the Armenian Series at the university. The book was edited by Bedross Der Matossian and Armenian Studies Program Coordinator Barlow Der Mugrdechian. Four of the contributors to the volume will present their conclusions on September 6.

Dr. Shushan Karapetian is Deputy Director of the Institute of Armenian Studies at USC. She received a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA in 2014, where she has taught Armenian Studies courses for the past nine years. Her dissertation, “‘How Do I Teach My Kids My Broken Armenian?: A Study of Eastern Armenian Heritage Language Speakers in Los Angeles,” received the Society for Armenian Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award in 2015.

Jesse Siragan Arlen is a PhD Candidate of Armenian Studies in the Near Eastern Languages & Cultures department at UCLA. He has taught Western Armenian at a Sunday school since 2016, and his creative prose and poetry in Western Armenian has appeared in literary journals such as Inknagir and Pakine.

Elizabeth Mkhitarian graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in English and Armenian Studies in 2018. She is a published writer of prose and poetry in English and Armenian. Her first book of poetry in Armenian is forthcoming.

Dr. Hagop Gulludjian received his PhD with highest distinction from the Jesuit University of Buenos Aires. He has been teaching modern Western Armenian at UCLA for many years. His area of research is in post-structural rereading of medieval mystical poetry and in languages without a country: language vitality programs and their replicability.

Armenian PM, Uruguay’s FM discuss development of cooperation

Elizabeth Jabejian

Armenian PM, Uruguay’s FM discuss development of cooperation

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20:40,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received on August 14 Foreign Minister of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa, who is in Armenia on an official visit, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia.

Greeting the guest, PM Pashinyan emphasized that warm and friendly relations exist between Armenia and Uruguay, which is reflected not only by the high level official visits, but the warm attitude towards each other between the peoples of the two countries. Nikol Pashinyan expressed confidence that the visit of the Foreign Minister of Uruguay will foster the development of bilateral relations and the establishment of Consulate General of Uruguay in Yerevan the opening of which will take place during this week, speaks about the high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Uruguay.

Pashinyan noted that the Armenian people is deeply grateful to Uruguay for being the 1st country to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965 and having a unique contribution to the recognition process.

Rodolfo Nin Novoa noted that he is glad to visit friendly Armenia and for the opportunity to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation. According to the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, they highlight the establishment of the Consulate General in Armenia, which will foster the future development of inter-state relations. He emphasized that Uruguay stands with Armenia in its efforts to reach international recognition and condemnation of the genocide. Uruguay’s FM noted that the Armenian community in his country has a great contribution to the development of the country and strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries.

Referring to his today’s meeting with the Armenian FM, Rodolfo Nin Novoa noted that they discussed issues of deepening partnership, including in the sphere of trade and economy.

Nikol pashinyan noted that it’s necessary to make joint efforts to bring the level of economic relations in line with the high level of political relations. Uruguay’s FM shared Pashinyan’s opinion, noting that there are numerous directions with cooperation potential.

The Armenian PM noted that Armenia is fully committed to the process of peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakah conflict and highly assessed the impartial and neutral position of Uruguay on the issue and its support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. Rodolfo Nin Novoa noted that his country supports the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on a number of international issues.

Nikol Pashinyan conveyed warm greetings to the friendly people of Uruguay and asked Rodolfo Nin Novoa to convey his invitation to the President of Uruguay to pay a visit to Armenia.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan




Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony Held in Stepanakert

Elizabeth Jabejian
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More than 5,000 athletes from 145 cities from around the world converged on the Shahumyan National Stadium in Stepanakert for the festive opening ceremonies of the 7th Pan-Armenian Games, marking the 20th anniversary of the event, which takes place every four years.

Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan was joined by Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan; speakers of the parliaments of Armenia and Artsakh, Ararat Mirzoyan and Ashot Ghulyan; and the Primate of the Artsakh Diocese Archbishop Parkev Martirosyan.

The event has gathered the delegations of 145 cities. Russia has a large delegation, with368 athletes, followed by the United States with 308 athletes and Artsakh with 298 athletes. The delegation from the farthest country is the group from Australia with 86 athletes. The smallest delegation is from Sweden with one athlete. Armenia’s cities and regions were also represented with Yerevan boasting nearly 400 athletes followed by the Shirak Province with 177 athletes.

The official torch lighting ceremony was headed by Olympic champion Hrachya Petikyan, Archbishop Martirosyan and and Vice-Chairman of the World Committee of the Pan-Armenian Games Albert Boyajian. They each carried the torches that were lit earlier this summer—the first at at the Holy Mother of God Armenian Church in Vakif, a village on the foothills of Mousa Ler in modern-day Turkey and what is historically part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia; the second at Khor Virap in Armenia and the third at Tigranakert in Artsakh.

In his remarks, Artsakh President Sahakian said that the idea to host the Pan Armenian Games in Artsakh was first announced in 2016 immediately following the April War, to show the world the resilience, drive and courage of the Armenian people.

“This is a unique response to aggression and violence. Embodying strength, willpower, organization and unity, sports is at the same time the antithesis of hatred and hostility. It recognizes no borders and discrimination, unites different nations and countries,” said Sahakian.

“Nobody is a guest here. Everybody is at their home—in their ancestral hearth. Welcome to Artsakh,” said Sahakian. “This is the strength of our people, the power of our unity, the spirit of our victories.”

Pashinyan also echoed the sentiments, adding that Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora have the strength to conquer all challenges facing our nation. The games, he said, were the symbol of our national victory.

Yerevan starts tackling politically charged rubbish disposal issue

Elizabeth Jabejian
BNE IntelliNews
Yerevan city hall is investing in new garbage trucks to try and resolve the city’s chronic waste problem.
By bne IntelliNews

Yerevan has received its first batch of new rubbish bins and garbage trucks, as the authorities try to overcome serious failures with waste disposal that have seen rubbish piled up around overflowing bins across the city.

The first consignment of nearly 400 waste bins arrived in Yerevan on July 23, and two new rubbish trucks bought by Yerevan City Hall are already in place, Hakob Karapetyan, a spokesperson for Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan, wrote in a Facebook post. More new trucks are expected soon. 

“The problem of waste will gradually be mitigated. Again, we ask our compatriots to come to terms with the garbage disposal operator’s inadequate behaviour and to be patient,” Karapetyan said in a post that attracted a flood of comments from angry residents, complaining of the stench from uncollected rubbish, litter blowing in the air on windy days and verges strewn with trash. 

According to local media, AMD900mn ($1.8mn) has been allocated from the state budget to tackle the urgent problem of waste disposal in the capital. 

Waste disposal is the responsibility of Sanitek, the Armenian division of Lebanon headquartered Sanitek International Group, that started providing services in Yerevan in December 2014. However, complaints about Sanitek have been growing over the past couple of years, and the piles of trash building up in the Armenian capital have sparked protests by local residents. According to local media reports and posts by residents on social media, the situation got worse in 2018, leading to speculation this was connected with the ousting of the former regime in the velvet revolution that spring. The company has repeatedly been fined by Yerevan city hall in the last few years, for offences such as its failure to remove rubbish from the capital effectively.

Sanitek head Nicolas Tawil defended himself at a press conference in September 2018, saying that the velvet revolution of 2018 and subsequent change of leadership in Yerevan city hall had no bearing on the company’s activities. He threw part of the blame on the public, saying that 1,000 bins had been burnt since Sanitek took over the contract, Hetq reported at the time. The bins were used as barricades during the Electric Yerevan protests in 2015. 

Tawil also criticised the failure to separate out construction waste from household trash, and the lack of repairs on the road leading to the main city dump, resulting in damage to the company’s equipment. He added that the company had been operating at a loss for the previous two years. 

However, this had little impact on popular opinion. A recent poll by the International Republican Institute (IRI) found that while at the national level household finances and jobs remain the biggest concerns, at the level of the small towns and villages it is “garbage collection” that is the number one concern, just ahead of jobs.

Yerevan mayor Marutyan has taken a strong stance on the issue, saying back in March that Yerevan residents “won’t put up with dirty streets anymore. He criticised Sanitek’s work and warned that if the company is unable to provide proper sanitary cleaning the city authorities will undertake the job instead.

Armenia isn’t the only former Soviet country where the public are pressing politicians to clean up their cities. 

Waste management has become a hot political issue in Russia as well. Following mass protests in 2018 by local residents near the main landfill that hosts Moscow’s rubbish, in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to create an all-Russia recycling company. 

While purely political protests lead by anti-corruption blogger and opposition activist Alexei Navalny typically see only a few hundred, or at best a few thousand, protestors turn out, civic issues like smelly landfills have the power to move large numbers of people — around 25,000 in this case — which the Kremlin takes much more seriously. The urgent need to deal with growing volumes of waste became a key theme in President Vladimir Putin’s latest phone-in last month as well.

With countries across Eastern Europe becoming increasingly affluent and buying more consumer goods, the volume of packaging waste is steadily increasing, and without action by the authorities the problems are only going to get worse. 

PM: Any war waged against us will lead to the unconditional victory of Armenia

Elizabeth Jabejian
Panorama, Armenia

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia attended on Monday the military educational institutions’ 2018-2019 academic year graduation ceremony at the Defense Ministry headquarters.

The premier congratulated the students on graduating from military educational institutions and being awarded the rank of officer. Nikol Pashinyan handed out graduation certificates to a group of students, the PM’s press service reported.

Addressing the event, the head of government stated, in part:

“Today’s event symbolizes the generation change that is taking place in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. Today we can see people standing in this square who were at the roots of the Artsakh liberation struggle; we can see senior group officers who boast an exemplary record of service and awards symbolizing their impressive path. Today, in this square, there are graduates of military educational institutions being awarded a rank of officer for the first time in their lives.

The service of an officer is perhaps a type of service that calls for the highest possible voluntary traits as it requires unconditional will and readiness to execute orders without discussion. It is an activity that requires great moral, intellectual and psychological strength. And today, your presence on this square proves that you have already made up your mind, you have enough confidence in your strength to bear a burden that might otherwise seem unbearable.

Being an officer, being a commander means sometimes entrusting one’s subordinates with such risky missions as may imply loss of life; being an officer implies great responsibility for such missions. This means that each order’s wording calls for special responsibility, because orders must be reasonable, justified and based on an accurate assessment of the situation; they should serve the goals set before the Armed Forces and the people of the Republic of Armenia.

This means that the authority of each officer should be much greater than that of his epaulettes. The subordinates’ respect is an added value to officer’s epaulettes. You will earn your fellow servicemen’s respect with dedicated service, respect for others, and exceptional respect for your country and your nation. And I wish your commitment to this challenging path could be more effective, I wish it to be the most victorious for our country, our people and each of you.

I wish to highlight and welcome women’s involvement in military affairs, which has been the case for many years. It is an important indicator of serious transformations underway in our society, considering that women have enormous potential, they represent the majority of our population. We must provide the necessary prerequisites, so that our women could serve the Republic of Armenia in a dignified manner and effectively in all spheres of public life.

I understand that not every one of you can achieve such success. Nevertheless, I wish you to go as far as the rank of army general; I wish you could reach high positions by virtue of your merits without mediating your social standing and personal relations.

Dear friends,

Now, let me talk about peace. The Republic of Armenia is a pacifist state and our armed forces are the main guarantors of peace, but I want to emphasize what kind of peace we need.
The Chinese military strategy believes that talented generals win without a war. We need such peace. We need such an army, such a state and society that can make the potential adversaries realize that fighting with us makes no sense, since any war waged against us is doomed to failure as it will lead to the unconditional victory of the Republic of Armenia, its people and its armed forces.

And all of us, irrespective of our uniform, are dedicated to these victories, and each of us, from the National Assembly and to the House of the Government, should serve this noble mission. We all wear the epaulettes of our people, our history, our ancestors, our descendants. Long live those who wear these epaulettes with dignity.

And, therefore,
Long live the Republic of Armenia!
Long live the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia!
Long live the Republic of Artsakh!
Long live the Armenian people!

Glory to our martyrs, glory to our officers and soldiers, glory to the rising generation that will see ever new achievements and new victories! Glory and glorious service to you all! Thank you.”

Sports: Mkhitaryan welcomes fans to Armenia ahead of UEFA U-19 Championship (video)

Elizabeth Jabejian
PanArmenian, Armenia
  – 18:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Captain of the Armenian national team and Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is inviting football fans to Armenia for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

“Welcome to Armenia, the host country of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2019,” Mkhitaryan says in the video which also demonstrates some of the attractions that Yerevan has to offer.

The Armenian capital will host the competition from July 14 to 27.

“Autocracy has collapsed” – Garo Paylan on Istanbul election

Elizabeth Jabejian

“Autocracy has collapsed” – Garo Paylan on Istanbul election

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12:12,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Ethnic Armenian Member of Parliament of Turkey Garo Paylan has called upon the citizens of Istanbul to “build democracy on the collapsed autocracy”.

Paylan, representing Istanbul at Parliament from the HDP, made the remarks after poll results showed that politician Ekrem Imamoglu from the Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won the mayoral election in Istanbul.  

“What mattered most in this election was that the autocracy collapsed,” Paylan told Bianet.

“Now, all of us together must hand in hand fight for democracy. We must leave aside inter-party problems, being Kurd, Turk or Armenian, and once again build democracy upon the collapse of autocracy for all citizens of Turkey,” Paylan said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




“Rock’n’roll” photo of Armenian President and the legends

Elizabeth Jabejian
MediaMax, Armenia
“Rock’n’roll” photo of Armenian President and the legends

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian attended the gala night on June 5, 2019 celebrating the 30th anniversary of Rock Aid Armenia charity initiative. The event at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall was organized by Mediamax Media Company and Australian DoSomething organization. 

 After the event President Sarkissian had dinner at Salon restaurant with Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and founder of Rock Aid Armenia Jon Dee.

 President’s photographer Davit Hakobyan asked Armen Sarkissian and the guests to stand side by side for a ceremonial photo. The photo was taken. 

 

Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi, Armen Sarkissian, Jon Dee and Ara Tadevosyan  

Photo: Davit Hakobyan

 A few seconds later President Sarkissian said that his tie was too official for a “rock’n’ roll” evening, so he decided to take it off. 

 Tony Iommi said something at that moment that I couldn’t hear well. 

 In an instant Armenian President’s tie appeared on “Evil guitar genius” (in fact, a very bright person who likes joking). 

 Thus, both the ceremonial and “rock’n’roll” photos will remind us of the meeting.