Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

On March 28, President Serzh Sargsyan started his working visit to the United States of America. In Massachusetts, President Serzh Sargsyan visited Watertown, which has many residents of the Armenian descent, who is last two centuries established there strong national structures. First, President Sargsyan was hosted at the Armenian library-museum of America which was founded in 1971. The Museum is an important structure which presents Armenian cultural heritage – coins, articles made of ceramics, pottery, carpets, religious articles, stamps, textile, metal work, maps, printed works and a rich collection of medieval miniatures. The President toured the premise of the library-museum, familiarized with the exhibits, and conversed with the staff about the activities of this cultural establishment. The President of Armenia augmented the collection of the museum with a picture of Jansem which he presented to the museum.

Afterwards, Serzh Sargsyan visited Paykar Center of Ramkavar Liberal Party and Hairenik center of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, familiarized with the activities of these two Armenian traditional parties and conditions they work in. Hairenik Center of Boston is the oldest Armenian center on the East coast. The East coast ARF office, headquarters of the Armenian Relief Society, Hairenik radiostation, editorial staff of Armenian Weekly and Hayrenik Weekly papers are functioning here. The ARF party archives are also kept here – in Hayrenik center. It contains materials related to the activities of the Party during the First Republic of 1918-1920 and subsequent decades. At the Center, the President of Armenia met with the representatives of the ARF. Serzh Sargsyan greeted and stressed the equal importance of the patriotic activities of the traditional parties and wished them all the best.

On the first day of his visit to the United States, President Sargsyan visited also the Armenian Churches of Saint Stepanos and Saint Trinity. In 1991 at the proposal of the Armenian community of Watertown, the Saint Stepanos street was renamed into Artsakh street, while on August 6, 2012 the House of Representatives of Massachusetts adopted a resolution urging the President of the United States and Congress to support independence of Nagorno Karabakh and its right for self-determination.

The visit to the Saint Trinity Church concluded the first day of the working visit of the President of Armenia to the US. In the Book of Honorary Guests of the Saint Trinity Church, Serzh Sargsyan made an inscription and stressed the special role of the Armenian Church in the preservation of the Armenian identity and highlighted the importance of its historic mission.

 

 

President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus.

President Sargsyan attached importance to inter-religious tolerance and respect for each other’s faith, which, he said, is one of the pillars of the Armenian-Cypriot friendship.

Noting that the reciprocal sympathy between the Armenian and Cypriot peoples is connected with their commitment to and respect for the same universal values, Serzh Sargsyan noted that the church has been implementing this important mission for centuries. He added that the church also assumed part of the state’s role in a period of Armenian history, when we had lost statehood.

President Sargsyan said “the issues of reinforcement of religious values remains important today, taking into consideration that the current globalization processes are full of negative consequences, and fighting them is the imperative of the time, especially for small peoples, from the point of view of preservation of national identity, cultural and religious values.

During the meeting President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the authorities and people of Cyprus for the careful attitude towards Armenians in the country.

The Archbishop of All Cyprus praised the warm brotherly relations established with the Armenian people. He said the Church of Cyprus maintains good relations with the whole Christian world, including the Armenian Church, which, he said contributes to the reinforcement of inter-state relations.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Vienna on March 13 to participate in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European People’s Party (EPP), Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

Iker Casillas’s own goal earned Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win over Porto and confirmed their UEFA Europa League round of 16 place, according to UEFA’s official website.

Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, the home side started at breakneck speed, but as the heavens opened in northern Portugal, their hopes of progressing were all but extinguished. Casillas produced a wonderful save from Marco Reus’s volley, yet the ball cannoned off him and into the net after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s follow-up had crashed off the crossbar.

Away goal secured, Dortmund sat back. Evandro fired wide following a mazy run before Silvestre Varela’s header forced visiting keeper Roman Bürki into a full-length save just before the break. Vincent Aboubakar’s impish flick was well smothered by Bürki as Porto continued where they left off, though Dortmund menaced on the counter, Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan both having efforts disallowed for offside.

Bürki produced another smart stop late on to deny Porto a consolation before home substitute Yacine Brahimi rattled the crossbar and Mkhitaryan saw his attempt smash against the post.

“Anahit” animation film based on the homonymous fairy tale by Gazaros Aghayan is now available on the web.

It has been viewed by more than 80,000 thousand people in the cinemas, a record-breaking number for animation films in Armenia.

It took “Robert Sahakyants” Production five years to create the first Armenian full-length animation film.  The project was supported by the Armenian Ministry of Culture and the Sharm Holding.

Directed by David Sahakyants, Lyulya Sahakyants
Produced by Sharm Holding
Producers: Karen Ghazaryan, Hayk Sahakyants, David Sahakyants
Story by Naira Sahakyants, Lyulya Sahakyants, David Sahakyants
Dialogs by Vahram Sahakyan and Levon Galstyan
Production designer: Ernest Muradyan
Composers: Armen Martirosyan, Vardan Zadoyan

Voiced by Nazeni Hovhannisyan, Khoren Levonyan, Raphael Kotanjyan, Sushan Petrosyan, Hrant Tokhatyan, David Babayan, Mkrtich Arzumanyan, Vardan Zadoyan.

The songs are performed by Shushan Petrosyan, Inga Arshakyan, Tigran Petrosyan, Gor Sujyan, Nik Egibyan, Hasmik Karapetyan, as well as “Akunk” folk ensemble.

– Recently, a group of religious leaders from different denominations in the Lowell region met to discuss the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. What started as an informal get-together has become a united coalition of churches, pooling their spiritual and material resources to help some of the world’s most victimized people. It is the first time Christians in the region have worked together on such a large-scale initiative.

The culmination of their efforts will be an interfaith “Ecumenical Prayer Service of Christian Unity” on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lowell. The service is open to the public, and will highlight the hundreds of thousands of Christians who are being persecuted and killed in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. The clergymen are working with their respective congregations and the local community to inform people of the atrocities, and to raise money for relief efforts.

A unique feature of the multi-denominational initiative is that all donations will be combined and distributed to three trustworthy charitable organizations: Catholic Charities, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), and the Armenian Relief Fund. Donors may select among the three according to their personal preferences.

The enterprise was conceived and promulgated by Rev. Terrence O’Connell of St. Joseph’s Shrine and Chuck Saba, owner of Bishop’s Legacy Restaurant in Lowell, who developed the plan with Rev. Leonard Faris of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church. The founding team met with Rev. Daniel Crahen of St. Patrick Church, Rev. Peter Rizos of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Fr. Ernest Couloras, a retired Greek Orthodox priest, and Fred Simon, a parishioner at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, to discuss how to implement the plan.

Since then, many other churches have joined the operation, such as the Armenian Christian churches in Haverill and Lawrence. A number of Protestant denominations have also been contacted to expand the effort.

Rev. Faris has been an indefatigable organizer of the Jan. 24 event, which will take place at his church. He explained that, despite the relentless persecution from groups such as ISIS, the majority of Christians in the Middle East do not want to repatriate to other countries. They have deep roots in the area, and do not want to leave their businesses behind. Additionally, many have family members, especially the elderly, who are unable to travel.

“Many of the refugees don’t want to leave their homes because they know once they leave their country they’ll never go back,” Rev. Faris noted. “Most of them will never hear again from their relatives. So we want to help them stay in their homelands, since that’s what they prefer.”

Rev. O’Connell concurred: “The effort is to help people on-site, so they can either stay in their own country or to return to their homes.” He added that the victims are singled out for their faith: “It’s a tragedy for the refugees because they’re being persecuted for their religious beliefs.”

Rev. Faris expounded, “ISIS has no value for human life – Christian or Muslim. If you don’t follow their ideology, you’re killed. Unfortunately, Muslims are getting a bad name from ISIS. We need to remember that moderate Muslims are also getting slaughtered.”

Accordingly, the funds collected for relief programs will help both Christian and Muslim refugees, since the organizers wish to help all victims. Rev. Faris explained that when individual churches send contributions, they are often confiscated or stolen, especially by ISIS operatives. As a result, churches are wary of sending anything on their own since it will likely go to the wrong hands. To ensure the donations go directly to the designated beneficiaries, the ecumenical coalition is combining their resources and distributing them to three well-established relief organizations.

The cooperative effort among so many denominations in the Lowell region reverberates far beyond the local level. The ecumenical initiative is more than a gesture: it is a formidable example to believers and persecutors alike that Christians can cooperate and support each other in adversity.

Rev. Faris is enthusiastic about the response from the participants and the historic nature of the enterprise: “This is the first event of its kind in the region.

Lowell is a city of immigrants and we all get along and work well together. There is no animosity between us. We’re multi-cultural, and our churches are open to all who want to come and pray. As Christians, we have more in common than what divides us. This harmony can also happen in the Middle East.”

Singer David Bowie has died at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer, the BBC reports.

His son director Duncan Jones confirmed the news and a statement was released on his official social media accounts.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” it said.

“While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan attended the liturgy at Holy See Mother Echmiadzin Cathedral dedicated to Christmas and Revelation holidays.

Asbarez – Following years of systematic efforts by the Government of Azerbaijan to eliminate the voices of independent journalists, opposition politicians, and civil society groups, Helsinki Commission Chair Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) Wednesday introduced H.R. 4264, the , a landmark bill that will deny U.S. visas to senior members of the Azerbaijani government.

“We recognize that there are important national security and economic ties that exist between our two countries, but the United States can no longer remain blind to the appalling human rights violations that are taking place in Azerbaijan,” said Rep. Smith. “Journalists and activists are routinely arrested and imprisoned; opposition politicians are in jail and elections are not free and fair; human rights lawyers have been harassed and disbarred; and religious freedom is under attack.  The Azerbaijan Democracy Act demonstrates that the United States takes human rights and fundamental freedoms seriously, and that we will not compromise when faced by a government that represses the political opposition, the media, and religious minorities.”

In addition to denying U.S. visas to senior leaders of the Government of Azerbaijan, those who derive significant financial benefit from business dealings with senior leadership, and members of the security or judicial branches, the Azerbaijan Democracy Act also expresses the sense of Congress that financial penalties should be considered. Sanctions could be lifted when the Azerbaijani government shows substantial progress toward releasing political prisoners, ending its harassment of civil society, and holding free and fair elections.

“It is unacceptable that senior members of the Azerbaijani government are free to visit the United States while courageous women and men like investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, attorney Intigam Aliyev, opposition politician Ilgar Mammadov, and activist Anar Mammadli are locked away in prisons with inadequate access to legal or even medical assistance,” Rep. Smith said. “If they can pay the price for standing up for human rights, the least we can do is to stand with them.”

Rep. Smith is a long-standing advocate for human rights in Azerbaijan. Following the introduction of today’s legislation he will chair a 2PM hearing to examine Azerbaijan’s persecution of Ms. Ismayilova, who was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in early September.

“We welcome Congressman Smith’s leadership in introducing the Azerbaijani Democracy Act,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.  “This measure, aimed first and foremost at protecting the rights of Azerbaijani citizens, can, in a broader sense, also potentially contribute to prospects for regional peace, by requiring that the United States – and our international partners – hold Ilham Aliyev and his regime accountable.  The fact is that Azerbaijan’s domestic repression mirrors its regional aggression.  We need to challenge both.

The sitting in the NATO Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee + Armenia format was held at NATO headquarters. The meeting was chaired by James Appathurai, NATO Secretary General’s Special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. The Armenian delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimyan and Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan.

The assessment report of the 2014-2015 Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan was discussed.

Addressing the Meeting, Ashot Hovakimyan referred to Armenia-NATO political dialogue and partnership in different spheres. He also touched upon the recent developments in the negotiation process. He reiterated Armenia’s commitment to continue the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan in 2016.

David Tonoyan, in turn, spoke about the process of reforms in the Armenian Armed Forces, the steps targeted at the reinforcement of human rights in the Army and the military-educational programs implemented by the Ministry of Defense.

Addresssing the sitting, representatives of NATO member states hailed Armenia’s cooperation with the Alliance in all spheres and expressed their support for the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group.