Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. 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.” - WS

Greece and Armenia will sign defence industry cooperation agreement

Emil Lazarian
Aug 31 2023
by ATHENS BUREAU

Greece and Armenia will sign an agreement on military-technical cooperation, reported Armen Press.

The bill on approving the signing is included in the agenda of the August 31 Armenian Cabinet meeting.

“The high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Greece, as well as partnership in bilateral and multilateral platforms, creates the favourable foundation for closer and effective cooperation in the defence sector; therefore, Armenia attaches great importance to the efforts aimed at expanding and deepening partnership, as a highly important bridge in the context of developing Armenia-NATO relations and relations with NATO member states,” reads the bill.

The agreement will define directions of cooperation, particularly the promotion of research of military-grade products and new technologies for strengthening defence capabilities and cooperation in the areas of development and industry in line with the national legislation of the parties.

The agreement covers the areas of technology transfer and technical support in weapons, ammunition and explosive ordnance production, exchange of information and experience in ammunition production, research in military-grade products and industry, establishment of joint industries, training of technical personnel and others.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/08/31/greece-armenia-defence-industry/


US urges Azerbaijan to allow immediate aid to enclave Armenians

Emil Lazarian
Al-Aabiya, UAE
Aug 31 2023
AFP – The United States on Thursday urged Azerbaijan immediately to allow aid into the breakaway Armenian-dominated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh as international concern mounts over the humanitarian situation.

The State Department said it was “deeply concerned about deteriorating humanitarian conditions” in Nagorno-Karabakh, months after Azerbaijan allegedly blocked the only road link into the enclave.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“We reiterate our call to immediately reopen the Lachin corridor to humanitarian, commercial and passenger traffic,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

He called on Azerbaijani officials and representatives in the breakaway region to enter talks “without delay to agree on the means of transporting critical provisions” to civilians.

“Basic humanitarian assistance should never be held hostage to political disagreements,” he said.

Self-described environmental protesters in December began blocking the Lachin corridor, the only way into Nagorno-Karabakh, which remains internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and has triggered two wars between the former Soviet republics.

Azerbaijan, which made significant territorial gains in the second war in 2020, insists that the road remains open.

Criticism led by members of the Armenian diaspora has been mounting.

Azerbaijan on Thursday summoned France’s ambassador to protest after French politicians including the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, tried unsuccessfully to escort a 10-truck humanitarian convoy into the enclave.

French humanitarian convoy for Nagorno-Karabakh blocked by Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian

 18:56,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has blocked a French humanitarian convoy from delivering essential aid to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo personally lead the convoy of 10 trucks from Yerevan to the entrance of blockaded Lachin Corridor. The trucks were unable to continue to Nagorno-Karabakh due to the Azeri blockade.

Xavier Bertrand, the President of the Regional Council of the French region of Hauts-de-France, said that their convoy was barred and condemned the move.

President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan said he hoped the convoy would make it through and mitigate the sufferings of the people.

Meanwhile, a group of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh organized a meeting in the central plaza of Stepanakert to express gratitude to the French regions for the initiative.

The new convoy, sent by the City of Paris, the regions of Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, Occitania and Pays de la Loire, joined the Armenian humanitarian convoy and the previously sent French aid truck stranded at the entrance of Lachin Corridor in Kornidzor because of the Azerbaijani blockade.

Armenpress: Canadian Senator Leo Housakos calls out West for ‘shameful’ inaction amid Azeri blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Lazarian

 21:25,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Canadian Senator Leo Housakos has called out the West for “twiddling its thumbs” while Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are “trapped in desperate circumstances by Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev.”

“Over 120,000 ethnic Armenians are trapped in desperate circumstances by Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev whilst the West twiddles its thumbs and gives him a wink. This is shameful!” Housakos, a former Speaker of the Canadian Senate, said in a post on X.

He shared an article by Paul Brian titled “The crisis we ignore” calling on the international community to step in immediately and put on pressure to get the Lachin corridor open again.

Anahit: The Armenian Goddess of fertility, healing and wisdom

Emil Lazarian
Aug 30 2023
by LIANNA AGASYAN

In Armenian mythology, Anahit was the Goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom and water. By the 5th century BC, she was the main deity in Armenia along with her father, Aramazd (equivalent to Zeus). Historians and scribes have identified her with her Greek counterparts, Aphrodite or Artemis.

The Armenian goddess Anahit is related to the similar Old Persian goddess Anahita. Anahit, In early times, symbolised war until the Armenian goddess Nane took the domain.

According to the historian Agathangelos, the Armenian King extolled Anahit as the “great Lady Anahit, the glory of our nation and vivifier…”

She was considered the mother of all chastity and issue of the great and valiant Aramazd.

The annual festivity of the month Navasard, held in honour of Anahit, was the occasion of great gatherings, attended with dance, music, concerts and competitions.

The symbol of ancient Armenian medicine was the gilded bronze statue of the goddess Anahit.

Anahit was known as Golden Mother, and many statues were pure gold or bronze.

A fragment of the statue, the bronze head of the goddess Anahit, was found.

The statue may date to Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia (97-56 BC), whose rule saw prosperity throughout the region. The thin-walled casting of the bronze head suggests a late Hellenistic date.

The bronze head of Anahit was taken to England, and then it ended up in the British Museum.

You can follow Lianna Agasyan on X.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/08/30/anahit-the-armenian-goddess/

Artsakh Peace Festival: The voice of besieged Artsakh

Emil Lazarian
 Guest Contributor Music, Culture 0

The Artsakh Peace Festival (APF) virtual initiative was launched on August 1, 2023. Musicians from around the world perform in the festival in support of the people of Artsakh and raise their voices against Azerbaijan’s total blockade of Artsakh.

The APF, organized by Lilit Bleyan of Muzanav Cultural NGO and Armine Petrosyan of the Armenian Santa Claus foundation, began with a special Manifesto initiated by Armenian classical musicians. The APF has expanded to include all musicians who would like to add their voices and performances to the movement started by their colleagues. The APF logo was generously created by Aveluk artist and singer-songwriter Zaruhi Kroyan.

The Manifesto reads, in part:

We, musicians from around the world, stand united to raise our voices in support of the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), who are facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

The people of Artsakh faced a devastating war three years ago. Thousands were killed, and tens of thousands fled their homes, leaving the villages and towns of their ancestors.

The remaining part of Artsakh is now under a total siege by Azerbaijan. 

120,000 people, among them 30,000 children, are held hostage by the Azerbaijani militaries. No food, no medications, no fuel, no transportation: nothing is allowed to reach Artsakh.

These people want to live their lives peacefully and with dignity on their ancestral land. Now they are blocked, getting attacked and kidnapped by the Azerbaijani military.

We, who have dedicated our lives to the beautiful and sublime art of music, want to share

our best and most profound emotions with them.

We want to play and sing for the people of Artsakh to bring hope back.

We have filled your souls with beautiful melodies and harmonies for many years. Now we are asking you to open your ears and your hearts to the cry of the besieged people of Artsakh.

Stand with us in this critical moment, and let us amplify the voices of the people of Artsakh together.

My voice is the voice of Artsakh.

The first video message of the festival was sent by maestro Tigran Mansuryan.

More than five dozen Armenian and non-Armenian artists have joined the initiative, creating special musical projects dedicated to Artsakh and Armenia. They include singers, performers and composers from Armenia, Europe, the United States, Australia, Lebanon and more. New premieres are expected soon, made especially for the Artsakh Peace Festival.

The public is invited to follow the Artsakh Peace Festival on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. 

For additional information, email [email protected].




We Live to Keep Others Alive…AMAA Artsakh holds Camp for Youth

Emil Lazarian
 Armenian Missionary Association of America Nonprofit News 0

AMAA Artsakh Camp

By Viktor Karapetyan, AMAA Representative in Artsakh

They are trying to eliminate us, but we live and keep others alive…

Life in Artsakh is different. To live here you must be a source of support for those around you. You must transmit life to others. You must fight and not give up.

Uncertainty, chaos, despair…Sometimes it seems like spring will never come to the homeland. It is difficult to work with and convey hope to members of the young generation who live in this chaos. It is even more difficult to show them how they can participate in the mission. 

From August 14-18, the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) Artsakh branch organized a camp to give hope and encouragement to the youth and teach them that each person has their part in building the homeland. The camp, filled with entertainment as well as educational and patriotic sessions, separated the children from their everyday worries and the blockade.

We must learn to be healthy in mind, heart and soul so that we can pass on the same spirit to others. We can each help and uplift each other to overcome these challenges.

“It is the heroic resistance that will save the motherland and not pitiful foreign mercy,” said Zaven Khanjian, AMAA Executive Director/CEO. “We firmly stand by your side, with unbreakable will, but we humble ourselves against your heroic struggle. We appreciate, love, join your struggle and bow before you.”

  •  Bio
  •  Latest Posts
The Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) was founded in 1918, in Worcester, MA, and incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization in 1920 in the State of New York. We are a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Our purpose is to serve the physical and spiritual needs of people everywhere, both at home and overseas. To fulfill this worldwide mission, we maintain a range of educational, evangelistic, relief, social service, church and child care ministries in 24 countries around the world.


Armenia-United States Business Forum to take place in California

Emil Lazarian

 14:05,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Economy and the Armenian-American Business Council will jointly organize an Armenia-United States Business Forum on September 25-29 in Los Angeles and Burbank, California.

The Ministry of Economy said representatives from the areas of winemaking, IT and agriculture are invited to participate.

American business circles will become acquainted with the Armenian investment climate and business opportunities during the event.

Participants are invited to register .

Armenpress: Azerbaijani military targets Armenian outposts in Gegharkunik with cross-border gunfire

Emil Lazarian

 10:22,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military opened gunfire late on Sunday evening at Armenian outposts in the Gegharkunik Province, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said in a statement.

“On August 27, at around 11:30 p.m., Azerbaijani armed forces units fired from fire arms towards the Armenian combat outposts nearby Norabak,” the ministry said.

Armenia fears Azerbaijan plans to commit collective punishment in NK, calls on civilized world to intervene

Emil Lazarian

 21:16,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Armenia called out the Azerbaijani authorities on Monday for derailing the ongoing peace efforts after three residents of Nagorno-Karabakh were kidnapped by Azeri border guards in the Lachin Corridor.

In a statement, the foreign ministry warned that Azerbaijan could be planning to subject the entire people of Nagorno-Karabakh to collective punishment.

“Today, on August 28, Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies in the illegally installed checkpoint in Lachin Corridor kidnapped residents of Nagorno-Karabakh Alen Sargsyan, Vahe Hovsepyan and Levon Grigoryan. The transport was agreed upon in advance and was being carried out with Russian peacekeeping escort, who were to control the uninterrupted connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through Lachin Corridor in accordance with clause 6 of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement. The abovementioned persons were being transported to the Republic of Armenia to continue their studies. This step by Azerbaijan, which was preceded by the kidnapping of 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan on July 29, who was being transported to the Republic of Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross for urgent medical treatment, constitutes a gross violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, the binding decisions of the UN International Court of Justice and is an explicit disregard for the unequivocal and targeted calls by the international community, including the members of the UN Security Council. These incidents, which happened under various fake pretexts, bring about substantiated fears that Azerbaijan is overtly planning to subject to collective punishment the entire people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who in the 1990s and in 2020 was forced to withstand large-scale aggressions unleashed by Azerbaijan and defend its right to live peacefully in its own homeland. The policy of mass deprivation of all fundamental rights of the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh regardless of age, gender or health condition, subjecting them to starvation, blocking supplies of medications, essential products, gas and electricity, terrorizing the entire people through targeting civilians with snipers and kidnappings and blocking the Lachin Corridor showcases the Azerbaijani leadership’s true intentions, i.e., to avoid dialogue with Nagorno-Karabakh at all cost and instead continue its policy of ethnic cleansing. Instead of supporting the steps aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region the Azerbaijani side is explicitly investing its entire efforts in the direction of derailing them. Preventing the ongoing mass crime, with the use of every available instrument is the direct obligation of all actors having influence on the situation and overall, the civilized world,” the foreign ministry said.