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

AW: Major research on Diaspora public opinion in North America closing on July 29

Emil Lazarian
 Guest Contributor Announcements 0

The Armenian Diaspora Survey (ADS) provides valuable insights into diaspora public opinion and a snapshot of Armenians’ thoughts on a host of issues, such as identity, language, culture, community and the homeland.

ADS offers evidence-based knowledge to the public and valuable data to community leaders, activists and policy makers in particular, giving them a better understanding and analysis of their communities for the development of programs and projects.

This unprecedented research project, initiated and funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, is led by a group of scholars and researchers under the auspices of the Armenian Institute in London.

Any Armenian, aged 18 and older, living in the United States and Ontario, Canada can take the survey online. It takes about 15 minutes to answer 50 questions.

So far, the survey has been carried out in over 35 diaspora communities in 10 countries.

The results of the 2018 and 2019 studies have been published separately. In addition to English, the 2019 study is also available in Armenian and Spanish. All of the reports could be downloaded for free online.

Researchers Discover Crusades Era Grenades in Jerusalem

Emil Lazarian
ByJames Ssengendo
Researchers discover Crusades era Grenades in the Old City of Jerusalem Credit: Wikimedia Public Domain

Researchers have discovered grenades that were used in the time of the Crusades within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. In a recent study, the remains of elements of the grenades were analyzed and explosive materials were found inside them.

In the analysis of the objects found in the Garden of Armenia in Jerusalem, these 900-year-old objects were identified to have possibly been hand grenades.

Researchers tested residues on sherds from four sphero-conical vessels, which they dated to the 11th or 12th century.

Chemicals indicative of medicine and oils were found in three of the vessels, but the fourth vessel contained a unique combination of plant-based oils, animal fat, and nitrates,  indicating something that was built to explode.

The several sphero-conical vessels excavated from the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem between 1961 and 1967 are artifacts attributed to the Mamluks at the time, a group of enslaved soldiers that eventually won political control across swathes of the Middle East and fought the Crusaders.

Stanica Aurel-Daniel, a researcher at ICEM Tulcea said “Sphero-conical vessels were used as small containers for various substances, another hypothesis indicating even fermented beverages (beer)”.

“Certainly, the use of these containers for Greek fire or grenades remains topical,” the researcher said. She added that she was, however, unaffiliated with the research.

Though it’s not the first time the use of grenades in the Crusades has been suggested and there have been previous historical accounts of Saladin’s forces tossing explosives during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187, the recent analysis lends more credibility to the idea.

The researchers confirmed that the chemical cocktail on the pottery sherd was not black powder, indicating that Crusades-era fighters figured out a way to build explosive, handheld weaponry locally.

In thinking about brutal Crusades weaponry, swords, bows, maces, axes, and flails probably come to mind, but according to a recent study, hand grenades were common, too.

Carney Matheson, a molecular archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia said: “An explosive has two main components: a fuel and an [oxidizer], as well as a vessel that applies pressure to allow the reaction to build pressure until it can cause an explosion.”

“If explosive ingredients are correct, then it advances our understanding of medieval weapons in the Middle East at this time because it shows that the explosive weapons described by the crusaders were a local invention,” said Matheson.

Matheson further added that “the chemical ingredients for these weapons were developed in the Middle East, not the adoption of black powder from China through the silk route.”

Weapons similar to the analysis of the objects were found nearly a century ago in Cairo, and that team found evidence of sulfur and potassium nitrate on the artifacts. However, recent work identified additional nitrates, which are believed to have mixed together to form an oxidizing agent in the heart-shaped ceramic grenades.

Disney+ warns Turkish subtitle translators about hitting political nerves in Turkey

Emil Lazarian
Turkish Minute
International Journalists Association, Germany
By

 Turkish Minute

 –

  

Disney+, which launched in Turkey last month, has warned its Turkish subtitle translators about the political atmosphere in Turkey, telling them to avoid hitting a nerve on a wide range of controversial issues that the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are sensitive about, the Gazete Duvar news website reported on Wednesday.

Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s flagship direct-to-customer digital streaming service platform, has been offering Turkish viewers access to more than 1,000 movies and over 16,000 episodes from some 400 TV shows and 170 documentaries and exclusive content collections since it launched in the country on June 14.

Before it started broadcasting, the online streaming platform opened an office in Turkey in line with a social media law that went into effect on Oct. 1, 2020, setting forth progressive sanctions forcing social media platforms with more than 1 million connections a day to appoint a representative in Turkey with whom the Turkish authorities can resolve problems arising from cases of insult, intimidation and violation of privacy.

After initially refusing to comply with the law, giant social media platforms, which were subjected to large fines by Turkish courts, had to announce that they would appoint local representatives to Turkey.

Duvar said the Disney+ administration sent an e-mail to its Turkish translators to warn them about the political atmosphere in the country with respect to some of the productions that include religious, national and political references.

According to Duvar, translators were asked to inform the platform’s Turkey administrators about productions that deal with critical issues for Islam, the massacre of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, which Turkey does not recognize as a “genocide,” the Kurdish issue, the Cyprus problem and LGBTI+s, topics that Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government are sensitive about.

The Kurdish issue, a term prevalent in Turkey’s public discourse, refers to the demand for equal rights by the country’s Kurdish population and their struggle for recognition, while the Cyprus problem refers to an ongoing dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots about each other’s legitimacy on the island.

The e-mail also asked the translators to inform Disney+ administrators for Turkey about productions that “make Erdoğan look like a dictator,” according to Duvar, which added that authorities from the digital streaming platform hadn’t returned their calls for comment.

https://www.turkishminute.com/2022/07/13/warns-turkish-subtitle-translators-about-hitting-political-nerves-in-turkey/

Forecast: Erdogan`s maneuvering will force the West to put up with him further

Emil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo.Turkey’s continued policy of maneuvering between the West and Russia will force the US and EU to put up with some of Erdogan’s decisions even further. A similar  opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Victor Nadein-Raevsky, Ph.D. in  Philosophy, director of the Institute of Political and Social Studies  of the Black  Sea-Caspian region, senior researcher of IMEMO RAS  (Russia), Turkologist.

“We see how Erdogan’s tactics of maneuvering not only between the  Russian Federation and the West, but also in other areas demonstrate  very definite successes. As a result, the Turkish president manages  to get the West’s consent to some aspects of his own foreign policy  today and enlist their readiness to turn a blind eye to such aspects  in future,” he stressed.

According to the Turkologist, tracking Erdogan’s geopolitical  overtures, Moscow, in turn, does not perceive Ankara’s consent to  membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO particularly painfully. And  it continues negotiations with Ankara, continuing to discuss a number  of issues. In his opinion, Erdogan knows perfectly well what and from  whom he can get. And he never takes a single step in any direction  without first calculating what he can get in return.

In the opinion of Nadein-Raevsky, against such a Turkish background,  the activation of another regional power, Iran, practically leaves no  alternative for Tehran. The recent visit to Armenia by Secretary of  the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani, his  talks with the Prime Minister, Secretary of the Security Council of  Armenia, the analyst views in this light.  ” Shamkhani’s statements  in Yerevan  are far from accidental. I think that, in contrast to  Turkey, Iran is thus trying to position itself today as a country for  which the territorial integrity of Armenia is a foreign policy  priority. Thus, Tehran is trying to increase its own weight in  relations with Baku and Tehran “, he remarked.  

“All this opens up additional opportunities for Yerevan, of course,  in the case of a flexible diplomatic line.  The region is still in a  geopolitical vacuum, which can instantly be replaced by threats. But  all this simultaneously gives rise to opportunities for flexible  diplomacy in the direction of confronting Armenia with the Turkic  threat.  “Certainly, Armenia has the opportunity, even in the current  unfavorable geopolitical situation for Armenia,” the Turkologist  summed up.

Three Azerbaijanis forcibly took resident of Khachik village to Nakhichevan

Emil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.The Investigative Committee of Armenia, based on the report of the Prosecutor General’s Office, is investigating the incident that took place with a resident  of the village of Khachik, Areni community, Vayots Dzor region.

According to the press service of the department, during the  preliminary investigation, information was obtained that a resident  of the village of Khachik A. Kh. on June 3, at about 09:00 went alone  to the Jaghatsi Dzor territory, located on the border with Azerbaijan  for harvesting. There he was approached by three Azerbaijanis, whose  identity has not been established, and against his will they took him  to Nakhichevan. On June 12, he was again returned to the same  territory from which he returned to the village of Khachik.   Preliminary investigation of the case continues. 

Sports: U-20 European Championship: Armenia loses to Germany 30-101

Emil Lazarian
News.am
Armenia –

Armenian U-20 women’s basketball team met the German team in Skopje in the third round of the European Championships (Division B) and lost with a score of 30-101.

In the first round, Armenia defeated Georgia with 49-46, and in the second round, Armenia was defeated by Israel with 40-102 (3:19, 19:35, 9:29, 9:19).

The teams, taking the first two places in the group, will pass to the quarterfinals.

Sevan Startup Summit 2022 will not take place due to technical reasons

Emil Lazarian

Save

Share

 14:25,

YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. This year Sevan Startup Summit will not take place due to technical and time-related reasons, Startup Armenia Foundation said in a statement.

“Despite that we have found a new convenient area for the summit as a result of the joint work with the Sevan National Park and other government agencies, and have carried out major works since 2021 for the Sevan Startup Summit 2022 to happen, we have to inform that this year as well, due to technical and time-related issues, the biggest and the most awaited gathering in the region will not take place in late July with its scale and format as it is perceived by our ecosystem”, Seaside Startup Summit executive director Vahagn Rapyan said.

Currently, Startup Armenia Foundation is working for holding Seaside Startup Summit Australia and SSSholidays India Goa this year in autumn. The organizers said that the preparations for the Sevan Startup Summit 2023 will start soon and assured that it will take place.

Roman Trotsenko’s promise to help build new nuclear plant in Armenia ‘up in the air’

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia –

No progress has been made in the negotiations on the construction of a new nuclear plant in Armenia, while Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko, owner of the GeoProMining Gold LLC who announced plans to join its construction, seems to “have gone into hiding”, Pastinfo reports.

Nikol Pashinyan met with General Director of Rosatom Corporation Alexey Likhachev on Tuesday. According to a statement released by the prime minister’s office, the interlocutors discussed issues related to the further operation of the second power bloc of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP), the possibilities of building a new nuclear power plant in Armenia, the development of nuclear energy as well as the cooperation in the field of renewable energy.

Incidentally, earlier in 2021 Pashinyan said “negotiations” were underway over the construction of a new nuclear plant, thus attempting to “smooth over” the corruption scandal related to the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) transaction.

On September 30, 2021, Industrial Company JSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Roman Trotsenko’s GeoProMining, mysteriously acquired 60% of the ZCMC shares and promptly donated a quarter of that stake to the Armenian government. The granted 25% of the shares make up 15% of the ZCMC equity. Trotsenko’s company acquired the shares immediately after they were unfrozen by an Armenian court. The government has not revealed how Trotsenko became the recipient of the stake or the sum paid by him.

Speaking about the corruption scandal in the parliament in October 2021, Nikol Pashinyan said that “Armenia received a proposal from one of the GeoProMining owners which was discussed and they came to the conclusion that it meets the economic and state interests of Armenia.”

“This includes two very important components: the first is the construction of a copper smelter. Second, the construction of a new nuclear power plant is part of the program. GeoProMining LLC has undertaken investment commitments for the establishment of a copper smelter, which has been duly recorded, and talks on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia have already started,” Pashinyan said.

Roman Trotsenko also announced the corporation’s plans to support the construction of a new nuclear plant in Armenia.

Likhachev confirmed back in November 2021 that Trotsenko was interested in new power sources in view of his new industrial projects in Armenia.

“It’s known that Mr. Trotsenko has, as they call it, dropped anchor here,” Likhachev said on Nov. 16, 2021.

“Several months have passed since that statement, but not only haven’t the negotiations on a new nuclear power plant taken shape, but also the fervor of the statements has diminished. Nikol Pashinyan no longer speaks about the progress or the results of negotiations on the construction of a new nuclear power plant, saying only such a possibility is being discussed. While Trotsenko, who promised billions in investments, no longer appears on the scene. It seems that the promises given to each other remain unfulfilled. Trotsenko was not present at yesterday’s meeting of Likhachev and Pashinyan,” Pastinfo says.

Ex-PM on national currency rise, curbing it: Armenia Central Bank is deceiving the government

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
18:10, 13.07.2022

Back on February 24, when the [Armenian] dram had not appreciated yet, we said that the war could bring benefits to Armenia’s economy in the short term, that the Russians would come to us who will bring money; secondly, Russia will start selling [natural] gas and oil in [Russian] rubles, and there we will win again. Former PM of Armenia, chairman of the opposition Freedom Party, and economist Hrant Bagratyan stated this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“As a result, only in the first four months—on the account of the money brought to Armenia by the Russians and economizing it—we [i.e., Armenia] started paying in rubles, as we had a surplus of rubles, whereas the dollar was not enough, we received one billion dollars more than we used to receive. This resulted in the dram’s appreciation. It is a sad thing because of the improper action of the Central Bank [of Armenia],” he added.

Bagratyan noted that dram’s rise in Armenia will not continue for long, it is a one-time phenomenon, and this effect will gradually disappear after the end of the war in Ukraine.

He expressed a conviction that the Central Bank of Armenia could have restrained the increase of the exchange rate of the dram, but did not do so.

When asked how is it that prices in Armenia continue to rise amid the dram’s appreciation, Bagratyan responded: “Inflation continues because they have fake growth, but we have no production. Inflation is not only a monetary phenomenon. Also, that production, those volumes do not exist. On the other hand, yes, the demand has increased because several tens of thousands of additional consumers have come here from Russia.”

Commenting on the popular view that after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Armenia could return to the situation of 2019, Bagratyan said: “(…) remittances put pressure on the market; it’s a short amount of money that we received.”

According to Bagratyan, the Central Bank of Armenia is deceiving the government.

“The government is subject to the Central Bank today. Maybe it seems to the Prime Minister that he is ordering the Central Bank. Today, the Central Bank is making Armenia’s economy ‘dance,’” he said.

As per Bagratyan, it is beneficial for the US that its dollar is depreciating against the Armenian dram today.

Armenian PM receives new Ambassador of Syria

Emil Lazarian

Save

Share

 16:23,

YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received newly-appointed Ambassador of Syria to Armenia Nora Arissian, the PM’s Office said.

The PM congratulated the Ambassador on assuming office, wishing a productive activity for the benefit of the development of the relations between Armenia and Syria.

“Armenia attaches importance to the cooperation and historical ties with Syria. We follow the developments and wish that friendly Syria overcomes the crisis as soon as possible”, the Prime Minister said.

He touched upon Armenia’s humanitarian mission delivered to Syria in 2019 that carried out demining works and provided medical services to the population.

The Ambassador of Syria thanked the Armenian PM for the warm words and stated that the diplomatic service in Armenia is an honor for her, also as a Syrian-Armenian. On behalf of the Syrian authorities, the Ambassador expressed gratitude to the authorities of Armenia for the humanitarian aid provided to Syria and stated that she will make all efforts to further intensify the mutual relations.

The sides highlighted the role of the Syrian-Armenian community in strengthening the Armenian-Syrian ties.

Views were exchanged also on the agenda and prospects of the cooperation.