21:17, 5 January, 2022
YEREVAN, 5 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. By the decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Karen Manukyan has been appointed as Deputy Governor of Shirak province, ARMENPRESS reports the decision of the Prime Minister is published on the website of the Government of Armenia .
First published in the Jan. 1 print issue of the Glendale News Press.
By Ani Duzdabanyan
Glendale News-Press
Under the dim lights surrounded by art works and antiquities dating back hundreds of years, Arpenik Hakobyan recently presented her new program — “In Love by Christmas” — at the Pasadena Antique Warehouse.
For the show, Hakobyan — an Armenian American musician well known for her work with Cirque Du Soleil — performed jazz versions of well-known Christmas songs. She and the band — composed of drums, piano, bass guitar and cello — performed via Carpet Jam, a music platform created by a Glendale-based contractor. This intersection of endeavors by Armenian Americans, which could have a global reach, might just shift the musical landscape — at least, that’s their goal.
After a successful 42-year career in planning and construction, Arthur Aghadjanians traveled to Armenia in February 2020 for a development project but had to stay there longer than he planned — the coronavirus pandemic began, and all flights out were canceled. He knew only a few people, and the 12-hour time difference made it difficult for him to communicate with his family in Glendale. In order to pass time and to entertain himself, Aghadjanians turned to his passion — music — and started to write songs, something that he said he always wanted to do but never had a chance because of the busy life stateside.
Photos courtesy Lilit Mansuryan
Carpet Jam, created by Glendale-based contractor Arthur Aghadjanians, aims to bring Armenian musicians’ performances to a global audience.
Little did he know that it was going to be a life-changing opportunity for him.
Eventually, Aghadjanians was able to engage with musicians and singers who started to perform his songs and their own original works on a platform that Aghadjanians ultimately called “Carpet Jam.”
“Carpet is something that everybody has,” he explained, referencing Armenia’s famous rugs, “and jam simply indicates that musicians are gathering together and having fun.”
Aghadjanians said he took many music classes when he was young, but he never had the opportunity to play professionally. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in building science and dedicated his whole career to construction. It turned out that his training in planning and building was crucial in his new career.
“The song writing starts with a plain piece of paper. You put on the words, chords and suddenly you create something,” he said, adding emphatically, “You construct a song!”
With Carpet Jam, Aghadjanians said he aims to create a bridge between the diaspora and homeland, where all the musicians and artists can unite and create art together. He said he is convinced that no matter how big the platform becomes in Armenia — with a population around 3 million — it can’t be as effective without the involvement of the worldwide diaspora, which numbers 5 million. Aghadjanians is returning to Armenia at the end of January, from where he will take the platform to Russia and its Armenian population of at least 2 million.
“There has to be an internationally recognized platform that is Armenian and connects everyone to Armenia. Everybody knows what [NPR’s] Tiny Desk is, and it’s a U.S. thing,” Hakobyan said, during a break from her performance. “This is my way of bringing awareness to my country and involving the diaspora. Culture is just as important as everything that we are trying to do.”
Photos courtesy Lilit Mansuryan
Arpenik Hakobyan, known for her work with Cirque du Soleil, performs jazz versions of popular Christmas songs at a recent show.
Her vision of Carpet Jam, Hakobyan added, is a music festival that can take place in Glendale, Fresno, Montreal, Yerevan and many other places.
“It’s a platform that can go everywhere,” she said.
This concert is one of the many that Pasadena Project has organized throughout 10 years of developing a creative laboratory for artists, producing events and promoting cultural exchange. Started around 20 years ago as a dream project in the back yard of founder Karmen Kameiyan (also called Karmen Yerevanci), Pasadena Project now collaborates with Chris Agazaryan, owner of the Pasadena Antique Warehouse.
With a rustic interior decorated with constantly changing exhibitions, a bar assembled with parts of an old red Chevrolet and backed by an antique mirror conveniently located in the corner, the shop/concert venue has proved an effective space to host 80-100 guests who can reconnect with culture over a glass of wine. As if illustrating that, Aghadjanians surveyed the room with visible excitement, concluding that everything seemed just right for his new adventure.
“Music speaks to you,” he said. “It takes emotions out of you that you never knew you had.”
Armenian traces are being destroyed in occupied Shushi.
As reported by Azerbaijani media, buildings constructed during the Armenian occupation will be demolished to construct a new mosque complex.
Six five-storey buildings, a new parliament building, and other buildings are to be demolished.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Special envoys from Turkey and Armenia will hold their first meeting aimed at normalizing their ties on Jan. 14 in Moscow, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The two neighbors, which have no diplomatic ties, agreed last month to appoint special representatives who would discuss ways of establishing formal ties and end years of tense relations. Turkey and Armenia also hope to resume charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan.
The move is seen as part of an effort to end tensions in the Caucasus region. It is also part of Turkey’s efforts to reconcile with a number of countries it has fallen out with, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and to end its regional isolation.
A Foreign Ministry statement didn’t provide further details on the meeting to be held in Moscow. Turkey appointed Serdar Kilic, a former ambassador to the United States as its special representative while Armenia appointed deputy parliamentary speaker Ruben Rubinyan.
Ankara and Yerevan had reached an agreement in 2009 to establish formal relations and to open their joint border, but the agreement was never ratified because of opposition from Azerbaijan. This time around, however, the reconciliation efforts have Azerbaijan’s blessing and Turkish officials have said Ankara would “coordinate” the normalization process with Azerbaijan.
Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993, in a show of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in the six-week conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old hostility over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide.
Turkey vehemently rejects the genocide label, conceding that many died in that era, but insisting that the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest.
Tehran supports the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia over all the roads passing through it – Ebrahim Rai
20:10, 3 January, 2022
YEREVAN, JANUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. During the telephone conversation on January 3 between the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi on January 3, reference was made to the processes taking place in the region. ARMENPRESS reports according to the statement issued by the Iranian President’s Office Ebrahim Raisi called on to continue the dialogue between the two countries at different level.
“The sensitivity of the situation in the Caucasus region requires that the countries of the region regularly discuss regional and bilateral issues. One of the key directions of the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries. In this sense, Tehran supports Armenia’s sovereignty over all roads passing through that country,” he said.
It is noted that Tehran welcomes the progress in the negotiation process between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Iranian President expressed hope that the problems between the two countries will be resolved peacefully on the basis of international principles. “We support the unblocking of roads,” Raisi said.
09:33, 4 January, 2022
YEREVAN, JANUARY 4, ARMENPRESS. A serviceman is under arrest on suspicion of killing his comrade at a military base in Vayots Dzor Province.
According to the Ministry of Defense – the victim of the alleged crime – Private Movses Tadevosyan – a 19-year-old conscripted serviceman, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his military base in the morning of December 31, 2021. Private Tadevosyan died while being rushed to a hospital.
Authorities say they have reasons to believe that another serviceman of the same base is responsible for killing Private Tadevosyan. The suspect was taken into custody amid an investigation.
By Hannah Saunders, For the Reporter
Stephen Lamson grew up on Mercer Island, where if he found himself having a bad day, he would sneak off to grab his dog and go fishing. Throughout his childhood, music played a major role.
“My mom used to play the piano, my sisters used to play the piano, and I used to fall asleep under the piano,” Lamson said.
When he was about six years old, Lamson picked up the drums, which he played until the ninth grade.
“When I was about ten years old, I was sitting at the piano and my mom had just finished playing and I sat at the piano — and I couldn’t play anything — but I looked at the keyboard and I just had this weird feeling that this was what I was supposed to do with my life,” Lamson said.
Lamson recalled his youthful days where he would sneak into churches at night to play piano. When he reached his early twenties, Lamson became more serious about composing while working in the sales and marketing field.
“It’s taken me almost a year of composition on just this composition,” Lamson said.
This past year Lamson finished composing his second symphony, “Ararat’s Shadow,” which is a four movement, 96-minute piece. Lamson has Armenian roots, and the tales of how his grandfather escaped the Armenian Genocide, and Nazi-occupied Germany, is what inspired this symphony.
“I couldn’t believe people could do some of the things you hear,” Lamson said. “I’ve got to do something to honor a part of my heritage and these poor people that suffered so much.”
Through melodies and chording, Lamson tries to educate people. In “Ararat’s Shadow,” he brought up how the third movement is titled ‘The Promise of Forgiveness,” which he describes as a point in which all humans must get to no matter what.
“The last movement is ‘The Awakening,’ and that’s really the celebration of unity and bringing people together and the resurrection of humanity,” Lamson said. “The bringing back of sense and kindness and love and piece.”
Lamson brought up how there were a lot of emotions in the piece. For recording, the piece was so long that it had to be placed on two CDs.
“I composed the piece, the melodies, the whole thing, and then I would get it recorded and then I’d talk with Al and some of these other musicians, so we just carved it out,” Lamson said. “It’s sort of like a spiritual creation by a team of dedicated musicians.”
Lamson calls the group of musicians Eternal Flame, which is a large monument in Armenia with a continuous flame that burns and is dedicated to lives lost during the Armenian Genocide.
Al Cisneros plays electric guitar and bass while also doing editing for the symphony. Jim Malin plays the harmonica. Myles Ricker, 24, plays the violin, viola, and cello. Kurt Madsen plays the classical guitar. Jack Reed, a member of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, plays percussion instruments to include the timpani and glockenspiel. Jeff Miller plays the trumpet. Denny Hancock plays the trumpet and harmonica. Jennifer Rae Getz is a singer and songwriter who does vocals on the track.
“I’ve written music over the years, but this is my most serious work,” Lamson said. “Part of what we want to do with the money is to go to the Armenian relief fund.”
Stephen said if anyone is interested in picking up a copy of “Ararat’s Shadow,” they can call him at 425-503- 1499 or email him at .
The police of Armenia are not allowing the newly elected members of the Vardenis Council of Elders and the mayor-elect to enter the town hall building.
Outside the aforesaid building, the law enforcement first demanded to see the mandates of the elected council members and the mayor-elect, then informed that a lawsuit had been filed with the administrative court, the lawsuit had been accepted, and therefore the council members could not enter the town hall building.
Mayor-elect Aharon Khachatryan, in turn, said that a motion had been submitted to make an interim decision, but that motion was not granted at the moment, and therefore they can enter the town hall building.
Khachatryan’s lawyer, for his part, said that if the court has not chosen any means of securing the lawsuit, as well as there is no legal decision made by the court that the decision of the council meeting is invalid, then the council can enter the town hall building today and carry out work.
A police representative, however, said they will not allow the new town council members to enter the building, and therefore the council members could hold the mayor-elect’s inauguration elsewhere.
To note, the police did not submit any documents on the basis of which they banned the newly elected members of the Vardenis Council of Elders from entering the town hall building.
As reported earlier, in the December 5 local elections in Vardenis, the ruling Civil Contract Party (CCP) had won 13 seats, the opposition Aharon Khachatryan bloc—10 seats, and the opposition United Vardenis—4 seats in the town council. Then, the opposition forces had signed a memorandum to form a coalition, and therefore the number of their town council seats was enough to elect their mayor candidate.
After that, former mayor of Vardenis Aram Harutyunyan, who topped the electoral list of United Vardenis, was charged in a criminal case against him and was arrested.
The first session of the new Vardenis Council of Elders had taken place on December 30. But before the session started, the police had attempted to apprehend another opposition member of the council, Aharon Khachatryan, who is the opposition’s candidate for mayor. Three hours later, the opposition finally had managed to convene a session and elect Khachatryan mayor. The CCP members of this council, however, had not attended this session.
An Armenian soldier has been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of a fellow serviceman, the Investigative Committee reported on Tuesday.
The victim, identified as Movses Tadevosyan (b. 2003), was found with gunshot wounds to the head in a military post on December 31. The serviceman died on his way to the military hospital.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Tadevosyan was killed by a fellow soldier. The latter has been charged under Article 104 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The preliminary investigation continues, the law enforcement agency said.
14:34, 3 January, 2022
YEREVAN, JANUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian health authorities are still working on a coronavirus health pass which would require people to produce either a recent negative PCR test result or a COVID-19 vaccination certificate upon entering restaurants or other leisure venues.
The Ministry of Healthcare initially planned to mandate the health pass starting January 1, but the timeframes were delayed.
The Ministry of Healthcare told ARMENPRESS that they have received the Ministry of Justice’s opinion on the matter and are now finalizing the document. The order will be issued after passing confirmation.