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

Armenpress: Armenia’s Security Council Secretary meets Atlantic Council’s expert community representatives in US

Emil Lazarian

Armenia’s Security Council Secretary meets Atlantic Council’s expert community representatives in US

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 10:05, 17 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan met with the representatives of the expert community of the Atlantic Council during his visit in the United States, his Office reports.

During the meeting Armen Grigoryan presented Armenia’s approaches to the unblocking of the region.

In a Q&A format, a wide range of issues, including the development processes of democratic institutions, Armenia’s foreign policy priorities and the fight against climate change were discussed.

Parliamentary committee considers nominating First Deputy Minister of Justice K. Grigoryan as next Ombudsman

Emil Lazarian

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 10:16, 17 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament’s human rights and public affairs committee is considering the candidacy of the First Deputy Minister of Justice Kristinne Grigoryan as the next Human Rights Defender of Armenia, as incumbent Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan’s term in office nears its end.

Ruling Civil Contract party MP Vladimir Vardanyan praised Grigoryan’s experience while introducing her at the committee. “We know Kristine Grigoryan’s principles in human rights protection. She has many years of serious professional experience especially in areas relating to the ombudsman’s functions,” he said.

Grigoryan is serving as Deputy Minister of Justice since 2019, being promoted to First Deputy Minister in 2021.

Armenia reports 193 daily COVID-19 cases

Emil Lazarian

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 11:14, 17 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. 193 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 343,350, the ministry of healthcare reports.

7069 COVID-19 tests were conducted on December 16.

510 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 327,539.

The death toll has risen to 7885 (11 death cases have been registered in the past one day).

The number of active cases is 6437.



President of Artsakh receives Armenia’s Investigative Committee Chairman

Emil Lazarian

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 13:27, 17 December, 2021

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan received today the delegation led by Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia Argishti Kyaramyan, the President’s Office reports.

Issues related to the development and expansion of various areas of cooperation, exchange of experience between the relevant structures of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as training and professional development of the personnel were discussed during the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Artsakh Igor Grigoryan




Armenia has won Junior Eurovision 2021!

Emil Lazarian
ESCXTRA
Dec 19 2021
 Maria Chugunova 

Junior Eurovision 2021, which just took place in Paris, has finished! Congratulations to Armenia, the winner of this year! Maléna recieved 224 points with her song “Qami Qami”!

In a nail biting voting sequence, Armenia topped the scoreboard with 224 points. Poland’s Sara James finished in second place with 218 points. The full online voting results were also revealed!

Maléna’s victory gives Armenia their second Junior Eurovision win after previously winning the competition in 2010 with the song Mama, performed by Vladimir Arzumanyan.

Our XTRA VOTE participants also predicted Armenia as a winner of Junior Eurovision 2021! You can check the full results below!

Armenia wins Junior Eurovision XTRA VOTE 2021: Here are the final results!

The ESCXTRA Team also took their rankings altogether and made a choice for the Junior Eurovision winner this year. Our team members selected Armenia as their winner as well! Check our full Top 10 for JESC 2021: 10 to 7 and 6 to 3 !

Junior Eurovision 2021: Our Top 10 (2 & 1)

https://escxtra.com/2021/12/19/armenia-has-won-junior-eurovision-2021/

CivilNet: Cleaning up Lake Yerevan

Emil Lazarian
CIVILNET.AM

19 Dec, 2021 07:12

Lake Yerevan is polluted by over 12,000 tonnes of garbage, causing alarm amongst the city’s residents. The river which feeds into the lake is significantly polluted, with sewage and other waste ending up in the lake’s waters. The Yerevan Municipality has announced its intention to clean the lake up, but work is yet to commence. CivilNet’s team went to investigate how exactly the cleaning works will be organized and how further pollution will be prevented.

Eurovision 2021 winner: Armenia’s Malena with “Qami Qami”

Emil Lazarian
wiwibloggs

EUROVISION NEWS WITH ATTITUDE



  • POSTED ONDECEMBER 19, 2021
  • BYOLIVER ADAMS

The Junior Eurovision 2021 winner has been crowned. A total of 19 countries competed in the JESC grand final at La Seine Musicale in Paris. Kazakhstan delivered killer vocals, Portugal served authentic fado and The Netherlands brought us a piece of Japanese culture. But in the end it was Armenia’s Malena who charmed the juries and audience with “Qami Qami” to win the day.

Armenia came third with the professional juries behind France and Poland, but managed to finish first overall by topping the online vote. The public ranked Poland and Portugal second and third. 

“Qami Qami” is a space-pop number composed by Maléna herself, as well as David Tserunyan, the Head of the Armenian delegation at Eurovision; Tokionine, head of the record label TKN and former national final representative in 2020; and Vahram Petrosyan, composer of “Boomerang”, the Armenian entry for Junior Eurovision in 2017.

The song’s pulsating, other-wordly beats are complemented by their lyrics, talking about going to far away places to be who she truly is and how the winds can take her to this ideal state of being. When you reach that peace of mind, don’t let it go for anything in the world. Anyone can reach this ideal, anyone can strive to go to that place and be free of mind and spirit.

Ahead of JESC, Malena topped both the Wiwi Jury and our readers’ poll.

Wiwiblogger Natalie wrote: “This is probably the most professional song we’ve ever had in Junior Eurovision. The juicy space-pop beats carry the stunning message of self-discovery and trauma recovery so beautifully. Maléna is such a talented singer who I’m sure we’ll see killing it on the adult stage as well. It’s scintillating and powerful without being remotely male-gazey. This is an empowered fourteen-year-old girl singing a superbly mature song. I love it so much.”

A student from Sayat Nova Music School, Armenia, Maléna loves playing the cello, singing covers, and cites mostly R’n’B artists as her main influences, such as Jaden Smith, girl in red, Eazy-E, and more. She has been collaborating with the Armenian label TKN since 2020, who have also produced her intended entry for Junior Eurovision 2020, “Why”. Last year, she performed under the name Maléna Fox.

https://wiwibloggs.com/2021/12/19/junior-eurovision-2021-winner-armenia-with-qami-qami/267945/

Azerbaijan releases Armenian prisoners of war after EU talks

Emil Lazarian
POLITICO
Dec 19 2021

Charles Michel hails ‘important humanitarian gesture’ following presidents’ meeting.

BY LEONIE CATER

Azerbaijan released 10 Armenian prisoners of war Sunday following EU-hosted talks between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“Warmly welcome Baku’s release of 10 Armenian detainees in follow up to discussions with @azpresident and @NikolPashinyan,” tweeted Charles Michel, president of the European Council. “An important humanitarian gesture demonstrating the mutual will to strengthen confidence as discussed in Brussels.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a ceasefire at their border last month, after Russia urged deescalation following a flareup in fighting. The November incidents represented the worst clashes since a 44-day war last year which resulted in significant military gains for Azerbaijan. 

Earlier this month, Azerbaijan handed over 10 Armenian soldiers in exchange for maps revealing the location of landmines in the Karabakh region, a deal mediated by Russia. A similar exchange was negotiated in June by the EU and United States.

The Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) reported that Sunday’s move was a result of talks involving Aliyev, Pashinyan and Michel in Brussels last week.

A senior EU official said the plane transferring the prisoners to the Armenian capital of Yerevan was paid for by the EU. Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, was on the flight.

“Happy to have been able to repatriate 10 [Armenian] servicemen” Klaar wrote on Twitter. He added that the EU “will continue to work with both countries to build on the successful meetings” between Michel, Aliyev and Pashinyan.

https://www.politico.eu/article/azerbaijan-releases-armenian-prisoners-of-war-after-eu-talks/




RFE/RL – Georgian Service – 12/18/2021

Emil Lazarian 
                                        Saturday, 
Independent Medics Say Georgian Ex-President's Health Compromised By 'Torture' 
In Prison
 21:14 GMT
        • By RFE/RL's Georgian Service
Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili delivers a speech in the defendant's 
dock during a court hearing in Tbilisi on December 2.
TBILISI -- An independent group of doctors has examined jailed former Georgian 
President Mikheil Saakashvili and determined that his health has been seriously 
compromised as a result of "torture" and mistreatment he had allegedly 
experienced since his arrest in early October.
The doctors reported on December 18 that Saakashvili, 53, had developed several 
neurological conditions "as a result of torture, ill-treatment, inadequate 
medical care, and a prolonged hunger strike."
One member of the group, psychiatrist Mariam Jishkariani, told the AFP news 
agency that the health problems were the result of "Saakashvili's psychological 
torture in prison, which could lead to his incapacitation if he is not given 
proper medical care."
She added that he had been wrongly given unspecified "antipsychotic drugs," 
which amounted to "pharmacological torture."
The examination by a group of seven physicians was organized by the 
nongovernmental Empathy Center.
Saakashvili himself has said he was subjected to death threats, sleep 
deprivation, and physical abuse while in custody.
Last week, the Georgian State Inspectorate announced it had opened an 
investigation into Saakashvili's allegations.
The NGO Amnesty International has said Saakashvili’s treatment was "not just 
selective justice, but apparent political revenge," while the U.S. State 
Department has called on the Georgian government to "treat Saakashvili fairly 
and with dignity."
Saakashvili served as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. He was arrested 
shortly after returning to Georgia from self-imposed exile in Ukraine.
He conducted a 50-day hunger strike to protest his convictions on charges of 
abuse of office, which he says were politically motivated.
His arrest, coming amid a political crisis stemming from disputed parliamentary 
elections in 2020, spurred the largest anti-government protests in Georgia in a 
decade.
With reporting by AFP
        • RFE/RL's Georgian Service
RFE/RL's Georgian Service is a trusted source of politically and financially 
independent journalism in a country where much of the media is aligned with the 
government or the opposition.

Armenian government has political will to resolve Nagorno Karabakh conflict – says Security Council Secretary

Emil Lazarian

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 11:57,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The United States is interested in the opportunity for stable cooperation and general unblocking in the region, the Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan told the Voice of America addressing his December 15 meeting with the U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington D.C.

Grigoryan described the meeting as “productive.”

The Armenia-United States bilateral agenda was discussed, he said.

“Armenia’s democratization process is an important security factor. Armenia’s continuous democratization process has a very important role and significance in this agenda. We’ve discussed how we can continue our cooperation in this process. We’ve also discussed issues relating to the security environment in the region, as well as development of cooperation and the economy in the region,” Grigoryan said.

Addressing the Azerbaijani demands for a so-called “corridor”, Grigoryan dismissed these statements as “fake”.

“Armenia has never discussed any issue on a “corridor”. This is a fake subject, which doesn’t exist on the negotiations table, but exists outside of it, which impacts the negotiations process,” he said.

Speaking about the future status of Nagorno Karabakh, Grigoryan said that the Armenian government attaches importance to launching discussions over finding ways for a long-term solution to the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. Asked whether or not a solution is possible under the current OSCE MG principles – which include territorial integrity and the right to self-determination and which in turn contradicted each other for more than two decades – the Armenian Security Council Secretary said a solution is possible if “political will exists”.

“We have this political will and we expect that Azerbaijan will have such political will so that a long-term solution is found.There’s been a lot of talk after the war as if the issue is resolved, but like I said, it’s recorded both by us and the international community that the conflict isn’t resolved. We must work in the direction of solving the issue,” Grigoryan said.