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

Kurdish Press: KNK: We demand recognition of Armenian Genocide by all concerne

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Kurdish Press – Syria – April 24 2026

On the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) called on all relevant parties and bodies to recognize it, and stressed that the Republic of Turkey’s failure to recognize this massacre, as the successor to the Ottoman Empire, means that it is complicit in it.

The Executive Council of the Kurdistan National Congress issued a statement on Friday, on the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which included,

“In 1915, the Ottoman Empire and its allies committed a major genocide against the Christian peoples living in Mesopotamia and Anatolia. In addition, a large number of Yazidi Kurds lost their lives in this genocide.

The leaders of the Union and Progress Association, the mercenaries of the Special Organization (Special Secret Organization), the Hamidiye Brigades, the Ottoman Army, and officers serving in the Ottoman Army all participated in this genocide, committing a major crime against humanity.

They exterminated the Armenian, Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean peoples with the aim of eradicating their history and culture. This genocide is considered an undeniable crime against humanity. The clearest and most tangible evidence of this is the killing of more than one and a half million people. Ottoman state population records confirm this fact.

More than half a million Assyrians, Syriacs, and Chaldeans, as well as more than one million Armenians were brutally killed in various places and different ways.

Under the deportation law, hundreds of thousands of people were expelled from their homes. Tens of thousands, mostly young girls and women, were forcibly converted to Islam and forced into inhumane marriages.

Thousands of villages, monasteries, schools, libraries, and factories were destroyed. Unknown amounts of property and wealth were looted and seized. The killing of Assyrian, Syriac, Chaldean, and Armenian peoples and the destruction of their homes and cultural and historical heritage were deemed permissible, and ethnic and religious cleansing was carried out under the guise of “jihad” and the issuance of orders.

The Ottoman Empire occupied and plundered the lands of Mesopotamia and Anatolia for centuries, and in 1915, it committed genocide against peoples; the wounds of this genocide continue to bleed to this day.

This trauma inflicted upon these peoples has, over the course of 111 years, transformed into an ongoing tragedy for new generations, burdened with bitter and deeply painful memories.

111 years after this ethnic cleansing, the Republic of Turkey’s failure, as the successor to the Ottoman Empire, to recognize this massacre makes it complicit in this crime, which constitutes a continuation of it in another form.

On the 111th anniversary of the ethnic cleansing, we call upon the Republic of Turkey to recognize this genocide and fulfill its responsibilities accordingly.

As the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), we reiterate our strongest condemnation of the ethnic cleansing perpetrated in 1915 and demand that all relevant parties and bodies recognize this genocide.

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Turkish Press: Top lawyers’ group in Kurdish-majority Turkish city calls for

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Turkish Minute

April 24 2026

ByTurkish Minute

The main lawyers’ group in Kurdish-majority Diyarbakır province, which has faced prosecution over earlier April 24 statements, has called for Turkey to confront the 1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenians, saying the events are “widely defined internationally as genocide.”

In a statement on Friday the Diyarbakır Bar Association said the events of 1915 left wounds not only in the memory of Armenians but also in the memory of the broader society. It said Armenians, whom it described as one of the peoples of what is now Turkey, were forced into deportation, killed on deportation routes or left to die under the support and control of the Committee of Union and Progress, the then-ruling party of the Ottoman Empire.

The association said there had been no reckoning with the truth in more than a century and that justice had not been achieved for the suffering of Armenians.

“Remembering those who lost their lives in the Armenian Genocide of 1915 is essential for protecting the sanctity of the right to life, the inviolability of human dignity and the necessity of historical justice,” the statement said.

The bar association said crimes against humanity can be overcome only when they are not denied, when society confronts them and when accountability is established.

It said confronting history and truth was not only a way to ease past suffering but also a responsibility under international legal norms to prevent similar suffering in the future.

The Diyarbakır Bar Association said it commemorated those killed in the genocide and called for a process to uncover the truth for a future based on peace and human rights.

Armenians, along with many historians and governments, say 1.5 million Armenians were killed through massacres, forced deportations, starvation and death marches under Ottoman rule during World War I. Turkey accepts that many Armenians died during the war but denies that the killings amounted to genocide or that there was a state policy to destroy Armenians as a people.

April 24 is marked by Armenians worldwide as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. It commemorates the arrest of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in İstanbul, then the Ottoman capital, on April 24, 1915, an event widely seen as the start of the massacres and death marches.

The Diyarbakır Bar Association has faced repeated legal action over its April 24 statements. Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) reported in 2024 that the bar had faced eight investigations under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code over statements issued between 2017 and 2024. Article 301 criminalizes “insulting the Turkish nation” and state institutions and has been used in cases involving speech describing the 1915 events as genocide.

Six trials over the bar’s statements from 2017 to 2022 had ended in acquittal by February 2025. Investigations into the 2023 and 2024 statements are reported to be ongoing.

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Turkish Press: Armenian PM condemns Turkish flag burning during Yerevan commem

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Turkish Minute

April 24 2026

Armenian PM condemns Turkish flag burning during Yerevan commemoration march

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has condemned the burning of a Turkish flag during a march in Yerevan marking the 111th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I, calling the act provocative and likely to fuel tensions, according to Armenian media reports.

The incident took place on Thursday, on the eve of April 24, which is marked as Genocide Remembrance Day, during a procession organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF-Dashnaktsutyun).

Pashinyan described the act as “clearly provocative and tension-inciting behavior,” his press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said in remarks to the state-run Armenpress news agency.

She added that the prime minister considers such actions “irresponsible and unacceptable.”

“The burning of the flag of an internationally recognized state, especially a neighboring country, cannot be assessed any differently by the head of state,” Baghdasaryan said.

Armenia has long sought international recognition that the mass killings under the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917 amounted to a genocide, saying 1.5 million people died.

Turkey strongly denies the accusation of genocide and says that both Armenians and Turks died as a result of World War I. It puts the death toll in the hundreds of thousands.

The condemnation came as Armenia and Turkey have taken limited steps in recent years toward normalizing relations despite longstanding tensions.

The two countries have no diplomatic ties, and their land border has remained closed since 1993.

In 2021 Ankara and Yerevan appointed special envoys to explore a path toward reconciliation.

Direct commercial flights resumed in 2022 after a two-year suspension, and the sides have since introduced confidence-building measures, including agreements to allow air cargo trade and to open the land border to third-country nationals, although the crossing has yet to become operational.

As of early 2026 the two governments also introduced simplified visa procedures for holders of diplomatic, service and special passports.

Despite these steps, normalization remains limited, with contacts continuing through diplomatic channels and international meetings.

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SoCal commemorates Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day Leo Stallworth Image

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

ABC 7 Los Angeles

April 24 2026

By Leo Stallworth

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Armenians across Southern California came together Friday to remember the Armenian Genocide that took place more than a century ago, claiming the lives of more than 1 million victims at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

April 24 is recognized globally as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, marking the start of the atrocities.

Several community rallies, marches and commemorations were set to take place throughout Los Angeles County, including events in Glendale, Pasadena and Beverly Hills to honor the victims and ensure their stories are never forgotten.

In 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proclaimed April as Armenian History Month. More than 200,000 Armenians live in L.A. County, making it home to the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia.

Friday’s community rallies and marches of remembrance are intended to signify a stand for dignity, justice and truth, organizers said.

Eyewitness News talked to some Armenians who say the pain of that history still haunts them.

“My great grandparents, on both sides, escaped the genocide, ended up somewhere in the Middle East,” said Mico Melkonian, who attended a “March for Remembrance” community rally in Beverly Hills.

“100 and some years later, my parents immigrated, came to this country,” Melkonian added. The Beverly Hills rally concluded at the Turkish Consulate where demonstrators held flags and signs, with some reading “shame on Turkey”.

The annual day of remembrance brought together generations, many with personal ties to survivors.

Armenian activists say this year’s gathering also serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving truth, as advocates continue pushing for global awareness and accountability.

“I’ve grown up in this country now, and this is my home, but it breaks my heart that my people had to be spread all over the world, persecuted because another nation wanted to wipe us off the face of the earth,” said Melkonian.

In Pasadena, an event is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Armenian Genocide Memorial at Pasadena Memorial Park and will feature a number of speakers.

In Glendale, several community leaders will be honored during an Armenian Genocide commemoration at the Glendale Central Library beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Organizers involved in the gatherings said events like these are critical not only for remembrance but also for educating the next generation.

“I feel like it’s really important for everyone, like my age, and everyone just in general, to start coming to these marches, because we need to know what happened to our country,” Alik Melkonian said.

Schools in the Glendale Unified School District were closed Friday in observance of the holiday.

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Genocide Remains a Crime and Existential Threat Until the Perpetrator Acknowle

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

by Contributor

April 24, 2026

in 2026 April 24 Special Issue, Commentary, Featured Story, Latest, Op-Ed, Top Stories

Statement of the Armenian National Committee – International on the 111th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

The 111th anniversary commemoration of the victims of the Armenian Genocide is upon us. While the passage of time may appear to distance us from the consequences of that abhorrent crime against humanity, recent developments in our history—namely, the occupation and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh—once again demonstrate that the Armenian Genocide was not a crime confined to a specific time and place, but an ongoing process aimed at the extermination or displacement of the Armenian people from their homeland.

Genocide remains both a crime and an existential threat so long as the perpetrating state has neither acknowledged its political and moral responsibility nor been compelled to do so by the international community. Recognition of genocide is equally necessary for the perpetrator—to cleanse itself of a historical stigma and cease to pose a civilizational threat—and for the victim, as a guarantee against the continuation of genocidal intent.

For decades, the struggle for the international recognition, condemnation, and reparations of the Armenian Genocide has been aimed primarily at ensuring the secure existence of Armenia and the Armenian people. This pursuit has never been an end in itself for the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Diaspora, or the international community; rather, it has sought to foster lasting peace and coexistence in the region through the restoration of justice and a reckoning with history.

In Armenian–Turkish relations, there is no “conflict” in the classical sense. It is therefore misguided to approach interstate normalization through conventional conflict-resolution mechanisms. In this context, there exists a perpetrator state whose denialist policies—and ongoing actions—demonstrate the persistence of genocidal intent, and a victimized side seeking to prevent the recurrence of such actions.

The ongoing Armenia–Turkey negotiation process illustrates this reality. Despite the Armenian authorities having imprudently and unconditionally met all of Turkey’s preconditions, the Turkish side has not only refrained from implementing even agreed-upon symbolic steps but has also introduced new preconditions and continues to link Armenia–Turkey relations to Armenia–Azerbaijan dynamics. In effect, Turkey maintains an unlawful blockade against the Republic of Armenia, which constitutes a manifestation of hostile policy.

As a result, a situation has emerged in which the authorities of Armenia possess virtually no effective means to influence the course of normalization. Under these conditions, it becomes evident that Armenia–Turkey relations should not be treated as a conventional conflict. A genuine path toward normalization—both at the interstate level and, potentially, between the two peoples—can only emerge when the Turkish state adopts policies that do not aim at dismantling Armenia’s security architecture and do not entail the continuation of the genocidal crime.

On this solemn anniversary, we honor the memory of our innocent victims and reaffirm that the memory of the Armenian Genocide cannot be denied, and its international recognition cannot be subject to negotiation.

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Asbarez: Prelate’s April 24 Message

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

by Contributor

April 24, 2026

in 2026 April 24 Special Issue, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Archbishop Kegham Khacherian, Prelate Western Prelacy of the United States

The Armenian Genocide Is Not A Historical Event Confined To The Past, But A Manifestation Of Human Injustice

One hundred eleven years ago, the systematic agenda carried out by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people takes on renewed meaning and urgency today, considering the ongoing massacres across the world and, especially in recent years, the endless chain of localized genocides and forced displacements inflicted upon the peoples of the Middle East.

As in the past, so too today, conscious humanity continues to bleed at the sight of injustices committed by the powerful against their fellow human beings through brutal oppression, territorial occupations, and various forms of cultural destruction and genocide. While these forms of manifestations may differ in certain respects from the Armenian Tragedy of the early twentieth century, particularly during the years 1915–1923, marked by the annihilation of Western Armenia, immense human and territorial losses, the appropriation of Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage, and the forced blood soaked marches of deported Armenians, their essence remains unchanged. They are crimes of human injustice, especially in its denial of the fundamental rights of nations to self-determination and to live.

In this spirit, we once again bow in reverence before the memory of the martyred sons and daughters of the Armenian people and call upon the living generations to remain committed in remembrance. The Armenian Genocide is not merely a historical event confined to the past. Rather, it endures as a lasting testament to human injustice, one that, regrettably, has yet to receive its full and rightful recognition. It has yet to become a noble act of just reparation in the collective memory of the dispersed and massacred Armenian people, or within the broader framework of goodwill, constructive efforts, and moral principles that uphold peaceful coexistence among nations and secure lasting peace for humanity.

It is our responsibility to uphold the torch of the Armenian people’s just demands, as a symbol of human injustice and an enduring link in the 111-year chain of ongoing wars and genocides, known as the Armenian Cause.

Archbishop Kegham Khacherian, Prelate
Western U.S. Prelacy

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168: MFA wants additional billions. The Government accepted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ notice

April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 Emil Lazarian

April 24, 2026

Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the agenda of the government session on approving the draft laws “On Amendments to the Law on Diplomatic Service”, “On Amendments and Amendments to the Law on “Public Service” and “On Amendments and Amendments to the Law on Remuneration of State Positions and Public Service Persons” and considering it urgent.

The proposal was accepted with a package of non-reportable issues.

According to the justification presented, the adoption of this legal act

is aimed at solving problems arising in the field, regulating various gaps that require legislative regulations and found in practice, improving the remuneration conditions of diplomats serving in diplomatic service bodies in foreign countries on the principle of rotation.

Accordingly,

– the requirement for a diplomat to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a subordinate body for at least two years will be revised, setting it at 18 (eighteen) months.

– regulations on establishing a diplomatic office will be introduced.

“In recent years, according to agreements reached with foreign countries, it became necessary to establish diplomatic offices in some countries.

For example, there are cases when it is necessary to have a representation of the state in a foreign country, but at that time it is not advisable to create an embassy from a financial or other point of view. In such cases, an agreement can be reached with a foreign state to establish a diplomatic office,” the document says;

the provision of paying 50 percent of the compensation to the spouse holding a lower position in the case of the service of diplomat spouses in the same diplomatic service body in a foreign country will be removed from the draft law.

According to the rationale, “such a change is aimed at ensuring equal pay conditions for diplomat spouses, as well as the principles of equal pay for equal work.”

The adoption of another draft law, “On Amendments to the Law on the Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and State Service Positions”, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was conditioned by the equalization of the official rates of diplomats serving in diplomatic service bodies in foreign countries and diplomats serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

“Currently, the official rates of diplomats serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are set by the law “On Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and Public Service Positions”, when a normal increase of the basic salary – official rate is set for consecutive work (for example, the calculated minimum rate of the first secretary is AMD 267,072, and the maximum rate is AMD 366,080 drams), and the official rates of diplomats serving in diplomatic service bodies operating in foreign countries on the principle of rotation are defined by the Government of the Republic of Armenia No. 738-Н of July 3, 2014 by decision, when a normal increase in the official rate is not planned and not ensured (for example, the rate of the first secretary for the countries of the single euro payment zone is established at 157,069 AMD, and for countries other than the countries of the single euro payment zone – 178,442 AMD, which is unchanged),” the justification states.

But that’s not all, the foreign ministry also attributed this change to the continuously changing security environment in the region and the world, the presence of external threats and challenges surrounding the Republic of Armenia. According to the Ministry, this requires the diplomats serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the diplomatic service bodies of the Republic of Armenia on a rotational basis to make incomparably more energetic efforts on bilateral and multilateral platforms, which in turn creates a need to “make changes to the law “On Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and State Service Positions” in order to improve the remuneration conditions”.

This part of the justification, by the way, is in contradiction with the peace talks that Nikol Pashinyan addresses to the RA citizens every day.

This, in turn, implies the need for additional financial resources and expected changes in the revenues and expenditures of the state budget.

Thus, according to the rationale, after the law “On Amendments to the Law “On Remuneration of Persons Occupying State Positions and State Service Positions” comes into force. In 2026, the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs will need an additional 93,490.3 thousand drams per month for salaries and 56,993.7 thousand drams for each half-yearly award, and in the following years the expenses will increase by 1,235,870.6 thousand drams»։

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Pentagon says it will take months to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz – AP

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

The Pentagon told U.S. lawmakers this week it will likely take six months to clear the mines set in the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Defense delivered the information during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, according to the report.

The session left more questions than answers as lawmakers probed for information about the cost of the war against Iran, the strategy and objectives, the person told AP. The lawmakers also raised questions that have still gone unanswered about the strike on a school compound during the early days of the Iran war.

The Washington Post, citing three officials speaking on the condition of anonymity, reported that lawmakers were told that Iran may have emplaced 20 or more mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for the movement of Middle Eastern oil through the Persian Gulf.

Some were floated remotely using GPS technology, which has made it difficult for U.S. forces to detect the mines as they are deployed, the senior defense official told lawmakers. Others are believed to have been laid by Iranian forces using small boats.

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at
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Corporate tax revenues surge in Armenia amid economic growth

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Economy13:09, 23 April 2026

Read the article in: Arabic ՀայերենRussian中文

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reported a sharp increase in Armenia’s corporate income tax revenues, highlighting strong long-term growth driven by economic expansion and a reduction in the shadow economy during his administration since 2018.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, he presented corporate income tax (profit tax) collection data, noting that as of April 20, 2026, it amounted to 265.8 billion drams (roughly $700 million USD), marking a significant increase compared to previous years.

April 20 of each year is the deadline for corporate income tax payments for companies in Armenia.

“I would like to remind you that after the 2018 revolution, we reduced the corporate income tax rate in Armenia from 20 percent to 18 percent,” the Prime Minister said.

“As of April 20, 2026, 265.8 billion drams in corporate income tax was paid compared to the previous year,” he added.

According to the Prime Minister, a significant increase has been recorded over the long term.

“Compared to 2017, corporate income tax collections increased by 5.4 times, or 444 percent,” Pashinyan emphasized.

In his assessment, this growth is driven by several factors.

“This is about two things. First, part of the previously shadowed turnover has been brought out of the shadow economy and is now entering the state budget, serving public needs,” the Prime Minister noted.

At the same time, Pashinyan said the increase is also due to expanded economic activity.

“On the other hand, we have ensured economic growth, and since 2018, Armenia has recorded growth rates higher than both global averages and those of the Eurasian Economic Union,” he said.

Read the article in: Arabic ՀայերենRussian中文

Published by Armenpress, original at
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Pashinyan calls for ‘prudence’ over reports of Azerbaijan demolishing Armenian

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Politics13:40, 23 April 2026

Read the article in: Español, Farsi, Armenian, Georgian, Russian

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has commented on reports indicating that Karabakh’s main Armenian cathedral has recently been demolished by Azerbaijani authorities.

Pashinyan was asked to comment on the report at a press briefing on Thursday.

He said the Armenian government is currently trying to obtain complete information on the matter but called for “prudence” in such cases, “especially at this stage.”

“On such issues, especially at this stage, one must be prudent, because they are a double-edged sword. As the New Testament says to its readers: ‘For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you,’” he said, reciting the Gospel of Matthew 7:2, part of the Sermon on the Mount.

“So we will look into it and analyze it. I do not think that, taking into account our previous experience, we will make this a subject of international discussions at the state level. This is a situation that we need to fully and comprehensively understand,” the Prime Minister said.

Addressing a journalist’s remark that the destruction of cultural heritage is more an _expression_ of hostility than a step toward peace, Pashinyan said:

“I have already stated what my criteria for peace are. For two years now, no people have been killed or injured as a result of Armenia–Azerbaijan exchanges of fire. Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, inviolability of borders, and political independence based on the Alma-Ata Declaration. And we—Armenia and Azerbaijan—must approach any issue from this perspective.”

RFE/RL earlier published satellite images showing an empty space at the site of the imposing Holy Mother of God Cathedral, indicating that the church has been demolished by Azerbaijani authorities.

Read the article in: Español, Farsi, Armenian, Georgian, Russian

Published by Armenpress, original at
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