Author: Emma Jilavian

Asbarez – The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, issued a declaration Sunday condemning Azerbaijan for violating the Nagorno-Karabakh cease-fire, calling it “a serious violation of international law.

The Organization of American States is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., in 1889. The moderns iteration was established in 1948 in Bogota, Colombia,

“The OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere,” explained the organization’s website.

Below is the complete text of the declaration

Declaration of the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, regarding recent events in Nagorno Karabakh

April 3, 2016

Stability and peace, and the achievement of peaceful solutions to conflicts between nations are values that go beyond our hemisphere.

Therefore, the use of military action by Azerbaijan is particularly serious because it constitutes a manifest violation of the ceasefire established in 1994 as well as well as a violation of the principle of good faith negotiations in the framework of the Minsk Group.

We condemn the serious violation of the principles of international law.

Moreover, taking civilian objectives as military targets in these attacks is a complete violation of the most basic rules governing armed conflict. These practices must be banished.

Any act of violence to resolve a territorial dispute is inadmissible and when such acts of violence cause civilian deaths they are acts of barbarism.

We urge the Azeri authorities to resume meetings have been postponed with Minsk Group authorities.

The basic principles for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh are based on the Helsinki Final Act (1975), and are:

– The non-use of force,

– Territorial integrity as well as

– Equal rights and

-the self-determination of peoples.

We demand the fullest respect for these principles.

Asbarez – Cambridge University professor and specialist in Armenian linguistics and dialectology Dr. Bert Vaux presented a lecture on “The Armenian Dialect of Salmast” at the 2nd Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian Conference organized by Professor S. Peter Cowe of the Narekatsi Chair of Armenian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, which focused on Armeno-Persian Relations and the Persarmenian Community Throughout the Ages.

Professor Vaux explained that despite the Salmast region’s historical importance in Armenian culture, its dialect has yet to receive a proper linguistic treatment, normally being omitted from the standard manuals of Armenian dialects and at-best mentioned as a subdialect of Khoy / Urmia.

He provided an overview of the Salmast dialect and its place in the world of Armenian varieties (particularly, as compared to Khoy, Urmia, and Maragha), and illustrated phonological, morphological, and lexical features of the dialect using traditional riddles and sayings.

Some of the many distinctive Salmast forms discussed included väv ‘who’, khäyir ‘100’, talv‘husband’s sister’, lapəstrak lapəstrak ‘hare’, votəpöpikʸ ‘barefoot’, and the use ofwas ēr as a past tense marker, as in ēnēnts’ ēnk’ ēr ginäli = thus we knew.

Professor Vaux mentioned that the greatest Armenian linguist, Hrachea Adjarian, had collected a large corpus of Salmast dialect material during his time teaching in Iran 100 years ago, but was unable to assemble this material into a book-size treatment before his death in 1953.

Professor Vaux hopes to collate the Salmast materials in Adjarian’s Armenian Etymological Dictionary (1926-35) and Complete Grammar of the Armenian Language (1952-71); and, combine them with new words, phrases, texts, and video recordings collected from the last remaining Salmastsi speakers to produce a book-length grammar and lexicon of the Salmast dialect (taking account of its descendants in Karabagh and Armenia, particularly in Vayots‘ Dzor, as well).

The Chair of the NSW Australia Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Jonathan O’Dea MP has remembered the Sumgait Massacres of Armenians by Azerbaijan in a Private Members’ Statement in the NSW State Parliament.

After acknowledging the upcoming 101^st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which will be commemorated next month, O’Dea said: “In a similar vein, but of more recent memory, many people mourn and honour the victims of the ant-Armenian Azerbaijani attacks in Sumgait and Baku from 1988 to 1990.”

“The February 1988 anti-Armenian rallies through Azerbaijan gave way to waves of ethnically motivated violence, death and destruction.”

“Consequently, Azerbaijan’s Armenian community all but disappeared, with thousands displaced, culminating in a war involving the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, otherwise known as Artsakh”, added O’Dea when referring to the Sumgait and Baku Pogroms, while recognising that tensions and border skirmishes are still a reality today despite a ceasefire from 1994.

O’Dea continued: “I am proud to support the Armenian-Australian community… in remembrance of such tragic events. While it is important to promote tolerance, justice, and democratic freedom, recognising and remembering the past will also help ensure that dark historic events are not repeated.”

To conclude his speech, O’Dea paid tribute to those contributing towards more positive outcomes for the future, specifically mentioning the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) and Baroness Caroline Cox from the UK’s House of Lords.

ANC Australia’s Executive Administrator, Arin Markarian said: “We thank Mr. O’Dea for highlighting those matters of importance to the Armenian-Australian community, including the Sumgait and Baku pogroms, while also remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and those Armenians and other minorities who suffer persecution in Syria.”

Markarian added: “As Chair of the NSW Australia-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mr. O’Dea continues to be a great advocate for the moral truths that come with Armenian history and a wonderful supporter of our Armenian community. For this, he should be greatly commended.”

Arsenal are considering a summer move for Borussia Dortmund forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Daily Express reports. 

The Armenia international has enjoyed a stunning season at the Westfalenstadion, scoring 19 goals and assisting 23 in all competitions so far.

And according to German publication Bild, the 27-year-old has caught the attention ofGunners manager Arsene Wenger with a number of impressive displays.

But Wenger may struggle in his bid to land Mkhitaryan, with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp – who signed him at Dortmund – reportedly keen to bring him to Anfield.

The German tactician fuelled the transfer rumours earlier in the season after hailing the former Shakhtar Donetsk man as ‘world class’.

“When it comes down to it, 99 per cent of people would be happy to have Mkhitaryan’s problems,” said Klopp, who left Dortmund at the end of last season.

“There is no doubt in my mind that he is one of the most talented players in the world. He possesses an incredible combination of speed and technique. There’s very, very few you can say that about.”

Syria’s three Kurdish-controlled autonomous regions voted on Thursday to approve the establishment of a federal system in the north of the country, Reuters reports.

According to the Associated Press, representatives of more than 30 parties came together for a meeting in the town of Rmeilan in Syria’s Hassakeh province.

The two-day forum featured more than 200 delegates, including Arab, Kurdish, Armenian, Turkmen, Chechen, Syriac and many other folks from Northern Syria, Rojava, Shehba region, Aleppo-Minbic areas, the Kurdish Firat News Agency reports.

The forum was held under the slogan “Democratic Federative Syria – the guarantee of co-existence and friendship of peoples.”

The Syrian government and its opponents have rejected a declaration by Syrian Kurds of a federal region in northern Syria.

A statement issued by the Syrian Foreign Ministry says the declaration made in the town of Rmeilan in Syria’s Hassakeh province Thursday is unconstitutional and worthless.

It warned against any attempt to encroach upon the integrity of Syrian territories.

 

 

 

The Armenian National Art Gallery, the Cultural Center of the Iranian Embassy in Armenia and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art have initiated an exhibition of contemporary Iranian miniature in Yerevan.

The exhibition featuring about 50 works by contemporary Iranian artists will open at the National Art Gallery on March 11 and will run for a month.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between the National Gallery of Armenia and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art with a view of deepening the cooperation.

Director of the National Gallery of Armenia Arman Tsaturyan said the MoU lays the ground for joint work with one of the largest museums of Iran, which has a serious collection.

Besides works by Iranian painters, the collection includes works by outstanding artists like Picasso, Monet, Degas and others.

“100 Years Later”, a new documentary dealing with the legacy of the Armenian Genocide will premiere in the US on February 19. The film will be screened at Abril Bookstore in Glendale and will be followed by a live Skype session with director John Lubbock.

This film follows the historian Ara Sarafian and the Gomidas Institute’s work in eastern Turkey. It is not an observational film about what word to use for the murder of over a million people. It’s about how to create reconciliation between Turks, Kurds and Armenians over a crime that many still refuse to recognize.

Filmed in April 2015, it shows the political situation in south east Turkey just before the 2015 elections and the continuation of violence between the PKK and Turkish state.

Ara Sarafian is an archival historian specializing on late Ottoman and modern Armenian history. He is the director of the Gomidas Institute in (London). His recent work has addressed the Armenian issue by building bridges with civil society and professional groups in Turkey with a focus on Bitlis, Mutki and Diyarbakir.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights delivered three decisions on the cases against Armenia.

In the cases Ghuyumchyan v. Armenia and Tovmasyan v. Armenia concerning the applicants’ complaints that they were deprived of access to court since they could not afford to hire an advocate, the Court found a violation of the Article 6 § 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights (access to court) in respect of Vahan Ghuyumchyan (the son of Garegin Ghuyumchyan) and Ms Tovmasyan. The Court awarded just satisfaction: 3,600 euros (EUR) each to Vahan Ghuyumchyan and Ms Tovmasyan in respect of non-pecuniary (moral) damage.

In the case Safaryan v. Armenia concerning the applicant’s complaints that she was unable to have her property divided and transferred to her children and to register her title in respect of a pavilion built on her plot of land, the Court found a violation of the Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) and awarded just satisfaction: EUR 3,000 (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 630 (costs and expenses).

Tthese judgments are not final. During the three-month period following the judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention, judgments delivered by a Committee are final. Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.

The battle to drive so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters out of the centre of Ramadi is entering its second day as Iraqi special forces fight the militants street by street, the BBC reports.

Officials are optimistic that the city will be recaptured by the weekend.

But a spokesman for the US-led coalition has been more cautious, saying a tough fight is in prospect.

Iraqi forces are heading towards the main government complex, and have come up against snipers and suicide bombers.

Ramadi fell to IS in May in an embarrassing defeat for the Iraqi army.

An explosion has hit a bus carrying presidential guards in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, state TV reports.

At least 11 people have been killed in the blast, the interior ministry said, the BBC reports.

The cause of the explosion in main avenue of the capital is not immediately clear.

Tunisia has been targeted by the Islamic State group, including an attack by a gunman on the beach resort of Sousse in June, killing 39 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The latest explosion took place on the Mohamed V Avenue.