Thursday,
U.S. Expects ‘Decisive Action’ On Karabakh From Armenia
• Harry Tamrazian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) meets with U.S. National Security
Adviser John Bolton in Yerevan, .
The United States hopes that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will take “decisive
steps” to help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after his likely victory
in Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections, President Donald Trump’s
national security adviser said on Thursday.
Visiting Yerevan as part of a regional tour, John Bolton also declared that
Washington is ready to sell weapons to Yerevan in order to reduce “excessive
foreign influence” on the South Caucasus state allied to Russia.
Bolton gave an exclusive interview to RFE/RL’s Armenian service after holding
talks with Pashinian. He said they discussed a “very wide range of subjects”
and the unresolved Karabakh conflict in particular.
“We wanted to be of whatever assistance we could be behind the scenes, as well
as one of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, to see if we could help facilitate
a solution between Armenia and Azerbaijan that would be mutually agreeable to
both,” Bolton said. “And we recognized the obvious difficulties there. But we
just felt that the prime minister was in an excellent position here in Armenia
and would be after the elections to show leadership on that.”
Bolton emphasized this point at a separate news conference held in the U.S.
Embassy in Yerevan. He noted that Pashinian is widely expected to win the snap
parliamentary elections expected in December.
“It is a fact that if the predictions come true he will have a very strong
mandate, and that is the most opportune moment to take strong action in a
number of different respects. And if, as I appreciated what I learned in the
meetings here today, … the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh is the primary
issue on the Armenian political agenda, there is no better time to try and take
decisive action than right after that election,” said the top aide to Trump.
An Armenian government statement on Pashinian’s meeting with Bolton said both
men stressed the importance of “consistent” efforts to find a peaceful solution
to the Karabakh dispute. They also agreed on the need for creating “the right
atmosphere for the negotiation process,” the statement added without
elaborating.
Bolton arrived in Yerevan from Baku where he discussed the conflict with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday. He said in the Azerbaijani
capital that Washington will continue to support a peaceful Karabakh settlement.
Armenia - U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton (right) speaks with
RFE/RL's Harry Tamrazian in Yerevan on October 25.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service, Bolton said that a Karabakh peace would
greatly help Armenia’s struggling economy as it would lead to open borders with
Azerbaijan and Turkey. It is also “the surest way to reduce an excessive
outside influence in Armenia,” he said in a clear reference to Russia,
Armenia’s main political and military ally.
Commenting on potential security alternatives for Armenia, Bolton, who met
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week, spoke of possible
U.S. arms sales to Yerevan.
“We have restrictions Congress has imposed on the United States in terms of
[weapons] sales to Azerbaijan and Armenia because of the conflict, but there
are exceptions to that,” Bolton explained.
“As I said to the prime minister, if it’s a question of buying Russian military
equipment versus buying U.S. military equipment, we’d prefer the latter,” he
said. “We think our equipment is better than the Russians’ anyway.
“So we want to look at that. And I think it increases Armenia’s options when
it’s not entirely dependent on one major power.”
Relations with Iran, a key neighbor of Armenia, were also on the agenda of
Bolton’s talks with Pashinian. The U.S. national security adviser said he told
Pashinian that the Trump administration will enforce U.S. sanctions against
Tehran “very vigorously” and that that the Armenian-Iranian border is “going to
be a significant issue.”
“Obviously, we don’t want to cause damage to our friends in the process,” he
said. “So I think conversation between the government of Armenia and the United
States is going to be very important.”
Bolton has strongly supported Trump’s controversial decision to pull out of an
international deal on Iran’s nuclear program and to re-impose the economic
sanctions on the Islamic Republic earlier this year.
Like the other world powers that signed it -- France, Germany, Britain, Russia
and China -- Armenia continues to support the 2015 deal. Yerevan has made clear
that it will press ahead with joint economic projects with Tehran.
Bolton also noted that a large community of Armenian-American citizens in the
U.S. makes Armenia’s “prospects for closer economic cooperation" with the U.S.
private sector "very real" and "much better for the long term than
government-to-government assistance."
"I think this is a time to be optimistic that Armenia can emerge more on the
world stage," Bolton said, stressing that the Trump administration "considers
the South Caucasus a very important area strategically" and that improving
relations with Armenia is "a very high priority."
Armenian Tax Chief Denies ‘Systemic’ Corruption
Armenia - Davit Ananian, head of the State Revenue Committee, speaks to
reporters in Yerevan, .
Corruption among Armenian tax inspectors is not widespread anymore, the head of
the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Davit Ananian, insisted on Thursday
following the arrest of three such officials facing extortion charges.
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) reported earlier in the day that
they stand accused of forcing, through “unfounded” claims, an entrepreneur to
pay them 1 million drams ($2,100) in bribes.
An SIS statement said police arrested the three SRC officials on Monday
immediately after one of them was caught red-handed accepting the kickback in
his office. All of them were subsequently charged with bribery and extortion
and remanded in pre-trial custody, said the statement.
The suspects hold senior positions in an SRC unit dealing with small
businesses. Investigators have publicized only their initials.
“We are waging a relentless fight against corruption,” Ananian said, commenting
on the arrests. “I continue to insist that there is no systemic corruption
[within the SRC,] but we do fight against sporadic [corruption] cases. We are
grateful for being helped in that endeavor.”
“I am sure that the bulk of the [SRC] staff works in line with the new
[political] realities,” he told reporters.
Corruption within the Armenian tax and customs services making up the SRC has
for decades been a serious problem. Ananian pledged to tackle it when Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian appointed him to run the government agency in May.
Bolton Warns Against Armenian Military Involvement In Syria
• Emil Danielyan
SYRIA -- A Russian soldier places the Russian national flag at the Abu Duhur
crossing on the eastern edge of Idlib province, September 25, 2018
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Armenia against sending
combat troops to Syria to aid Syrian government forces or their allies when he
visited Yerevan on Thursday.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced the impending launch of a
Russian-Armenian “humanitarian mission” in Syria following his September 8
talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He declined to give any
details.
Deputy Defense Minister Gabriel Balayan clarified on September 11 that Yerevan
is planning to dispatch medics and demining experts primarily tasked with
helping civilians in the war-ravaged city of Aleppo. They are expected to be
from the Armenian military.
Balayan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that the deployment will be carried out
“at the request of the Syrian government.” "We do not rule out cooperation with
Russia in some ways, but the group will operate exclusively under the flag of
the Republic of Armenia,” he said.
Bolton said he discussed the issue at a meeting earlier in the day with
Pashinian, which was also attended by Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan.
“The prime minister said this was not going to be military assistance, it would
be purely humanitarian,” he told a news conference. “I think that’s important.
It would be a mistake for anybody else to get involved militarily in the Syrian
conflict at the moment.”
“There are already … seven or eight different combatant sides. To get involved
with anyone of them for any other country would be a mistake,” he said.
Armenia - U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks at a news
conference in Yerevan, .
Bolton said he told the Armenian leaders that while providing “extensive
humanitarian assistance” to Syrians the United States has sought to “avoid
aiding terrorists on the one hand and the regime on the other.” Washington
believes that “any important long-term humanitarian assistance in
reconstruction should depend on progress toward a political resolution in
Syria,” he added.
Russia has been trying to legitimize its strong military presence in Syria,
criticized by the West, by getting other countries to also deploy military
personnel there. A top Russian military official said in August 2017 Armenia
and Serbia are ready to join a multinational “coalition” which Moscow hoped
would help its soldiers clear landmines.
The former Armenian government seemed reluctant to commit troops for such a
mission. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2017, then President
Serzh Sarkisian said Armenian deployment in Syria requires a UN mandate.
An estimated 80,000 ethnic Armenians lived in Syria before the outbreak of the
bloody civil war there in 2011. Most of them have since fled the country.
Thousands of Syrian Armenians have taken refuge in Armenia.
Press Review
“Zhamanak” describes as “unprecedented” U.S. National Security Adviser John
Bolton’s visit to Armenia. The paper says Bolton “said interesting things” on
the Karabakh conflict after talks with Azerbaijan’s leaders held in Baku on
Wednesday. “Bolton said that he has not brought any new peace proposals,
thereby effectively dismissing pessimistic speculation in Armenia about the
U.S. putting forward a variant of the resolution of the Karabakh conflict which
it will first present to Russia and then impose on the conflicting parties,” it
says.
Lragir.am cites Bolton as saying in Baku that a Karabakh settlement is of
“strategic importance” to the United States. This statement is construed by the
online publication as a sign that Washington is “stepping up its policy
regarding security in the South Caucasus.” It too says that Bolton has not
brought new peace proposals to the region.
“Hayots Ashkhar” notes that the Armenian parliament on Wednesday did not
attempt to thwart Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s plans to hold parliamentary
elections in December when it agreed not to reelect him as prime minister. “As
they had promised beforehand, the deputies from the Tsarukian and
Dashnaktsutyun factions did not vote at all, while representatives of the Yelk
bloc and several defectors from the [former ruling] HHK … abstained, thereby
expressing their boundless loyalty to the omnipotent candidate for prime
minister,” writes the paper.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Author: Emma Nadirian
The California Courier Online, October 25, 2018
The California Courier Online, October 25, 2018
1 – Commentary
Another Major Erdogan Corruption Scandal;
This time on US Soil
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Pashinyan Resigns Paving Way for Snap Parliamentary Elections
3- Forever Silenced: Saudia Arabia Says Journalist Khashoggi ‘Murdered’
4 – Shuttered Lens: Legendary Turkish-Armenian Photographer Ara
Guler Dies
5 – Pashinyan, Aliyev Establish ‘Operative’ Ties
6- Armenia confirms participation in Eurovision 2019
7- Veratartz Hayrenik: Knights and Daughters of Vartan
Makes Historic Visit to Armenia
******************************************
1 – Another Major Erdogan Corruption Scandal;
This time on US Soil
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Not a week passes without the disclosure of another major scandal in
Azerbaijan or Turkey. The latest such scandal was exposed by the
Stockholm Center for Freedom in an article written by exiled Turkish
writer Abdullah Bozkurt, titled: “Utah case exposes more dirt on
Turkey’s Erdogan.”
The article reveals that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
corrupt tentacles reach into the United States, which makes the
subject of this scandal of particular interest to Special Counsel
Robert Mueller in connection with his Russia probe and “international
organized crime network,” according to Bozkurt.
“A federal grand jury in Utah returned a sealed indictment on Aug. 1,
2018, naming Erdogan as the leader of a foreign country who met with
highly controversial businesspeople in California and Utah in what was
claimed to be a major money laundering and tax fraud case,” Bozkurt
reported.
The indictment, unsealed on Aug. 24, 2018, charged that “Jacob Ortell
Kingston, the chief executive officer, and Isaiah Kingston, the chief
financial officer of Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), by filing false
claims for tax credits, obtained over $511 million in renewable fuel
tax credits that were designed to increase the amount of renewable
fuel used and produced in the United States. Lev Aslan Dermen (Levon
Termendzhyan), owner of California-based fuel company NOIL Energy
Group with links to a transnational criminal enterprise, is also
identified as a partner in this grand scheme. From 2010 through 2016,
they fabricated documents and rotated products within the US as well
as overseas to make it appear that they were engaging in real trade to
qualify for the tax credits,” Bozkurt wrote.
The indictment stated that Jacob Kingston was arrested on Aug. 23,
2018, while on his way to Salt Lake City international airport headed
to Turkey after he was tipped off. Bozkurt reported: “The Kingstons
had already bought a luxury mansion in a seaside town in Turkey
according to a wire transfer from a WRE account to Termendzhyan’s
account at Turkey’s Garanti Bank on March 5, 2014. More wire transfers
to Turkey were listed in the indictment. Jacob Kingston, who
frequently traveled to Turkey to meet with top Turkish officials
including Erdogan, was often greeted like a VIP at the Turkish
airport, was provided a police escort and did not even use his
passport to enter Turkey according to witness testimony in the U.S.
indictment.”
Jacob Kingston first met Erdogan in New York in September 2017 when
the Turkish President came to the United States to attend the UN
General Assembly. This meeting took place “after FBI raided the
Kingston group’s properties on Feb. 10, 2016, and the revelations of
the fuel tax scam had already made the headlines in Utah,” according
to Bozkurt.
“In early November 2017, Jacob flew to Turkey to hold a series of
high-level meetings in both Ankara and Istanbul. He tapped Sezgin
Baran Korkmaz, the chairman of SBK Holding LLC, as the main conduit in
Turkey, while he kept a separate investment and asset management firm,
Mega Varlık Yönetim A.Ş., which was set up with equity of $450 million
in Turkey,” Bozkurt wrote.
“Termendzhyan also has a company named SBK Holdings USA, which is a
sister company to Korkmaz’s SBK Holding LLC in Turkey. Korkmaz was
quoted as telling the Turkish press that his partnership with WRE has
resulted in an investment valued at $1 billion and thanked Erdogan for
personally facilitating the business deals. According to the press
release issued on Sept. 9, 2016, by the Turkish government’s
Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT), WRE, the Noil Energy
Group and SBK Holding LLC have made significant investments in Turkey
and planned to do more. The partnership with SBK Holding began in 2013
with Noil Energy making the first batch of investments in real estate.
Construction and real estate businesses comprise the prime source for
ill-gotten proceeds for Erdogan’s massive multi-billion-dollar wealth.
The total investment reached $500 million with another half million
dollars assigned to a Mergers and Acquisitions fund for operations in
Turkey. The trio has made investments in all types of sectors
including pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals, technology, glass,
and food,” according to Bozkurt.
“With Erdogan’s political backing and cover, SBK Holding has expanded
its operations into various areas including finance, energy, real
estate, defense, mining, industry, tourism, technology, and logistics.
The company is mainly active in the finance industry through
investment banking, asset management, and raw materials financing. It
also has substantial interests in the energy sector that span both the
US and Russian markets. Erdogan was not bothered at all by the fact
that Termendzhyan was already implicated in a major probe that was
being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security for money
laundering, tax evasion, and stolen oil. Edgar Sargsyan, the
ex-president and former legal counsel for SBK Holdings USA, stated in
his declaration filed in court on July 14, 2017, that Termendzhyan, a
Russian [Armenian], is the head of a criminal organization. It is
worth remembering that he was arrested in 1993 for a gas tax scam in
the US, where the Russian mafia was known to have been actively
involved in similar scams in the ‘80s and ‘90s. He was also charged
with tax fraud and armed assault in the past and was convicted of
battery in 2013,” Bozkurt reported.
Interestingly, “Korkmaz appears to be the main conduit linking the
Kingstons and Termendzhyan to pro-Erdogan businessman Ekim Alptekin,
whose Dutch shell company Inovo BV hired former national security
advisor Mike Flynn’s Flynn Intel Group to run a smear campaign and
defame Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based cleric who emerged
as the main critic of the Erdogan regime. Flynn tapped former CIA
director James Woolsey to do the work against Gülen in a meeting held
with Korkmaz in California in August 2016. Woolsey and his wife had a
meeting with both Korkmaz and Alptekin in New York City on Sept. 20,
2016, to discuss the proposal. On Sept. 19, 2016, Flynn met with
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the foreign minister of Turkey, and Berat Albayrak,
Erdogan’s son-in-law who is also a minister in his cabinet, to discuss
another proposal to kidnap Gülen and whisk him away from U.S. soil to
Turkey. Two months later, on Nov. 8, 2016, Flynn published a poorly
written, derogatory op-ed on The Hill news website about Gülen, which
many suspected was penned by Turkish operatives, not Flynn. Flynn
later admitted to making false statements including lying about the
fact that Turkish government officials were supervising and directing
the work. He also misrepresented his lobbying on behalf of the Erdogan
government and lied about the op-ed he published on The Hill website,”
Bozkurt wrote.
Alptekin fled to Turkey after he was interviewed by the Mueller team
in May 2017 and dodged the subpoena that was subsequently issued after
investigators concluded that he had lied to them. Korkmaz was also
ordered to testify before a grand jury in Washington on Sept. 22,
2017, over possible violations of federal criminal laws including the
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). He also did not comply with
this subpoena. “It was believed that money in the amount of some
$450,000 that Alptekin’s Dutch shell company paid to Flynn, in fact,
came from Korkmaz. The Utah indictment reveals that Termendzhyan fled
to Turkey in August 2017 on the day state search warrants were
executed on his home and office,” Bozkurt revealed.
“If there was an independent judiciary in Turkey, this would have been
addressed first and foremost by the Turkish criminal justice system,
and Erdogan would have been forced to leave office in disgrace, at the
very least. Most likely he and his thugs would have been sentenced to
prison for breaking about a dozen Turkish laws. That is no longer
possible since the corrupt Turkish president has crippled the
judiciary, destroyed the independent media and suspended the rule of
law in the aftermath of a major graft investigation in December 2013
that uncovered his corrupt practices involving highly controversial
Iranian and Saudi businesspeople. Now we see U.S. judicial action on
Erdogan’s crimes that extended all the way to American soil. This time
he won’t have the political clout to cash in to derail or hush up the
legal cases that implicate him. He unsuccessfully tried before in the
Hakan Atilla case in New York, and he will likely suffer the same fate
in the Utah case as well,” Bozkurt concluded.
**************************************************************************************************
2- Pashinyan Resigns Paving Way for Snap Parliamentary Elections
YEREVAN—In a live televised address to the nation on Tuesday, October
16, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan offered his resignation paving the
way for snap parliamentary elections, which he hopes will take place
in early December.
President Armen Sarkissian accepted the resignation of the cabinet,
according the presidential press service.
“I am resigning today as Prime Minister of Armenia. The goal of this
resignation, however, is not to distance myself from the office of
Prime Minister—meaning not to escape from the responsibility that I
have assumed before you. On the contrary, it is to bring the
nonviolent, velvet, people’s revolution that we together carried out
to an end, through holding early elections of parliament and returning
the entire power to the people,” said Pashinyan.
The roadmap for achieving early elections of parliament is: after the
prime minister’s resignation is accepted by the president, the
National Assembly must twice vote and twice not elect a prime minister
during the subsequent 14 days—which results in the National Assembly
being dissolved and the President of the Republic calling for early
(“snap”) elections of parliament.
The HHK, Tsarukyan bloc and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) publicly stated they would not nominate a candidate for prime
minister or elect a prime minister.
*********************************************************************************************
3 – Forever Silenced: Saudia Arabia Says Journalist Khashoggi ‘Murdered’
(BBC, The Guardian)—Saudi Arabia has blamed the killing of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi on a “rogue operation”, giving a new account of an act
that sparked a global outcry. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox
News “the murder” had been a “tremendous mistake” and denied the
powerful crown prince had ordered it.
Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Saudis, under intense pressure to explain Khashoggi’s whereabouts,
have offered conflicting accounts.
They initially said he had left the consulate on October 2—but on
Friday, October 19 admitted for the first time he was dead, saying he
had been killed in a fight. This claim met widespread scepticism.
Turkish officials believe Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi
government, was murdered by a team of Saudi agents inside the building
and say they have evidence to prove it.
Adel al-Jubeir’s comments, describing the incident as murder, are some
of the most direct to come from a Saudi official.
“We are determined to find out all the facts and we are determined to
punish those who are responsible for this murder,” he said. “The
individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their
authority,” he added. “There obviously was a tremendous mistake made,
and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up.”
The minister also said that Saudi Arabia did not know where the body
was and insisted the action had not been ordered by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, seen as the country’s most powerful figure.
“Even the senior leadership of our intelligence service was not aware
of this,” he said, calling it a “rogue operation”.
However, Yeni Safak, a media outlet close to Turkey’s government, says
it has information showing that the office of the crown prince
received four phone calls from the consulate after the killing.
Reuters news agency reported on Sunday it had spoken to a Saudi
official who said Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting
attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a
rug and given to a local “co-operator” to dispose of.
Separately, CNN quoted a senior Turkish official as saying a Saudi
agent had been captured on surveillance footage dressed as the
journalist.
The video appears to show the man leaving the consulate by the back
door on the day the journalist was killed, wearing Khashoggi’s
clothes, a fake beard and glasses, CNN said.
In another development, Turkish police found a car belonging to the
Saudi consulate left in an underground car park in Istanbul. The
police asked prosecutors and Saudi diplomats for permission to search
the vehicle.
Saudi Arabia admitted for the first time on Friday that Khashoggi had
died, suggesting he had been killed in a fight with some of the people
he was meeting inside the consulate.
Until this point the authorities had maintained that the Saudi critic
was last seen leaving the building alive.
Saudi officials say they have arrested 18 people, sacked two aides of
Mohammed bin Salman and set up a body, under his leadership, to reform
the intelligence agency over the killing.
Both King Salman and the crown prince called Khashoggi’s son, Salah,
on Sunday to express their condolences over his death, the Saudi Press
Agency reports.
Salah Khashoggi resides in Saudi Arabia and had reportedly been barred
from leaving the country to visit his father who was living in
self-imposed exile in the US.
Meanwhile, Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who raised the
alarm about his disappearance after waiting for him for hours outside
the consulate, was given 24-hour police protection, Turkey’s Anadolu
news agency reports.
Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
dismissed the Saudi version of events. “One cannot help but wonder how
there could have been a ‘fist fight’ between 15 young expert
fighters… and a 60-year-old Khashoggi, alone and defenceless,” he
wrote in Yeni Safak newspaper.
“The more one thinks about it, the more it feels like our intelligence
is being mocked.”
President Erdogan said he would reveal the “naked truth” of the matter
in parliament on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump earlier said there had been “deception” and
“lies” in Saudi Arabia’s explanation, having previously said last week
he found their narrative to be credible—and that he thought the United
States would be “punishing itself” by halting military sales to Saudi
Arabia.
The UK, France and Germany expressed shock at the death and demanded a
full explanation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will not allow arms
exports to Saudi Arabia to continue, and Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has threatened to cancel a multi-billion dollar defence
contract with the Gulf kingdom.
But several of Saudi Arabia’s regional allies—including Kuwait and
Egypt—have come out in its support.
For Erdogan, the gruesome killing marks a historic moment: a chance to
turn the tables gifted to him by a cruel and reckless act that has
sparked revulsion, even among the kingdom’s allies.
“This has become a strategic struggle between Erdogan and his vision
for the Middle East and a vision shared by Prince Mohammed and his
allies, Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and
Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi,” said Soner Çağaptay, the
director of the Turkish programme at the Washington Institute.
“Erdogan sees an opportunity in the Khashoggi murder—in that he
realizes Prince Mohammed has become the weakest link in the
anti-Erdogan, anti-Muslim Brotherhood corner of the region. This is
really thin ice that Prince Mohammed is dancing on and I think Erdogan
is attempting to make it even thinner.
Senior Saudis who sought solace from Erdogan in Ankara in the past
fortnight left town believing he had an even bigger prize in
sight—relaunching Turkey as a regional Islamic power base, while
diminishing Riyadh’s claim to be the pre-eminent voice for Sunni
Islam.
Çağaptay believes Erdogan’s goals are more limited—for now. “What he’s
trying to get out of this is to sideline, or maybe even neutralize
Prince Mohammeda at least when it comes to Turkey. He wants to take
one of his opponents out of that triple entente that opposes him.”
***************************************************************************************************
4 – Shuttered Lens: Legendary Turkish-Armenian Photographer Ara
Guler Dies
World-renowned Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Güler, nicknamed the
“Eye of Istanbul,” passed away late Wednesday, October 17, at the
intensive care unit of the Florence Nightingale Hospital in Istanbul
after attempts to revive him failed. He was 90.
For years he had suffered from kidney failure and underwent dialysis
three times a week.
Born on August 16, 1926, Güler studied at Getronagan Armenian High
School. His father owned a pharmacy, but had many friends that
belonged to the world of art.
Guler’s work is included in the collections of institutions worldwide,
such as Paris’s National Library of France; New York’s George Eastman
Museum; Das imaginäre Photo-Museum; Museum Ludwig Köln; and Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery. He won several awards for his work, including
Turkey’s Photographer of the Century, 1999; Master of Leica, 1962;
France’s Légion d’honneur; Lifetime Achievement Lucie Award, 2009; and
Turkey’s Grand Prize of Culture and Arts, 2005. In 2004, he was give
honorary fellowship by Istanbul’s Yıldız Technical University. He also
conducted interviews with such famous historic figures as Salvador
Dali and Winston Churchill.
He celebrated his 90th birthday with the opening of a museum named
after him. In January, a street in his neighborhood was also named
after him.
“I have always remained loyal to Istanbul,” Ara Güler had told the
French newspaper Le Monde in the interview he gave for the opening of
his exhibition in Paris.
Originally a film student who studied under Muhsin Ertuğrul, he
eventually abandoned cinema in favor of journalism and, in 1950, while
studying economics at University of Istanbul, started working as a
photojournalist at the Turkish newspaper Yeni Istanbul. In 1958, Güler
became the first correspondent for Time-Life’s Turkey branch, which
opened the door to publication in a number of other international
magazines. In 1961, he was hired by Hayat magazine as its chief
photographer, and during that period met Marc Riboud and Henri
Cartier-Bresson, who recruited him to join Magnum Photos. His work
continued on to international acclaim, appearing in exhibitions in
Germany and New York.
Güler’s philosophy on photography attached great importance to the
presence of humans in photography; he considered himself a visual
historian. According to him, photography should provide people with
memory of their suffering and their life. He felt that art can lie but
photography only reflects reality. He did not value photography as
art, but rather preferred photojournalism.
*****************************************************************************************************
5- Pashinyan, Aliyev Establish ‘Operative’ Ties
YEREVAN—A mechanism for “operative” ties has been established between
the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to Acting Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan who told reporters on Thursday, October 18,
that since a brief conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev the system has been effective.
Pashinyan and Aliyev held a discussion in Dushanbe, Tajikistan earlier
this month when the two were attending a summit of CIS leaders.
According to Pashinyan, he and Aliyev agreed to de-escalate tension
along the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Artsakh-Azerbaijan borders.
“Based on our agreement, a reliable and operative connection has been
established with the Azerbaijani side and we can say that any
information can be conveyed to the Azerbaijani President and from
their side to me within half an hour,” Pashinyan told reporters,
explaining that the communication between the two leaders takes place
on an as needed basis.
Pashinyan also attributed the recent relative calm on the borders to
his conversation and agreements with Aliyev.
“Generally speaking, the situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border and
Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line is unprecedentedly calm and it is, in
some sense, the result of Dushanbe agreements,” explained Pashinyan.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
6- Armenia confirms participation in Eurovision 2019
Armenia has confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2019. The 64th
Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the Expo Tel Aviv
(International Convention Center) in Israel from May 16 to 18, 2019.
Israel is hosting the contest for a third time having previously
staged the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999.
Armenia has participated in Eurovision 12 times since making its debut
in 2006, when Andre became the first participant representing not only
Armenia but the entire Transcaucasus region. Armenia has reached the
top 10 on seven occasions. Armenia’s best results have been two
fourth-place finishes: Sirusho with the song “Qele, Qele” (2008) and
Aram Mp3 with “Not Alone” (2014).
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
7- Veratartz Hayrenik: Knights and Daughters of Vartan
Makes Historic Visit to Armenia
Knights and Daughters of Vartan (KDV) leadership including Grand
Commander Dr. Gary Zamanigian, Past Grand Commander Steve Kradjian,
Past Grand Matron Sona Manuelian, Grand Associate Matron Salpy
Mankerian and Grand Secretary Taline Mankerian Kedjidjian including
the organizers Commander Hunan Arshakyan and Commander Tigran Sahakyan
and more than 40 members traveled to Armenia from September 15 to 22,
as a delegation to meet with dignitaries and visit the many service
projects supported by the KDV. The trip was an historic one in the
history of the organization as leaders met with the President of the
Republic of Armenian, Armen Sarkissian, to discuss current and future
service projects of the KDV. The leadership also met with the US
Ambassador to Armenia, Richard M. Mills and the Diaspora Minister,
Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.
On September 17, The KDV visited a Knights of Vartan (KOV) supported
school in Aparan with $320,000 in donations coming from KOV and the
World Bank, making it the largest project in Aparan, serving 120
students. The delegation was met by the mayor of Aparan as they were
led to the newly renovated auditorium to watch a wonderful recital by
the school children. The day ended with a wonderful dinner reception
hosted by the gracious Arshakyan family who are residents of Aparan
and San Diego, CA and who are KDV members.
On September 19, the delegation attended the opening of the newly
remodeled Ijevan Music School, where they were met with traditional
Armenian music and the children leading them to their new auditorium
where they had a musical performance.
The fundraising for the renovations was spearheaded by Past Matron
Barbara Haroutunian of Detroit, after being overcome with sadness with
the disrepair of the school during her visit last summer. Haroutunian
singlehandedly collected more than $24,000 for the school and when the
delegation entered the music school on this trip, they were overcome
with gratitude by the staff to the donors for their ability to make
the school a better place for the precious Armenian children.
On September 20, the delegation was delighted to visit the Knights of
Vartan School #106. Under the leadership of Principal Marine
Vardanyan, the KDV was treated to a beautiful presentation featuring
the 2,800th Anniversary of Yerevan by the school children. The KOV
supported many renovations to the school and under the leadership of
Grand Matron Diana Tookmanian shipments of scarves, mittens, warm
socks and blankets were sent to the children.
On September 22, the delegation was honored and delighted to attend
the home blessing of the Dzhumyan family in Nor Gyugh. The family of
five which included their grandmother had been living in a metal
container (Domik) for twelve years. With the assistance of Fuller
House and Past Matron Sona Manuelian of New Jersey and the generous
donation of $10,500 from the Knights of Vartan, the family is now
living in a beautiful new home.
The Knights of Vartan also built a sports and cultural complex which
includes a basketball court, a swimming pool and an outdoor
amphitheater in the region of Tavush. The project was spearheaded by
the Mamigonian lodge of Brooklyn, New York, led by Commander Tigran
Sahakyan. The center will provide much needed after school activities
for the region including swimming lessons, which the children of
Tavush have never had. It was a very large undertaking with $200,000
in donations including a large sum of money donated by NS Tigran
Sahakyan, which proved to be an extremely successful project.
Grand Associate Matron Salpy Mankerian and Grand Secretary Taline
Mankerian Kedjidjian also visited the Mer Hooys home for disadvantaged
girls aged 8-22, which is supported by the Daughters of Vartan. They
left the residence that day impressed with the program, the staff, the
home and the wonderful residents.
The girls are given a faith-based foundation, they are taught life
skills, they take music and language lessons and are given a college
education in order for them to live independent lives after graduation
from the home. The girls were joyful and happy to perform on the piano
for the visitors as well as singing and dancing for them and at the
end they all joined in together to dance the traditional Armenian
Shoorchbar with their visitors.
The KDV leadership also had the opportunity to meet with the
Presidents of the American University of Armenia, Dr. Armen Der
Kiureghian and of the Polytechnic University, Dr. Vostanik Marukhyan.
The KDV reiterated its mission to support both schools by continuing
with providing scholarships to students and to continue to foster an
environment that may provide opportunities for both U.S. students and
students from Armenia. The delegation also attended Church services at
Etchmiadzin Cathedral, after which a wreath was placed at the Armenian
Genocide Memorial Complex and an evergreen tree was planted next to a
plaque donated by the Knights of Vartan.
The trip concluded with a Banquet attended by eighty Knights and
Daughters of Vartan at the beautiful Megerian Carpet Museum with
appreciation given to those who have made contributions to the
realization of the many service projects that have given hope and
changed so many lives in Armenia.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
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Beirut: Aoun holds talks with visiting Armenian PM
National News Agency Lebanon (NNA)
October 20, 2018 Saturday
Aoun holds talks with visiting Armenian PM
NNA – President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, met Saturday with Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, with talks centering on ways of promoting bilateral relations, activating the work of the joint governmental committee and recent regional developments.
Aoun welcomed Pashinyan at Baabda Palace this morning upon his arrival in Beirut on a 2-day visit, accompanied by an official Armenian delegation.
During their encounter, Aoun congratulated the Armenian PM on the success of the Francophone Summit held in Yerevan last week, thanking him for the warm hospitality extended to members of the Lebanese delegation attending the Summit.
He also praised the bilateral relations existing between the two countries, appreciating Armenia’s contribution to the UNIFIL peacekeeping forces in the South. He stressed on the active role played by the Lebanese Armenians in their country’s political and economic life, especially as they constitute a bridge of communication with Armenia.
The President also highlighted the importance of the agreements held between Lebanon and Armenia, calling for the conclusion of other pending agreements. Moreover, Aoun briefed Pashinyan on Lebanon’s initiative of establishing the “Academy of Encounter and Dialogue”, hoping that Armenia would be among the first states to sign its establishment agreement.
Pashinyan, in turn, thanked Aoun for his warm welcome and for attending the Francophone Summit in Yerevan, emphasizing the importance of the role played by Lebanon in the Francophone Organization.
The Armenian PM also stressed on strengthening Lebanese-Armenian bilateral relations, especially in the economic field, hoping for more coordination and collaboration between the relevant ministries of both countries.
Furthermore, Pashinyan expressed his country’s support for Lebanon’s decision to establish a “Human Academy for Encounter and Dialogue” which will allow for more communication between civilizations, religions and cultures. He said his country would continue to work within UNIFIL to maintain security and stability in the South of Lebanon, adding that the Armenian Defense Minister would visit his country’s troops on the Lebanese border to confirm this support.
Touching on the mutual aspects shared between the Lebanese and Armenian peoples, PM Pashinyan hoped that the Lebanese-Armenian Joint Committee would hold a meeting soon to study the common issues and take appropriate decisions in favor of both countries.
Thousands bid final farewell to renowned Istanbul-Armenian photographer Ara Guler (photos)
Category
Culture
The funeral of famous Istanbul-Armenian photographer Ara Guler was held in Istanbul on October 20, Agos reports.
The farewell ceremony was held at the Armenian church in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district.
The ceremony was held under the sounds of Armenian duduk, Dele Yaman and Komitas.
The funeral was attended by thousands of Armenian community representatives, high-raking Turkish officials, fans and media representatives.
Ara Guler has passed away at the age of 90 on October 18. Guler died after being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment for heart failure.
Ara Guler was born in Istanbul on August 16, 1928.
Guler attended an Armenian school in Istanbul and began working as a photographer on Turkish newspaper Yeni.
His work included images of the city’s best known mosques and landmarks, pictures of workers going about their daily lives to rare pictures of Istanbul covered in a blanket of snow.
Fans liked to call Guler the “Eye of Istanbul” or an “Istanbul photographer”.
[visit the link for the pictures]
What the ‘Grievance Studies’ Hoax Means: Peter Boghossian
What the 'Grievance Studies' Hoax Means October 09, 2018 Over the summer, the Wall Street Journal's Jillian Kay Melchior became suspicious of a bizarre-sounding academic journal article, "Human reactions to rape culture and queer performativity at urban dog parks in Portland, Oregon," published in the journal Gender, Place & Culture. She started investigating, and discovered that the article's author, "Helen Wilson," did not exist. The article was part of an elaborate hoax cooked up by Helen Pluckrose, the editor of the online magazine Areo, James A. Lindsay, a Ph.D. in math, and Peter Boghossian, an assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University. "Sokal Squared," Yascha Mounk called it, and the label stuck. The trio of hoaxers, Melchior discovered, had written 20 fake papers and managed to get seven of them accepted at peer-reviewed journals, including "Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to Neoliberal and Choice Feminism," composed of passages of Hitler's Mein Kampf rewritten so as to appear to be a theoretical argument about social justice. As the hoaxers explained in Areo, they targeted fields they pejoratively dub "grievance studies" - "gender studies, masculinities studies, queer studies, sexuality studies, psychoanalysis, critical race theory, critical whiteness theory, fat studies, sociology, and educational philosophy" - which they consider peculiarly susceptible to fashionable nonsense. Does the hoax identify something uniquely rotten in gender and sexuality studies, or could it just as easily have targeted other fields? Is it a salutary correction or a reactionary hit job? And what does it portend for already imperiled fields? The Chronicle Review asked scholars from a variety of disciplines. Here are their responses. To hoax morally suspect fields like economics, one of the fake papers concocted by James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, and Peter Boghossian and accepted for publication in Hypatia argued, is morally righteous. To hoax morally righteous fields like gender studies, on the other hand, is morally suspect. This hilarious little piece of meta-textualism shows that the scholars behind Sokal Squared are more conversant in postmodern discourse - and more attuned to its lighter modes - than some of their critics seem to assume. It also shows that they know their enemies well enough to predict their reactions with uncanny accuracy. What is most striking in the intense debate which this hoax has already occasioned is the sheer amount of tribal solidarity it has elicited among leftists and academics. Virtually the whole debate has focused on the supposedly malign motives, or the supposedly evident stupidity, of the authors. I don't find these criticisms to be particularly persuasive. Like Alan Sokal, Lindsay, Pluckrose, and Boghossian locate themselves on the left. And while it did them no favors to write up their hoax in the style of a social-scientific experiment, thus inviting the wrong standard of judgment, their mastery of postmodern jargon and their sly humor is evident in the corpus of work they have produced in the past year. If you don't believe me, dear "Sokal Squared" critics, I beseech you to actually skim some of the papers: you may even, despite yourself, end up having a good chuckle. But what I've found most striking - and debased - about this grand circling of the imperiled wagons is the ad hominem nature of so many of the reactions. So let me concede, for the sake of argument, that the motives behind the hoaxes were nasty; that they provided succor to the anti-intellectual enemies of the academy; that their hoax was, by its very nature (or, as Hypatia would have it, by its impermissible choice of target), immoral. What would follow from all of this? Practically nothing. Because, after all, it is possible to glean valuable information from the immoral actions of evil people. And even if all of the charges laid at the feet of Lindsay, Pluckrose, and Boghossian were true, they would have demonstrated a very worrying fact: Some of the leading journals in areas like gender studies have failed to distinguish between real scholarship and intellectually vacuous as well as morally troubling bullshit. Perhaps this does not mean that we should celebrate the perpetrators of the hoax as moral heroes. Perhaps it would have been possible to hoax other fields in similar ways. And as the hoaxers themselves emphasize, there is no reason to conclude that all of academia is rotten, or that we shouldn't devote serious attention and resources to studying sex, gender, and race. But for all of the caveats, one thing remains incontestable in my mind: Any academic who is not at least a little troubled by the ease with which the hoaxers passed satire off as wisdom has fallen foul to the same kind of motivated reasoning and naked partisanship that is currently engulfing the country as a whole. Yascha Mounk is a lecturer on government at Harvard University.
Macron’s wife tours Yerevan museums
Category
Society
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spouse Anna Hakobyan, French President Emmanuel Macron’s spouse Brigitte Macron and spouses of other heads of state and government of OIF member countries visited several museums today in Yerevan.
They initially visited the Yervand Kochar Museum, then the Cascade Complex, where they viewed the Fernando Botero sculptures. Later, they visited the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
The guests also signed the guestbook at the Yervand Kochar museum.
“Thank you Armenia for this unique reception, this was a wonderful trip,” Brigitte Macron told reporters.
U.S. Nominee to Azerbaijan Condemns Violence Along the Line of Contact
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 4, 2018
Contact: Danielle Saroyan
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Web: www.aaainc.org
U.S. NOMINEE TO AZERBAIJAN
CONDEMNS VIOLENCE ALONG THE LINE OF CONTACT
U.S. Urges Azerbaijan to Work Cooperatively to Settle Conflict
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On October 4, during a Senate Foreign
Relations Committee hearing, in response to questions posed by Ranking Member
Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the U.S. Ambassadorial nominee to Azerbaijan, Earle D.
Litzenberger, stated that the U.S. condemns violence along the line of contact,
which he noted undermines the peace process and violates the 1994 cease-fire
agreement.
“As one of
the three Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group process that is working to achieve a
peaceful settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, we are working along the
lines of three principles: one is the non-use of force and the non-threat of
the use of force, the second is the respect for territorial integrity, and the
third is the rights of peoples to self-determination. All three of those are
important, any agreement or settlement that does not fully take all three into
account is unlikely to succeed,” said Litzenberger. “All of the Co-Chairs, the
U.S. especially, condemns any violence and any threat of the use of violence
along the line of contact, it undermines the peace process, it violates the
1994 cease-fire, and is very unhelpful,” Litzenberger continued.
During the
Assembly’s National Advocacy Conference last week, Assembly Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny along with former Chairman of the Armenian Assembly of America
Board of Directors Peter Vosbikian and other New Jersey constituents met with
the Senator’s policy staff and discussed several issues, including Azerbaijan’s
ongoing cease-fire violations, especially the targeting of kindergartens.
“We
appreciate Ranking Member Menendez for raising key concerns about Azerbaijan’s
ongoing bellicose rhetoric and cease-fire violations,” stated the Assembly
Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian. “We also remain deeply troubled
by Azerbaijan’s ongoing attempt to whitewash its human rights record through
its $3 billion laundromat scheme, which not only has been exposed, but led to
an indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice,” the Co-Chairs continued.
Earle D.
Litzenberger of California is a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service,
Class of Minister-Counselor. Read his full statement before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the
largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.
###
NR#: 2018-043
Available online at:
Photo Caption 1: Senate
Foreign Relations Ranking Member Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Photo Caption 2: U.S.
Ambassadorial Nominee to Azerbaijan Earle D. Litzenberger
PNG image
Litzenberger-2.png
PNG image
Ex-MP shot in restaurant brawl, police say
ArmenPress, Armenia
Oct 6 2018
Ex-MP shot in restaurant brawl, police say
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Shortly after launching a probe, the Investigative Committee released new details on the shooting of former lawmaker Karo Karapetyan (BHK).
Investigative Committee spokesperson Sona Truzyan said that according to preliminary information the shooting happened as result of an altercation that took place in the restaurant. She said that the former MP was taken to the Erebuni hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Another man was wounded in the same brawl and taken to a hospital, she said.
Detectives are working at the scene, she said.
The Investigative Committee’s Yerevan Department has launched a criminal investigation into the murder of Karo Karapetyan, the former lawmaker who was shot dead late Saturday in the Armenian capital.
The Investigative Committee said the lawmaker was dining at a restaurant called ‘Aygi’ (Park) at the time of the shooting.
Another man, identified as Sargis Avagyan, was wounded by gunfire during the shooting. He is currently being treated at a hospital, the investigative committee said.
Law enforcement agencies are working at the scene.
The restaurant is located in the Nork Marash district of Yerevan, a few miles to the east from downtown.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
Azerbaijani Press: Oppositionists warn of the danger of Putin’s visit
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press Monday Oppositionists warn of the danger of Putin's visit Baku / 24.09.18 / Turan: A group of public figures, mostly well-known opposition politicians, held a Round Table dedicated to assessing the significance of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Azerbaijan, scheduled for . The meeting resulted in the adoption of a statement which notes the threat to peace and independence of Azerbaijan that the Russian Federation bears. The existence of the "fifth column" of pro-Russian figures, which the Russian Federation uses in anti-Azerbaijani politics, is noted in Azerbaijan. "The power of Azerbaijan should promptly clarify the deliberate leakage into our society of information about Azerbaijan"s joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization and other blocs led by Russia," said MirmahmudFattayev, IskanderHamidov, SardarJalaloglu, IgbalAgazade, ArifPashayev, ElladaMammadli, Rashid Nazim, FirudinMammadov, Akif Nagy, TuralAbbasli, Ali Aliyev, PanahHuseynov, members of the organizing committee for the preparation of the pro-Karabakh rally. Participants in the Round Table are confident that the Kremlin is pursuing a policy of regaining control over the post-Soviet countries, using terrorism and separatism for this purpose, the introduction of the Russian army into foreign territories under the guise of peacekeeping forces. Azerbaijani politicians urge the countries and societies of the region to rally before the threat of Russian expansion, to defend the independence of their states, relying on international security systems. They remind of Russia's direct responsibility for the occupation of Azerbaijani land by Armenia, which resulted in the emergence of about a million refugees and internally displaced persons in the country, as well as the genocide in Khojaly. Russia continues to support the occupation of Azerbaijani land, while isolating Azerbaijan from international forces that are contrary to the geopolitical aspirations of the Kremlin. The involvement of Azerbaijan in the format of cooperation between the Caspian states is accepted by the opposition as a refusal of the country from its sovereign foreign policy. The authors of the statement prefer synchronization of the Azerbaijani-Russian relations with the Turkish-Russian relations. The participants of the Round Table support the Azerbaijani-Russian relations in the military-technical and economic fields, but oppose an even greater spread of the Russian language in Azerbaijan, and condemn the Kremlin's opposition to the development of democracy in Azerbaijan.-- 0--
Charlie Chaplin’s daughter, granddaughter to visit Armenia for world premiere of their play
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 25 2018
Culture 16:15 25/09/2018 Armenia
The daughter and granddaughter of legendary British comic actor, filmmaker and composer Charlie Chaplin, who rose to fame in the era of silent film, will visit Armenia this October for the world premiere of their joint silent play in capital Yerevan.
Their play titled Bells and Spells will be performed at Yerevan’s Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy Theatre on 3 and 4 October.
They have received the invitation to visit Armenia from Chairman of Armenia’s Union of Theater Workers Hakob Ghazanchyan.
“Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and Aurélia Thierrée Chaplin were set to arrive in Armenia in March, but after talks they were decided to visit the country in October and hold the world premiere of their new performance in Yerevan,” Ghazanchyan told Panorama.am.
The play is staged by Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and performed by Aurélia Thierrée Chaplin and Jaime Martinez.
Italy’s Spoleto festival hosted the world premiere of the performance on 9 and 15 July of the running year. A surreal spectacle of physical theatre, comedy, magic and dance, Bells and Spells is the tale of a kleptomaniac who falls under the influence of the objects she steals.