Author: Garnik Tadevosian

Pope Francis, who is usually calm and accommodating with his admirers, clearly lost his temper with a person who pulled on him so hard that he fell onto a child on a wheel chair, Reuters reports.

Video footage showed that while the pope was walking at the edge of a crowd in an stadium, he stopped to greet children who were sitting.

Two arms reached out to grab him and the person would not let go, even after the pope lost his balance and his chest was pressing on the child’s head.

Aides and security men stopped the pope from falling to the ground.

After he returned to an upright position, his face turned angry.

He looked at the person, raised his voice and said twice in Spanish: “Don’t be selfish!”

It was not clear if the person who pulled the pope was a man or a woman.

According to the Armenian Embassy in Syria, there are no Armenians among the victims of Sunday’s lasts near the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Syria’s capital Damascus, Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan told Tert.am.

At least 71 people died in blasts.A bus station and a building housing military headquarters were hit by the blasts, which mangled nearby vehicles.

It happened as the government and opposition groups gathered in Geneva in a bid to start talks aimed at a political solution to the conflict.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, was aimed at disrupting the talks, the EU said.

Both the Syrian government and opposition are in Geneva but the talks have yet to begin. The main opposition group says the government must first meet key humanitarian demands.

Massis Post – “Why Does Turkey Deny the Armenian Genocide?” will be addressed in a talk by Clark University doctoral candidate Ümit Kurt at 7:30PM on Wednesday, February 10, in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus. The lecture is the third in the Armenian Studies Program Spring 2016 Lecture Series, with the support of the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

One of the most important—and possibly the most sensitive—landmarks of modern Turkish history and the formation of Turkey’s political and socio-cultural climate is the Armenian Genocide. By the same token, this issue is a taboo in Turkish political history. The question widely asked is “Why does Turkey deny the Armenian Genocide?” This question should be examined at two levels: state and society. It is correct to say that there has been a strong state denialism of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Yet, one should also bear in mind that this strong state denialism has also been supported and reinforced by different sections of society. In this lecture, Kurt will analyze societal dimensions of Turkish denialism of Armenian genocide and also explore the reasons behind Turkey’s inability to come to terms with its past.

Ümit Kurt is a PhD. Candidate at Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program in the History Department of Clark University and completing his dissertation. He has written extensively on confiscation of Armenian properties, Armenian Genocide, early modern Turkish nationalism, and Aintab Armenians. He is the author of the Great, hopeless Turkish race: fundamentals of Turkish nationalism in the Turkish homeland 1911-1916 (Istanbul: Iletisim Publishing House, 2012) and editor of the Revolt and Destruction: Construction of the state from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic and collective violence (Istanbul: Tarih Vakfi Publishing House, 2015). He teaches history at Sabanci University in Istanbul and is the author, with Taner Akçam, of The spirit of the laws: the plunder of wealth in the Armenian Genocide (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2015).

Iran is ready to mediate the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Monday.

“If you look into the past, you see that Iran in the most difficult times tried to resolve the crisis between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now, if Azerbaijan and Armenia want, Iran will be ready to mediate in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the diplomat said at a briefing in Tehran, according to the Azerbaijan Press Agency.

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved today a US$55 million loan for the Local Economy and Infrastructure Development Project (LEIDP) for Armenia to improve infrastructure services and institutional capacity for increased tourism contribution to the local economy in five selected regions of the country. Developing a rich variety of tourism destinations across the country in a sustainable way is part of the Government’s vision of improving the maintenance of Armenia’s natural and cultural heritage while also stimulating regional economic activity.

The World Bank helped the Government in 2014 to assess the regional development disparities and opportunities and prepared a Tourism Strategy for the country’s South Corridor. The analysis has identified opportunities for regional development by studying the profile of each region (marz) in Armenia and identifying key policy and investment needs in the most competitive sectors that drive private sector-led growth and job creation, most notably tourism, agro-tourism and agri-business. It also recommended an integrated approach to development of tourism corridors and circuits for diversifying and improving Armenia’s tourism products, which could increase spending and deliver a more robust tourism-led local economic development.

“As demonstrated around the world, with careful strategic planning and relatively modest public investments, tourism activities can be nurtured into a critical source of economic and employment growth at the local level,” says Laura E. Bailey, World Bank Country Manager for Armenia. ”I would like to highlight that one of the major strengths of the proposed project is that it motivates the communities to preserve their unique Armenian cultural heritage and helps benefit from integrating tourism in wider local economic development.”

With over 4000 historical monuments throughout the country dating from pre-historic to Hellenistic and early Christian eras – three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Armenia is often referred to as an open air museum. The Project activities are expected to benefit the residents, tourists and enterprises in three marzes in the south – Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Syunik, and two marzes in the north – Kotayk and Lori.

More specifically, the first component – Heritage Hub Regeneration and Tourism Circuit Development – will finance urban regeneration activities in the old towns of Goris and Meghri, and in the heritage villages Areni, Tatev and Tandzatap. This includes restoration of public infrastructure, building facades and roofs, public spaces, museums, access roads, water and sanitation, drainage and street lighting.

This component will also finance an integrated approach to cultural heritage preservation and improved site management plans of the most attractive cultural and natural heritage sites located along the main tourism circuit in Armenia: Garni (Temple and Gorge), Geghard Monastery, Dvin Museum, Khor Virap Monastery, Areni marketplace and cave, Mozrov cave, Zorats Qarer (Karahunge/Stonehendge), Khndzoresk and the two UNESCO Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin.

“In addition to the expected growth in the tourism sector and of under-developed areas, this project will enable public infrastructure to attract private investments. It will attract private entities in Project areas that demonstrate interest and capacity to invest in tourism or agribusiness through participating in rehabilitation of complementary public infrastructure to ensure the viability of their investments,” says Ahmed Eiweida, World Bank Task Team Leader of the Project.

The second – Institutional Development component – will increase the institutional capacity and performance of the Development Foundation of Armenia (DFA), the Ministry of Economy (MoE), responsible for overall coordination and policy support of the Project, the Historical and Culture Heritage Protection Agency (HCHPA), and the Armenia Territorial Development Fund (ATDF), as the implementing entity, to carry out tourism related activities at the various levels in a sustainable manner.

The first year investment program will capture numerous activities for improvements at Khor Virap Tourism Facility; Garni Gorge with rehabilitation of 1.6 km road leading from Garni Temple to the Stone Symphony monument, located in Azat River Gorge; Zorats Qarer (Stonehenge) Tourism Facility with improvement of the road leading to the monument.

Total financing of this project is US$68 million, of which US$13 million will be the Government’s contribution. The World Bank will provide a US$55 million IBRD loan of variable spread with a 14.5-year grace period and the total repayment term of 25 years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named ‘s Person of the Year.

Merkel’s selection was announced Wednesday morning on NBC’s “Today” show.

“Leaders are tested only when people don’t want to follow,” Time editor Nancy Gibbs said in a statement issued Wednesday. “For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, Angela Merkel is TIME’s Person of the Year.”

She’s the first individual woman to be recognized since 1986.

Photo: Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy

 

The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces have reportedly managed to regain full control of the strategic Palmyra-Homs highway from ISIS militants in the center of the country, Sputnik News reports.

The strategic Palmyra-Homs highway has been won back by the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces after fierce fighting with ISIS militants in central Syria, media reports said.

The Syrian forces took control of the highway after capturing the villages of al-Baiyarat and Marhatten in Palmyra’s western countryside late last week, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

Right now, the Syrian Army and its allies are stationed about four kilometers from the western walls of Palmyra, the closest the government troops forces have been to the gates of this ancient UNESCO-listed city since July 2015, FARS reported.

Armenia positively views the results of the first year of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) work, the country’s trade representative in the Russian Federation Karen Asoyan said at the opening ceremony of the Eurasian Economic Congress on Tuesday, TASS reports.

“In Armenia we’re thoroughly analyzing the results of our membership – both in the government and in business,” Asoyan said. “Our enterprises mainly speak about positive results. Many formalities concerning customs processing in particular, which are related to costs, are gone as the trade regime with the Union’s states, Armenia’s main partners, has become more open,” the trade representative said.

He added though that there are some issues still in place. “The mechanism of VAT recovery hasn’t been solved yet, which to some extend is restraining trade. This impacts trade (flows) from Russia to Armenia as well. Hopefully, the Eurasian Economic Commission will somehow solve the issue in the nearest future,” Asoyan said.

Among major trends he mentioned more joint ventures being created by Russian and Armenian enterprises after the country joined the bloc. “Russian tourist flow to Armenia has increased and developed,” he added.

The trade representative also noted the importance of participation of the Eurasian Economic Union in formation of the Silk Road economic belt. “It would be important to construct a railroad from Iran to Armenia and reconstruct the railroad between Armenia and Russia,” he said, adding that “this will allow creation of the shortest efficient way of supplying goods from the Persian Gulf countries to the EEU member-states.”.

Recalling the genocide on Armenians perpetrated by the Osmanian Empire a century ago, an orchestra of German, Turkish and Armenian musicians is performing world premieres in Berlin, reports.

The mass execution of Armenians in 1915 is considered the 20th century’s first systematic extermination of an ethnicity, with massacres and death marches resulting in the death of approximately 1.5 million persons.

As a sign of reconciliation, the Dresden Symphony Orchestra launched a project titled “Aghet.” Deriving from the Turkish word “ağıt,” the word translates as “catastrophe” and is synonymous of the century-old genocide. The playbill for the concerts on November 27 and 28 at the “Radialsystem V,” a venue in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, includes works by Zeynep Gedizlioğlu (Turkey), Vache Sharafyan (Armenia) und Helmut Oehring (Germany).

Guitarist’s initiative

Conducted by Andrea Molino, the Dresden Symphony is joined by musicians from Turkey and Armenia as well as members of the “No Borders Orchestra.” The latter, consisting of instrumentalists from the former Yugoslav states, was formed after the civil wars in the region in the 1990s and is itself a reconciliation project.

“Aghet” was initiated by Marc Sinan together with the orchestra from Dresden. Sinan’s Armenian grandmother lost her parents in the events following the deportations that began on April 24, 1915. The guitarist of German, Armenian and Turkish heritage performs the solo part in Helmut Oehring’s piece “Massaker, hört ihr MASSAKER!” (Massacre, do you hear MASSACRE!) for guitar solo, voice, women’s chorus and strings.

On his compositional approach, Oehring writes: “The score is meant to depict a force field that transforms the injuries and devastation suffered into a new energy, a kind of emotional reserve for those who come afterwards.”

Also given its world premiere is “Isimsiz / Notes for the Silent One” for strings. This is not the first work written by the young Turkish composer Zeynep Gedizlioğlu on the subject; her string quartet titled “Susma” (Don’t Be Silent!) was dedicated to the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, murdered by a Turkish nationalist in broad daylight in Istanbul, in January 2007. Gedizlioğlu, who had been nearby, heard the shot.

The duduk, or the ‘Armenian flute’

At the “Aghet” concert project, a work by the Armenian composer Vache Sharafian is given its first performance in Germany. In “Surgite Gloriae,” a double concerto for viola and duduk, Armenian duduk soloist Araik Bartikian and German violist Matthias Worm play solo. Known as the “Armenian flute,” the duduk is considered the country’s national instrument.

Sharafian, who lives as a music instructor in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, has attracted worldwide attention for his compositions, including works for the Silk Road Ensemble, a much-noted intercultural project by American cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Following “Hasretim” and “Dede Korkut,” “Aghet” is the third and final installment in the Dresden Symphony Orchestra’s trilogy dealing with the history and culture of Anatolia and the Caucasus region.

Following the performances in Berlin, the concert will be repeated on April 29, 2016 in Dresden before going on tour to Belgrade, Yerevan and Istanbul later in the year. The latter performance is certain to spark controversy, as the genocide of Armenians is still denied in the official reading of history in Turkey.

 

Alisa Gevorgyan
Public Radio of Armenia

He joined the Artsakh War in 1991. He was one of the most talented and experienced commanders. He was posthumously bestowed the title of the Artsakh Hero. Monte Melkonian died on June 12, 1993. Today is Monte’s birthday.

“Monte was a brilliant commander, an exceptional soldier, but he remained in the history and the hearts of people first of all thanks to his honesty and fairness,” says Alek Yenigomshyan, Director of “Monte Melkonian” NGO and ex-member of ASALA.

“The decisions to fight and die for the Motherland are never made in one day, they are born with a man. Monte was a hero, a man of exceptional courage, a skilled serviceman. But the human qualities were his greatest privilege. He was honest, fair and extremely modest.”  Alek Yenigomshyan is confident Monte would not like to be remembered on several occasions over the year, to be glorified and praised. “He didn’t need it, but we need it,” he said.

According to Yenigomshyan, Monte was absolutely indifferent to material values. Honesty and moral were the most precious values to him. Without these qualities he would not inspire hope and confidence and would not be adored by all.

Bloodshed was not Monte’s aim on the battlefield. He even gave his blood to save the life of a wounded Azerbaijani captive. Monte came to Armenia, when many were leaving. Monte did not know what despair was.